What's Happening at Camp: Rainy Day, Overnight Nursery Raps!

What a joy it is for us to share this summer’s fun with all of you! You can see that we enjoy what we’re doing, and we can see that you appreciate all the efforts that we make, from the front office to the assistant counselors, to enrich your summer camp experience. Thank you for your kind comments in passing, in emails, and on our satisfaction surveys. Camp is continuing to flourish. This is the reason that we have opened our enrollment for 2017 early, to allow our returning campers and parents to secure their preferred spots for next year. Just go to our website to find the link to register.

It’s been a very dry summer, so Wednesday’s rain was not altogether unwelcome. We went on Rainy Day schedule for part of the day, and modified Rainy Day schedule for part of the day. In full Rainy Day schedule we move under shelters and have a great time—singing songs, dancing and playing quiet games like Charades and board games, loud games that involve music (“Finish the Lyric”), fun games based on Quiz Shows (“Jeopardy”), and active games like Dodgeball. We rotate tribes to different areas so that they get a good variety, which is why—even though they are mostly under shelters—we remind parents to send rain gear.

On a modified Rainy Day Schedule, swimming goes on as usual unless there is any sign of thunder or lightning. Sports are taken down a notch or two, so that full-out running is avoided due to the slippery ground. If basketball or tennis courts are too wet to play on, other games are played depending on the intensity of the rain. Our excellent and experienced Activity Counselors use their discretion in running modified versions of their activities, and there are plenty of shelters for them to seek cover in case of a downpour. Of course, many of our activities are able to go on in light rain anyway, activities like Fishing, Archery, and Boating. Campcraft, which is featuring S’mores this week, also can go on as usual in drizzle. Arts & Crafts, being covered, is not affected by rain. Nor is Cooking, Woodworking, or Music Studio. Drama goes on as usual, only changing location in a full Rainy Day schedule. All in all, it’s no wonder that our counselors who were once campers here remember rainy days as some of their happiest memories of Sewataro.

Wednesday’s rain was followed by Thursday’s heat, a perfect day to run through the Camper Car Wash and get sprayed by our many sprinklers. Thursday was also our Overnight for the Eagles and Senior Camp. A light snack of veggies, chips & dips was followed by a game of “Know Your Counselors.” Then came a game of Water Dodgeball (played with water soaked sponge balls) before a refreshing swim in the pools. At six, a cookout featuring corn, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and watermelon was devoured on the lawn in front of Alba’s. After supper, tribes had their choice of activities: a night swim under the evening’s half moon, Capture the Flag, Crazyball, Crafts (making leather bracelets) or Street Hockey. Then it was time to drop off their overnight gear in their sleeping tents, which had been all set up earlier in the afternoon by our well-oiled crew. No overnight, of course, is complete without the ritual campfire where stories can be told, songs sung, and dreams stirred. The final activity of the night was the Counselor Hunt, during which select counselors hide and campers try to find them, a relatively recent Sewataro tradition that burns off those last bits of energy before retiring for the evening. No tribe found all 11 counselors, but the Chickasaw did discover 10 of them!

The overnighters were stirring just around six-thirty and ready for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, grapes, bananas, yogurt, OJ, and hot chocolate around seven. By the time everyone had a chance to enjoy Alex’s short order magic on the grill, it was quarter-to-eight and time to gather up overnight belongings and get ready for another day at camp. Friday dawned with sunshine, and the promise of an exciting Friday special event caused a stir of anticipation around camp. Nathan planned a Humpty Dumpty Rap Legend spectacular around the old nursery rhyme. Humpty was a famous rapper, but about 20 years ago, on tour with his band, the Nursery Rapsters, he lost it on stage, falling apart in front of a large audience. Since then, he hasn’t been able to perform. Now, the campers of Sewataro are being asked to help put Humpty back together again, inspiring him with newfound confidence and courage. We have faith the campers will be able to get Humpty back on track with their amazing Sewataro spirit!