July 18th, 2011
Here are some updates on TAC, ESL, and the MAC juniors:
Today, Derek and I followed the TAC’s around for a few hours to check out their exciting enrichments. I started at “Iron Chef” where the kids made their own specialty pizzas and cooked them in the Ford Dining Hall with the help of Sarah Jean:
They took some funny photos when they were waiting for the food to be ready:
I also visited the “Art Attack” classroom where Rachael and the kids were working with clay:
They showed off their cool tie dye t-shirts that they made earlier in the week:
Derek caught some great action at the “Mad Science Lab”:
“The Laugh Factory”:
And the “Adventure Camp Record Room”:
All the classes looked like a lot of fun! After hanging out with the teens, I stopped by Tippets Beach to photograph the ESL campers having a blast on the slip n’ slide. Check out the fun below:
For dinner, I met up with the MAC juniors on the ford patio for a delicious cook out.
Some of the boys played four square while they waited for the food:
It was a jam-packed day and we can’t believe how quickly time is flying by! (There are only three full days of MAC and TAC session two left) : ( But we know that the campers have tons of fun-filled adventures ahead before they go!!
Zoe
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July 17th, 2011
Some of the MAC campers went geocaching today. They learned how to follow a GPS and had lots of fun searching Mercersburg’s bushes, english ivy and other nooks and crannys to find the hidden containers. It was pretty exciting, especially when they were filled with goodies!
Dinner was another exciting event. The kids had a theme dinner on the Ford Patio (some of the campers were dressed as barbies, and others as pirates.)
The counselors had a big surprise in store after everyone finished eating. Cassie, Kip and Elena showed up on a pirate ship! (Well..technically it was a golf cart…) BUT they did a great job transforming it into something awesome and piratey!
Then the campers headed off to practice their Hurricane and Tornado songs and cheers. The evening ended with movie night in the Burgin Center! The campers got to continue the pirate theme with the movie “Hook.” They got all bundled up with their sleeping bags, pillows, and stuffed animals. What a great end to the weekend!
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July 15th, 2011
The TAC’s just got back from a two-day adventure! They left early Thursday morning for an unknown destination with their sleeping bags and some warm clothes.
A few hours later, we arrived in Ohiopyle Pennsylvannia. It turned out that we were headed onto the Youghiogheny river to go white water rafting!
It was a great trip. The campers got to experience class 2 and 3 rapids and see some beautiful scenery. After the river, we had a pizza dinner and then headed to the Laurel Caverns campsite for the night. The campers played some games and then had a campfire. Jordan and Alex played some songs on guitar before bed time:
In the morning, we all walked over to Laurel Caverns to explore the largest cave in Pennsylvania.
Everyone had lots of fun exploring the caves and getting wet in the underground streams. (Although it was a little chilly!) Hopefully the teens will be well rested for the next adventures in store for them tomorrow!
Zoe
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July 15th, 2011
Yesterday the MAC campers went on all day great outdoor trips. They got back just in time for dinner. All the boys decided to wear toga’s to dinner, it was quite an amusing scene!
After dinner, the Tornadoes and Hurricanes split up and worked on making a song for their team.
The kids were having a lot of fun brain storming, being silly and creative. Soon we will see the result of their creative thinking.
Daniela
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July 12th, 2011
Greetings,
It is apparent that the camp cam team has been neglecting ESL, YWC, and Theater camp for the past few days so here is an explosion of updates!
So this morning I jumped around from class to class in the ESL territory. I found the campers in Rutledge Hall and the Library, my first entrance in both buildings, this was quite the adventure for me…
Here’s what I found:
After I visited ESL I went down to the dance studio in Burgin to see what the Theater kids were up to.
Turns out they were practicing acting through body language and facial expression.
After lunch I did some interviews with the Teen Adventure Camp while Zoe caught up with the Young Writers Camp.
Looks like there was a crime scene to be investigated. The campers gathered up clues and got the chance to create write their own story about about what they thought had happened to Matt, the dead clown.
And that is all we have for today. Stay tuned for TAC interviews!
Daniela
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July 11th, 2011
Today was filled with excitement for the Teen Adventure Campers. They went Cedar Ridge Adventures for the day! After arriving, they worked on some team building activities with Dan, Dustin and some other Cedar Ridge staff. They also played games with moon and fleece balls. They also set some goals that they wanted to fulfill that day. It was lots of fun.
