Camp Woodland Blog
Took the Back to School Challenge & Became a Better Friend!
Lee @ Shamrock Marathon
Hello everyone! We hope you have been enjoying all the articles we are posting in our Camp Woodland blog. We are posting inspiring alumni stories, camp events, cabin photos with favorite camps memories, and much more!
It is also fun to read back through all the summer posts that you may have missed, because you were having too much fun enjoying camp! I especially loved the post that Kim wrote about setting goals and challenging yourself at the beginning of each school year. I was so inspired, I took the challenge and got back into running with a few friends. I started running an hour each day, just like practicing an activity for an hour at camp. It was so much fun, that I soon built this confidence I could run a marathon again, yes 26.2 miles! I have marathons in the past but it had been a long time and 2 children ago.
Lee @ Grandma’s Marathon
I got through all of my long and excruciating weekend runs, but just 3 weeks before the marathon, I got injured! I was so bummed because I had the “I can, I will, and I am going to do it right away” mantra engrained in mind. Every time I was thinking about giving up, this mantra came screaming into my head. This is also the same mantra we tell campers when they think they can’t do a challenging activity or pass the next level in an activity. I tried and tried but my injury was not getting better and had to tell my running friends and supporters that I would not be able to compete in the marathon. Just as I was floating into the depths of despair, I remember something Kim also wrote in the Back to school challenge…be a team player and help a friend. So I did. I turned my despair around and I drove my friends 5 hours to the marathon, shuttled them to the start line of the race, cheered them on at different parts of the 26.2 mile route. I even ran the last 6 miles with one of my friends that just needed a little TLC when she thought she was not going to finish. But you know what??? She finished (sprinted to the finish line with her head held high) and so did all my friends racing that day. I have to admit helping others achieve their goals was even more fun than running the race. So even though I did not achieve my goal (but soon), the friends I supported along the journey were worth it!
Lee supporting her friends @ steam town marathon
Take a leap and try something new…..You never know the story you are going to be able to tell later!
Save the Date: Chicago Camper Reunion
Date: November 23, 2013
Location: Chicago Area (TBD)
Time: 3:30 – 5:30pm
Alumni Camp Woodland Memories….
Britt and her brother were fixtures at camp for a number of years. She recently revised this beautiful essay she wrote about camp. We are posting a small bit of it for our weekly post:
“June 21st has come again: the solstice, the 28th of my longest days. This is my real New Year’s Eve. Today is the first day of the tangible months of summer, the first day of ice-cold popsicles tracing lines of sticky juices down the sides of blue-red lips, the first day of re-learning how to build a red-hot, marshmallow-roasting fire. Somewhere it is written that all businesses, even mine, must be on summer schedules, all schools let out, and all children set free. So here I am: all grown up, yet still a child, lying beneath a blanket of morning stars, wondering what my summer has in store.
The sun is coming up now, and the horizon is losing its pink-blue edges. In the summer, the sun is patently closer and its heat seems to burn the atmosphere that much more, even at sunrise. I am protected from this heat, my skin dry and cool. The air conditioner hums away and my lightweight sheets lie still across my body. When I was younger and had less to worry about, I had no need for these luxuries to protect me from the summer or the solstice. I welcomed the shortest night of the year—the solstice was mere days before my yearly pilgrimage to the Northwoods. It meant a racing heart and packed bags. Of course, I never thought about what the date was then—I simply knew camp was coming. Stuffed deep into my soft canvas duffle bags were the worn-old bedspread, thinned-out sheets, terry-cloth towels, riding-worn jeans and color-coded bathing suits: all the armaments I needed for the summer. I packed weeks in advance and shuffled through the wrinkly, rolled up old clothes in all the days preceding to be sure I was prepared for my adventure.
I would take these bags across the state line to Wisconsin, home of summer camp upon summer camp and the true land of thousands of lakes. The trip would be six hours by car, though it seemed an eternity before we would drive down the final stretch and see the towering pines above. And I would know I was truly home. I would leap from the car and in an instant summer was real, in sights, smells and sounds. The ground was littered with grass sprouts, daisies, Indian Paintbrushes, and collecting rocks. The air was rich with the smell of pine and the sounds of insects. In the evenings, loons would call their lonesome song.
So many clichéd summer dreams hold no meaning for me; I have never associated summer with weekly family barbeques and dripping sauce over grilled meat, nor do I associate this season with long, stretched out beaches of untouched castles and pool chairs. My summer dreams involve having wind in my hair and a horse at my hand or a canoe under my control. I dream about running across wild plains and through the Climax Forest, of camping out with my friends and swimming in ice-cold lakes. But these are dreams of my past, and today I have new dreams, dreams of success, of work, of being a parent. I have hopes that involve business attire and a retirement plan. Somehow, though, these dreams never feel as tangible as those of the Northwoods
Now the sun is up. I am awake. I am not going to camp to find brave adventures, explore the forests with newfound friends, or sail across the lake. Good morning, sunshine. Take me away. The solstice means nothing now but more work, more days in a climate-controlled office. Somehow, at some point, I grew up and left my summers behind. But I will always have with me what summer once was, and this will always be a part of who I am. And one day, I hope to return that part of me to where it belongs, once again finding my way down the pine-shaded road that leads to camp, my summers, and all my summer dreams. One day it will be my daughter who learns of the summer, of its freedom, and of its power. And with that I, too, will be home.”
