Special Day at Pirate Cove! ARRRRGGGGG!
Dear Parents & Friends,
What a brilliant day here at camp. The weather was perfect but not all appeared as it should. Several days ago we were visited by a crusty band of Pirates. We managed to chase them from our land and they returned this morning in greater numbers demanding we find all the jewels that Gwynn Valley possessed. After breakfast they had us go through many challenges to secure the jewels and pledge our loyalty to them. It was, needless to say, a harrowing day on the high seas. At their helm was a Jack Sparrow gone bad villainous character whose greed led him to the treasures of Gwynn Valley. His bullying ways were anything but our week of KINDNESS that surrounded all of camp.
Tuesday of this past week was Camp KINDNESS Day all across the nation. We’ve been living that creed all week so everyone worked very hard to stave off these scurvy pirates who invaded our cove. Campers were tested in so many ways from Walking the Plank, Tripwire Pass, Flintlock Finesse, River Crossing, Pirate Cove, Logic Lock, Cannonball Catapult, Hook Hurling, The True Pirate Test, Water Run, Puzzle Map, Bob the Pirate, Sunken Treasure and more!!! It was so much fun and the weather of sun and a few passing clouds made it all the better.
There were several skits throughout the day in the Dining Room and it all culminated this evening when our villainous friend arrived to take “his jewels” and was met by the beautiful and courageous Elizabeth Swan. When she entered the Dining Room one little camper from Primavera ran up to her to give her a Gwynn Valley hug. She bested that villain and turned his heart to pure kindness and the GV jewels and camp was saved. Of course, there were lots of Arrrgggg’s throughout the day and bad Pirate jokes…like “What subject are pirates best in at school? Arrrrrrt.” “To err is human, to arrrrr is seriously Pirate”. Like I said, lots of bad jokes but totally rated GV!
I can’t believe we have only 4 more days left in the session for Main Camp. Sign-ups start again tomorrow morning and Fine Arts will deliver the drama to camp tomorrow evening. Tuesday we will see Mountainside start their Training Days and Riverside will beat them out the door tomorrow heading for their river component on the Green River. They will be out through Thurs. of this week. Even though there’s just a little time left there is much to look forward to in the days ahead.
All of camp spent most of the day outside. Our outdoor 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, patience and help with focus. Children have the opportunity to 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.
On a final note, most of the games and fun involved cooperative and collaborative work today. Kindness was seen everywhere as children encouraged one another to take on challenges and the team concept was prominent all day long. I’ll end on a quote from Mother Teresa that I voiced tonight during our Vespers Service after dinner. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless”. Stay tuned!
