Archive for August, 2010

Senior Lodge comes back from their trips tomorrow, but I wanted to share two events that I’m going to remember all year long.

We have five Big Lodge Cabins and one First Lodge. We all had a campfire and naming ceremony together. It was full of Monty Python Skits, Improvised Theater with Towel Man and Pool Boy, and even an all-boy rendition of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me”. I really loved the uninhibited spirit of the evening - a bit ribald but somehow incredibly innocent. Just boys being boys and lots of laughter.

There will be time for a bit more gravitas on Wednesday, when they will write their “Can’ts” - whatever they believe is holding them back form where they want to be. We then pile them on little boats, set them of fire and watch them disappear into the cove.

Finally, I’d like to share our Top Secret Mission Night. Each group was given a mission, and then would be rated on the following:

- Task Completion
- Musical Ability
- Ninja Skills
- Ability to Butter up your Supervisor
- Color Perception and Selection

The tasks actually bore a great resemblance to the chores around camp that were not being done so well. As Mary Poppins said:

In ev’ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job’s a game

The kids response was incredible. They became a whirling, singing, karate-kicking, complimenting cleaning machine.

Oh yes, finished with a cupcake bar, and every group had special toppings. So indeed, a spoonful of sugar did help our Timberlake get clean.

On Thurday evening we had a mini-banquet for our A1 campers, complete with spontaneous singing and general revelry.

All of Senior Lodge has gone out on trips, ranging from hiking in the White Mountains, canoeing in Maine, or clearing the Georgia Connection trail.

Today Big and First lodge are out on Adventure Day. Some are in camp doing theater and local exploits, while many are out at Danbury Slides, Warren Falls, White Rocks and other nearby day trips.

This evening is a Council Fire, with special appreciation beads.

Tomorrow will be a restful Sunday with an Arts Evening.

Next week will be busy with project completion and there’s only one week until the Fair! On Thursday we have our Harvest Meal from our own F&W gardens (plus very local chickens!) followed by our themed specially themed All Camp Game and Banquet on Friday. Hardly a dull moment.

Was on Wednesday, Aug 4th. It’s a game played at night that your sons will be glad to explain to you after camp. I posted a few photos of the clever decoys that were posted around the Upper Lodge, as well as the crafty camouflage used by patrol members. Spies filled up the jail, but had great hiding places and most got their message through. Now we’re puzzling over their message as a camp, and wondering who amongst us will be a spy next summer?

This night is for our 11-14 year olds, and involves thinking about the stereotypes society promotes about men and how we can choose to accept those or not. We can also choose the language we use with our peers, such as expressions like “that’s so gay” or “man up and do it”. This evening we reflect on what effects that language can have on others.

We always end this night with a sense that we can make a difference, that we can work together to make a more accepting place, not just at Timberlake, but back at home as well. It’s nice to get support at a place like TL for standing up for yourself and others, even when that can be difficult.

Not quite as exciting as Spy Night, but still unique. We had a slow Sunday morning, with letter writing and cabin cleaning. After a pasta and garden salad lunch, everyone had a cabin afternoon. Some went to the sauna, others on a day hike and others to Bearpit tree.

For dinner we had pork raised at Tamarack Farm and cured by our Farmer’s husband. Sweet potato casserole, braised chard with a citrus reduction on it. A salad with fresh strawberries and feta, salad dressing with herbs and well as homemade cheese bread with herbs from the garden.

And after the meal we had another TL first: Logic Night, aka Geek Night. There was the upper lodge games room, with board games and cards, while in the rest of the camp there were clever brain puzzles. You know the logic puzzles where you have a fox, a sheep and a fox on one side of the river? Well, we did that between rafts with real boats (not real foxes or sheep though, for their welfare) There were other games with match riddles, water transfers… you get the idea. Campers had a great time.