Hey, Strawberry Lovers!

If you’re a big fan of strawberries—and who isn’t?—then you’ll go absolutely crazy about today! After all, it’s National Pick Strawberries Day—a great pastime for friends and families to get together for going strawberry-picking! It’s much more relaxing than say, apple-picking and, while apple-picking brings the taste of autumn, strawberry-picking epitomizes the spring season. 

In order to experience the full satisfaction a strawberry can deliver, you’ll have to have picked it yourself. Fruit farms all across the country open their gates this time of year for the general public to come and peruse these perennial plants to pick their prize strawberries. Picking your own strawberries is not only a fun adventure, it’s also a great way to meet and support your local farmers.

A favorite for lots of people, the strawberry certainly has a healthy following. How could it not? It has such a variety of possibilities like jam, pie, toppings for cereal or ice cream, salsa, the list goes on! But instead of telling you about all the ways you can prepare your picked strawberries, let me tell you some interesting, little-known facts about these curious, little wonders of nature:

1.) Strawberries—brace yourself—AREN’T berries! Berries carry seeds on the inside and there are no seeds inside strawberries. And, what most people assume the seeds are—on the outside—are not actually seeds at all, but tiny, whole fruits. Meanwhile, the red, fleshy part isn’t actually a fruit at all, but the receptacle of the strawberry plant!

2.) A Strawberry, by any other name, would taste just as sweet. Interestingly, strawberries have little to do with other berries, but are actually closely related to Roses! That’s right—that matching shade of crimson is no coincidence, it runs in the family.

3.) They’re a “berry” popular fruit (technically called an aggregate accessory fruit)—strawberries have a great number of health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, increasing good cholesterol, promoting heart health, containing a plethora of antioxidants, and more. It’s no wonder people are so crazy about them.

4.) California produces 83% of the strawberries grown in the U.S., weighing in at one billion pounds each year. If you were to line up—berry-to-berry—all the strawberries grown in California from a single year, they could wrap around the equator 15 times! That’s a lot of strawberries.

Find a nice, local farm where you and your family can spend some quality time together picking these interesting fruits off the many strawberry plants. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

I’m posting Tips and Advice about the Five Goals of Summer Camp on Tuesdays throughout May. Last week I gave parental pointers you can use to help make sure you’re kid improves in athleticism, intellectualism, and artistry—Goal #2—and the week before that I talked about Goal #1: Have Fun. Today we cover new territory with Goal #3.

Goal #3: Gain Independence.

Goal #3 is a different animal than the first two. You can tell, pretty much immediately, if your kid had fun at camp or if they sharpened their skills in things they’re passionate about. The results of the first two goals are more-or-less concrete outcomes, whereas the results from Goal #3 can be a little more subtle and slow to show.

Being away from home in itself gives your kid the confidence and interest in discovering new things on their own. Kids become more outgoing and take healthy risks that they otherwise wouldn’t take with parents around. In fact, being away from home is the most influential forces in gaining independence.

Sometimes, the results of your kid’s achieved independence will be more evident. Kids return from camp and suddenly stop interrupting when you’re talking with somebody else or clearing the dinner table without being asked. How does this happen?

It works like this: your kid is given a taste of something new at camp—responsibility. They’re responsible for tasks at camp and (with guidance) they’re responsible for themselves. This creates an awareness and understanding of what needs to be done within their community at camp and, without being told what to do, campers do it.

As noted in Drs. Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski’s ‘The Summer Camp Handbook,’ “Independence slowly evolves alongside an increased sense of interdependence—the way in which we all count on one another.

Parents should also keep in mind that their kid’s increased responsibility and use of manners will likely fade throughout the year. After all, they're kids! Camp isn’t going to turn them into adults! It just gives them a push in the right direction. Come back next week to read about Goal #4: Make Friends and Develop Social Skills. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Explorers!

If you’re an intrepid explorer, than you probably already know that one of the best places to do your exploring is in a museum! There are all different kinds of museums and they’re all rich with the discovery and exploration of modern, historic—and sometimes PREhistoric—times! From science, art, history, natural history, and other categories, roughly 17,000 museums can be found in the U.S.Lots of small towns have their own, small history museum. And, though widely considered the least popular type of museum to visit, you’d be surprised what you can find out about the history of your own town. Some towns are able to boast battlefields and other, interesting claims to history. Today’s a good day to visit your town’s museum if you have one—it’s National Museum Day!