-Britt Frederickson Holmes
University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute
If you have a camp essay and would like to share, please send it to: campwoodlandtp@gmail.com
Camp Colors
You might find it interesting to know that camp colors just JUMP OUT at me wherever I go, so I decided to create a special “board” on Pinterest to showcase just SOME of the examples of Woodland Navy and Yellow and how they remind me of camp. Please feel free to send us your own photos or internet findings that depict the Woodland spirit, and we will add them to our Pinterest collection. Email us at: campwoodlandtp@gmail.com
This is what a Woodland cabin might look like:
This table has been decorated for Camp Birthday:
This is the perfect dress for Banquet:
And this is great for a Counselor’s Day Off:
Where do you see Woodland colors or reminders of camp?
Thinking Outside the Books: The Benefits of Summer Camp
It goes without saying that parents want what is best for their kids, right? Since we are on the subject of “Back to School”, you may be interested to know that kids today need to be more than “book smart” in order to be successful once they leave home and are off to college. Just because a child excels at academics or has talent in another area (sports, music, art, etc.), doesn’t mean that she will automatically rise to the top after entering the “real world” of higher education or the work force.
Todd Kestin (Huffington Post Blog – August 20, 2013) asks, “where does a person learn confidence, independence, responsibility, how to find and navigate meaningful relationships, the importance of putting attention on others, and how to surround oneself with people who bring the most value to your life?! According to Kestin, the answer may surprise you (it does not surprise us, of course!). These characteristics (and more!) are learned through the SUMMER CAMP EXPERIENCE! What is learned at summer camp is important not just for success in college, but for success in LIFE! (to read more of the Huffington Post Blog by Todd Kestin, CLICK HERE)
So, while it seems like the summer just ended, now is the perfect time to be thinking about plans for continuing the learning process for your daughter(s) once the “official” book learning has taken a “pause” at the end of another school year. I’m sure you have fielded the question on more than one occasion, “How can you send your daughter away to camp each summer?” After reading Kestin’s blog, a good response would be, “How can you NOT send your daughter to camp?!”
We look forward to having your daughter join us at Camp Woodland next summer where she will experience a LEARNING SURPLUS!
Back to School: A Challenge by Tamarack
It is hard to believe that August just turned into September and that it is the time of year for “Back to School”! At the start of each summer, campers have the opportunity to set goals for themselves. Campers may strive to pass a certain level or rank in riflery or archery, or to do a back walkover or other skill in gymnastics. Some campers may challenge themselves to learn how to canter in riding, make a mooring in sailing, or perfect a dive at the waterfront. Learning independence while away from home for the first time and making new friends are goals that campers often make each summer. For others, it may be the challenge to try something new.
- Begin each day on a positive note – remember to eat breakfast and put on a smile every morning!
- Do your very best – no matter what classes you may be taking this year, try your hardest to pay attention in class, ask your teacher when you need help, and do your homework!
- Make a new friend – how awesome would it be to be the one to reach out to a student who may be new to your school or who may not have a friend to sit with at lunch?!
- Be a good steward of your school and community – just like we each did our part every morning after breakfast during cabin clean-up, take the time to pick up a piece of trash lying on the ground, recycle a plastic bottle, or tidy up your own space when finished eating (and clean your room!).
- Try a new extracurricular activity – maybe this is the year that you will sign up for the club, music lesson, or sport that you have always wanted to do, but up until now have lacked the confidence to take that first step.
- Be a team player – this means to exhibit good sportsmanship wherever you go…on and off the field!
- Look behind and look ahead – remember to be a good role model for those younger than you and be open to learning from those who have more experience than you.
- Take a rest hour EVERY DAY!: School days are BUSY, and you need some “down” time to read a book for pleasure or even take a nap. Try spending some “unplugged” time away from your phone, computer, video games, or other technological devices.
- Communicate with your parents – they are your “counselors” now and would LOVE to hear the details about your day!
- Enjoy family time – just hanging out, eating meals together, playing a game, or going on some fun adventure!
Throughout the upcoming year, each month will have a blog that is “sponsored” by a different Woodland cabin from the Summer of 2013. Each cabin created a list of “favorite things” about camp…here is a little more about Tamarack, the sponsor for this month:
Tamarack Favorite Things
“I love the start of camp because it is the start of everything: start of friendship, camp fun, passing levels. One of my favorite things at camp is making new things. I love passing levels because you set goals to yourself that you try things harder and be better than you were yesterday. I love when we all have fun together in the cabin. I think that trying something new is necessary to me, because if you try something new you might actually like it. I love being with friends because you get to make new friends everyday. I love to eat Dan’s food because it really super good. I love to make crafts because they are fun to make.”