Working full time for Camp Canadensis means that every season has a completely different feeling, and the kinds of things we are working on vary widely!  To generalize, in the Spring we are fine tuning the details for an amazing summer, in the Summer we work day and night to make camp magical for every child, in the Fall we get to reflect and begin planning how to top the prior summer, and in the Winter we travel!  That means now is the time of year when all of us in the winter office take to the roads and sky to meet as many of our campers and staff members as possible in person.  Eric has been traveling in Australia and New Zealand, Matt has been traveling in Eastern Europe, and later today I’ll be heading to the United Kingdom to interview staff applicants.  In February, Brian, Cara and I will be on more than 15 college campuses – we truly believe that nothing replaces the face to face interaction and vibes you are able to get with in-person interviews.  Camp is way too personal to hire staff only by phone!

In addition to meeting our staff, we will be traveling to meet our families!  All the way back to our founder, Bill Saltzman, visiting campers in their homes before their first summer at camp has been a hallmark of the Canadensis experience.  We love the opportunity to focus on one child at a time, get to know their interests and to form a relationship with the entire family.  This winter, Brian, Eric and myself will travel thousands of miles to meet with our new 2014 campers, and when we do we will “introduce” them to you on our blogs – so keep checking back!  If you have a child coming to camp for the first time, call us to schedule your home visit, or we will be giving you a call to get a date on the calendar soon!

Today, I wanted to introduce you to Sydney, she is currently in 5th grade and will be an Upper Inter Girl at camp this summer!  She lives in Bala Cynwyd, PA, is a veteran of our Tour & More Weekend overnight program, and she is a triple alumni!  In the photo above, she is with her mom, Tracy Chalfin, and grandmother, Connie Creed – both are alumni of Canadensis!  Sydney will be turning 11 at camp this summer and her mom was reminiscing about how much fun camp birthdays were!  Apparently, birthday girls used to get a delicious frozen chocolate cake…and although we keep a lot of traditions at camp, the cake Sydney will be getting this summer will be fresh baked, and vanilla!  In addition, Sydney will get to pick a special birthday activity for her bunk, she’ll be serenaded by the entire camp at Morning Line Up, and have several other extra special treats during the day.

When I was over during winter break, she and I talked a lot about crafts, and she showed me some of her recent projects.  She had done a cool “melted crayon” art project (like this) and showed me a skirt and slippers she had recently sewn at the Handworks Studio!  She attends Penn Charter School and the ceramics and art projects that she’s made in class were really awesome!  She enjoys a lot of different activities, including ice skating and rhythmic gymnastics.  She was about to go to a gymnastics exhibition and her uniform was super cool with flames all over it…it sparkled and looked like you could cook s’mores off of it!

In addition to be super flexible on the gymnastics mat, she has a ton of camp spirit!  One of her friends taught her songs and cheers that are sung in the dining hall, and she can’t wait to do the cup song with her friends while waiting for a meal this summer!  Over winter break, she got to spend some time with her family in NYC, and she was really looking forward to a visit to Dylan’s Candy Bar, so I’m sure Sydney will love the canteen (where we keep the candy!) at camp!  Can’t wait to see her enjoying everything this summer!

It’s 2014, and that means camp is only months away!  I celebrated the new year out in Arizona where my parents live, and I enjoyed all the amazing weather and outdoor activities.  One of the highlights of my trip was getting to visit the awesome family above!

This is Dylan, and he’ll be a Lower Junior Boy at Canadensis this summer.  He’s currently in 1st grade, and has SO much energy…his bed time is later than mine!  I brought them the Canteen on the Fly shirts, and he did an awesome job designing and coloring his in.  Dylan loves having sleepovers with his friends, and he can’t get enough soccer!  He even has a remote control soccer ball, so he can play indoors.  He’s up for any sport and really likes basketball and baseball too.  He’s excited for all of the food at camp, including noodles in the dining hall – but he’s most excited for the candy at the canteen!  I told him all about the special days like carnival and super hero day and he’s excited!  He won’t be sleeping late on special days though – he gets up early!

We ate M&M cookies, and played this super fun game called “Boom Boom Balloon”.  It was so much fun – you roll a dice, and then have to push a certain amount of sticks into a balloon without popping it – so silly!

