The previous days I have focused on our daily routine. This is because most of you have sent your child(ren) to us for the first time, and we assume you want to be able to picture what they are doing throughout the day. Many of our daily rituals are exactly the same, so I will spend most of my time trying to give you some insight into some things that happened today that were different or unique!
“Left.. Left.. Left.. Left…” After Chicken Fat we all gathered in the lodge for English Muffins. Toppings were jelly, PB and/or butter. Cereals included: Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Raisin Bran. OJ and Hot Cocoa to drink (coffee for the staff). I just heard a rumor that Lucky Charms may be available tomorrow!
With regards to cabin cleanup, the senior girls race is 2-1 in favor of cabin 8. The lakeside girls are all tied at 1 apiece. The boys (4 cabins) are 1-1-1-0. Do not let your children fool you into thinking they cannot clean! Take advantage of any newfound cleaning skills in the following months!
Morning classes saw continued improvement in swimming and rowboating. Catherine reports that a few people have already passed in swimming. It’s always rewarding to see when a child finally “gets it.” Ian passed Level 1 swimming, and all the counselors were very excited for him! Seniors sports played an assortment of games: Activ-Flyer, Spike Ball and Pindaloo. I told them the boys record for Pindaloo was four and all of Cabin 7 made it their mission to “not let the boys beat us.” As class was about to end they found a 4 leaf clover. Their very next attempt tied the boys, and was the last of the class! Lakeside sports played the same 3 games, and had the same goal for Pindaloo! Cabin 4 mostly played with the Activ-Flyers, while 5 and Old 6 oscillated between the Pindaloo and Spike Ball. They also tied the boys, and found 4 leaf clovers. Arts and Crafts saw mostly canvas paintings, although I have a feeling there will be a good amount of sewing tomorrow…
Dinner was cheese ravioli, baguettes, salad with ranch dressing optional and raspberry sorbet for dessert. General swim was shortened due to a pop-up thunderstorm. So we got out the cornholes, opened the gaga pit, and played games around the flagpole for the second half.
Afternoon classes went off without a hitch. Lakeside girls got to go out in boats, as the storm was small and quick moving. Reportedly, there were multiple boats singing the whole class. Seniors Arts and Crafts did not involve sewing… today. Boys sports was energetic. Our brand new basketball hoops were installed around noon, and the boys were very keen to be the first person to get a basket on each new hoop! They eventually played a game of pickup on one end of the court and Horse on the other. A rousing game of kickball by the backstop was also offered by Jackson and Colleen.
Activity Period saw Brooke and Sawyer hosting a Dance Party, Ryan with about 20 boys (and a few girls) in the Gaga Pit, many campers playing games around the flagpole and showering. I had to replace the Lakeside tetherball twice today, as it is in use constantly. These girls may be small in size, but they pack a punch! Apparently the twins in Old 6 have a tetherball at their house, which makes complete sense if you’ve seen them play.
Supper on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Asto Wamah is done differently because the kitchen staff have the “night off.” Usually, each counselor will pick a different location in camp for their cabin to eat (A-Field, Main Dock, White Raft, Gazebo) and we have a picnic style meal consisting of sandwiches, chips, pickles, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Unfortunately, another pop-up storm had perfectly imperfect timing, so we had our picnic inside.
Evening Program was Spies and Smugglers. This is one of the top 3 most requested games. It involves hiding a ticket somewhere in your clothing and running up to the A-Field before a Spy tags you. A few seasoned campers brought clothing specifically for this game (Cabin 1, 5, old 6). I told them they could sew pockets onto the front of a shirt for this game (as many returning campers have made their own pocket shirt). “I’m going to get my mom to sew 20 pockets on my shirt next year and smuggle a million points!” They all enjoyed trying to find the perfect hiding spot. To be honest, the youngest kids are always adorable playing this game. The outfits can sometimes be ridiculous; multiple hats, shorts over pants, 4 rolled up cuffs, etc.
Our evening concluded with snack and songs as we sat by the lake watching a beautiful, albeit slightly cloudy, sunset. Julianne played taps on her trumpet.