Tag: American summer Camp

How to make cool shadow animals with your flashlight!

March 21st, 2016

As night falls over Camp Weequahic, the loud and crazy activities of the day give way to the whispered and wonderful activities of the evening.

Bedtime stories, chilled-out card games, and friendly chatter fill the hour between returning inside and falling asleep.

As a camp counselor, you will always need plenty of fun, surprising activities to keep the fun flowing. Learning a few shadow-animals is a sure-fire way to spark campers’ creativity and interest. The best part is, all you need is a flashlight and a wall! (Check and check!)

Level 1: Bear & Alligator

The simplest shadow animals use your thumbs for ears mouths, and can be easily modified to match dozens of recognizable animal faces! Try curling in your fingers to make a snub-nosed pug out of the alligator, or move the bear’s ear over its nose to make a triceratops dinosaur!

Level 2: Dog and Eagle

Woof woof! Wrap your right hand around the left to add two ears and a defined head-shape to your friendly Fido!

Then try using your hands for a flapping bird — one of the oldest tricks in the book. You can spread and curve your fingers to make a creepy spider for some easy heeby-jeebies!

Level 3: Deer and Mountain Goat

Once you’ve mastered the dog, adding curved horns and and a peep-hole for the eyes can turn it into both a deer and a mountain goat. Getting the shape just right for less recognizable critters than dogs and birds can be tricky, but it’s worth the effort once you’ve nailed it!

Level 4: Rabbit and Bear Cub

The final step in shadow animal mastery is the jump from faces to full-bodied creatures! The trick here is using one hand for the legs and body while the other takes care of ears and mouth. Getting the angle “just so” is more important here than with easier animals. Once you’ve got it, they can crawl, wave, and give high-fives!

Bedtime is fun time!

Hand shadows can also add some interactive fun to traditional camp stories, or even make an appearance in your group’s skit or talent show performance!

Once you’ve mastered the basics, what other unexpected animals and shapes can you and your campers dream up?

Practice at home and be sure to share your creations with us, whether on Facebook or in person!

In the meantime, keep dreaming that camp dream. 😊

Constantly Learning

March 3rd, 2016

We are firm believers in continual learning and challenge ourselves to get better each year. Thankfully, we are blessed to be in a field that is full of generous, smart people who are passionate about their work and happy to share.

At Weequahic, we’ve started our own book club. Each month, a different one of our year round team members picks a book and applies its lessons to camp. We have enjoyed learning from the likes of Brenee Brown, Charles Duhigg, and Andy Stanley among others.

In addition to our self-guided learning, we get to spend time each year with camp professionals both within Wayne County and from around the country.

The Wayne County Camp Alliance is made up of 30 diverse, engaging, and fantastic camps. We gather multiple times a year to share ideas, questions and plan for the future success of our partners. (Our campers who like to compete also get a kick out of being a part of this group as we join in tournaments in all of our sports and several of our arts!)

Recently, many of our year round team just returned from the ACA National Convention where we learned from great ‘camp thinkers’ like Jeff Leiken, Bob Ditter, Michael Brandwein and Kerry Plemmons.

We got caught up on the most recent research on working with kids, guiding teens, training and evaluating our staff and building a camp culture that thrives. We also go to poke and prod at these ideas and other with camp professionals from around the world.

The common comment leaving ACA Nationals was ‘Wow – that was kind of like our own pre-camp orientation. I’m so energized for camp!’ I couldn’t agree more.

The best learning, however, comes from the summer itself. Hosting 200 staff members and 450 kids from around the world gives us all innumerable opportunities to learn, grow and add to CW. Many of our best ideas have some from our community such as the Prize Wheel, amazing EAs, the Weequahic Competition Leagues, “Jinter” (the name for our fifth and sixth group), the Fort, and more.

Yes, there are some things that will never change at camp. The safety of our campers and staff will always be paramount. We will create amazing experiences for everyone we encounter using GAC. We will collect the best group of staff and kids we can find and have more fun than we thought possible.

Everything else? Well, we’ve still got a lot to learn….
Can’t wait for camp!

Natural rhythms: the timeless traditions that make camp special

February 16th, 2016

Camp is super duper fun… but every summer camper (or camp counselor) knows that with the fun comes a dash of craziness!

The days are packed with activities, and among those activities are tons of quirky camp traditions.

One of the most special things about summer camp is how traditions are passed on through returning campers and counselors.

Here are a few of our favorite classic camp traditions!

Flag Ceremonies

No morning is complete without the traditional Camp Weequahic flag ceremony! Like the traditional evening campfire, flag-raising is a time for everyone at camp to gather together and remember that we’re all in it together. (And of course, double-check that no one overslept!)

Like with everything at camp, there is always time to be a little goofy, and flag ceremonies are no exception. From spontaneous camp songs to call-and-response games, you never know what the counselor’s are going to pull out of their sleeves!

Campfires

Ah, the sweet smell of soot and s’mores…

No camp would be complete without a campfire. Community campfires are a time for the entire group to come together for songs, dance, theater, and of course the infamous talent shows.

Usually the campfire starts with fast, silly songs and a few games to get everyone grounded and relaxed. As the night progresses, slower songs and fun stories are shared around the fire until it’s finally time to say goodnight and return to the cabins. (And brush our teeth! That means you!)

Mealtime songs

Mmm, lunchtime — everyone’s favorite activity of the day!

(Aside from breakfast and dinner, that is.)

Feeding dozens of campers at the same time would be chaotic if there were no traditions to make mealtime run smoothly. Everyone has to “sing for their supper,” so it’s no surprise that so many camp songs center around food. “Heeeey burrito!”

Camp songs may be one of the strangest traditions to those who have never been to camp — but these ridiculous jingles are something that campers everywhere have in common!

Traditions that keep on giving

Summer camp is an integral part of American life, and the rhythm of day-to-day life lets everyone play their part in the story.

From all-camp events like dances, talent shows, and barbecues, to specific hiking songs, camp life has something for everybody. Trust us, you’ll get into the swing of things before you know it.

…And before long, you’ll be ready to participate in the best camp tradition of all — making your own!