Hey, Camp Lovers!

We saw such a great response to our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp in 2018 that we’re still going strong publishing each submission right here on the Blog. Your stories were fantastic and it’s such a fun time reading through them!

Today’s post comes from Krystina A. who wrote in to tell us about her son’s time at Golden Slipper Camp, located in Pennsylvania. Get a look at today’s submission about Peyton’s summer camp experience:

“My son Peyton attends Golden Slipper Camp. I actually attended this camp when I was his age! I still can’t believe when I drop him off how many people I recognize from my encampments some 20 years ago! It all started because he was socially awkward and having trouble with working in teams at school. He also got bullied. Being a single mother made some of this difficult for me to help him with as it’s me and him against the world most days. So I thought about the camp I went to. It helped him build teamwork skills with their olympics competitions and there are so many activities that the kids get to choose for themselves as electives building individuality. I mean most kids these days sit around all summer playing video games. So for 3.5 weeks in the summer he goes off to summer camp. No electronics—all old school style!!! Yea, they have to write letters!!! The first year he was a bit lost but he made soooo many friends, learned how to do many things boys his age do (like shave, I have no clue I’m a girl!) he loved the dances and all the really creative night activities like color wars, tug of war, trivia night, and so much more. The dinner dance is a fancy night and he learned how to find a date ‘n treat them like a lady! This camp has helped him grow into a very well rounded and respectable young man. He is now 14 and just came back from his 4th year. He is hoping to be a counselor when he becomes of age and, honestly, if I could I would too!! Summers are so boring for kids and single activities are pricey like what?... $50 plus to do one sports team for 2 days a week that lasts a month maybe? This place they get all of them crammed into non-stop fun for 3.5 weeks!!! He looks forward to it every year and talks about it non-stop till the next year! He has even learned to fly on his own and navigate his way through an airport. He is such an independent young man now. Every year he comes back a new kid!”

This is awesome, Krystina! It’s so great to hear this kind of feedback about how much summer camp has truly shaped Peyton into a responsible, independent, and confident young man! Happy to hear that he hopes to counsel when that day comes! Golden Slipper Camp must be a pretty special place. How cool you two get to share the love for this place!

As for anybody else interested in Golden Slipper Camp, give it a closer look for yourself some time and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Campers!

You know how much you love your summer camp experience? Well, your favorite celebrities loved their camp experiences just as much when they were your age just as much as you love yours now. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for instance, had a blast during her time away at summer camp.

Julia went to the Sidwell Friends Tennis Camp where she picked up on some impressive skills handling a racket and found some summer camp friends along the way. Lots of kids enjoy being able to get a laugh out of their friends. Julia loved it! Comedy had always been a passion of hers.

She performed in the Second City Theater (which should sound familiar to you if you read the Everything Summer Camp Blog post about Chris Farley as he too performed at this theater, as did other famous comedians like Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, and Shelley Long to name just a few). 

In one night’s fortunate performance in 1982, Julia was eventually asked to join the cast of the national TV show “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) on NBC. At this point she was only 21 years old which made her the youngest female member of the cast throughout the program’s history since 1975.

On SNL, Julia worked alongside up and coming contemporaries like Eddie Murphy, Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, and Martin Short. She also worked with a writer named Larry David who wrote for SNL at the time, co-creator of the breakthrough sitcom “Seinfeld,” also on NBC. Larry cast Julia in 1989 for her own breakthrough part—Elaine Benes.

More recently, Julia played Christine Campbell in “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” as well as Selina Meyer in “Veep”. Julia has received three Emmys, along with a Golden Globe Award, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Julia is passionate about comedy. What are you passionate about?

- John

Hey, Storytellers!

We love hearing your stories from camp in our annual ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything Summer Camp. Your stories were fantastic and it’s such a fun time reading through them! Get a look at each submission as I post them one-by-one right here on the Blog!

