February 2011 - YMCA OF THE PINES

Hello, Parents! Wouldn’t you like a night out?

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-28T14:03:33-05:00February 28th, 2011|

Friday, February 18th we had a "Parent's Night Out." What a fun night! Our participants started out having an awesome dinner made my Chef Jason and Chef Nick, we made super silly slime, went on a night hayride through Camp and ended our evening with a fire and s'mores. It was so nice to see the children meet and make friends from other schools! We have "Parent's Night Out" scheduled for March 4th, March 25th, April 1st and May 6th - please tell your family and friends to come out and enjoy a fun and affordable evening at Camp!

Learn to Cook: Mexican!!

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-27T17:00:57-05:00February 27th, 2011|

Hello all... This Friday Chef Nick and I hosted our second "Learn to Cook" class. The theme... Mexican. Our students learned how to make fresh Guacamole and fresh Salsa from scratch! We did a taste test between our own fresh salsa and a store bought jarred salsa and the winner... the fresh salsa, hands down! We cooked ground beef for tacos and by the end of the class we sat down to a beautiful "Build your own Taco" buffet. Fresh salsa, fresh guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, refried beans, taco meat and both hard and soft corn tortilla [...]

The story about the tiny frogs…

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-23T17:00:15-05:00February 23rd, 2011|

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,… … who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants… The race began… […]

President’s Day Weekend!

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-22T07:40:47-05:00February 22nd, 2011|

What an exciting President’s Day! This past weekend we had a number of families join us to spend President’s Day at camp. The Morris and Barrett crew and their extended camp family came out to enjoy a beautiful time at Ockanickon. These long time campers spent their time at camp hiking, fishing, and reconnecting with each other. Jason, Nick, and Kayla provided all with outstanding food throughout the weekend, cooking up some amazing dishes, including fajitas, burgers, and some delicious broccoli and cheddar soup. This was my first opportunity in a new position to enjoy hosting campers at camp and [...]

Lake Stockwell Day Camp, Here We Come!

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-21T17:42:59-05:00February 21st, 2011|

It has been such an honor to become a part of the Lake Stockwell Day Camp Family! I just wanted to share my thanks to all the Stockwell Summer Staff. I have been completely overwhelmed with the amount of interest from people wanting to work at our Camp - and even more overwhelmed and thankful with the excitement of our returning staff! It is such an incredible feeling to know that the Lake Stockwell Day Camp Staff are (literally) counting down the days until summer begins….only 124 more days to go! Last weekend I took a family on a tour [...]

Learn to Cook at Camp!!

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-20T14:15:35-05:00February 20th, 2011|

Hey folks... This Friday evening myself and Chef Nick hosted the first ever "Learn to Cook" class here at the Ockanickon Dining Hall. With "Italian" as the theme of our first class, we taught our aspiring Chefs how to make a fresh tomato sauce and how to prepare meatballs from scratch! We spent some time touring our large "instutional" style kitchen, learning about equipment, smelling spices and herbs and, most importantly, learning about food safety and sanitation. At the end of the class Chef Nick, myself and our students sat down and enjoyed the fruits of our labors... digging in [...]

What does this weather make you think of?

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-18T14:45:22-05:00February 18th, 2011|

I went out the door to walk to Headquarters this morning and immediately turned around to put my jacket back in the house. I then realized that Summer Camp is just around the corner! I know this warm weather won't last, but it is nice to see winter loosening its grasp. Before we know it, we'll be canoeing across the lake, running across the landsports field, getting ready for the Camp dance, singing Flea Fly, eating pretzle melts, and jumping in the water for polar bear swim! Then we'll each be asking ourselves, "Is there any place I would rather be right now than [...]

Nokomis School’s Out Program

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-14T07:00:15-05:00February 14th, 2011|

Hello from School's Out at Nokomis School!

2011 Summer Staff

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-11T14:12:42-05:00February 11th, 2011|

I love this time of year! Staff applications are rolling in and I'm proud to say that we have a lot of returning counselors. It's wonderful to see dedicated staff members return year after year. I not only have the pleasure of watching our campers grow up from summer to summer, but also our staff members. I have seen so many of our staff grow from young campers to responsible young men and women capable of nurturing our next generation of campers the same way their counselors nurtured them. Keep an eye on our facebook page over the coming months to [...]

Today’s Thought of the Day from Camp Matollionequay…

By YMCA of the Pines|2011-02-09T17:00:43-05:00February 9th, 2011|

The Eyes of Love A grandmother and a little girl whose face was sprinkled with bright red freckles spent the day at the zoo. The children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws. 'You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!' a boy in the line cried. Embarrassed, the little girl dropped her head. Her grandmother knelt down next to her. 'I love your freckles,' she said. 'Not me,' the girl replied. 'Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles,' she said, [...]

Monthly Archives: February 2011