Monthly Archives:January 2015

February 1, 2015 is National I Heart Camp Day! Help us spread the word on the importance of summer camp. Remember all those funny pictures we took of you with the “I heart Camp ” Poster. Well, on February 1, 2015 Camp Woodland campers, parents, and staff are encouraged to post their ” I heart Camp” photo as their Facebook Profile. Don’t have Facebook?

Here are a few ideas to show the world (or just your friends) how much camp means to you!

• Instagram your photo! #Woodland4Girls #Iheartcamp
• Print it out and paste on your favorite school tablet
• Post it on your Pinterest Site
• Make it a screen saver on your computer

Click the link to retrieve your daughter’s photos: I heart Camp Woodland Photos Link

Need your son’s photo too? Click the link to your son’s (Towering Pines) photos: I heart TP Photos link

All you have to do is: 1- find your picture, 2- download it by clicking the download tab on the bottom right of the photo, 3-Post it this Sunday, Feburary 1!

* We took these photos at the end of the summer. We apologize if your daughter could not be part of this project and hope to do the photos throughout the entire next summer! Make your own photo and post it!  We love to see your child’s creativity!

Since most of the country has experienced a “deep freeze” this month, I find myself revisiting one of my favorite camp memories of waking up to a warm fire on a cool morning (Thanks, Chet!).  Warm your heart until we can be together again with some good advice from a snowflake (and some awesome photos taken over the holidays at Camp Woodland)!

In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.  -Albert Camus

Advice from a Snowflake*:

• Celebrate your uniqueness: No 2 campers are alike and that is a GREAT thing!  At Camp Woodland it is cool to be different; there are many opportunities to share your special gifts.  “Stand out and you will fit right in!”

• Take time to chill: Rest hour is a favorite time of day by campers and staff alike.  There is nothing like kicking back on your bunk to take a nap, write a letter, read a book, draw a picture, or play a quiet game.  Leave refreshed and ready for the afternoon’s exciting activities!  Too bad rest hour isn’t part of the daily schedule at school or work…

• Appreciate small wonders: the smell of a campfire, the call of a loon across the lake, the sight of a deer bounding into the woods, the awe of an eagle souring overhead, a family of ducks swimming close to the water’s edge, the sun setting over Sand Lake…

• Keep your cool: At camp, we learn to overcome any minor frustrations by focusing on the positive of a situation.  It wouldn’t be realistic to think that the camp experience is conflict free.  The investment campers make by taking the time to problem solve, work it out, compromise, and move on are great life lessons!

• Look what we can accomplish when we stick together!:  Finding the “Mother Lode” during Gold Rush, creating the favorite Song Contest entry, being the team with the most spirit at Olympics, performing on stage for Co-Ed Show, and executing a synchronized ride for the Horse Show are just a few examples of working together as a team to do something AMAZING.

• Sparkle: Camp is your place to shine!  Campers tell us that they discover the best version of themselves at Camp Woodland.  Find out for yourself and join us this summer!

*borrowed from Training Wheels Spokesperson E-Newsletter, 12-31-14

One Stop Shopping for New Year’s Resolutions!

Among the top resolutions that are made at the start of each New Year, some of the most common goals can be met while having an AMAZING experience at Camp Woodland:

Eat Healthy: Instead of serving processed food, we provide meals made from “scratch” using the freshest ingredients.  No powdered eggs here!

CIT Pancake Breakfast

Get Moving:  Being a fixture on the couch is not an option this summer. All of us are active at camp and get plenty of exercise in the great outdoors. We use our feet to take us just about everywhere we need to go!

Olympic Soccer Game

Reduce Stress: Camp is a great way to “unplug” from the constant flow of text messages, emails, and other social media.  It is also a time to put the pressures of school and grades aside and just enjoy living in the moment. Above all, camp is FUN!!

Quality Control on Fair Day

Try Something New: With a variety of physical, recreational, and creative activities to choose from, campers have the opportunity to explore a wide range of interests.  Who knows what spark will ignite and become a lifelong career or hobby?!

 Ta-Dah!

Spend More Time With Friends:  Imagine spending 24 hours a day each week with a group of your closest friends…how AWESOME is that?!  We believe in true “face time” versus “screen time”!

 Looks like “Sistas” to Me!

Get Along With Siblings:  Towering Pines and Woodland is the summer home for many brothers and sisters.  The older campers typically take responsibility and look out for the younger ones and the “fighting” you might see at home vanishes for a few weeks.  Siblings actually look forward to seeing one another on occasion when sharing a common camp experience!

Happy Together at Woodland Fair! 

New Year’s Resolution:

Enroll your child at Camp Woodland for 2015…we are VERY EXCITED about the upcoming summer!

Happy New Year – Where I THRIVE in 1-5!

Favorite Things from 2014 CIT’s:

Caroline: donuts, Gold Rush, Coed Show practices, dinnertime conversations, extended rest hours

Jackie: Spoon Assassins, Olympics, chicken tenders, Coed Show, CIT responsibilities

Ana: friends, cabin bonding, mealtimes, learning new dances, campfire songs and skits

Claire: campfires, packages, sail race, friends, games, Coed Show after party, Gold Rush

Regina P: Woodland and TP Fairs, leading Sunday activities, desserts and evening snacks, spending time with counselors and friends

Grace: Coed Show, friends, Gold Rush, taco bar, cabinmates, assisting Farm Zoo classes, talking with younger girls

Jess: seeing my friends after the long year, coming back every summer and nothing has changed, Dan’s food, camp traditions, getting to be in Coed Show, meeting so many new friends, being in a cabin with my 4 best friends, Olympics where every year I lose my voice, talking late at night, playing “Never Have I Ever”, and the beach because it is always warm even when it is cold just up the stairs

Paige: my favorite thing about camp is coming back after a year and seeing my friends and hugging and laughing with each other like we weren’t even apart from each other

Regina V: being on the bus and starting to feel the excitement, jumping into my best friends’ arms like nothing has changed, playing tennis so hard that you can feel your heart beat going super fast, that I have no worries, that my parents don’t come, waking up and seeing my best friends’ faces

Mera: my favorite thing about camp is being able to spend the entire summer with my best friends in the entire world.  I also love to be able to do activities that I would not be able to do at home.  Another one of my favorite things is being in Coed Show, singing and dancing in front of the whole camp and hearing them laugh at the jokes and cheer for all of us.

Katelyn: the five girls that have become my “sistas” these past 10 years, shooting archery on a super sunny day, beating the boys in sail race on a day when the wind is so crazy you can see white caps, Wednesday’s when we observe, bond, and learn with a cabin of younger girls, when the lights turn on for Coed Show, getting decked out for Olympics, practicing, “Classic” for Coed Show, being on a sailboat with my best friends, talking about the strangest things during meals