Monthly Archives:June 2012
Making New Friends!
At Camp Woodland, we have a new theme every week that represents what is going on at camp life. This week’s theme is “Making New Friends”. It is an exciting time of living away from home in a cabin, meeting new people from all over the world. It was great finding out that almost all of the girls in Silverbirch were from different states and even different countries. But the neatest shared experience is that most of the girls’ parents went to camp!
It was a beautiful day Today to start the first day activities. The girls got to pick 3 activities in the morning and 3 different activities in the afternoon. Every 2 weeks they will get to change their schedules. Surprise to many is that one of the most popular activities is Archery! We think the girls all want to be archers like Katniss from the Hunger Games books series.
We love suggestions! If you want us to write about anything in particular, let me know, Lee Albrecht Biear at: campwoodlandtp@gmail.com
We Welcome you to Camp Woodland!!…
We Welcome you To Camp Woodland, We are mighty glad you’re here!……
The campers are finally here and Woodland is complete! We had a great day welcoming campers all day long, getting them quickly settled into their cabins, and starting the cabin unity process. There was a little Woodland dew (rained all afternoon), but it did not get our campers down! After an amazing lunch of Chef Dan’s homemade macaroni and cheese, the girls headed to their cabins and finished unpacking during rest hour. After rest hour they created cabin cheers and played “getting to know you games” with other cabins.
Hilltop’s cheer was very creative. They changed the words from “Zippity do dah” to describe how happy they were to be together in Hilltop.
I have to admit I was very jealous of the Tamarack Cabin. By suppertime they had painted their nails and made bows for their hair. These are not just any bows. Theses bows were made from different colors of duct tape. So creative!! The girls looked great and I think they may use the bows as their cabin unity theme throughout the entire summer.
The youngest girls are living in Sunrise! They are between 7 and 8 years old and are having a blast getting to know each other. The youngest girls are my favorite because they are seeing everything for the very first time:
· The excitement of playing games with the older girls
· Their hesitation to try something new and then commanding the activity by the end of the summer
· Their pure joy and happiness when they receive “camper of the day”
At suppertime they enjoyed eating pizza and singing camp songs. Most of the older girls know the songs, so it was fun to watch the younger girls learning the words for the first time. After supper the girls played circle games and were off to bed after they received theirs snack.
We had a big today and cannot wait to continue the fun!
I Do, We Do, You Do!
Today was the last day of Pre-camp and tomorrow most of our campers will arrive. The counselors had an amazing time learning about each other, setting up the activity areas, and making the cabin cozy for the campers. Our counselors have traveled from all over the United States and Mexico to be part of the camp experience!
“I do, we do, you do” is one of the many sayings we learned this week to help children learn more effectively. First the counselor shows the child the skill, then the counselor and camper try the skill together, and in the the camper tries the skill on her own. It’s a simple but very effective technique to help remind counselors the power of teaching.
I have to admit we have been spoiled this week. Dan Montgomery, our long lost friend, is back as the head Chef! Dan started cooking at Camp Woodland over 20 years ago. We have watched his children grow-up at camp while Dan cooked the most amazing meals! Lucky for us after being gone for almost 10 years, Dan is back cooking homemade spaghetti sauce and garlic bread; chicken fajitas; and out of this world lasagna!!
Farewell for tonight and we can’t wait to see your children tomorrow !!!
WE WELCOME YOU TO CAMP WOODLAND, WE’RE MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE HERE……
Preparing your child for camp
Check out this great video on “what parents need to know,” by Bob Ditter, a well know adolescent therapist. The video was produced by the American Camping Association to prepare parents on the value of sharing information about their child to help give them a great experience at camp.
Packing Tip #5 – Backpacks at Camp!
At Camp Woodland, campers have the choice of picking 3 activities in the morning and 3 activities in the afternoon. To ensure campers get the most out their time in each activity, they will need a backpack to carry all of their personal items Backpacks are great because they can hold a water bottle, swim suit, towel, and any other extra clothes for each activity. Make sure it is big enough because some campers like to put other essential items like sunscreen and favorite books!
Thanks for tuning in to our “Packing Tips” over the past two weeks. We hope these tips were helpful and eased the packing experience!