It was wonderful catching up with his big sister Jaden, who will be an Upper Inter Girl at camp, and this will be her second summer.  Things are very academically challenging in 5th grade at the Phoenix Country Day School, but when we hung out she had just gotten back from a vacation in NY (where she saw some camp friends!) and a cruise to the Caribbean.  Thoughts of school work were far from her mind, but she showed me a video for the school and it looks like they have an amazing art program and beautiful campus.  Jaden was one of the stars of our Seussical the Musical production, and since camp ended she was in a production of Law & Order: Fairytale Unit.  She has so many great memories from the summer, and can’t wait to be back!

In the midst of all the fun we were have in Phoenix, Dave and I took a trip down to Tucson, Arizona – we went hiking and visited the Biosphere 2.  Along the way we also stopped at an ostrich farm that had a ton of different animals to feed and interact with.

Of course, they had a lot of ostriches – I learned a ton about them, and I was most impressed with how strong their eggs are.  You can stand on one without it breaking!

I gravitated towards the deer in the petting zoo – the ones that live at Canadensis during the summer always run away, but these guys were all excited to have a snack with me.

My favorites on the ranch were definitely the goats!  I know this photo looks quite strange, but I’m a HUGE animal lover, and I promise that the goats were really happy and able to go wherever they wanted…they just stick their heads in these holes to try and get a treat from you!  Now, I can’t believe I’m posting this next photo…but you are encouraged to feed the goats by putting a pellet in your mouth and leaning in…it’s called a goat kiss!

Another trip highlight was playing bingo with my parents!  I blog about my love of bingo pretty frequently, but it was so fun to take my mom for her first experience.  She is a dedicated, life long mah jongg player (she let me play with her group of friends for the first time ever this trip!) and although we didn’t end up winning at bingo, we still had a lot of fun and some heart pounding moments when we were one number away!  I don’t think she’s as hooked as me, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be going back on my future trips!

One last thing I have to share…at the New Years block party we attended, they had motorized stuffed animals you could rent and take on a spin.  They are just amazing!  Happy New Year everyone, can’t wait to see you at camp later this year 🙂

This past weekend, Matt Unger (operations manager at Camp Canadensis) and I decided to hit the slopes and go skiing.  This was the first time either of us had put on ski’s in about a decade…needless to say it was a bit scary at times, but we had a great time going down the green circle (easiest!) slopes at Bear Creek, and I’m proud to say that after almost 10 runs, we both ended the day injury free!

Here’s Matt mid-run on the Broadway trail.  He was much faster than me, but always waited at the bottom so we could take the lift back up together.

Our matching green jackets and black pants were just an accident!  We had an awesome time getting back on the slopes, and we are both hoping to take advantage of the many ski destinations close to us in PA this winter – I’m actually hoping to get back out there this weekend!

In addition to enjoying the winter sports you can do with the tons of snow we’ve been getting in the Northeast, there are ways to enjoy the cold weather while staying inside.   I recently had a Soup-A-Thon with Cara Corradetti (our CIT Head Counselor at Camp Canadensis) where we made endless soups over the course of three hours in her new Vitamix blender (a similar version is pictured above).  This machine is amazing, and can blend smoothies, nut butters, dips and even puree and heat up soups!

(Of course I was cooking in my favorite Canadensis sweatshirt!)

By the end of the night, we had made 9 different soups – the perfect thing to add to a meal during the chilly winter.  Brian Krug (director at Camp Canadensis) has recently gotten in on the blender craze too…he’s recently starting making fruit smoothies, and I’ll bet he’ll be blogging about it soon!  The green smoothies were a big hit with campers this summer – we made them during Free Play with the “Avocado Aficionado” club and it was also a fun prize bunks won at the end of the summer!

I haven’t been crafting nearly enough lately, but I thought I’d post some photos of recent projects over the past month.  In the photo above, you can see the 2013 Canteen on the Fly t-shirt.  It was a mostly blank canvas, and at each ice cream shop location, we setup a bunch of fabric markers to let kids create!  I got in on the fun, and colored mine as shown above – I love pink and orange together!  At the Westchester location, it inspired new Lower Junior Girl, Juliana to create a similar masterpiece!  I’m excited we can match at camp this summer!  Check out some awesome creations below…each one was totally unique!

 

Sisters Anna (3rd summer, Upper Inter) and Lindsay (2nd summer, Lower Inter) made multicolor creations on the Mainline

Dylan is a new  Lower Inter Girl, she went for a tie-dye look on Long Island.

Noah is a 2nd year, Upper Junior Boy from NYC, he took a minimalist (maybe cubist?) approach.

