Let’s Get the Ball Rolling!
It is the first official day at Falling Creek!
Let’s highlight what a typical weekday at camp looks like for your son. But warning, you might get a bit envious and want to join the fun.
Morning Watch
Our first Morning Watch had Matt Sloan, our chaplain at Falling Creek, greet us with a warm welcome and explanation. He emphasized that Morning Watch is a moment for us all to come together and sit in each other’s presence for a few moments, before we spread out for the day.
He explained the importance of sitting together in unity and taking a moment to enjoy the space we create as a community.
Morning Watch provides an opportunity for our community to share a story that matches the theme for the week. This week we speak about Honor, what it means, and how we can practice it. We had Jay Williams, a Falling Creek counselor, talk about why it is important to honor yourself, and how it can benefit your life. Jay shared how his grandfather modeled hard work all week and then always took time on Saturday to give himself space and time to rejuvenate, prioritizing your time for yourself. Honor yourself, in order to honor those around you.
Morning Assembly
Announcements for the Morning! Each day, we have a morning assembly that helps detail the ongoings of the day. Morning Assembly is filled with songs, skits and some good old dad jokes from our very own Frank Tindall.
This Morning Assembly provided the boys with an idea of what to expect throughout the day. We also got the weather report from Jackson Schlierf, our very own weatherman, who reported that it will be “a beautiful day, here at Falling Creek,” giving us the high and low temperature for the day, and informing us that it will be sunny.
Evening Program
Evening Program (EP) involves an activity or game that camp has prepared for the boys. This EP had us separate into Sorrel and Tsuga, as well as Robinia and Betula for some fun water games.
Sorrel and Tsuga went to the turf and gym where they were split up into their cabins to verse another cabin. They played ‘Sack Hop Relay,’ and a ‘Sponge Relay’ which involved them filling up buckets with water and a sponge. They also enjoyed a ‘Ping Pong Ball on Spoon’ race as well as the crowd favorite, ‘Slip and Slide Relay.’ They boys also played a new game, called the ‘Shoe Relay’ which involved retrieving their shoes from the other side of the gym, having them all piled up together.
Robinia and Betula went to the docks by the lake to enjoy some waterfront games! We had the ‘Dive of Pain’ which is essentially a belly flop contest off the diving board, but don’t worry, we also had the ‘Dive for Style,’ from the high dive to exhibit proper form.
We had loads of competitions, some including a “Bob Ross Appalachian finger painting contest”, as well as a sand castle building contest. The boys eagerly participated in the ‘Blob for Height’ contest, and the ‘Roller Coaster for Distance competition. We had the ‘Limbo contest,’ and the ‘Zipline for Speed.’ The boys enjoyed an eventful evening by the docks and had the best of fun.
Yummy Food for the Tummy
Breakfast, the most important meal, ready to fuel you up for the day! Our breakfast consisted of french toast, maple styled syrup, sausages, as well as blueberries. We also had our usual breakfast bar options with a range of fruits to pick, granola, greek yogurt, boiled eggs and oatmeal. With a selection of toppings such as dried fruit pieces, and seeds.
Our Lunch was a crowd favorite, philly cheesesteak sandwiches, with roasted zucchini and fries. Our usual alternative options are by the salad bar, this includes salad ingredients such as carrots, cheese, baby spinach and lettuce, green beans, tomatoes and hummus, to name a few. We also have beans and rice as an option for those boys who need the extra calories. We had oatmeal blueberry cookies for a dessert.
Dinner was asian themed with sesame chicken, chipotle sauce, egg spring rolls, and broccoli served with rice. Of course our salad bar alternatives were also available with its range of veggies, including our beans and rice option. For dessert, we enjoyed a delicious ice cream sandwich.
In addition to all these daily events and meals, the boys have six daily activities and out-of-camp adventure trips to choose from. If all the days to come are as fun as this one was, we’re in for a great Main Camp session!
