Uncategorized Archives - Page 32 of 38

1-2-3

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-19T12:17:19-05:00February 19th, 2013|

Philadelphia often feels like the farthest place one can be from camp. With the lack of trees, the tall buildings, and the millions of people that swallow one up; it does not radiate the feeling of a welcoming tight-knit community that one feels out among the trees at camp. “The outside world,” can be a place where we are not as comfortable expressing ourselves in the way we do at camp for fear of negative judgment. However, for those of us who often lament that we are unable to be our camp-selves outside of camp, hopefully this story provides encouragement [...]

Stockwell’s Themes 2013

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-18T17:15:51-05:00February 18th, 2013|

It makes me so happy that I have gotten a ton of phone calls & emails about Stockwell's themes for 2013! Take a look at what's planned for this summer - Do you have any ideas about what activities we can do? Send any ideas or thoughts our way! Session 1 - Whacky Water Week Session 2 - Decades Week Session 3 - Harry Potter Week Session 4 - Adventure Week Session 5 - International Sports Week Session 6 - Amazing Race Week Session 7 - Mystery Weel Session 8 - Color Wars Session 9 - Game Show Week Session [...]

Learn To Cook

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-17T12:01:49-05:00February 17th, 2013|

Hello all! It’s that time of year again for our “Learn To” series of classes including Learn To Cook hosted by myself and assisted by my long time Assistant, Nick. […]

Bumble Bee!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-16T05:43:18-05:00February 16th, 2013|

A couple of days ago I was reminded from my friends at 3Adventures of an amazing camp skit that I personally loved to do. I actually learned this skit when I was a 15 year old CIT at Frost Valley YMCA and have been doing this skit ever since. I actually only did this once at Camp Ockanickon during a Memorial Day Family Camp weekend, but would love to start this up again this summer....any takers? http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/bumble-bee-skit.html

Getting Excited!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-15T14:41:30-05:00February 15th, 2013|

I think I probably wrote a blog about this last year, but since it is an annual event, I can probably get away with sharing my excitement again. It's a great thing to be able to honestly say that I love my job. I don't think that is the case for everyone. One of my favorite parts of being Boys Camp Director is assembling the "staff puzzle," as I like to call it. Each winter, I start to receive applications from new job candidates and rehire applications from returners. It's always great to see so many of last year's staff [...]

From Our Family To Yours…

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-14T09:42:54-05:00February 14th, 2013|

Opportunities …

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-12T11:12:54-05:00February 12th, 2013|

This past Saturday I took advantage of the snowy weather and took the dog for a walk around camp. Every so often I'd catch a glimpse ski tracks here or there. Now, we got some snow, as Joe's post pointed out a couple days ago - but only barely skiing weather. We still had plenty of rocks, roots, and other fun things poking up at us all along the trails. As we rounded the bend by Blueberry Hill, we found the lone skier - smiles ear to ear making his way through camp. I regret to say that I did not get his name [...]

Our Pet Rock!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-11T13:51:21-05:00February 11th, 2013|

I was able to spend the afternoon at our Indian Mills School's Out Site today. The kids were so excited to introduce me to their new Pet Rock. This is the coolest rock I have ever seen! The kids explained that this rock is a "Popcorn Rock." Popcorn rock is a light weight, aragonite limestone crystal found at the outcrops in the Great Basin of the western United States. The popcorn-like crystals are formed from limestone formations. This limestone contains calcite and other trace minerals. When the limestone is completely submerged in vinegar, the calcite crystals are released and then [...]

Yeah…it snowed at Camp!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-09T11:29:40-05:00February 9th, 2013|

Well, Camp is really a beautiful place to live. Summer is filled with kids, Fall is filled with amazing colors on the trees and Spring is all about getting excited for the summer. Since moving from Colorado just 2 weeks shy of 4 years ago, I often miss the snowy peaks that I would see outside of my apartment windows. The view of looking out on the continental divide with a fresh coat of snow was one of the most anticipated events in town. It marked the start of the snowy season which meant it was almost time to start [...]

First Time

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-02-08T13:44:53-05:00February 8th, 2013|

I'm in the process of hiring our new international staff for the summer. It looks like there will only be 2 new guys at Ocky this summer, since many of last year's int's are coming back. When I talk to them through skype, I try to paint a picture with words for them about what Camp life is like. I think that is only fair, since they will be leaving everything and everyone they are most familiar with for 3 months or so to be at Camp and I wouldn't want them to travel this far and not have it [...]

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