We enjoyed the cool cloud cover this morning as we sang morning songs at South Mesa Trailhead. Â The oh so fun Hippo Song serenaded the world around us followed by the classic Swimming Song. Â Our morning game of Commonalities brought campers together as they found others who shared the same favorite ice cream flavor, book, movie, camp activity, etc. Â Â After reviewing pool rules in order to set up a fun and safe day we loaded the bus and headed to the pool where we enjoyed the cloud cover until after lunch. Â The following sums it all up: big red slide, oodles of noodles, a bouncy diving board, marco polo, lanyards, friendship bracelets, popsicle stick creations, and making new friends! The sun hid behind the clouds until after lunch. Â We enjoyed juicy watermelon for afternoon snack. Â After singing about sneezing and meatballs we loaded the bus with gear and campers and made our trek back while playing Sleeping Bunnies on the bus. Â What a wet, refreshing, fun-filled day!
Posts Tagged ‘camp’
Pool Day at Junior!
Thursday, June 10th, 2010We had an awesome pool day at Junior today! We began our day with the “Fishing Song” and the “Swimming Song,” and then played a rousing round of duck-duck-goose, Mountain Day Camp-style. Ask your camper how it’s played! Then, we headed back to Base Camp for some teambuilding time–we worked with the webbing, and also made a cabin group sign. Then, we got packed up, put on some sunscreen, and headed out towards Spruce Pool!
We stopped along the way to eat lunch and discuss pool rules. After eating, we trekked all the way to the pool without stopping! We put all of our stuff on a table, sunscreened some more, and then headed into the pool for an hour and a half! The campers had a ton of fun being sharks, pool monsters, and playing with our Junior Leaders and Counselors. We took a number of water breaks, and hopped out of the pool only when we were exhausted from playing so hard.
After changing into dry clothes, we drained our water bottles and headed back to Base Camp, where we had some quiet time. We were lucky to have Inclusion Director Leah come read us a story! Then, we headed outside for some watermelon (yum!) for snack. It was so delicious, we all at multiple pieces! After snack, we did a fun weather activity. We made real rainbows (using water, a bendy mirror, and a white sheet of paper) and also real cumulus clouds (using water and cotton balls). The campers were excited to see how weather works!
We finished off the day with our rose and thorn–each camper said their favorite thing and least favorite thing about the day–and with some quieter, more relaxing songs. We sang “Little Canoe” and, to finish off the day, “On Top of Spaghetti.” Tomorrow, we’re going to finish off the week with a fun hike and by playing with the MDC parachute! See you tomorrow!
Juniors Dig Up Fossils at Marshal Mesa!
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010The junior campers began the day with some fun morning songs, specifically, “The Hippo Song” and “Little Red Wagon.” We also did some stretches, as everyone was a bit tired after yesterday’s big day! Then, we played a really fun game of evolution, which involved playing rock-paper-scissors with our friends and becoming eggs and dinosaurs based on how we did at rock-paper-scissors. It sounds confusing, but ask your camper how to play–we had a great time playing it this morning! After our game, we had some great cabin group time, where we did camper weather reports–each camper described their mood in terms of the weather–and also did our group code. Our group, the E.M.D.D.’s, came up with some great rules for our code, including the rule that if we see a T-Rex, we should run the other way!
After our morning group time, we headed out to Marshal Mesa Trailhead in our MDC van. Once there, we headed out to the trail to eat some delicious lunch. During our lunchtime, we saw a bunch of prairie dogs right up close! It was very exciting, and we got a chance to discuss what their different noises mean. After lunch, we headed down the trail to find some fossils. We got our digging gear out, and headed on our way. And we actually did find some fossils, all wrapped in playdoh, which was the most amazing thing–we saw bits of fossilized eggshells in playdoh, some fossilized dinosaur teeth, and what could maybe have been fossilized dinosaur skin! It was very exciting, and we had a great time digging for and finding fossils.
