Today was Camper’s Choice Day - one of the favorite days in the session for our campers. These days are an intentional part of our programming to teach life-skills like decision making and compromise. This day fosters independence, gives campers a voice and teaches them about give and take when they sign up with a friend for their activities for the day.
I love to see the choices campers make and the confidence they gain from making their own decisions. As a mom, my children are often seeking my approval or permission for their choices. As campers, I love that they can make their choices and learn the practical way to prioritize and problem solve. I am thankful for the way that these simple choices give all of our campers a sense of responsibility and build confidence in them.
The most important choice we encourage our campers to make each day is the choice to be kind. In life, there are many things that are beyond our control and many things that we cannot choose, but we can always choose to be kind. I am grateful for our amazing staff who model and teach kindness each day. Through their encouragement, our campers get to practice kindness through actions and words, and they receive forgiveness, grace and love when they don’t make that choice. We are learning a lot from our choices, and I am so proud of our campers for the way they have grown this week!
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: Today Emily talked with us about the gift of camp. She reminded us that camp is a gift that grows as we gain unforgettable memories and lifelong friendships that we must embrace with gratitude.
- Weather: The weather at camp was absolutely gorgeous today. It was warm, sunny with a slight breeze that whispered through the trees. It was perfect!
- Meals: For breakfast we had biscuits and gravy, sausage patties, scrambled eggs and a fruit bar. For lunch we had one of my favorites…turkey ciabatta sandwiches and Miss Vickie’s chips and salad bar. (The campers loved it, and sometimes the simplest meals are the most popular!) For dinner we had spaghetti and meatsauce, roasted broccoli, garlic bread and salad bar. For dessert we had another Highlander specialty…ice cream dream! It was delicious!
- EP: Tonight’s EP was Camp Disney. The Gillespie gymnasium was transformed into a Disney dreamland with booths hosting games, food and prizes. Rapunzel was high up in her tower and when you asked her to throw down her hair, she threw down a piece of candy. There were wanted posters at another booth where campers could earn tickets from Woody for capturing the criminals (yours truly was WANTED and I had to serve time behind bars.) There was a booth where campers could win tickets for pinning the nose on Olaf. They could be Merida from Brave and shoot arrows for prizes. We had inflatables, cotton candy, popcorn and more! Disney theme music was playing and everyone was singing and dancing with pure joy around the gym. It truly was a magical night!
- Apple Cart: Today for apple cart I took our camp pet, Lovey, to see all the campers while we delivered apples and cuties to the activities. The campers adore her, and she was in heaven with all the love that they gave her today. I heard about all of your pets that your children miss at home, but the smiles that our sweet Lovey brought to their faces were amazing!
About Melissa Fitzgerald
