Bugle Call – Residential Week 1 – 2020
It has been a blast starting Residential Camp! We are grateful for the campers who arrived on Monday morning, whether they’re here for one week, three weeks, or the rest of the summer. After the new campers settled into their cabins in the morning, we launched into Camp with the Waukeenas and new Wildwoods taking the Swim Test in the afternoon. It was a sunny, toasty day so everyone was eager to get in the water! After the Swim Test, all of the cabins spent time creating cabin goals and contracts and getting to know each other through some good old cabin time. Some groups went down to the beach to swim or sunbathe, and others played icebreaker games to learn more about each other.
In the evening, the counselors led a LOC-style Bonfire for Evening Activity. In summary, LOC-style Bonfires include goofy skits, songs, and ridiculous buffoonery that makes everyone laugh. For example, the counselors performed two skits, one about camping among killer mosquitoes and the other about the Prince of South Manitou asking for the Princess of Sleeping Bear’s hand in marriage. In addition, we sang songs about a laundry-eating goat and Princess Pat sailing the seven seas. We also added some elements of a Kohahna Council Fire to this bonfire, like cabin cheers, individual introductions, and the fire building challenge (a classic Council Fire event). Overall, the campers had fun and laughed a lot during the LOC-style Bonfire!
Tuesday morning campers found out which Morning Activities they were in for the week. Kayaking, Waterskiing, Arts and Crafts, and Silversmithing were particularly popular. We also started our new Afternoon Activity format where counselors sign up to lead an activity for a cabin of their choice. These activities ranged from fairy house building with Gulls Nest to tubing with Windward. In the evening, the Wildwoods went to Pyramid Point and the Sandbowl to play games while the Waukeenas played an array of lawn games on the Great House Lawn. Both activities were opportunities for the older girls and the younger girls to bond within their respective Wildwood and Waukeena sections.
Wednesday was Cabin Day! Counselors planned special activities for their cabins to do together like tubing, cookie baking, and ziplining. Evening Activity was Wednesday Night Church led by one of the CTs who prepared thoughtful readings. We also had a socially distant hymn sing with Leelanau after the testimony meeting, which was a success! This is a favorite of many campers so we are thankful that we were able to make it work while abiding by social distancing guidelines.
During the final days of the week, we fit in some classic Kohahna Evening Activities. We played a Pines vs. Sands game on Thursday called 8 Sticks, an adaptation of Capture the Flag on the soccer field where the goal is to get the other team’s four flags in your team’s flag circle. And on Friday night, after packing and cleaning time, we did Lip Sync, a hilarious Kohahna favorite.
Saturday we said goodbye to the one-weekers in the morning and moved into new cabins for the Second Session. In the afternoon the campers participated in a Beach Bonanza to unwind after moving all morning. The Beach Bonanza included a rotation of activities the girls did in their cabins, such as a relay race, an obstacle course, and a sandcastle building contest.
For Evening Activity we cozied up with our cabins in the Great House to watch the movie Onward, a classic and relaxing Changeover activity.
It was a full and exciting week of Residential Camp! Moreover, First Session was packed with a successful two weeks of Day Camp and our first trial at Residential Camp. We are profoundly grateful to be up and running this summer, and cannot wait for Second Session to begin!