Hannah is a new Upper Inter Girl from Blue Bell, I love the way the black, pink and yellow look!

New Upper Junior Girls Samantha & Sydney met at the Mainline event and colored together.

New Upper Inter Boy, Noah went for a striped motif in Westchester.

Last week while I was interviewing Art Students at Temple University, I happened to be there during a community event while they were making gifts for an after school program, and a senior center.  In the photo below, balloons were used to make stress balls (which also happen to be great for students taking finals!) – how cute is the Minion stress ball?

This next project used an easy to follow template to weave two pieces of felt together into this adorable heart purse with a small wrist strap.  It was fun to mix and match different color combinations.

Recently, 2013 Girls Bunk 6 had a reunion where they got crafty…they went to Make Meaning in NYC – a place that has soap, candle, ceramics , jewelry and tons more projects to enjoy!  In the photo above, the girls have the candles they created in the polka dot bags.

The parents of Girls Bunk 6 had a great time getting together as well, and one of them is super crafty in her own right!  Above is a photo of Jordyn, who will be returning to camp for her 3rd summer as an Upper Inter Girl, with her family.  Her brother Jared will be a new Lower Junior Boy this summer, and he can’t wait!  Every summer while Jordyn is at Canadensis, her mom Wendi takes some of the photos she’s in on the website and creates a unique way to show them off in her room, and it’s a surprise when Jordyn gets home!  This year, Wendi made a #18325 (our camp zip code) full of photos to hang above her bed…so awesome!

 

 

The 2013 yearbook DVD was mailed on Friday afternoon, and will be arriving in your home soon!  Here’s a sneak peak at the front and back of the case, featuring our amazing 2013 CITs!  Pop some popcorn, and enjoy the summer memories!

Also, the Canadensis Carewear Boxes arrived two weeks ago, and we are hoping everyone has had a chance to open it up by now!  I wanted to show everyone the awesome stuff inside.  Above is a sample girls box, and here’s what was in it:

A- Camp Canadensis 9-inch wall clock

B- Package of stickers, 4 lollipops, pen and car magnet

C- Canadensis overnight duffel bag – this is the perfect item to bring on a sleepover with friends!  We have 6 different colors of bags so even siblings got different ones!

D- Canadensis sunglasses, imprinted on both sides.

E- Deck of Canadensis playing cards

F- Canadensis tumbler, packed with candy

G- Girl also received this adorable and soft Teddy Bear wearing a Canadensis t-shirt

The boys package was really similar, but a lot of the colors were different.  Also, the Teddy Bear is swapped out for a mini-basketball hoop!  We hope you all loved it!

I recently got to spend some time with Sydney, a current 3rd grader who will be a new Junior Girl this summer.  She lives in Delaware, which was the very first state in the US, and as far as I know, she’s the first Canadensis camper from Delaware!  She is so excited, and ready for camp.  She had her first sleepover with a friend when she was 5 years old, and she’s loved it ever since!  Sydney had tons of questions about camp, and even though it was late at night right after ice skating practice, she didn’t even need to write them down, she remembered them all!

She goes to Tower Hill school, and they run on a 6-day schedule…just like camp!  Her favorite special subject is arts and crafts, and a big reason why she picked Canadensis is because of our art center.  In her school art class, they are learning about the Van Gogh “Starry Night” painting, and making their own version in ceramics.  Although she likes art, she is a well-rounded girl – and likes just about everything!  Sydney’s favorite sports are soccer and tennis.  She’s excited about being on the swim team at camp this summer, and he favorite stroke is backstroke.  She’s taking piano lessons at home (maybe one day she’ll play as well as her dad!), and she also LOVES roller coasters – she’s not afraid to go upside down, or backwards…the bigger the better!

Sydney can’t wait to try horseback riding at Canadensis this summer.  When we looked through camp pictures, she was also really excited to see the tent the campers use on the overnights – she can’t wait to sleep outside!  (She’s a little nervous about where she goes to the bathroom and changes…but I told her we have a plan for that!)  She will be turning 9 years old right before camp ends, and she thought the pizza party sounded great, but the Sprite soda will be the highlight for her!  She was disappointed that we don’t have sushi or Indian food at camp, but she loves sloppy joes and Mexican food, so we’ll find plenty of options for her in the dining hall each day!  Before I left, I gave her a copy of the 2013 Video Yearbook DVD – she was the very first camper to receive it this year, but all of your copies went in the mail this afternoon! 

