Skylemar Blog

Cool2Care.

It starts with a story told by Nick Shep.  It was late August in his freshman year as a lacrosse player at Dickinson College.  During a pre-season captain’s practice, Nick wasn’t putting out much effort since it was a session that didn’t really “count”.

A senior player ran up to him and said, “Hey, Nick.  What’s going on?  It seems like you don’t care.”  Nick explained that it really didn’t matter since the coach wasn’t there.  The senior responded, “No, man.  It’s cool to care.”

For Nick, that’s when it “clicked”.  It’s cool to care about being your best, it’s cool to care about others, and cool to care about the world around you.  From that day on he played with all his heart, and always made sure to pass on positive energy.  He was ultimately elected Captain, but not because of his athletic talents.  He was chosen to lead because he cared.

At Skylemar, we call this message “Cool2Care”.  For example, it’s cool2care about winning and playing your hardest, while still caring about those who lost.  It’s cool2care about yourself, by brushing teeth, showering and washing hands throughout the day.  It’s cool2care about the land of Skylemar, by never leaving trash on the ground.  It’s cool2care about your bunkmates, especially when someone’s feeling left out.   And…It’s cool to care about loved ones at home so much that you might even get teary thinking about them.

It’s the motto we live by, at least most of the time.  You see, we’re human of course, so make plenty of mistakes.  Sometimes we forget that it’s cool2care and need to be corrected.  Then we t-r-r-r-y-y again.

Far more often than not, Skylemar guys demonstrate that it’s cool2care.  In fact, if you see someone putting cool2care in action, it can be shared on a card in the “Cool2Care Cooler” located on the office porch.  Every so often Nick will go into the cooler and pick out a meaningful card to read to the camp.

Tonight’s card was written about one who is especially kind and helpful to all.  He knows each person by name, and always says “hello”.  He is respectful, compassionate and puts others ahead of himself.

The first Cool2Care chain of 2022 is awarded to Isaac Garonzik.

PS Congrats to first time skiers:  Lajuan, Ainsley, Jack H, Dillon W, Ayan, Joseph P, and Logan D!

Walking on sunshine all day long!

The fields and courts were hopping.  It’s amazing how many things can be done with a ball.   There are all the regular games we’ve mentioned, plus today we played Handball, Kickball, Bocce, Volleyball, Spikeball, Mini Lax and Gaga.  If you’re not familiar, Gaga is kind of like dodge ball played below the knees inside an octagon sandpit.

There’s lots more than sports at Skylemar which adds variety to the program. The kids love Chilltop, our outdoor Arts & Crafts department.  Director Mary Beth is one of the nicest, most fun teachers a kid will ever have.  Her projects are geared towards boys, and include sand art, tie dye, model making and Shrinky Dinks (remember those?).  They make masterpieces with glitter, architectural structures out of wood and artistic creations out of clay.

The best part of Chilltop might be the conversations which take place while the guys are working.  There’s something about looking down and keeping hands busy that’s relaxing, and in turn helps discussions to flow.  In fact, they might even toss around ideas for the next hot product.  How about an athletic mouth guard that also whitens teeth?   Brilliant!

Skylemar has food artists too.  The SkyDeck is an indoor/outdoor cooking studio that’s one of the most popular places at camp.  Today at 6am, Ari F and Barron of Bunk 6 stopped by to cook the mussels they found in Trickey Pond.  Director Adam showed them how to do so with garlic and shallots.

The kids love being scheduled for SkyDeck for either breakfast or dinner.  Bunk 15 made a three-course meal all on the grill:  Elote corn, grilled steak with homemade tortillas, pickled onions and lime crema… then grilled peaches with homemade whipped cream for dessert.   Those who signed up for the Tapas Clinic during third period made empanadas and “Spanish Tortilla”, which is a frittata with potatoes inside.

We kept it relaxed for Evening Activity as well.  It was Spirit Night – an evening when we gather in the field in front of the Rec Hall for a time of gratitude and togetherness.  Tonight’s theme was “Brotherhood” and Bunk 22 led the responsive readings and songs.  Shep read a story about brothers helping brothers, and counselor Tommy shared his thoughts on the topic with his sermonette.  We conclude with the Apache Blessing (“May the sun bring you new energy by day; may the moon softly restore you by night.  May the rain wash away your worries; may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.”) …and then a round of ice cream for all.  George and Cory are fantastic at leading the camp songs, which always bring smiles and cheers.  It was fun to learn that the grandfather of two new campers wrote one of the Skylemar songs almost 70 years ago!

