Two buses of excited campers arrived at camp this morning. We ushered them off to their tents and got them all settled in before meeting in the dining hall for a brief orientation and snack.
For our first activity, we played a couple of games to introduce the counselors to the campers and then they did a project that we call the full value contract. Each grade gets a big piece of poster paper. They come up with a name for their team, and they write down a list of goals and/or principles for their time at camp. They then sign their name on the poster so it makes sort of a contract to encourage them to get the most out of camp.
The sixth graders called themselves "The Waves" while the 7th graders chose "The Sigmas of Ohio" as their moniker. We were unable to determine what the significance of Ohio was, but they said they chose the Sigmas because they like math. For the most part, they wrote affirmations like "be positive," "be respectful," "be brave," "try hard," etc., all qualities that we try to foster here at camp.
After lunch, we had two activity periods. The Waves (Blue Team) started with climbing while The Sigmas of Ohio played a game called pillow polo. It is a little bit like field hockey, but it is played with a padded stick and a foam ball. It's a lot of good exercise and a lot of fun. For the second activity period, they exchanged places.
The weather has been quite good today. There was the occasional sprinkling of rain, but nothing that would interrupt our fun. We hope that holds for the rest of the week.
The kids have showered and had their dinner. Soon we will begin our evening program. We will sing some campfire songs, play a few games, and roast marshmallows for s'mores.
That is all from Camp Taiwan for tonight. Below is a Dropbox link where you can see photos of our day. I believe the teachers also took some pictures, and I expect they will share them elsewhere.
Dropbox link