Category: Create Your Own Scene in ’17

Tamarack girls perform “We’re In This Together”

In case you didn’t know, it never rains at Camp Woodland for Girls!  How is this possible you ask?  We just get a little (or a lot) of “dew” as the case was on Sunday.  Woodland Girls do not let gray weather dampen our spirits…the “show must go on”!  One of the most highly anticipated rainy day activities is the ever popular Lip Sync Contest.  I can remember dry summers when we actually got to the 4th or 5th week of camp and the campers were praying for a “dewey” day just so that they could have the Lip Sync Contest!

Sunnyside dons some brightly colored costumes!

Lip Sync Contest is the perfect cabin bonding activity.  With the help of their counselors, campers negotiate which song will be chosen for the performance, and then they must come together to decide on costumes, props, and dance moves.  It is not unusual to see hairbrushes used as microphones and other interesting items appear such as a broom and dustpan.  This year Hilltop incorporated canes into their number and cleverly changed the words to a song to be “I’ll Make JoAnne Out of You”.  Counselor Chelsea dressed as JoAnne (pencils in her hair) while Silver Birch grabbed Counselor Paige to be part of their act.  Jenna, the Live-In CIT from Sunnyside was “all in” with her gold tights and neon green fuzzy boots!

“I’ll Make JoAnne Out of You” by Hilltop

Tamarack brought back a High School Musical tune, “We’re In This Together”, Treetops did a Justin Bieber song, “One Time”, and the CIT’s we’re rock stars in their rendition of “Stick to the Status Quo”.  Starshine’s award winning performance was a “mash up” of “I Will Survive” and “Survivor”.  If truth be told, Starshine decided on the songs they were going to use prior to the actual Lip Sync Contest – what dedication!  Sarah and Katie (Live-In CIT’s) were dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses for a very dramatic instrumental intro to set the tone for a 1st place finish!

As you can see from the smiling faces in each photo, the annual Lip Sync Contest is all about “Creating Your Own Scene” and is a ton of FUN!

Starshine is the 2017 Lip Sync Contest Winner!

Independence Day is quite a celebration around here!  The CIT’s kick off our multi-day event by hosting 4th of July Games the Sunday before the actual holiday.  Woodland alum will recognize perennial favorites such as the clothes relay down the Woodland Road, water balloon toss, orange pass, shave a balloon, and water relay (just to name a few!).

In addition to a multitude of laughs and memories to recount later to friends and family, there is a LOT more embedded within an afternoon of fun and games than just meets the eye.  I’m sure it is no surprise that there is a noticeable decline in the amount of time spent playing for both kids and adults.  Busy schedules drive us from the moment we open our eyes in the morning until our head hits the pillow at night.  The great news is that there is an abundance of play at Camp Woodland!  Play is what we do!

In a TEDMED Talk Jill Vialet shares that “It is easy to dismiss play as trivial and unimportant; however, there is nothing farther from the truth.  Play is kids’ work in that it is a form of experiential learning that contributes directly to a person’s ability to handle failure, to work in teams, and to take risks.”  (Jill sounds like she must have spent some time hanging out with Mr. and Mrs. Jordan at camp!)

If a very large balloon covered in shaving cream pops during one of the games, then a camper is faced with an opportunity to gracefully handle the situation.  Learning not to take things seriously and to laugh at oneself are good qualities to master for more challenging dilemmas down the road.  Being able help your teammates maneuver through the giant “spider web” requires an enormous amount of trust on the part of each individual.  The awkwardness of passing an orange from person to person is great practice being silly and not caring what other people think.  Playing offers a multitude of little ways to step out of our comfort zones and make frequent deposits in our confidence banks.  This will pay huge dividends later!

According to Jill Vialet, play matters because:

1. it provides a brief respite from the tyranny of apparent purpose (I guarantee campers are not thinking about the final math test they took at the end of the semester during the water balloon toss!).
2. it compels us to choose to say, “I care” and better come to know ourselves (Stuffing a giant marshmallow in your mouth is a great way to do just that!).
3. people matter and it reminds us of our interdependence with others.  It gives us a chance to see other people and in turn to be really and truly seen (There is a whole wide world out there, and it is a lot of fun to play with others!).

