Days seem to last longer than the allotted 24 hours at camp. It’s only 10:30am and yet there have already been several games of carpet ball and gaga, a thoughtful song played by an old CIT group during chapel, village photos taken, and many hash browns consumed. As I write this, campers are swimming, riding horses, going down the slide, kayaking, shooting arrows at archery, weaving yarn at arts and crafts, and making small camp fires. Because hands-on learning is one of the best ways to learn new skills, we encourage all of our campers to get down and dirty with whatever they’re doing. To honor all of the activities we do at camp each day, here is an abbreviated list of things that could get on your hands during a typical day at camp:
clay (at ceramics)
glue, paint, glitter, feathers (at arts and crafts)
sand, a pool noodle, a friend’s hand during a buddy check, bladderwort (at swimming)
dirt, sticks, tree branches, pet rats (at earth education)
sawdust (at woodworking)
cheese, salad dressing, ketchup, gravy, sauce (at any meal)
bug spray, sunscreen
icing, dough, sprinkles (at cooking)
nail polish, hairspray, etc.
Don’t worry, there’s plenty of soap in the bathrooms for cleaning up afterwards!
This list is just one of many I could assemble in an attempt to describe what we do at camp each day. Even though the days are so full, time moves faster than we’d like (doesn’t it always seem to when you’re having fun?). Last Saturday marked the halfway point of resident camp and it seems like it was yesterday when we were welcoming the first campers for session 1. Alas, the best we can do is live in the moment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do some painting at arts and crafts.
Tess
Oneida Village Chief