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Stand out… You’ll fit right in!

Posted by on July 27, 2013

One of the best parts about being at camp, and one of the themes we try to focus on year after year, is that being yourself is absolutely the norm here at Woodland. At camp, we worry less about who’s going to think we’re strange, or how silly we look, or what we’re wearing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! The louder and crazier you are, the more you fit in at camp. The more crazy clothes and face paint you pile on during Olympics, the better! The more patterns you clash and the more undergarments you wear outside of your clothes for special events, the better!

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The more you be yourself, express yourself, and let your own colors shine through – the better! We make a point here never to let ourselves be dimmed by conformity, or to believe our differences make us less beautiful; infact, nothing could be farther from the truth! What makes all of us so great is how unique each of is. No two girls at camp are the exact same, or laugh at the exact same things, or wear the exact same girls. We each shine in our own ways. We each have our own talents, and our own strengths to bring to the group. Why would we ever want to diminish how amazing and singular we all are?! At camp, we get to be ourselves to the fullest – standing out is the exact right way to fit in!

 

 

The seasons they go ’round and ’round

Posted by on July 19, 2013

DSC_0633We spend a lot of our lives at camp. We grow here during a summer, of course; we learn about ourselves, we learn to love each other, we learn how to be our best selves. At times, these platitudes can seem overused and insincere; we hear them so often that they begin to lose their meaning. But every so often – when the sunshine hits the pine trees just right,  when we close the campfire circle holding hands, when we’re laughing so hard with our cabin mates that we can hardly see straight – it hits us anew how big camp is in our lives. How much of who we all are is made up of this forest-scented Northwoods air and sparkling blue lake water. How much of the good in who we are and what we see in the world comes from Woodland.

It is these times that add the real value to receiving a “five year” pendant. Yes, it means five years of activities and birthdays and banquets and gold rushes. It means that we’ve hopped too many tables to count, that we’ve braved hundreds of cold Sand Lake mornings, that we could spigot shower in our sleep. But more than that, it means that we’ve been here long enough to become a part of Woodland, forever. For Woodland to be a part of us. Five years? that’s five cabin groups we’ve loved so hard we can’t imagine leaving them after six weeks. that’s fifteen sessions of hard working and rewarding activities, five years of passed levels and shows and gained skills. Five years of this big messy loving family we all call Camp. Five years of home.

Congratulations to all of our campers that will be receiving a five year pendant at our annual Camp Birthday Bash tonight.  Also, congratulations to Camp Woodland for being part  of  the Jordan Family for the last 44 years!  We love you Camp Woodland and the Jordan Family.

Ooh, Ahh, Wonderful!

Posted by on July 8, 2013

Yesterday evening, as the sun started to descend on another beautiful day in the North Woods, the fun here at Towering Pines and Woodland was only just beginning. Right after dinner, the girls piled into vans to go and visit the boys for a wonderful and very special 4th of July campfire right on Lake Nokomis. The campfire leaders for the boys – The Referee, The Trojan, and The Slave – joined up with our Woodland campfire leaders Luanne, Hazel and Napoli to keep our campfire moving along and to entertain us all. Great work, campfire hosts!

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All sixteen cabins from both camps performed and enjoyed a night of fine entertainment. Each cabin group performed a skit, and boy, were they hilarious! There were some camp classics, but also a few original creations. Treetops, that was quite the production! It’s always great to watch all of the campers work and perform together – and it’s especially fun to see how the boys do things!

We also had some very special musical performances from the gentleman of Towering Pines – what a treat! First, the boys from the Towering Pines Band evening workshop performed The Lumineer’s “Ho Hey.” Great job, guys! The youngest Dellingers, Calla and Willie, sang “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, and the Sorkins, Jessica and John, teamed upfor another family performance with POLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAhillip Phillips’ 0“Home”.Andoni a0nd Michael Palmer performed a duet and serenaded us with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge”, and later Andoni followed up with a solo performance of Mumford and Sons’ “The Cave”, and we wrapped up the evening’s concert series with Jeff Jordan and John Sorkin singing and playing “The Cape.” Amazing  musical selections!

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We closed campfire as always with our friendship circle and closing songs, then headed over to the waterfront for some Ooh, Ahh, Wonderful fireworks. Each burst of sparks was dedicated to a different aspect of life here at camp, including our amazing kitchen staff, the hard-working CITs, and finally, to a great summer – and many more to come – here at Towering Pines and Woodland. What an amazing way to celebrate our nation’s independence!

 

Cabin Unity Campfire

Posted by on July 6, 2013

Usually, we have our weekly campfire on Wednesday evening. We cookout our burgers and dogs, grab our letters home, and file down to the waterfront for a fun evening of songs, skits, jokes and challenges. This Friday, though, we had a very special and very different campfire: Cabin Unity. Cabin Unity campfire is an annual tradition at Woodland, and it is a time for cabins to join together, focus on each member’s strengths, and bond as one group. It’s always a memorable and moving time, and it marks a point in the summer where the girls really “clique” together within the cabin.

DSC06668            This year, Cabin Unity was hosted by the girls of Hilltop, and they started the festivities at morning assembly by assigning each cabin a color to dress in for campfire. At Rest Hour the plans continued, as each cabin composed their “cabin pledges” on sheets of birch bark. These pledges spell out the promises that the girls of the cabin make to each other, about respect, kindness, enthusiasm and cooperation. Finally, that evening, the cabins walk down to campfire, dressed all in the same color and ready to bond! Hilltop organized several bonding games, including a Compliment Circle (in which every girl both gives and receives a compliment to and from another girl in the group), the Machine Game (in which the whole cabin works together to silently represent a machine), and name games. Hilltop led us in singing “Make New Friends, But Keep the Old” – a camp favorite! We closed as usual with our friendship circle, and it was extra special after our evening of connection and community building. Thanks for hosting us, Hilltop!

 

 

Goodnight Sweetheart…

Posted by on July 1, 2013

One of the best things about being here at Camp Woodland is that for all of the girls, camp really is a “home away from home.” From the family atmosphere of the cabins to the amazing home cooked meals, we do our absolute best to ensure that each camper feels as comfortable and at-home as possible. There are lots of little ways we do this; singing after dinner, cabin-bonding activities – even just having laundry done every week!

But we work extra hard to create a homey feel is at night – because who doesn’t want to feel safe and snug at bedtime? Fortunately, making bedtime feel like home                             photo-21

is one of our specialties here at Camp Woodland.
Every night, the CITs visit each cabin to sing a “good night” song.
These “good night” songs become so familiar to the girls that nighttime would
seem very strange without it!
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Even before that, though, each cabin gets read a bedtime story every night by their counselor. Each book is chosen to be both age appropriate and engaging for the girls, so each cabin has a different book. Not only is reading a bedtime story a great way to ward of homesickness and nighttime sadness, but it gives the girls something to look forward to each night at bedtime. Each camper knows that in order to hear a story, she needs to have showered, put on pajamas, and in bed by Lights Out time. Our bedtime stories are the perfect end to each wonderful day here at Camp Woodland!