Monthly Archives: July 2019

  by Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp In honor of Disney week, I have written a blog about something that makes our camp a magical place for a lot of campers- and that’s the game of gaga.   One camper described gaga as a game of “intense skill, determination and strategy." To play gaga, you need a foam ball (it’s better to have a ball you would use in the game of dodgeball - to prevent injury) and a gaga pit. Around camp, we have various designated areas for our campers to play their game. For many campers, gaga [...]

By Jess Dicken, Lake Stockwell Day Camp It’s no secret that the past couple weeks have been hot and humid. Because of the heat, we have adjusted some of our camp activities to ensure that our campers are staying cool, and having the best experience at Stockwell! "Land sports" is typically an activity involving games such as various forms of dodgeball, tag, and other events that require running and cardio exercise. To make sure that our campers are enjoying their day-to-day activities, we've made sure that the sprinklers are turned on so campers can cool down while having fun. Other [...]

by Rick Worrell, Lake Stockwell Day Camp As a teacher, I refer to students as “my kids” because I care about them, and their growth over the year. The same holds true for camp. These are my kids, too. Recently, I was sitting with a camper who came to Lake Stockwell for the first time last year. He is a young man who struggled with many things that most of us take for granted. He struggled with reading, caring for himself, and socializing. I’ve spent some time with him over the past couple of weeks. He asked me what was [...]

By Emily, Lake Stockwell Day Camp Every week at camp, the red feather and white feather are awarded to one camper in each tribe. Our feathers symbolize the six core values of YMCA of the Pines, participation at camp, encouragement to peers, and a positive attitude all day long. The white feather is peer-to-peer.   Campers in each tribe have the opportunity to vote for the fellow camper they think has demonstrated white feather characteristics. The red feather is awarded on Fridays at our ceremony ground spot on camp. The red feather is awarded to campers in each tribe and [...]

by Lynn Passarella, Director of Lake Stockwell Day Camp Our CITs (also known as Counselors in Training) are our future leaders of camp. They spend five weeks with us in a challenging program that teaches them how to work with children of all ages. Our CITs will learn the ins and outs of what it means to be camp counselors. They will learn how to facilitate groups of all sizes and learn how to work together as a team. Our CITs will shadow our different age groups here at camp and learn about the different grade-level characteristics that make our [...]

by Jose Colon-Cruz, Program Director at Lake Stockwell “What do you love most about Lake Stockwell?” Last week, our staff took the time to answer this question. Most people had a tough time answering it because there is a lot to love about Lake Stockwell. Some of our newer staff said they love the people they work with, the campers, and how welcoming the camp is. Our returners had a more difficult time answering as they reflected on years of being at camp. Gina, a 3rd year staff member said, “The sense of community here. Between staff and the campers, [...]

By Rick Worrell, Lake Stockwell Day Camp In the mid 1990’s, our YMCA and its three camps (Lake Stockwell, Ockanickon and Matollionequay) rolled out the core values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility. As we and society have changed over the past years, so have the values that we identify here at camp. Today we also attend to Inclusion and Courage. These six values help us keep our programs focused on helping campers to be the best people they can be. These words are part of our language and culture here at camp. By encouraging campers to attend to these values, [...]