Happiest Hello from Session 5!!

Tuesday August 12th, 2008

Dearest Families of Pony Farmers, New and Old,

What a dear group of girls I was lucky enough to go up to camp to see this morning and for lunch. The new kiddos who came in on Sunday have settled in so well and seem all smiles. They all crowded around me like I was a visiting dignitary…It was such fun to come home to their welcome. They are indeed adorable. The ones that had been here last week are great too. They have kept such a great spirit despite our deplorable weather….It has rained off and on again today…What ridiculous summer weather we have had all season….But, to their huge credit, they have been troopers. They rode in the rain…..with some patches of sun…this morning with nary a complaint. They make it fun to be a Camp Director!!!

So, let me catch you up now that I am home from the wedding. Several parents wrote asking when I was going to write again…It made me feel great that folks read the blogs…I love writing them and giving you a bird’s eye view of the daily happenings. So, now that I am back from sunny Washington, DC, here is the next installment…

The kids that had been here last week were soooo great getting the farm and barns ready for the new kids to arrive on Sunday afternoon. Kris said that she tried to keep them dry and comfy in the lodge, but they insisted on helping do the prep for the new arrivals….(Yet one more example of a great group of children!!!) Kris also said that the Opening Day for only 11 new campers was a real treat. The difference of welcoming 48 kids versus only 11 ‘newbies’ was really a pleasant treat. She also said that the parents of the new kiddos for this session were so great…thus, no homesickness this time around! Hooray. The other great thing is that we have the full compliment of staff so each group has at least one Counselor in Training helping the Senior Summer riding instructors. The three least experienced groups have two CITS, thus a ratio of 3 staff to 4 to 6 kids…. A lot of teaching can get done with that much good help. So, I am thrilled that, by moving the dates earlier in the summer, we have been able to keep all our summer staff until the very end. Other summers we have tried to go one week later and it was just plain hard without the full number of teachers and support staff with the college kids going back to school. So, we are off to a great start…if only the weather would perk up!!!

After meeting parents and seeing the proposed match for their horses, the kids who had been here before did some feeding and turn out while Kris oriented the new kids. Everyone had a good dinner and then got to do some introductions. They also did Bag Skits which is such a camper favorite. How this goes is that each room of kids gets a bag into which they put 6 items. The things they gather range from a hair brush, to a sock, to a decoration or a book..to name a few usual items. Then, the bags get switched and the roommates are tasked with coming up with a skit that uses these items. The hairbrush becomes a microphone…and so on…The skits are really fun to watch as everyone is so creative. We also think this is a good way to get the roommates to know each other better and to start working together. Both kids and staff love this event…Staff even get into the act making up their skit…Everyone has fun and gets to feel more comfortable with each other.

After Bag Skits, they had Vespers and Good Night Circle. This is our way of ending the day on a peaceful note. We light the birch log with a candle for each room and each house. In the glow of candlelight, the CITS tell why they keep coming back to camp year after year. It always makes my heart glad when I hear their reasons. It also lets the new kids know what the camp experience can mean, now and later on! I do believe that friendships and memories are made that last a life time….Maybe this is why I have done this for 37 summers!!!

After this Vesper speaking, the kids then sing songs out of the camp songbook. It is fun to see the kids that have been here before helping the new kids learn the ‘old favorites’. Then, everyone holds hands and Good Night Circle begins. This is a time when the kids and staff tell what they were most thankful for that day. I love this time together as I so believe in gratitude and appreciation. These kids are sooo lucky to have the families they have…and each other…and good food to eat…and gardens, ponies, farm animals, etc…etc…They are so dear about remembering their families and their pets too. It is just plain a genuinely lovely way to put some closure to the day and settle the kids down to get ready for bed. It also makes thing feel cozy and comfy…making homesickness flee…

Then, on Monday morning while I was being held at the airport due to thunderstorms on the East Coast (arghhhh), the kids were broken up into several bigger riding groups to assess the horse matches and divide further into riding groups. We take this so seriously. Having the right mount…and then the right amount of challenge is critical to successful learning and a great camp experience. The staff works all morning long to make the necessary switches and then to place the kids in the right groups. They sure do take their job seriously.

Riding groups were announced after Rest Hour…and they tried to ride again…but the thunder (luckily without lightening) boomed and the rains poured…so, they were given the opportunity to do Natural Horsemanship (partnering with your horse using specific techniques and horse instinct practices) in the indoor arena…or learning how to groom and tack up more independently….or a movie….Kris said that the kids that had battled the weather last week were just plain cold, wet and tired. She thought that a movie would be just the right thing with everyone so that they could snuggle up and not end up sick!

Oopps, I get so involved in writing this and telling you all that is happening that I lost track of the time…I need to go driving with the kids and the miniature horses….all four carriages…right now. I will write a second installment to catch you up after I drive and the kids are doing barn chores…Stay well and I will resume soooooon…Off to play with the kids….

Fondly, Boo