Tag: American summer camps

The Favorite Meals at Camp Weequahic

May 27th, 2014

Our kitchen team is among the best in the business, with over 40 years of culinary experience between the chefs. They do a great job preparing healthy, fun meals that keep the campers and staff going all day long.

We spend a lot of time each year planning our menus for each summer.  In doing so, we take into account nutrition, variety, and our campers’ past experience and tastes. While all the food is good at Camp Weequahic, there are a few meals that stand out!

It seems like no matter what we do, our campers’ favorite breakfast is our Sticky Icky Bread. It’s a sweet breakfast treat that our campers’ just can’t seem to get enough of.

For lunch, there is less of a clear-cut favorite. Our chicken and cheese quesadillas are always a big hit as are the sliders. We also have a big contingent of campers and staff who love the chicken Caesar salad day, while others take their time building the perfect salad from our freshly prepared salad bars.

As for dinner, the hands down favorite is our cookouts. Whether it’s the hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs or grilled veggies that the kids love, they all can’t wait to get outside, enjoy each other’s company, and have a meal at the end of the day. As for the runner ups for ‘favorite dinner’, taco night or the Hollywood dinner are always big.

The good news is the kids feel that we always have good, fun, and healthy choices.  There is also always something for everyone, even those campers whose tastes seem to be a bit more of a challenge. How do we know? We ask! Menu items that are not well received are removed from the options and new foods are added. Thanks to the feedback from our campers and staff, we’ve added more options to our salad bars, increased the variety of veggies offered, and come up with fun new desserts.

Top 5 Reasons to Pack According to the Packing List

May 24th, 2014

Every year, Camps send out packing lists with suggestions of what and how much to pack.  It’s important to stick to the packing list, since the lists are normally catered to your specific camp! Camp Directors have been sending out these lists for years, and make sure to update them according to what they know works for their campers! Here are the Top 5 Reasons to pack according to the packing list!

5.) Space is limited at camp! While your child may have their own room, closet and bathroom at home, at camp they are going to have to share these spaces. Your child will be living in a bunk with several other campers, as well as  several counselors.

4.) Required Items vs. Optional Items! There are going to be some items that are absolutely required, and you don’t want to be leaving those out of your child’s trunks. Uniformed Camp logoed T-shirts for specific events during camp are usually required. Optional items are generally items that are provided by camp, but some campers prefer to bring their own equipment such as lacrosse helmets.

3.) You don’t want to over pack! You know how when you go on vacation, you always seem to have more things to put fit in your suitcase than when you arrived. Well the same thing happens at camp! You want to be sure to leave a little room in those camp trunks for the end of the summer, so all of their projects & souvenirs from trips can make it home safely.

2.) Labels, Labels, Labels! There are A LOT of kids at camp, and a lot kids bring very similar, if not the same items. This is why everything brought to camp MUST be labeled. We know that you don’t want your child to lose anything at camp and this is the best way to prevent that from happening.

1.) Check what items are not permitted in camp! You want to be sure your camper doesn’t bring any items that are not allowed in camp. Along with what to pack, your packing list normally will have a list of prohibited items that should not come to camp with your child.

Camp Trips

May 13th, 2014

Campers love their camps.  They’re green, picturesque and they often feature facilities for just about any activity a kid can dream up. One thing campers also love, however, are camp trips. Camp trips are a lot like school field trips — only better.  Way better!  They’re a special time away from the daily routine. Campers get to board buses with their friends and go off on an adventure outside of the camp environment. Yes, playing by the camp waterfront with friends is a great way to spend a summer. But taking in a baseball game, visiting a local amusement park, or going bowling with them adds an extra element to the camp experience because it allows campers to do normal “friend things” with some very close friends who they often only get to see during the summer.

Rites of passage are a big part of camp and trips are among those rites. While all campers enjoy some of the same trip destinations throughout the summer, other places are reserved for campers of certain ages. In this respect, trips become a way for campers to mark time in their camp experience. An exclusive trip makes that specific summer unique because it’s the only summer a camper may go to a specific place..

Camp trips also help campers put their summer camp experience into perspective. Sure, they could do just about anything they do on a camp trip without having gone to camp, but doing them at camp makes them part of camp. And makes them very special.  And very fun! The memory of having done those things at camp makes these excursions even more special, which is likely why there is always a tinge of  excitement in the air on trip day.