|
Day Campers Launch Into Summer at the McCarty
Center
The first
in a series of summer day camps was officially
opened at Camp ClapHans at the J. D. McCarty
Center last week for children in grades 2 thru
6. This is the third year that summer day camps
have been held at the McCarty Center, but it's
the first year that the camp has had an official
name.
Camp ClapHans is named in honor of Sammy Jack
Claphans. At six foot six and 285, Sammy Jack
was a mountain of a man from the Ozark Mountain
plateau region of northeastern Oklahoma. On
the football field he was a tough, fiercely
competitive player. He played high school football
in Stilwell, Oklahoma, where he was recruited
to play offensive tackle for the University
of Oklahoma (1974 - 1978) and later with the
Cleveland Browns and San Diego Chargers.
After professional football, Sammy Jack returned
to Oklahoma where he became a special education
teacher and dedicated his life to working with
children with developmental disabilities. Sammy
Jack died suddenly in November 2001. In addition
to the camp, an activities building will also
be named in his honor. Construction is anticipated
to begin in 2008.
Fourteen campers were enrolled in the first
of five one-week day camps at Camp ClapHans.
The first camp session was called Movin' &
Groovin' and was conducted by the physical therapy
staff and volunteers.
Movin' & Groovin' camp was all about team
work and cooperation within the sphere of friendly
competition. The campers participated in a wide
variety of indoor and outdoor activities designed
to improve their fitness level, muscle strength
and coordination while assisting and encouraging
other campers to do the same.
Camp activities included: mini golf, archery,
balloon badminton, swimming, horseback riding,
potato sack races, kickball, clothespin tag,
stick horse races, horseshoes, sidewalk art,
making homemade ice cream and the making of
puppets and rehearsing for an end of camp puppet
show for the camper's families.
The next session will be Sensory Exploration
camp on June 18 - 22. During this camp, campers
will have the opportunity to experience a wide
variety of sensory stimuli that includes touch,
movement, vision, sound, smell and taste. An
emphasis is placed on accepting new sensations,
increasing body awareness and development of
coping strategies. The camp will be staffed
by the McCarty Center's occupational therapy
department and volunteers.
Camp Friendship will have two sessions. The
first session will be June 25 - 29 and the second
session will be July 9 - 13. Camp Friendship
will have small and large group activities that
focus on improving social skills, integrating
peer interaction, teamwork, winning and losing,
as well as manners. Therapists from the McCarty
Center's communication disorders department
will conduct this camp with the assistance of
volunteers.
The final session of the summer camp season
at Camp ClapHans will be Bits & Bytes computer
camp. This camp will focus on basic computer
skills. Campers will become acquainted with
things like word processing, e-mail, website
development and computer games. Each camper
will have the opportunity to develop an e-mail
address that they will get to use for one year
so they can reach out to their friends and family
using new found computer skills. Bits &
Bytes camp will run July 23 - 27 and will be
conducted by the McCarty Center's information
technology staff and volunteers.
The J. D. McCarty Center is Oklahoma's center
of excellence in the care and treatment of children
with developmental disabilities from birth to
21. Founded in 1946, the McCarty Center treated
just one diagnosis…cerebral palsy. Today,
the McCarty Center has treated more than 70
different diagnoses in the developmental disability
category. In an average year, the McCarty Center
will treat children from 70 of Oklahoma's 77
counties.
 |
| Camp
ClapHans Swimming Hole. Summer day
camper Abby Root (left) relaxes in the warm,
soothing waters of the therapy pool at the
J. D. McCarty Center in Norman where Camp
Claphans summer day camp kicked off it's
first session of the summer. Swimming with
Root is camp volunteer Holly Thomas. Camp
ClapHans will conduct four more week long
day camp sessions this summer. For more
information about Camp ClapHans contact
Sarah Michner at 573.5338 or e-mail her
at smichner@jdmc.org. |
|
|
| Saddle
up cowgirl. Camper Ginney Webb, of
Purcell, gets ready to ride Spanky during
the first session of Camp ClapHans summer
day camp at the J. D. McCarty Center in
Norman. Horse back riding was just one of
the many physical activities Webb and 13
other campers participated in during this
camp session called Movin' & Groovin'.
Assisting Webb is Maria Greenfield, director
of occupational therapy at the McCarty Center.
Holding Spanky is Jill Lyles, McCarty Center
physical therapist and owner of Spanky.
Camp ClapHans will conduct four more sessions
this summer. For more information about
Camp ClapHans contact Sarah Michner at 573.5338
or e-mail her at smichner@jdmc.org. |
|
|
