Our second annual overnight Fathering Project Camp was recently held at Wilson, with over 100 Dads and kids enjoying a special time of connection and craziness.
Tents, guide ropes and swags filled the grassed areas, as well as a few air mattresses and a pop-up ‘tent’ that was created by an air pump!
After that, we had a Devotion in the hall. Jackson Chiang, one of our dads, taught us how to honour our parents (and marriage), despite the mistakes they sometimes make. Then it was time for games! This included a piggy-back rugby race, which saw some competitive posturing, with two of our dads plummeting headfirst into the floor. Next up, we played a game where we had to bounce three table-tennis balls onto a jam sandwich. Surprisingly, after a lot of screaming, one team was able to do this.
Finally, a paper-plane competition. Students had to design a paper plane that would fly as long as possible, and the winner of each year level received a classic trophy. Unfortunately, the rules did not say you had to make an actual plane. As a result, a number of our competitors worked out that if you scrunched up the paper, you could throw it a long way. Because of this, our finals had three competitors with ‘planes’, and three competitors with ‘scrunchies.’ Who would win? Well, with a mighty large throw, it was Jemima Radford who threw her scrunchy plane almost the length of the gym. Go scrunchies.
To finish the night, there were toasted marshmallows and free time for play and fun. At 10pm, the kids and most parents went to bed. However, a number of dads stayed up and chatted around the fire until the clock clicked over to Saturday. New connections and friendships emerged.
The next morning, excited kids and bleary dads woke up to a cooked breakfast and fresh coffee provided by Groovin’ Beans. The hardest part was packing up the tents and saying goodbye… until next year! Thanks to all the dads who helped organise such a fantastic event.