Upside-down cake kinda weather day.  Started perfect, then it poured… then sunny, and poured again.  Weird thing was the forecast said 90% sunny all day.  So clearly, we’re in the top 10%!

While skies were bright, Trickey Pond was the place to be.  Conditions were ideal for standup paddle boarding, canoeing and kayaking.  The dedicated and patient H2O team does whatever it takes to make swim lessons fun.  We’re especially proud of the beginners.

The waterfront at Skylemar is very deep – 30’.  We want everyone, despite their swim level to enjoy the giant inflatables, so the rule is that we wear life jackets.  That way a beginner swimmer can have fun with a friend who’s advanced.  The kids love the Iceberg – a giant climbing wall that you jump off of.  The Beast is a humongous slide adjacent to a water trampoline.  Then there’s the Rope Swing and the Pontoon (our floating diving tower).

The Ski Dock is known for getting every single person willing to try to get up on skis.  They have a top-secret method that’s shared only with the country’s finest instructors who happen to work at Skylemar.  It starts with massive amounts of enthusiasm, encouragement and patience.  Best of all, when the kid gets up it’s a golden moment for those in the boat as well as the dock-full of exuberant supporters.

Before long, one moves from the boom to the short rope to the full-length line.  Eventually it’s slalom and maybe even the Mau Mau Challenge (barefoot skiing).

Today Henry Z (Bunk 6), Miles B (Bunk 4), Brady J (Bunk 5), Henry G (Bunk 5), Sawyer (Bunk 5), Jacob W (Bunk 5) and Zeus M (Bunk 26) got up for the very first time.  Way to go!

As if it was planned, the recent rainstorms have come consistently from 11:40-12:40.  That’s the Clinic Period, when each camper selects an activity that they’ll work on for a week.  Signing up for Clinics is really fun in itself.  There are typically 14 or so choices, and the counselors advertise what they’re offering with a skit called a “commercial”.  Each camper has a Golden Ticket with his name on it, which he gives to the counselor offering the class that he wishes to take.

For example, this week’s choices included “World Cup Soccer”, “Captain Jack Sparrow Sailing”,  “Magic Touch Lax”, “Golf with Josh”,  “Catch & Launch Football”, “Tennis Groundstrokes”, “Shepherdy Reading Clinic”, “Hockey Combine with Coach Jim”, “Ski Dock Refresher”, “Water Games at the Lake”, “Handles Hoops Clinic”, “Spanish Tapas Making at SkyDeck”, “SkyPines Fire Building” and The Lab’s “Bigger Stronger Faster Clinic”.

Hardest part is deciding which to choose!

Fresh homemade cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, cereal, orange slices followed by a rainstorm.  Fortunately, Barney and Cory had a rainy day schedule ready to go.

Cabins rotated through an assortment of indoor activities, including Games in the Lodge (ping pong, pool, foosball, etc.) and Flamingo Bingo.  That’s the traditional game with a Skylemar twist.  Winners get to pick a stunt card for their counselor to perform.  For example, the counselor might have to do the chicken dance, sing the National Anthem, recite the ABC’s backwards or sing a song by Bruno Mars.  If the brave man can do it, the whole cabin wins a pair of sunglasses.

The Garden Cabin smelled delicious with Cookie Baking.  There was Bracelet Making at Chilltop, Legoland in the Farmhouse, and Board Games in the Bat Cave.  Suzie’s Card Shark Game Show was a hit under the Pavilion.  Porch Time with Shep can happen, rain or shine.  Shep has a topic that the kids discuss while eating Scooby Snacks.  Today they talked about what you should do when you see someone treating another unkindly:  you stand up and speak up.

After a lunch of cheesesteak subs and make-your-own salads, the rain was finished so the regular schedule resumed.  Archery, Volleyball, Baseball, Gaga, Hockey, Buoy Ball, Golf, Steal the Bacon, Soccer, Hoops, Throwing (as in discus and shot put) and Lax.  Lots of action at the waterfront too.  Check out the fish that was later filleted by Chef Junior!