Today’s post comes from Josh B. who wrote in to tell us about his second year at Beber Camp, located in the home state of Everything Summer Camp, Wisconsin. Take a look at his submission about this year’s experience:

“Hi, my name is Josh. I’m 9 years old and it was my 2nd summer at Beber Camp. I loved it so much I stayed for 8 weeks! Beber Camp is the best place on earth! It is the best because of all the friendships you can make. It also has great activities. At camp, friendships won may never die! My favorite things to do at camp this summer was making all these new friends and hanging with them. My favorite waterfront activity was waterskiing. I also loved the flying squirrel. These activities are great because you can’t do them at home! This past summer I loved being in the musical - I got to work backstage. I also had a great time with my cabin. I loved the sneak outs to star gaze, s’mores in the gazebo and all the jokes we told. The saddest part of camp was having to go home. I can’t wait to go back to 3BC!”

Josh! It’s great to hear how much you love your second year at Beber. It’s great that you’ve embraced camp life so much. Sounds like Beber Camp is hard not to love! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us! As for anybody else interested in Beber Camp, give it a closer look for yourself some time and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

What’s up, Woodworkers?

Woodworking is essential to our daily existence—everyone alive likely uses something made from wood every single day! Most folks spend their days within the wooden walls of their home. It’s kind of hard to avoid! Whether you’re making a birdhouse or constructing a house for people, you’re sure to get a great sense of pride when you reach the fruits of your labor!   

People have been using wood as material to create useful tools and beautiful objects throughout all of ancient history and back into prehistoric times as well. This natural resource has stood the test of time and shown us its value even in our modern era of steel skyscrapers and plastic tools. It is, however, an artform that’s not as common as it was back in the day.

The Benefits of Woodworking for Kids:

Creative Outlet
Making a physical object with your hands gives kids a place to focus their creative efforts. It may not be thought of as a common art medium (as opposed to visual art, music, or dance), but woodworking is just as creative and artistic as any other form of art!   

Figuring It Out
The challenge of working with wood confronts kids with flaws in the design or a process of trial and error. Woodworking aids kids in sharpening their problem-solving skills and builds confidence with more hands-on experience.

Measure Twice…
There are absolutely mathematical skills involved in the art of woodworking. Planning a design and making things out of wood is a great tangible way of teaching kids counting and measuring skills.

The Right Stuff
Woodworking gives kids experience with the proper tools for carpentry such as a tape measure, a speed square, a screwdriver or a hammer. For most people, especially with an activity like woodworking, experiential learning is the dominating means of gaining knowledge and confidence.

If your child is interested in Woodworking, then I recommend you look into a summer camp that offers it as an activity. If you already have a camp in mind, call them up to ask about their program. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Scout Fans!

Today is National Boy Scouts Day! This organization has become one of America’s largest and most well-known organizations to focus on the development of our youth. We’ve looked into the Boy Scouts’ history and learned how this organization came to be a household name in America! To learn more about the past of this famous institution, click here to check out a previous post.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the Scouts:

Norman’s Honor

For any of you youngsters who don’t know who this classic American artist is, Norman Rockwell is responsible for capturing so many slice of life moments of vintage America. A former Boy Scout himself, Norman offered his services for free to illustrate the annual Brown and Bigelow Boy Scout calendar, which he did each year from 1925 to 1976 (aside from missing a couple years).

Scout Money

In the second decade of the 20^th Century, the Boy Scouts of America became the largest uniformed body across the nation. One thing that helped their rapid expansion is that they worked in partnership with the Treasury Department throughout World War I and, together, they secured approximately $352,122,973 in Liberty Bond subscriptions!

Joseph Lane’s Publication

In 1911, a former Boy Scout named Joseph Lane turned 18—the same year he published his very own Boys’ Life Magazine! One year later, the Boy Scouts ended up buying the magazine from Joseph for $6,100, the equivalent of a dollar per subscription that he had. Now Boys’ Life Magazine is distributed to roughly 1.1 million Scouts every month!

From all of us here at Everything Summer Camp, we send a proud salute to all of you Scouts out there—current and former—today on National Boy Scouts Day! Keep leading by the best of examples and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John