``The children are our future,'' the abbot said. ``We need children to be around here, to learn about Buddhism and life.''
He invited Thanyarad Chanplang and Jintana Suksumran, two women professors who came from Bangkok, Thailand, to instruct the children.
``Our aim is to share, to invite everyone to the temple and let them know about Thai culture,'' said Chanplang.
An assistant professor at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, she is teaching at the Wat for the first time thanks to a partnership between the temple and the university.
A typical day at summer camp lasts from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Blocks of time are set aside for prayer, chanting, exercise, lunch, classroom instruction and games.
The teachers are gentle but strict. They tap students on the shoulder to sit up properly or to bow during chanting and prayers. And they remind students to pay attention to the monks when they are teaching.
The discipline is something that the children become accustomed to over time, said Khanya Moolsiri, secretary of the temple. The students have become quieter and better mannered, she noted.
"One of the reasons parents like the camp is because it teaches Thai manners, how to show respect to adults, parents and teachers,'' Moolsiri said.
But the instructors balance the rituals that demand proper form and deference with games and dance that provide an outlet for free expression.
During a recent visit to the classroom, Suksumran led the students in a game akin to ``Simon Says.'' She pointed to her nose and eyes and fingers to teach the students Thai words for the different parts of the body.
Chanplang led the children in another game, similar to ``Duck Duck Goose,'' where the children sat in a circle as one of their peers walked around a circle and dropped a rag behind one of the kids, which led to a short chase.
The summer camp class will graduate next Sunday, a day that coincides with Queen Sirikit's birthday and Thai Mother's Day. The temple will host a celebration and a meditation that day starting at 9 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
The children will offer white jasmine flowers to their own mothers as a sign of respect and gratitude, said Chanplang.