Easily winning the numbers, small town museums ARE considered less of an occasion than any others. For a step up I would recommend planning a visit to your closest science or art museum. These places will hit the spot when hungry for an afternoon of educational and grabbing entertainment.

In my opinion, however, the natural history museums are best. Born and raised in Milwaukee, I was spoiled with frequent trips to the Milwaukee Public Museum throughout my childhood. I love that place! For a thorough and accurate look into the prehistoric past, ancient times, and modern history, this is a great place to visit.

As opposed to the 60 minute/afternoon-long trip you’ll likely find at most science, art, or small town museums, you could spend the better part of a day browsing the three floors of the Milwaukee Public Museum’s countless exhibits, dioramas, and information signs.

Plan a trip to your closest or favorite museum soon if you can’t make it today! It’s a day sure to be brimming with fun! As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Lovers!

As it’s prime time for all of you to be gearing up for the fast-approaching summer camp season, it’s that time again for Everything Summer Camp as well. That’s why we’ve recently made outstanding additions to our stellar camp shop. While we’ve already added a LOT, we’re not done just yet! We put our heads together for our most recent addition and said, “Let’s think Pink…”
Take a peek at our latest bedtime apparel of Fleece Robes, Pants, and Shorts from Candy Pink!

These bedtime and lazy morning apparel pieces work great for getting sweet dreams and beauty sleep at summer camp or afterward, at home. The Robe, Pants, and Shorts are all made of 100% polyester. Pick your favorite design of these four, fun available options—Bubblegum, Handbag, Make-Up, and Neon Animal—and be sure to catch your Zzz’s in these comfy fleece pajama bottoms.

Begin and end each day at camp living the life of luxury. You’ll know it every time you sink into a Candy Pink Robe. You’ll be the coolest at camp in your Fleece Robe that matches or compliments the Candy Pink design on your pajama bottoms. Wrap yourself in complete comfort and fall in love with a Fleece Robe of your own.

The epitome of soft, these Fleece Pants make excellent pajama bottoms at night or the enjoyable rainy morning. They fit nicely, giving you a snug hug around your waist. Go with these awesome pants for your camp stay.

Of course, if it’s too hot out, better go with a pair of Fleece Shorts as well. They’ll be super-comfy on a hot summer day or sitting around a roasting fire at night. Sure to keep you comfy and not-too-hot when you wear them to bed, these Shorts are perfect for a pleasant camp stay.

Shop all of our p.m. apparel right here and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

Last Tuesday I talked about a series I’m posting on this Blog throughout the month of May. The series is about the Five Goals of Summer Camp. Last week I disclosed the first goal, which is by far the easiest to accomplish at summer camp: Have Fun! The next goal isn’t too difficult either, and that goal is:

Goal #2: Improving athletic, intellectual, and artistic skills. 

As Dr. Chris Thurber and Dr. Jon Malinowski point out in their excellent summer camp guide, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook,’ they explain the five goals of summer camp. And from their explanation, we can glean that for the same reason Goal #1 is so easy to achieve, Goal #2 is nearly as easy. And why is that?

Because camps are fun manufacturers—experts at it, in fact! They can make anything fun and they have countless fun things to do. That’s why you’re sure to have so MUCH fun at camp!

And that’s why you’re sure to mature in athleticism, intellectualism, and artistry (or, to put it another way, your body, mind, and soul).

Parent Pointers:

-    Most cabin staffers have a knack for teaching. But you’ll want to make sure of this yourself. Watch for specific qualities in cabin leaders—do they set a good example or do they start swearing when they lose their temper? Do they encourage the personal improvements of campers or do they use competition as a means of motivation?

-    Overnight camps offer something that day camps can’t: immersion. The improvements of Goal #2 take some time. Kids need every second of the day to work on these things. They get that at overnight camp. There, they eat, breathe, and sleep camp. However, at day camps, the camp day ends at a specific time every day. The learning process is interrupted and never given enough time to really bloom.

-    Lots of kids can have a tendency to stick with the things they know. If they have a preexisting passion for archery, it’s likely that their first instinct will be to head off to the archery targets. Before camp, it’s good to encourage your children to challenge themselves with something new during their camp stay.

Goal #2 will certainly be reached at any good summer camp! Tune in next week, Tuesday, to hear about Goal #3—Gain Independence. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John