Evening Activity was the Scavenger Hunt.  A younger and older cabin gets matched up as a team, and each team has to find items as well as accomplish tasks.  Without going into a building they had to find a pine cone shaped like the Eiffel Tower, a piece of duct tape, a water bottle with a sticker on it (easy) and two coins (really hard, especially nowadays).  They also had to tell counselor QLew a haiku, sing a chorus of any song, name four ways to cook an egg, and figure out how many working toilets are at camp (69 in case you’re wondering…).

Congratulations to the winners, Bunks 12 & 17!

Day 1 of real camp and it sure was a scorcher!  Hot enough to melt a water bottle, as some of the boys discovered.  Temps were in the high 80’s and the humidity was thick.  The Water & Sunscreen Wagon got plenty of action, traveling across fields and courts.

The little guys were up at dawn, ready to take on the day.  Counselors rolled out of bed and gave their best 6 AM effort.  Those who were older took advantage of the 8:30 breakfast hour and slept as long as they could.

“Bunk 1 raises the flag at the Rec Hall, and Bunk 2 at the Pine Grove”, the voice on the PA announced.  It’s a big honor to be the flag raisers, and the boys take it seriously.  We all stand at attention while the cabin in charge does the honors.  Once you learn how to fold the flag properly, it’s something that you never forget.

The morning paper, aka “the schedule”, awaits each group at the breakfast table.   Everything you need to know about the day is listed, including where to go when, and which counselor leads every activity.

For example, Bunks 1-9 were lucky to have a Waterfront morning.  Director Gia and her awesome staff at Trickey Pond did a phenomenal job with swim assessments.  The counselors swam alongside the kids, so that no one felt intimidated.  Once you were done it was time for a motorboat ride at the Ski Dock.

Meanwhile, Bunks 10-12 had Tennis, 13 & 14 had Lacrosse, 15 & 16 had Baseball, 17 went to Golf, 18-19 were at the Challenge Course, 20 & 21 had Hockey, 22-23 played Soccer, 25-26 had The Lab (strength & conditioning). 27 & 28 had Football and 29-30 went to Basketball.

But that was just First Period.

There are 7 periods in each day.  The first two are assigned and the third is a choice.  After lunch there are three assigned periods, followed by dinner and another choice period.  Evening Activity comes next, and we wrap it up around 9 PM.

Tonight’s Evening Activity was supposed to be a Campfire, but it was still too warm to sit around the extra heat.  Instead, we had “Sunsets and S’mores” down at the lake.  It felt great to be together as one big family having fun while appreciating the natural beauty of the colored sky.  Skylemar’s known for spectacular sunsets, and tonight’s was especially beautiful.  Favorite part of the evening had to have been the Counselor Belly Flop Contest. Congrats to the good sports who had us all wincing and laughing.

Holy Guacamole!  These guys are incredible!

If we could figure out how to bottle their positive energy, perhaps it could fuel the planes coming from across the country and abroad.

Today’s young travelers came from Maryland, California, Virginia, Alabama, New York, Louisiana, Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Mexico, Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Spain, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Kansas, France, Illinois, Washington DC and Maine.  Word on the street from the Southwest Airlines agent: “I’d love to have a group like Skylemar for every flight.  You guys are loud, but super respectful.”   Well said!

Contrary to how flights have been running overall, today’s were smooth and on-time.  Each of our 200 campers were welcomed warmly by 100 counselors who had spent the past two weeks training and preparing for this important day.  No matter how we described their liveliness, you really have to experience the joy of eight little guys running, squealing, laughing and repeatedly asking for a piggy-back.

By dinner time, just about everyone had arrived.  The traditional first night meal:  Heaping plates of spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread and Cesar salad.  Even the pickiest of eaters had plenty to choose from.

“Staff Intros” was the Evening Activity.  Directors Nick, Barney and DT had the kids cracking up with a wrestling skit.  Best part was hearing the boys cheer for their counselors, as each was announced.

By now, all are snuggled in bed with a room full of new brothers.  Shep made his rounds of “Good Nights” and checked on each and every member of the Skylemar family.  There were a few tears of course, but that’s to be expected.  After all, it’s hard to say goodbye to those we love.

Tomorrow’s the official kickoff – Skylemar 2022.  Let the summer begin!