Tag: camp activities

Everything I Need to Know…

February 24th, 2013

Robert Fulghum wrote a great poem entitled “Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten.”  Since so many campers and staff members often speak of all of the valuable things they learn at camp, we thought we’d do a tribute to Fulghum’s original poem, as well as to all present and former campers and staff members, with our own camp take on the classic…

Everything I Need to Know in Life…I didn’t learn in a classroom or in a book.  I learned it at summer camp.  I learned….

  • I can make good decisions for myself
  • Living with other people requires compromise.
  • Learning to say ‘I’m sorry”
  • Making my bed every day
  • Clean up my own mess
  • Don’t overpack!
  • Don’t take things that are not yours.
  • Write letters. People still love getting mail.
  • Trying new things is fun, even if they don’t turn out to be something you’d want to do everyday.
  • Sometimes being able to laugh at yourself is the best medicine.
  • Everyone should take the time to act silly —even grownups.
  • It’s okay not to be the best at something as long as you try really hard.
  • Just because you don’t succeed the first time, that doesn’t mean you should give up.
  • It’s not so hard to smile and say ‘hi’ to someone you don’t know.
  • New friends are great!  Old friends are the best!
  • Traditions tie us to others forever, no matter where we are in the world or how much time has passed.
  • You have the power to choose whether you have a good day or a bad day.  And even if your day doesn’t get off to such a great start, it doesn’t have to end that way.
  • No one wins all of the time.  It’s what you take away from the game that matters.
  • Having a routine is a really good way to stay organized.
  • Words CAN be just as powerful as sticks and stones, so think about what you say to someone else before you say it.
  • Judging people by what they look like or what they wear won’t get you very far in life, and you might miss out on some great friendships because of it.
  • Cheering for others is just as fun as being cheered on.
  • Every great thing comes to an end.  But the memories of it last a lifetime.

The world would be an awesome place if everyone went to summer camp!

Building Courage at Camp

January 22nd, 2013

We were thrilled to recently host a Weequahic Northeast Reunion. Seeing our campers and their families during the year is certainly a treat for us. It was also a great reminder of Courage, one the Weequahic Core Values, we teach. Let me explain….

At camp, we define courage not as the absence of fear but rather as acting even though the fear is present. Our campers practice this often by climbing further up the rock wall than they thought they could, learning to waterski for the first time, getting up on stage in the play, or being on a team they’ve never tried before.

It’s not just on the fields of play where courage is developed but in the bunks as well. Most of our campers arrive without knowing anyone at camp. It takes guts to go into a bunk of all new campers and build friendships. Thankfully, by the end of three or six weeks, these friendships are not only built but cemented into place!

Back to the reunion… many of our campers return the reunion without having seen their camp friends for some time. “Will they remember me? Who will be there that I know?” These are questions we all struggle with at times, especially when we are young.

Thankfully, with camp friends, this brief moment of anxiousness was overcome by an outpouring of courage and mirth – campers jumped and hugged and laughed there way around the bowling alley, even those who started nervous of how the day would go.

Weequahic campers hold the value of courage highly. They understand it is a muscle needed to be used and trained in order to be strong and available when truly needed. Thankfully, we have so many wonderful ways in which to practice at camp. Whether in the bunks, on the fields, in the lake, or Activity Center, Weequahic campers are courageous!

A Former Camper and Counselor on the Value of Camp

January 15th, 2013

I have been a part of the Camp Weequahic family for 13 years, as a camper from 1995 until 2002, and as a counselor from 2003 until 2007.  These were the best summers of my life and I would give anything to simply be a kid and do it all again!

The memories that come back to me every June when I realize a whole new generation of campers get to experience the same things that shaped my life when I was a child and young adult.  These experiences that campers and counselors gain during their summers at Weequahic are priceless; whether it is teaching a camper how to do an activity, learning from counselors and staff that hail from all corners of the world, or just simply having fun with your best friends.

We all looked forward to the traditions that have shaped our summers, including Carnival, MTV Night, Miss Weequahic, Tribal War, Olympics, The Dance, and the hundreds of other activities that all enjoyed.  And the bunk trips were always a favorite, kayaking or canoeing on the Delaware River, camping out in tents and building a fire, going to a baseball game, or riding the coasters at Hershey Park; they all were great memories.

The last days of camp are always the hardest, when we remember all of the fun we had during the past weeks as we watch the candles float out onto Sly Lake or the giant “W” burning on main campus.  As the summer comes to an end, we know it is time to go “home”, but in our minds “home” is the few beautiful acres in Lakewood PA nestled in the Pocono Mountains.  And as the busses leave camp, driving down Woods Road and driving away from the place we call home, we knew it would only be ten short months until we returned.

I urge all Alumni to write in, share photos, and share memories.  It is important that we all give back to the place that has given so much to us all.

-Steve S.