What's A Day At Junior Camp Like?
Yesterday was our first full day of Junior Camp! What’s a typical day like for the boys during this week? The bell schedule is similar to our longer sessions, but with more time during each activity period, and an earlier dinner/Evening Program/bedtime due to the younger average age of campers. Each day starts with a wakeup at 7:30am, followed by Morning Watch to share a thought for the day as a whole camp community, and set the tone for the rest of the day. From there, it’s time for breakfast!
That morning we fueled up with pancakes, sausage, peaches, an oatmeal bar, and a cold bar with yogurt and granola, fruit, cottage cheese and hard boiled eggs. Before heading to activities, we start every day with Morning Assembly, which takes place on the front porch of the Dining Hall, immediately following breakfast. This is a fun, high-energy, and silly time that we all share as a camp community. There’s a skit, singing and music from our “FCC Band” of staff, and time for announcements. Afterwards, it’s time for the first two activities of the day!
During this session, campers rotate through 17 different activities together as a cabin. It’s a great way for boys who are new to camp to experience a sample of many of the great things they can do at Falling Creek. The activities they’ll rotate through this week are: blacksmithing, horseback riding, outdoor skills, paddling, swimming, archery, team games, riflery, disc golf, climbing wall, flag football, arts & crafts, soccer, F.A.R.M., dance, pickleball, and woodshop.
After doing two activities together as a group in the morning, boys have the opportunity to enjoy a free-choice period before lunch. This is a time when they can play games under the Dining Hall, on the field or courts, or go swimming at the waterfront. Playing at the swim docks is usually the most popular free choice activity, since there’s nothing like having the zipline, rope swing, blob, and roller coaster to help you cool off on a hot summer day!
After lunch and a rest period to recharge back at the cabin, it’s time for the second two activities of the day. Campers get a second free choice period as well, just before dinner. In the evening, the fun doesn’t stop after the meal - it’s time for Evening Program! Yesterday we play Capture-the-Flag, which was made even more fun thanks to the “superhero day” theme we had! There was a fun announcement that was made by villains, and the campers were called to action by the counselors, saying that they needed all the campers to be super heroes to save everyone from the villains. Energy was high, and both the Green Team and the Gold Team won a round!
Finally, before heading to the cabins to get ready for bed, campers enjoy an evening snack of milk and cookies. Call to Quarters is at 8pm, so there’s plenty of time to shower, brush teeth, put PJs on, and get ready for bed. Before the Lights Out bell at 9pm, we have one more cabin tradition in the evenings: Evening Embers. This is a time when all the boys in the cabin circle up with their counselor around a lantern, and talk about their day. There’s a different Evening Embers theme and question each night this week to think about together.
On Opening Day, the theme of the day was “adventure”. This was certainly true for the boys, as this is the first time many of them have been away from home for an extended period of time. The boys discussed, “What does it mean to be adventurous?” and “What is something adventurous you hope to do at camp this week?” on the first night. No matter what their individual goals are for this session, or how each of them define adventure, this week is sure to be full of it!
Yesterday, for the first full day of camp, the Evening Embers theme was “Awe.” Awe is described as a “feeling of reverential respect, mixed with fear or wonder.” The first day of camp can provoke many feelings of awe, as it is wonderful to be able to try so many new activities, while also being a little scary to be away from home. Last night the Evening Embers question was, “What did you see or do today that inspired awe?” Today is Tuesday, and it’s sure to be another awesome day at camp!