Week 2 at Elmwood!

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We had a spectacular second week at Elmwood! Camp was filled with smiles, laughter and friendship. It is magical to watch campers and counselors playing, being silly, getting to know each other and making everyone feel safe in Elmwood’s special community. None of this would be possible without our extraordinary staff who are focused on making sure every camper feels comfortable, safe and happy.

We kicked off the week being very silly on Monday for “Orange You Glad It’s Monday” where everyone wore orange from head to toe to celebrate the start of the week. Since it rained on Monday, our celebration continued into Tuesday, where we had an all camp meeting celebrating the color orange. Orange we glad it rained so that we had two days of fun?!

We enjoyed seeing everyone sporting their favorite t-shirt on Wednesday. There were sequins shirts, Star Wars shirts, superhero shirts, shirts with food on them and Pokémon shirts. There were happy camper shirts and shirts that changed in the light. It was a great lead up to our Luau Day where everyone was wearing Hawaiian shirts!

Luau Day was a blast! Everyone received a lei as they walked off the bus and entered Elmwood’s Hawaiian paradise. Aloha! At our tropically themed all camp meeting, Gregg and Jess bumped into a magical ukulele saleswoman. She tried to sell them Ukuleles that sounded like car horns, opera singers and even a burp. However, the ukulele that they ended up buying introduced them to a grand ukulele genie who granted them five wishes! After Gregg used the first four wishes for Hawaiian Punch, Hawaiian Pizza, Spam and hair, Jess got him to agree on using his final wish for the good of the Elmwood campers. Together, they decided to use their fifth wish for water slides and Hawaiian fun at Elmwood!

Thanks to our grand ukulele genie, everyone was able to enjoy a fun-filled day of water slides, adventures on the road to Hana (where campers went on treasure hunts and bowled down sharks so they couldn’t attack their boat,) and watching our performing arts team put on a Hawaiian-themed show! One camper said, “The slides were so fun! I loved how at the end they splashed with so much water!”, while another said, “I said I wanted to go last because it was my first time doing it, but then I went down and it felt fun. And when I got out, I was like I got wet and I want to do it again!” However, Alex, one of Elmwood’s counselors really summarized it best as she said “It was literally the best moment of my entire life.”

Stepping Stones News:

Our littlest campers had big fun this week! There were awesome sports stations at the ballpark with Jess, a great introduction to tennis with Heather, tons of singing with Anne, and many creative opportunities with Naomi. Naomi’s projects this week included a luau dancer paper bag puppet and dot paintings illustrating what campers were excited about for the summer.

Our 5-year-old campers had Super-K Day! Camper Superheroes wore capes, learned the secret K handshake, the Super-K cheer, and went on an adventure around camp to find objects that started with the letter K. Ask them what they collected!

Many campers passed another swim level this week while some were still working on dunking their head for the first time. All of them have loved working with Frances on becoming better swimmers.

Lower Village News:

Elmwood’s first and second graders had a great week even though Monday was a little rainy. During the rainy day, they played jeopardy and gaga, cooked with Jenny, played with over-sized board games, and wrote their own plays. Thankfully the sun came out by Tuesday so campers could fully experience our program. Campers played soccer, went on the adventure park, participated in archery and so much more! On Wednesday, G2A hiked Turkey Mountain. All of our second graders are looking forward to their hiking adventures! Lower village clubs this week included Under the Sea of Crafts, Block Puzzles at Woodworking, Rockin’ Rockets, Harry Potter Club, Make Your Own Musical, Softball Superstars, Gardening, Wacky Bankshot Basketball Relays, Archery, Elmwood Press Patrol, Cooking Around the Word in Five Plates, Fantasy Land Quest, World Cup Soccer, Terrific Tennis and Flexible Fun at Yoga.

Upper Village News:

Elmwood’s third and fourth graders had a terrific week. Several of our groups went on their first hike. While it was challenging, they conquered the mountain with Jerry. They were particularly fond of having lunch and hearing a classic Jerry story at the middle point of the day. League games got intense this week at soccer and softball. At the end of the week, all teams were just a few points away from each other. SOHO campers continued to work on their nature-themed arts projects, while our Discovery campers have now fully delved into their work learning about robotics. Our Performance campers have now learned several new songs and dances for their upcoming showcase. This week’s third-grade clubs included Under the Sea of Crafts, Incredible Rope Climber Toy at Woodworking, Volcanoes and Eruptions, Fantasy Land Quest, Home-Run Derby, Terrific Tennis, Archery, and Lanyard/Friendship Bracelets.

Seniors:

The EWD Seniors completed their two-week majors! Campers were proud of the progress they made in tennis, ceramics, and culinary arts. Of course, this group would be happy no matter what they are doing! There is such a strong sense of community and compassion, and each member of the group cares deeply for each other. This was seen on Wednesday’s Lake Compounce Trip where campers cheered for each other while they were sliding down water slides, riding on rollercoasters for the first time, or experiencing Phobia, Lake Compound’s scariest ride. All campers are excited to start their new majors next week but are even more excited to go on their first overnight trip.

We wish our entire camp community a wonderful weekend. We can’t wait to see everyone on Monday!