The ropes course and climbing wall is a popular spot with the campers! Bunks have the chance to conquer the elements in the ropes course, and the electives give everyone a chance to make it to the top of the many paths on the climbing wall. At free play campers would show up in big numbers and want to climb even more.

In addition to our regular course, we put fun twists to the elements. We put the chalk on top of the wall for visiting day so parents got to see their kids accomplish climbing to the top of the wall and tag a spot with their name. We also set up the Caterpillar, cargo net, and the tennis ball challenge. While sliding down the zipline towards the blue pool, campers would try to drop their tennis ball in a small bucket…and we had about 12 campers get it in!

A few campers who were either scared of heights or never did the ropes course ever overcame their fears. We worked with them to get comfortable climbing up the ladder as much as they choose, next time we would get them to climb higher, until finally they got to the platform and made their way around the course. Once accomplishing that, it was great to see them be the first campers to come running to the zip line!

Brittany Dvorscak

2014 Ropes Course Director

 

 

The summer 2014 Dance Program was a huge success. So many of our campers were able to enjoy dance this summer because of all the opportunities we had. One of the highlights of this summer’s program was our intercamp dance competition. The kids really proved their dedication during dance rehearsal and our group routine choreographed to “Stay With Me” took home 1st place in both competitions we attended.

Our elective periods were another huge success. The elective campers were able to learn full routines specified to their capabilities and level. Therefore even though all the electives were learning the same dance, it was unique to each class of dancers. Campers who still couldn’t get enough dance had the chance to participate in a full day dance workshop with Leigh Bednoff.

The bunk periods this summer became a true highlight of the day. In each bunk we worked on their MTV night routines. This not only allowed them to get our input as dance teachers, but also promoted bunk harmony. Their routines also became a lot more challenging because we were able to give them more difficult moves that they could work on and really impress the rest of camp. All the bunks were able to have outstanding MTV night dances that they’ll be able to share with their friends forever.

While this summer was amazing, it would not have been possible without an amazing team of staff behind me. Thanks for a great summer in the dance studio. See you in summer 2015!

It was amazing!

Liz Birnbaum
2014 Dance Director

 

Glass Fusion was not what we expected it to be this summer…it was so much more! The camper’s positive energy, enthusiasm, and creativity made the program a blast. Each camper began learning how to cut glass, and progressed to building sculptures, glass shoes, and much more.

Campers from all divisions were eager to experiment and use plants from the beautiful Canadensis landscape in their projects. They also melted down bottles, made wind chimes, and older campers used the flame torch to create beads and sculptures. Game boards, jewelry, and dishes were also made.

Campers were also enthused to work on projects that we created. For example building a mural out of glass that makes Stary Night and will hang in the glass room for years to come! Or, when we had down time working on a six foot tall sculpture made out of recycled styrofoam.

Creativity and ideas were expanded this summer and the campers created amazing work.

Emily Schmeichel & Kate Farneth
2014 Glass Fusion Directors

 

 

The Wrestling program this year was very successful. Working, designing, structuring and executing a wrestling program and delivering sessions was very rewarding. As an elective, all the campers I met with had chosen it as one of their activities. Watching some kids start not know anything and to finish winning matches against some of the kids that have wrestled before is awesome.

Although most campers do not plan to wrestle at high levels, they still learned lots of valuable life lessons they can relate to the real world. When they lost a match, I told them to keep their chin up because no-one else is going to do it for them. When they won, I told them to stay humble.

The kids have had lots of fun wrestling this year and I hope you enjoyed getting in the ring with me!

Dave Jones
2014 Wrestling Director

 

 

Gymnastics at Canadensis 2014 was always jammed packed and full of fun!! It was really fun being back in the gym again, and joined by the great additions of Kathryn and Kasey. We also had a few other staff come in and help us out when we needed extra hands, it was much appreciated and helped us keep the classes running so smoothly.

We started out the first 2 weeks learning all 4 apparatus: vault, bars, beam, floor. Then we moved into a more flexible time in the gym. When the campers came in we would play some games to warm up, have a stretch and discuss what they wanted to work on/ learn that session. It was lots of fun that way, spotting bars one minute to teaching limbers and walkovers then over to the foam pit for free time or more games!! We even spent time making up short floor routines, where the campers could be as creative as they liked by adapting the routine for their personal skill level, then performing them each for one another.

Our foam pit elective was as fun and full as ever, and full of flips! Our lower camp elective was great – we learned skills on all apparatus in the gym, as with our middle camp elective! Some mastering jumping from bar to bar, or learning a cartwheel for the first time.

The “elite” gymnasts at camp would work in small groups during free play. These campers wanted more time to train their skills and strength. We also had a fun 1 hour session with CIT Zaslow, teaching the campers some basic parkour skills and moves. The kids had lots of fun learning this whole new activity at camp.

