What a wonderful third week of camp the Junior Girls had! This week I watched our Junior Girls continue to build connections and discover new things about themselves.  Along with these discoveries comes a new level of resilience for the campers.  Resilience is built through different types of experiences, and each camper certainly goes through an array of social and programmatic experiences while at Camp.

 

For example, this week I observed Junior Girl Campers take their swim tests for the second or third time.  I witnessed Junior Campers climb a little higher than before on the Rock Wall.  I watched Junior Girl campers complete the Sky Village course with smiles on their faces who were hesitant when they began.  None of this could happen without the encouragement of their counselors, friends, and their own RESILIENCE which helps them to continue to push themselves a little bit harder and a little bit further each time.

 

This week some of the Junior Girls went on various TREK Trips including a hike up Hackensack and a nature walk at Clara’s Place.  The Frosh Girls learned all about the edible plant woodsorrell on their nature walk and even got to taste some.  Then they got to cool off by splashing around in the Hudson River.  Even though it was a little chilly, the Frosh Girls decided to have a positive attitude and show RESILIENCE by having fun in the water!

 

Also, The Frosh girls performed a “School House Rock” revue for the ENTIRE camp.  All of the Junior Girls participated in this performance and gave it their all.  The girls practiced long and hard to memorize songs and dances and definitely showed their RESILIENCE as they powered through the performance!

 

It was wonderful to see all of the families on Visiting Day and watch the parents get to experience the magic and fun of Camp.  Although we LOVE when the parents come to play, it is always great to see the smooth transition back into the everyday camp routine and to see how our RESILIENT Junior Girls  jump right back into the fun.  It’s never easy saying good-bye, but the campers are learning that it is okay to miss your family at home AND still love camp.  They had fun indulging in their tasty Visiting Day Treats at the candy party.  They then got into the Halloween spirit as they dressed in creative costumes and played fun games.  They also watched the Tribal Torch Lighting later in the evening when the themes for Tribal 2017 were revealed. (Mohawk-Mother Nature and Iroquois-Father Time).  By the end of the evening, they were exhausted and completely overloaded with fun!

 

Lastly, the Junior Girls had a really fun Junior Girls Flamingo Pool Party this past week.  It was wonderful to have all of the Junior Girls together to splash around in the pool and float on flamingo floats.  It is nice to watch the Junior Girls expand their friendships outside of their own groups and continue to reach out to other Junior Girl campers who they may not know as well.

 

Sometimes the days at camp can be very tiring, but the Junior Girls energy never wavers and they continue to be outreaching to others, building connections, discovering more about themselves, and as a result, building their own RESILIENCE.  What better place than to do all this than Camp????