Life at the Summer Camp at Cam vacamas goes like this:
7:00 – Wake up – Rise and shine, time for another beautiful day in New Jersey!
7:45 to 8:15 – Round up – This was by far my favourite part of the day, everyone gathers on the ball field first thing in the morning. As a Division Head it was my responsibility to lead the repeat after me and act extra crazy first thing in the morning. Singing in front of 60 crazy kids each morning was quite the wakeup call!
8:30 to 9:00 – Breakfast – After 30 minutes of me screaming, shouting and pretending to be Mr. Alligator it is time for some breakfast. Usually bagels with cream cheese, eggs, toast or (and I have never understood the appeal of it) peanut butter and jelly. Yuck!
9:15 to 9:45 – Clean up – During this 30 minutes the campers are taken back to their bunks to clean up. During this time I would go round each bunk and make sure everything was okay and if the counsellor needed any supplies for the rest of the day.
10:00 to 12:00 – Activities – During this time the counsellors would be taking their campers for different activities. These ranged from soccer (get used to calling football soccer guys), basketball, dodge ball, arts and crafts, dressing up, song writing, cray fishing or even just hiking to the local haunted camp site! As a Division Head I would supervise these activities and get involved as much as I can!
12:15 to 1:00 – Lunch time – After the kids have been running about all morning they get pretty hungry so lunch is almost like refuelling the campers. Lunch was usually tuna fish, egg salad, grill cheese (THE BEST THING EVER!). Meal times is a great time to talk to the kids and get to know them better.
1:15 to 2:15 – Rest Hour – During the afternoon in New Jersey it gets redonkulously hot so we take this time to chill in the cabins. The kids will either have a nap, play board games or if they are lucky play top trumps, which are worth their weight in gold on camp!
2:30 to 3:30 – Swimming – During this hour the campers would have both instructional and recreational swimming. Counsellors will be in the water with their campers helping the lifeguard with their lesson. I would be in the water helping the life guards with any difficult campers.
3:45 to 4:00 – Juice Call – Next is juice call, this is when we sit the kids down in the shade and have some water and fruit. This keeps the campers energy up and keeps them hydrated.
4:15 to 5:15 – Activities – Yup more activities, more running about, more madness and craziness. I would take this time to plan our divisional mass activity “mass attack” which takes part later that night.
5:30 to 6:30 – Dinner – Best meal of the day which could be pizza, tacos, sloppy joes, hamburgers, noodles or pasta. After everyone has cleared their tables I will start singing more repeat after me songs, more divisional pride songs and of course the classic “WE WANT FREE HOUR!” By the end of dinner you should have no voice left!
6:45 – 8:00 – Free Hour – Free hour is when the campers get to pick what activities that they do. Counsellors will be on post running games of soccer, basketball or softball. There will also be counsellors at our play ground, nature lodge, farm and library so the campers can chill there. As a Division Head I would “powerfully roam” through all these activities making sure that the campers where behaving their self’s.
8:00 – 9:00 – Mass attack – This is an activity for the whole division to take part in and is planned during the day. It will often be themed and would often be designed to tire the campers out just before they go to bed. Mass attacks include square dances, quidditch, drive in movie night, a rocket launch or ninja attack!
9:15 – 9:45 – Bedtime – Bedtime at camp means milk and cookies and bedtime stories. As a Division Head I would go and say good night to every camper in my division (over 60) and ask them what their highs and lows of the day. After the campers have been put to bed, and you’re not on duty, the night is your to go to the staff lodge to watch a dvd, chill in the gym or just get a good night’s sleep. You will need your sleep because you will need to get up and do it all over again tomorrow!
Note: For more information and registration kindly contact:
Vacamas Programs for Youth, 256 Macopin Road, West Milford, NJ 07480, Phone: 973-838-0492
Email: info@vacamas.com