Then the campers broke into three smaller groups to take part in the next series of activities. They had to undergo challenges like walking through a “mine field” blindfolded with only a partner to guide them through. Natalia had to pay close attention to directions so she wouldn’t step on any explosives and lose a limb!
The campers worked together to overcome a number of obstacles:
Then, after a delicious pack lunch of turkey sandwiches, the campers were faced with the greastest challenge of the day: a high ropes course!!! Dustin taught them how to put on their harnesses:
…and then they started climbing…
It was a great day. The kids fullfilled all of the goals they had set that morning. They pushed themselves, learned more about each other, offered other campers help and support, had fun, and they all got back in the bus in one piece!
When they arrived back on campus, they were excited to find a carnival awaiting them. There were hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner and cotton candy, funnel cake, and ice cream for desert. There were also carnival games, face painting, and a moon bounce obstacle course. Afterwards, the campers did cabin decorating before heading off to bed to rest up for the big day tomorrow!
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July 9th, 2011
Thursday night all the Teen campers had their affirmation circle and final camp fire. There were a lot of meaningful speeches and kind words.
In the affirmation circle a ball of yarn is passed around from person to person. Everytime a person gets the ball of yarn they choose the next person and tell them what they think of them.
Here the campers are performing their Tornado song.
Check out a clip of Thursday night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F5BIVj3bJs
Yesterday was a tearful day full of goodbyes and hugs for most.
Everyone, including camper’s parents filled the seats in the Burgin Center. The Tornadoes and Hurricanes did their camp songs and cheers and then the winner of the two was announced. Tornadoes won this years camp challenges! Once the ceremony was over, on the way out there were plenty of hugs going around.
Daniela
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July 4th, 2011
Today, some of the MAC campers went horseback riding for their Great Outdoors trip. When we arrived at the farm, the kids learned about the different kinds of horses and how to distinguish them by their color and markings.
They were also taught how to brush and groom the horses:
Eventually, they learned how to mount the horses and ride them around the barn. They were taught how to get the horses to go, turn left and right, and stop.
Some of the campers already knew a lot about horses and took lessons, and others had never seen a horse before. But regardless of skill level, everyone had a lot of fun. When we arrived back at camp, we got to eat a thanksgiving dinner of turkey, stuffing, and green beans followed by Mercersburgs’ famous PRETZEL PIE! Afterwards the campers had a campfire before going off to bed. What a great Sunday!
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July 2nd, 2011
Today, the Teens separated into groups for the off campus out door challenges. I hopped on the van with the Kayaking group with my bag of multiple cameras, including a waterproof camera. When we arrived we had a quick bite of lunch and then we headed out towards the river.
Ethan, the kayaking specialist, gave us all a quick spiel about the rules before we kayaked in the Antieam River (a class 1-2 river).
After we went down some small rapids we came upon a rope swing. Every teen in the group had a chance to swing into the water!
Then the teens got to learn how to surf the rapids!
When we got back to campus after a long day of rafting everyone cleaned up and headed to the BBQ on the Ford Patio, but unfortunately it started raining so we had to bring it inside of lower ford.
Check out what we had to eat!
The theme of the night was Western Style incase you were wondering about the pattern in clothing choice!
Daniela
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June 29th, 2011
It’s only day three of Mercersburg Adventure Camp and the kids are already going on big adventures. The Junior and Senior campers left early in the morning for white water rafting. (The Juniors went to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia and the Seniors went to Ohio Pile right in PA) Both groups had loads of fun in class 1, 2 and 3 rapids.
Since it was such a beautiful day, the river was busy with many groups of rafters. There were lots of splash battles (all in good fun of course!). Along the slower parts of the Junior MAC trip, the guides explained some of the Civil War history of the local area. They taught us about John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry and the campers learned some of the history of the Shenandoah river. They also got to see some wildlife. Blue herons kept flying past the rafts and several turtles were getting some sun on half-sunken logs.
When it got too hot, the campers had the chance to jump off the rafts and float along in the cool water.
The campers also stopped for lunch. The Junior’s had a delicious meal of fried chicken, potato salad, and watermelon. Mhh.
Both trips ended with big rapids that got everyone’s blood flowing!
Afterwards, the campers were pretty tired but they had to keep going because they were in for a real treat. Dinner was a BBQ on the Ford Patio and was followed by soccer and other games. What a busy day!
-Zoe
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