Day Camp 1 - Tuesday

July 2, 2019

Today is the first day of camp, and all of our staff are so excited!

After drop-off, our campers got to meet their counsellors. They will be spending much of their time at camp with their two counsellors, and five other campers. This 2:6 ratio is higher than most camps, and allows our staff to form a close bond with their campers.

As a full group, our fearless leader Quack and coordinator Chinook explained Choice programs. Choice programs give our campers the opportunity to choose from four different activities. It is up to each camper to choose how they will spend a two-hour block of the afternoon. Today, our campers chose from gardening and tie-dying, K-pop dance, pastel art, and a variety of games in the gym.

Campers and counsellors then engaged in a photo scavenger hunt – pictures of various locations around the Foothills Academy, in order to allow our campers to get acquainted with the building.

Campers then got to spend 2:6 time with their counsellors. Each day, 2:6 time serves as important bonding time. Campers made their braids, which hang over their shoulders, used both to identify them as one of our campers, as well as allowing them to collect ‘bling,’ which campers and counsellors can make for each other. Groups also established goals for the summer and each 2:6 group made a group contract.

Following 2:6 time was camp-wide game. In camp-wide game, all campers and counsellors participate, with an optional, low-energy activity included. Today’s camp-wide game was called Temple of Doom.

This took us until lunch. Afterwards, it was time for Choice. Gardening/tie dying was the most popular today. Each camper had the opportunity to make their own custom t-shirt, and afterwards, their attention was split between a sandbox, the garden, and making pixie houses from balsa wood.

To close out the day, everyone gathered in the camp room to review goals they had set this morning, as well as for Steps in the Right Direction. A Camp Amicus favourite activity, Steps allows campers to give an extra acknowledgement to any of their peers, for anything they would consider exceptional. Steps in the Right Direction is useful for reinforcing social skills, as well as strengthening the bond between campers and counsellors. We finish every day with a debrief, as well as a zones of regulation check, before sending campers home.