After our great fossil adventure, we headed back to base camp in the van for some snack and free play. Before snack, we re-sunscreened and drank some water–it got hot this afternoon! Our snack was some delightful pre-made gorp, which everyone enjoyed immensely. Yum! Then, we headed to our play spot for some free play, where all the campers had a great time playing and making bug houses. One of the houses even had a hammock!
We finished off the day by telling the group what our favorite thing about the day was, and then sang some “On Top of Spaghetti.” Tomorrow is pool day, so if all the campers could come in their swimsuits, that would be great. We’re looking forward to heading to Spruce Pool for a day of fun!
Great Start to Staff Training!
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010This was a great week – two days of intense (and fun) director training, followed by a full day in Eldorado Canyon for the entire staff on Friday. 1/2 day of “day in the life of a camper” and then staff policies, camp tour, and even a fishing lesson!
First Day of Session H!
Monday, July 20th, 2009Today the Juniors began their “Birds of a Feather” week–we started off with some wonderful camp songs, including “Fred the Moose” and “Princess Pat.” Then, we played an awesome game of Ship-Island (ask your camper about pretending to be a mermaid!)
We split into cabin groups after our game to come up with our group names and group codes–the codes are the rules that each group agrees to live by at camp for the week. Our three groups are The Doubledecker Bluejays, The Rainbow Butterfly Bird Bobcats, and The Flaming Rainbow Thunderbird Kittens. Then, we went over our all-camp rules (ask your camper to show you their ‘personal bubble!’) and got ready to go on our adventure to Boulder Creek.
After gathering our stuff, including our water bottles and lunches, we headed out to Boulder Creek path, where we hiked for a little bit to reach our lunch and play spot. After eating some delicious lunch and taking 5 big gulps of water, we played a fun game of Bird Tag–all the campers were birds being chased by cats (the counselors). Then, we headed back to base camp for some quiet time, where we read all about the many different kinds of birds in Colorado. After talking a bit about how to identify different birds, we read “Amelia Bedelia.”
After quiet time, we split into our groups again to make and then share about our camp water bottles. Each camper got to decorate their water bottle personally! Then, we headed outside to eat some gorp for snack. Yum! After a quick water-drinking game called waterfall, we had some free play (the campers really enjoy our frisbees and rubber balls!) and then came together for some circle time before the end of camp. We finished the day with some quieter songs, including the traditional Mountain Day Camp end-of-day song, “On Top of Spaghetti.”
All in all, it was an awesome day, and we’re looking forward to going and visiting the older campers in Eldorado Canyon tomorrow!
Pool Day at Eldorado Canyon
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009Today started with some high-energy games and songs at the Mesa trailhead. We had the great opportunity to learn more about everyone at camp while we played “Commonalities” where we ran around and joined up in groups according to our various favorite things. After running around and using up some of that early morning energy, we split into our cabin groups to organize for and discuss what we would do at the pool.
After rallying all of the groups and boarding the bus once again, we left for the pool. Arriving just as it was opening, we all sat on the steps and listened to the head lifeguard give us the ground rules. Having learned the rules, we entered the pool excited to establish our area next to the river. With each group settled in and changed, we made our way to the deck with the pool to ourselves. It was then time for our swim screen which could not have gone smoother for each camper. After swimming around, climbing on counselors, riding the slide and jumping off the diving board, it was time for lunch…and not a minute too soon!
Lunch was spent all together and got everyone fueled up for more high-energy afternoon. Giving everyone time to digest and avoid the cramps we all know exist, we spent some time learning how to make lanyards…they were a hit! Having cleaned up, we went back in the pool for some more afternoon sunlight and had a blast! We wrapped up the day with some planning for tomorrow and the camp favorites that are afternoon songs and a fun-filled bus ride home!
Tomorrow we’ll be at Sawhill Ponds–bring bug spray!
