Today was our first camper’s choice day of the session, and it was fantastic! On camper’s choice day, every camper gets to choose and sign up for their favorite activities for the entire day and make their own schedule. These are definitely the most popular days at camp because campers feel a sense of autonomy and control in making their schedule and mapping the fun of their day. Camper’s choice days promote independence and let campers choose their adventures.
In addition to our traditional camp activities, camper’s choice days offer different activities that allow our campers to choose the pace of their day. Campers who want to slow down and relax more may choose to sign up for reading in the library, cards or board games. Other campers may want to explore their creative side and will sign up for a special painting class or try making caramel brownies at cooking. Some campers sign up for sports all day with everything from LAX to riverball or crossnet. The choice is theirs!
Campers love this day because they are choosing their activities but more importantly, they are choosing who they do their activities with. At Highlander, we believe it’s not what we are doing, but who we are doing it with that makes life at camp so wonderful. It’s our friends at camp who make camp so special, and it’s not surprising that most campers choose to sign up with their cabinmates because they have already made some amazing friends who have become their chosen family at Camp Highlander this summer!
Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.
Today I loved seeing siblings who chose to do activities together and spend time together. As a camp director and mama, I applaud this choice. Being a mom of three, I LOVE when my children choose to spend time together without being prompted by me. It is precious to me when I see siblings make an intentional effort to be a part of their brother or sister’s camp experience. Again, this is their choice, and I think it is one they will cherish for many years to come.
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: This morning at Reflect Madeleine talked about her wish for campers and staff this session - to dream big, conquer fears big and small and make a difference in someone’s life at Camp Highlander.
- Weather: We woke up this morning to cooler temperatures and overcast skies. This was nice because it made our day not too hot to enjoy being outside and playing all day for camper’s choice day! We continued to have the threat of rain all day with our gray skies, but we never got any! We do expect some rain tomorrow, but hopefully it won’t last long!
- Meals: Breakfast this morning was Belgian waffles, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and our fresh fruit and yogurt bar. Lunch was the meatball subs with tater tots and a salad bar. For dinner we had sweet and sour chicken with peppers and onions, fried rice, egg rolls and a salad bar. All of camp erupting in screaming and cheers when the disco ball was turned on, and they were SO excited to see we had chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
- EP: Tonight the campers were detectives, solving a mystery in a game of CLUE. Someone stole ice cream from the dining hall last night, and the cabins were in charge of solving the crime. The suspects included some members of the leadership team and activity counselors, yet everyone claimed they didn’t do it! After solving riddles and completing various challenges and games, the cabins combined their clues to solve the mystery. Cabin 23 solved the mystery revealing that Emma, our rafting activity counselor, broke into the dining hall with bolt cutters during Square Dance. Congrats and great work Cabin 23!
About Melissa Fitzgerald