Earlier in the day, I was on the University of Delaware campus interviewing new staff members.  I very lucky to get a tour from the guy in the photo above…2013 Upper Senior general bunk counselor, Matt Bibby!  Matt is a Senior, education major and he’s about to spend all next semester student teaching.   In addition to being in Lamda Chi fraternity, he’s also a coordinator of the Blue Hen Ambassadors, the group of 200 students that give tours to prospective High Schoolers.  It’s a very prestigious organization, and I was glad to have him show me around campus.  It seemed like Bibby knew EVERYONE on campus -and he’s full of facts and info about the school, it was a great tour!

I also met up with Dana Aronowitz, a CIT of 2009 and someone who spent many years at Canadensis as a camper and counselor.  She is now a Junior at University of Delaware, and is studying Engineering.  She is also a member of AEPhi (LML to all my AEPhi’s out there!) and through them gets involved with a lot of things happening on campus.  She hasn’t made it up to camp on a Visiting Day recently, but hopes to be back in 2014.  She has been spending her summers working for a Engineering firm and last summer traveled to Israel.

Overall, it was a great to see all of the extended Canadensis family members in Delaware, and we recruited some new staff members to join us!

I’m wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving today – and hoping you get spend it with loved ones, friends and family!  I’ll be spending the day with some of my wonderful extended family members in NY, but unfortunately I won’t get to be with my parents or my sister because they’ll be in Arizona and Texas.  I feel so lucky to have a family that loves and supports this crazy camp thing I do year after year, and I just wanted to express my thanks, and share a photo of me with my parents at camp in 2013!

Below is a collage of photos from the 2012 Levi Family Reunion held at Camp Canadensis – it’s an every 3 year tradition, and has become something I am constantly thinking about and looking forward to.  I thought you might enjoy seeing how we used camp as a beautiful setting for quality family time…which for us includes kickball, archery and of course gathering around a table to share a meal.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

If you ordered one of our Carewear Holiday Mystery Boxes, it is officially on it’s way to you in the mail!  The winter team spent most of the day in an assembly line wrapping, packing, and sealing up the 131 boxes that were ordered – an amazing number for our first year offering these gifts!  It was a group effort, and we are so excited for you to discover all the surprises inside!

I’ve been sworn to secrecy, so I cannot reveal any of the items in the box.  But, in the above photo, you can see how it will arrive.  The box is ready to give, and wrapped in Blue & Gold tissue paper.  As soon as you open it up, you’ll see a letter that explains all the goodies inside, and thanks you for helping us raise more than $2,000 for the Canadensis Cares Scholarships!

Each box was packed with the recipient in mind, and even if you and your sibling both received it, you’ll have slight differences between your goodies.  Because some people might not open up their box until the later nights of the holiday, we ask that everyone try to help us keep the secret, and not post their mystery box items on social media.  On December 6th, we’ll be posting photos showing all the items, so if you don’t have a box arriving on your doorstep, you’ll still get to see what was in the surprise!

There go all the boxes…it filled up the entire USPS truck!

If you are a regular blog reader, you know that I love games!  Without a doubt, Mah Jongg is my favorite game to play (and teach!) but Bingo has taken a spot in my heart and number 2!  (It has bumped back connect four, apples to apples and blokus!).  Last night, Beth Or in Ambler hosted a Bingo night, and it’s a ton of fun!  We attended last year, (see this old blog post) and it’s become an annual tradition we look forward to!  So many of our amazing families are involved with Beth Or, and in the photo above you can see (from left to right) Dara Brecher (campers Jeremy & Amanda) with Cara, Melissa, Myself, Robin and Roni Jaffe (camper Idan, and husband Dr. Jamison!).  Many more of our camp mom’s were there as well!

In the photo above, Steffany Kratchman (campers Landon & Rayla) is holding up the basket she won!  Nearly 400 women attend the event, which includes not only Bingo games, but also raffle prizes.  Steffany actually won the basket of goodies that Camp Canadensis donated – what are the chances?!

It was a lot of fun putting the basket together – it included a camp backpack, and tons of essentials that come in handy to have around the house, especially during the holiday season when there are presents to wrap!  Inside was a label maker, stickers, scissors, tape, glue, sharpies and lots of pens for writing holiday cards.

Already excited for Bingo in 2014!

If you live on Long Island, or will be visiting friends…we hope we’ll see you tomorrow at Canteen on the Fly!!  Drop by anytime!  Mark your calendar for upcoming dates in your town!