Juniors at Spruce Pool
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008Today was a perfect day for going to the pool. As the kids were arriving, they were able to play with Popsicle sticks, from which many campers made “exploding fireworks.” We began the day with some themed swimming and water songs, and then an energetic game of “What Time is it Mr. Shark.” After our game we began the hike to the pool. All of the campers were really great hikers and we made it to the pool with some energy left to play. At the pool, we all had a great time splashing around and cooling off. There were some sharks. some submarines and many other exciting things at the pool. Once we had all tired ourselves out having fun, we headed back to the Living School to enjoy some well earned rest time. During our rest time, we listened to some stories read to us by Counselor Jake and Counselor Kristen. Finally we got to our surprise activity which turned out to be our first silly counselor fashion show. Each cabin group was given some costume pieces and face paint and had to make their counselor look as silly as possible, it was awesome. By the time each counselor had strutted their stuff, the votes had been cast and counselor Jake was crowned the silliest, it was time for snack and some end of the day songs. The campers were sent home tired but happy to rest up for another fun day at camp.
Dowdy Draw and Volcanoes!
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Today, the second day of MDC Junior’s Session K, was awesome. We began the day with some tabletop graffiti, some camp songs, and a great game of Ship-Island. We then got all packed up and ready for our big outing to the Dowdy Draw Trailhead. We got to ride on the MDC bus to Dowdy Draw, which was a big thrill, especially for some of our younger campers.
At Dowdy Draw, we hiked up the trail to a good lunch spot under some trees and near a dried-up creek. After a delicious lunch eaten amongst tall grasses (with lots of grasshoppers hopping about!), we pulled out some bug-catching and bug-viewing equipment. We found lots of ants, grasshoppers, beetles, and butterflies, and Counselor Kristen even captured some honeybees! After a good amount of bug catching, we packed up and headed back down the trail to take the bus back to camp. Dowdy Draw was an awesome hike–all of the campers had a really good time, and we had a couple who professed to LOVE hiking!
Once back from our big outing, we had a bit of rest time, where we took our shoes off to relax our feet after hiking. Then, we did a big experiment where we learned about volcanoes! The counselors showed everyone how a volcano erupts using baking soda and vinegar, and we learned how volcanoes create new land under the ocean. It was pretty exciting!
We finished up the day with some yummy Gorp for snack and some free play inside, because it got very hot this afternoon. Everyone really enjoyed playing with the costumes and doing some more tabletop graffiti. After doing Rose and Thorn, a reflective activity where campers shared their favorite and least favorite parts of the day, we sang the MDC classic On Top of Spaghetti and called it a day!
Climbing and All Together Now Day in the Canyon
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008Climbing day in the canyon was very refreshing. Although the cool weather made creek sloshing seem less desirable, but it also made the sun seem more bearable. We started of the day with some songs to get us limber for climbing, such as a very active version of “my bonnie lies over the ocean” and “I’m a wide, awake, alert, enthusiastic,” after which the first group “the 3C’s” headed off to go climbing. The extreme danger lions also climbed before lunch. During lunch we had a special event where the campers form our junior program paired up with Eldorado groups for lunch and some games. After lunch, the Liquefied Snow and the Completely Random Oranges had their climbing times. a few campers did the climb with blindfolds!
When groups weren’t climbing, there were many other fun activities to do. The 3 C’s made pet rocks and played in the creek. The Liquefied Snow mixed our GORP, which was delicious, and hiked to the ranger station. The Extreme Danger Lions made paper bag hats, and did some clay art, and the Completely Random Oranges did some cool team building activities and went creek stomping.
At the end of the day, Director Kay and Counselor Tim had a special secret activity planned for us, even the other counselors did not know what it was. It turned out to be the counselor’s turn to make GORP. So with their cabin groups to give them advice, the counselors had to compromise and come up with a GORP name and recipe. So, tomorrow we will be eating some Counselor Power GORP. Overall, today was amazing.