Overall it was a really productive, fun filled and safe time in the gym this year!! The kids really enjoyed starting and even achieving their goals. A few of which were front flips off the tramp or beam, walkovers/limbers on floor and different skills on bars being the highlights.

Never give up, it’s all about practice!!

Jackie Page
2014 Gymnastics Director

William Shakespeare once said “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players” and the Rec Hall stage was no exception! This year during the 2014 summer, our actors and actresses accomplished great things in Dramatic Arts. The musical Peter Pan proved to be a great success with all cast and crew putting in hard work. The performances were a great success and the entire camp really enjoyed their trip to Neverland!

Also this summer we created the Find Your Way Camparet. This gave our performers the chance to learn different styles of musical theatre from a broad range of musicals from Matilda to South Pacific and even a staff number from Rent. It also gave our campers the opportunity to work on longer pieces of music as well as more difficult pieces. The campers worked on different techniques in acting styles and improved breathing techniques for singing and knowledge of music.

In our electives, campers learned different styles of improv games to work on character development, and many warm up exercises to work on focus.   Our campers also learned theatre terminology and stage directions.   The elective also doubled its size in camper participation!

All in all summer in the Rec Hall was filled with music, dance, and loads of fun!

Maggie and Nick

2014 Drama Staff

 

 

Fishing 2014 was a great success! Campers reeled in many adult sized largemouth bass and pickerel (some perch too) indicating that our private Lake Lenape is a favorable environment for fish to thrive. Mason Levine and Eric Forster both caught 22″ largemouth bass, and Max Kruman caught a 24″ pickerel. Mitchell Konstandt’s fish count this summer was in the double digits.

Campers came out during electives and free play. Serious anglers benefitted from smaller electives to learn more information and to go out on the canoes. Campers in bigger electives had the ability to socialize with many other campers in their division while fishing. Fishing became a very popular free play activity. Thanks to all the staff who assisted me!

Michael May
2014 Fishing Director

 

 

The Canadensis lacrosse program of 2014 was a huge success this year. We had a plethora of positive feedback from the campers. We adapted the program to include drills, but be more about fun and games. We would do mini drills in the beginning and then play a game that would work on those skills. This format worked splendidly for both the boys and the girls. Our two most popular games were lacrosse golf and ultimate lacrosse. The lower campers also loved sharks and minnow with the noodles as well hungry hungry hippos.

Overall, our 2014 lax Program was a lot of fun for both the campers and the staff!!

Thanks for a great summer
Shawn Caven and Katie Russo
2014 Lacrosse Staff

 

The photography program this summer consisted of a wide range of projects, skills, and creative problem solving.

For the digital studio, campers took the reigns and explored their personal visions. Campers experimented with color alterations in Photoshop CS2, creating pop-art like images. They also learned how to select parts of images, move them around, and create quirky surrealistic photos. A new skill the campers explored was using the scanner as a camera. They created landscapes, faces, and their names by arranging and scanning objects. The concept of creating a digital image without the traditional digital camera excited a great number of them.

In the black and white darkroom, our practical and creative skills were touched on. Campers learned to shoot with traditional 35mm cameras as well as make prints in the darkroom with the shot negatives. Campers also created photograms, similarly to the scanograms in digital. They also created their own images by painting with fixer. The last project which blew their minds was the pinhole camera. Being able to create an actual photographic image with just a box and a hole seemed to be the highlight out of all the days in photo.

Overall I think what was most successful were the alternative methods of image making that allowed campers to think even more outside the box!

Heather Dorsett
2014 Photography Director

 

 

While many may say Summer of 2014 was the “Summer of Roessler”, my appointment as Director of Canadensis Outdoor Adventure Living Skills (COALS) has biased me towards the position that it was actually the summer of COALS. The previous generations of campers may have manufactured personalized shirts reading “I survived the Canadensis Overnight”, but the campers of 2014 did not just survive, they thrived!

Our program’s goal was to streamline the overnight process and improve the menu making sure it was enjoyable for all ages. I truly believe we succeeded, and we even incorporated some creative themes to get the kids excited. One personal favorite was a Harry Potter themed overnight, complete with “Cauldron Cakes” cooked in a Dutch Oven over the fire. Hogwarts admission letters with packing lists were delivered to the bunks prior to the overnight, proving that the mail room staff makes a good alternative to owls for successful mail delivery.

While the overnights tend to be the staple of COALS, we can’t forget the regularly scheduled COALS activity periods. Our team got the kids excited every week, with creative and fun activities that allowed campers to have fun and enjoy nature. A favorite among camp was the natural shelter building contest which ended with a “thunderstorm” of water balloons and water guns. Of course there was no shortage of s’mores throughout the summer…chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers gives COALS an edge over other programs! I hope that next year campers will return excited to embark on another adventure and make 2015 another “Summer of COALS”.