Can’t wait for the annual 4th of July Campfire tonight at Towering Pines!  

References: More Than Fun and Games – Play Matters by Nancy Brown (Huffington Post) and TEDMED Talk by Jill Vialet.

A special shout out to Bill Gonio (friend and former staff at Towering Pines) for giving me permission to “borrow” a few key phrases from one of his 2014 blog posts!  As always, thanks, Bill, for your inspiration!

“All children are artists.  The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.”

-Pablo Picasso

This week we would like to put the spotlight on the Arts program at Woodland.  Many campers choose Arts & Crafts, Dance, or Drama as activity choices throughout the summer.  If we go “behind the scenes” of these activities, there are many skills learned that will propel them forward and help them be successful in life!

In the Woodland Arts program, campers will have the opportunity to practice and develop:

Creativity: initiating new ideas, expressing ideas in unique ways with diverse perspectives, seeking ways to make their piece different from others, using something in a new way or for a different purpose

Learning new moves in Dance

Confidence: volunteering opinions and ideas, learning from mistakes made in rehearsals, practicing how to step out of their comfort zone to perform in front of an audience

Problem Solving: approaching problems as exciting challenges, analyzing by asking questions, making complex choices by weighing possible solutions, trying multiple ideas until a solution is found

“The artist is not a different kind of person, but every person is a different kind of artist.”

-Eric Gill

Perseverance:  seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn, not giving up on something they want to learn, believing goals are achievable even though challenging, asking for help when needed

Focus: being observant of others, finding balance between listening and contributing, thinking about how their role contributes to the big picture

Reference: 10 Skills Children Learn From the Arts

“Sound of Music” production is underway!

Woodland welcomes new campers!

The moment we have all been waiting for is FINALLY here!  Camp Woodland’s 48th season is officially underway, and we couldn’t be more excited!  We also know that there are a lot of mixed emotions from campers and parents alike on Opening Weekend.  Shedding tears and feeling your heartstrings pull tight after giving one last hug is NORMAL.  We know that you love your daughters very much and that you will miss them while they are with us!  Thank you for giving them the gift of camp!

Dear Mom,

I know you have mixed feelings about me not bringing my cell phone to camp.  You are used to communicating with me multiple times a day and getting messages that I forgot my lunch, soccer practice is running late, or that I have a math test tomorrow.  I’m sure it will feel strange not texting or calling while I am away.

Here are a few reasons why it is good for me to “unplug” while I am camp even though I am in constant contact with you when I am home:

1)    It is hard to be 2 places at once!  If I am checking in with you all of the time, then I am not getting to fully enjoy camp.  I will miss out on making friends, settling into my cabin, and all of the exciting activities the counselors have planned for me!

2)    It is important for me to learn to trust other caring adults.  This emerging independence is one of the greatest benefits of camp!  There are great people whom I can reach out to, whether it is my cabin counselor, one of my activity instructors, the camp nurse, or the camp director.  They are good at what they do, and I trust that they will help me adjust to camp life!

3)   While I’m at camp I don’t want to be second guessing myself by having the ability to ask you to decide things for me.  I can do this!!!   It is important for me to grow and learn, little by little, to solve some of my own challenges.  This is how I will develop greater resilience.   I’m sure the counselors will remind me to put on my bug spray and sunscreen, brush my teeth and change my underwear ;-). Don’t worry, they will contact you should an emergency arise.

4)    I want to go all in!   I’m going to start the summer on the right foot by being honest with my counselors and myself.  Some campers wind up with a phone anyway even though they aren’t supposed to have one.  It is really embarrassing for them when the counselor finds out.  I heard some older campers bring two phones so they can turn one in; the “real” is hidden inside a stuffed animal, a book, or even a box of Kleenex. Can you believe it?!

So, when you get the packing list and cell phones are on the list of things NOT to bring to camp, please don’t pack mine.  It will be hard for both of us at first to disconnect in this way, but I will tell you all about my experience when I get home and meanwhile, you can count on camp to post photos to show you what we are doing.  I promise to write letters/Bunk Notes to keep you updated on all of the fun I am having at camp!

Thank you in advance for helping me “unplug” this summer!

Love,

A Very Excited Woodland Camper