It’s one part Shep, one part all the counselors, one part older kids … and it becomes contagious. Immediately the rest of the camp catches it. And that’s how we make it Skylemar….
It’s the vibe! It’s the cheers and laughter. It’s that upbeat positive atmosphere that you feel most of all at Skylemar meals. Yes, our boys are loud. At meals it’s a happy, feel-good, joyful kind of loud. There’s the silliness of the little guys and the sarcasm of the Sophomores and in no time everyone’s laughing.
We cheer wildly at post-meal announcements. It’s the kind where you stand up and maybe even jump up and down. Like today it was announced, “Laundry’s back!”. The crowd roared with delight! Bet you don’t get that at home after you do a load.
The laundry service here is a luxury that would be nice to have year-round. The boys toss dirty clothes into their Bongo (a popup hamper), because we’ve learned that more clothes end up in the right place if they can “make a basket”, as opposed to opening a draw string laundry bag.
Sunday is outgoing laundry day. That’s when you empty your Bongo into the specially designed laundry bag, and it gets taken away in a big truck. Here’s what makes the bag special -- you fill it from the top, zipper it up, and on the side there are straps to turn it into a backpack. But that’s not all….
The truck comes back two days later (today), and your bag awaits on the porch. Once at your bed, this time you open it with a three-quarter zipper on the long end, like a suitcase. Inside are your clothes, nicely folded and in perfect piles ready to go in your cubby. It’s magic!
More great news today: Arlington and Lance have won the Green Arrow at Archery! Everyone clapped and cheered. “He’s in my bunk!”, someone hollered.
Wing Night for dinner! " Yeeeeaaah!!!" they roared. Even the ones who don't like wings were clapping.
Barnicus and Laundricus came to announce the winners of the Clean 300. It’s Bunk 11 and Bunk 26! Yes, Bunk 26 – clean 14-year-old boys! Definitely something to cheer about!
Now on with the day!
Cubs and Lions went on a trip to Pineland Farms. They had a barnyard tour, and learned about the animals on a working farm.
Bunk 26 volunteered at the Naples Food Pantry. They were a huge help carrying cases of food that would be distributed to thirty-some families in need. The regular workers were very appreciative of the extra hands, and raved about how polite our boys were. We hope to do this every week.
It was activities as usual at camp, but the humid air felt like a storm was brewing. And it was. By afternoon there was thunder and rain, which meant routine safety procedures for staff. When the weather’s in question, all are called to their cabins with counselors, and Senior Staff are assigned to areas of awareness. There are always 30+ handheld radios on air at any one time here, so we can easily communicate. Communication at a time of need is one of the reasons our counselors do have cell phones in the cabin. Sure, that may mean that they’re texting when they shouldn’t be, but for us, safety takes priority. Turns out it was just a passing storm, so on to dinner. Pizza, pasta and salad tonight.
“BESTEST” was the Evening Activity. Lots of cheering at this one! It’s a competition by Division. The MC gave a prompt, and each Division selected volunteers to perform the response. Here were the prompts:
Show us your “bestest”…
- Impression of a mosquito hitting a windshield
- Impression of a hibachi chef
- Air band performance
- Impression of a fish being caught in Trickey Pond
- Handshake between three members of your team
- Best impression of an argument between a zip tie and a roll of duct tape
Where do they come up with this stuff?
Heard this today…
Assistant Director Cory gave 7-year-old Kash a high five at breakfast. His hand was covered in syrup!
...only at Skylemar.
