Twilight Play Is the End to a Perfect Day!
Dear Parents and Friends,
What a great day here at camp. The weather couldn’t have been better with lots of sun casting itself in the low 80’s and a nice cool evening. Tonight was Twilight Play which is an extended after supper games and program time. There were all kinds of activities open from, dessert over an open fire to swimming and soccer. I played a very long game of whiffle ball, which went on so long that we lost track of the score. You play two outs per inning, pitcher’s poison (which means get the ball back to the pitcher before the runners reach their base. No steals are allowed and depending on if you use the skinny bat (no strikes are counted) or the fat bat (strikes are counted), it’s a fast-paced game and everyone gets to bat a lot. There were inside the park home runs, doubles, triples and lots of singles. No one struck out and some of our youngest campers played. My guess is that the actual score would have been about 34 to 37, which produces many hits and a great deal of action. No gloves are needed.
Everyone got a little giddy toward the end and we eventually ended up playing roller bat. If you’ve never played, you only have one batter and everyone else is in the field. After the ball is hit the person who catches the ball has three chances to hit the ball laying facing the thrower. Keep in mind a whiffle ball doesn’t travel far. Roller bat regressed into tackle the person with the ball and we were saved by the bell ringing. Boys will be boys and everyone had a great time.
It was the perfect day to go climbing and tree climbing was the choice of the day. It was a great day for being up high and scanning the Blue Ridge Mountains off to the west. The Brookside mountain bike skills area also captured much interest as did the Blacksmithing Hut just off the biking trail. When you’re at camp you can always hear the banging of the hammers against the anvils set up for our young blacksmiths. There’s work going on when those hammers ring.
Water not falling from the sky was felt in the lake, pool, and creeks as everyone enjoyed the warmth of the sun as campers boated, swam and played in the water around GV. The Watermat or “Scream Machine” was fully turned on today. It’s simply a giant water pad that can support the weight of many campers. They all wear PFD’s and have a blast on top and around the “Mat”.
We’ve been espousing the virtues of the program but camp life really starts in the cabin and works outward. That’s one reason we hold what we call “Open House” in each cabin every session. That’s when a leadership team member and an activity leader visit the cabins to meet with just the campers. It’s a great way to ensure that your child’s experience in the cabin is a good one and to make sure that the counselors are doing a good job. We visit with the cabin for about a half an hour and talk about a lot of things; their counselors, what they are looking forward to, favorite activities, how they are getting along and many other topics. It provides good insight into their cabin life and how it’s going.
There are lots of checks and balances at camp. We have lists, roles, check-ins, meeting spots, roll calls, buddy systems, and other ways of supervision and guidance during our busy days. The structure is never heavy but underpins the organized chaos that camp is. With that organized chaos should come fun, learning and many chances to build relationships throughout the camp experience. It’s life outdoors, without screen time and the focus is on the “simple joys of childhood”. We could all use that so stay tuned!
