Summary Of The Acorn People By Ron Jones

961 Words2 Pages

I really enjoyed reading The Acorn People by Ron Jones which is an autobiographical story about his time spent as a counselor a Boy Scout summer camp. He knew he was hired to be camp councilor for children living with disabilities or impairments yet he was not fully aware of what he was signing up. After the first day Ron wanted to run away before finally deciding to stay. Ron nervously worked on a craft project stringing together acorns for a necklace. All the kids in his cabin were very excited to make one for themselves so much that they all worked together until all 7 had necklaces. In very little time as he learned more about the children he began to see them in a differently. Even though the camp nurse had given a quick tutorial regarding …show more content…

Ron and his co-counselor, Dominic was responsible for 5 boys in their cabin, day and night. Benny b was a small child living with polio who loved to move fast in his wheel chair. Another young boy, Spider, was without arms or legs. There was Thomas Steward who was living with Multiple Sclerosis as well as Aaron who everyone called “Arid.” T he most mobile of the 5 was Martin, who was also the oldest at 14 years old. At the beginning of camp everyone was reserved, guarded and quiet. The camp’s schedule was meant for boy scouts, those living without a disability, so the allotted time on the schedule made for a hectic day. Once the counselors figured out they needed to be on their own schedules the children began to blossom. After a day of swimming with a group of girl campers, the boys decided they wanted to make acorn necklaces for everyone at camp. They were all bonded and these necklaces were proof of that. They started calling themselves the Acorn people. The necklaces changed everything, they were connected now. Without even knowing Ron Jones was facilitating recreational therapy technique for these …show more content…

Nelson, the school nurse had a great idea to put on a water ballet to show off all the talents of the children for their parents for pickup day. Even though the children were beginning to feel down about camp ending, they decided to all pitch in together to put on a great show. This was just the boost of confidence the children needed as they were not feeling very happy about camp coming to an end. They all worked hard, under Mrs. Neilson’s supervision so they would be prepared when their families arrived on Saturday. These children have been labeled their entire lives even Ron and Mrs. Nelson labeling the children in the beginning. As they got to know the children better their descriptions changed, they were no longer their disability, they were individuals with personalities and

Open Document