A Special Day In So Many Ways!
Dear Parents & Friends,
An absolutely beautiful day again here at camp as we held our Special Day for Session D. The weather has been just as yesterday – breezy and clear. As I write Riverside is gathering on the Gatehouse Green to see the silhouette of our mountains as the sun has already dropped. They are getting ready to launch into their paddling component tomorrow. It’s a good group and I’ll know they’ll do well. If you don’t know about Riverside it’s a small adventure program for those finishing 8th and 9th grade. It’s very community oriented and is overseen by a head counselor, logisitics person and two cabin counselors.
We just finished our Sunday Service here at camp and the theme was “God’s gifts”. A number of campers sang, danced, played instruments and provided us all with gifts they wanted to share. Later on tonight we will host Staff Rec which is when our staff gets together to socialize and share some food. We hold it in two sessions so there is always 1 staff member left in the camper cabins. This is a great way to keep our troops happy, give them some free time with just adults and eat some really good food. They deserve it because they spend a lot of time with your children.
It’s been a great weekend and we held our Special Day today with a morning and afternoon session of Time Travel With Dr. Who. This morning at breakfast we were visited by several famous people and many appeared throughout the day. Half of camp went through several water oriented games in the morning and the other half switched this afternoon. Campers traveled with their cabin mates and there were at least 12 different stations that challenged everyone. There were brain games and athletic endeavors and pushing ones limits (like jumping off the side of the Titanic into the cold North Sea before it sinks; you have to use your imagination).
It was such a fun day and everyone cheered when folks completed some of the more difficult tasks. That’s the way it should be. As our Vespers theme stated, we should all share in the joy that comes from one another’s gifts. Everyone has things to share and give and I feel camp is such the perfect environment to do that in. It’s hard to describe that feeling of our total camp day with everyone involved. Many magic moments happen each day and it’s sometimes so spontaneous and you can’t capture the magic in words, pictures, or on video.
We all spent most of the day outdoors today and it was great with our brilliant sunny weather. Our play increases children’s physical activity level and we certainly did that today. Children who play outdoors are more likely to be active learners. Children who move and play when out of school are ready for the attention often needed for classroom learning. Time spent outdoors increases persistence. Outdoor games often require persistence. Children must try and try again if their attempts fail. And…. outdoor play is fun. Children who are happy are successful learners. Children are naturally happy when they are moving, playing and creating outside. This joy opens them up for experimenting, learning and growing. We are playing outside and growing inside at GV. Stay tuned!