Kerry Neil
2014 COALS Director

 

2014 has been a successful summer for the horse riders at Camp Canadensis! Interested campers sign up for10 semi-private lessons and all campers improved their confidence and skill while having fun and staying safe.

Charlie and I had each of the kids to write down a goal they had for the summer that they wanted to achieve. Every child was able to achieve their goal, many making new goals and achieving them also. This was a great way to motivate the kids to try hard and work on their riding. Having goal sheet posters on the stable walls also helped to further encourage improvement.

A standout in 2014 was the musical dressage performance some of the riders were able to create and have their bunk come and watch. The Canadensis Today Show also filmed the performance so their parents were also able to watch them ride. This allowed the kids to put together their skills into something fun and creative they could share with the rest of camp. Blueberry picking on the trails was also a popular past time.

Certificates of achievement were handed out at girls ceremony at the end of camp to congratulate each of the riders for a successful summer. Thanks to the staff who fed the horses on our days off and for all of the staff who assisted.

It’s been a great summer! It’s been a pleasure being director of the program, and thanks Charlie for being an amazing Co!

Cheers!

Erin Gardner

2014 Horseback Riding Director

 

 

 

The summer of 2014 hockey program was a year of great progress made by a lot of players in both street and roller hockey. It was fun to see the improvement in big areas such as skating and shooting especially. It was amazing to watch the players grow and improve so much this summer. With electives and private lessons kids were able to get a lot of extra practice.

With two leagues going on this year a junior and also senior CHL (Canadensis Hockey League) this year has been packed at the spectrum with great competition in both divisions. Kids who have played hockey for years and kids who just started skating this summer it was great to see the drive they all had to compete and get better!

Joe Camarata & Alex Wichers

2014 Hockey Staff

 

The Fabric Arts program started off Summer 2014 on the right foot with Handworks Studio’s workshop. Every girl in camp had a chance to use the sewing machine to complete a skirt, tote bag, or bedside pocket.

During the bunk activity periods, Josey and I had a lot of success with the Junior girls who completed three projects: the marionette bird puppet – a project that introduced them to threading needles and tying knots, a quick pom-pom pen where the girls practiced hand sewing a gather, and using the iron, and a fabric bowl where they worked together to create a bowl out of recycled fabric scraps.

Middle camp made a variety of hand sewn accessories, and learned to design their own fabric print for each bunk. Our biggest success was with the Seniors, they were intimidated by sewing at the beginning, so we pulled out the crochet needles and learned to chain some knotted headbands. By the end of the summer, we created a Fashion/Sportswear/Costume presentation on our own work with a Celebrity “Hot or Not” game. At the end they designed their own line of clothing – it was unanimously loved by all!

In the Needle Arts electives the girls learned a variety of new skills in fabric arts: how to sew soft circuits (light up hair accessories and bookmarks), weaving (on the weaving wall and on hula hoops), knitting on the knitting towers, making rope from fabric scraps, and sewing drawstring bags on the machine.

Fabric Arts was a popular activity during Free Play, especially among Boys Camp. Most campers came in wanting to make pillows – we went through many boxes of stuffing this summer! The boys were also making shirts, skirts (for their mothers), beards and mustaches out of yarn, and bedside pockets.

Overall Fabric Arts had a great summer, our campers have a lot to be proud of!

Anna Wolfe

2014 Fabric Arts Director

Could you name any of the muscles in your back? If you spent time in the Fitness program of Summer 2014 at Camp Canadensis you could. This year was about much more than just getting a solid sweat and routine workout in.

Campers spent time in the room through bunk activities, electives, Senior choices and other free time. Each week was filled with new muscle group exercises as well as fitness challenges for the diverse groups of Canadensis Campers. From basic Fitness testing and stretching to “Insanity” workout DVD’s as well as Speed Ladder’s and Medicine Ball throws I have done my best to introduce different types of fun yet challenging fitness activities to not only the campers, but the staff as well. My overall goal was to keep fitness as exciting as possible and teach everyone that walked through the Fitness Room doors at least one new thing about exercising or general health that could benefit them in their future fit lifestyles and it was without a doubt a huge success! I hope to see this program continue thrive throughout the years to come.

Thanks to everyone who has made Fitness such a blast this year!

Cameron Foster

2014 Fitness Director

 

This summer the Gaga program reached new heights! With many exciting elective periods daily and even more senior choice periods filled with gaga players, “The Gaga Octagon” was one of the most popular places to be at Canadensis!

The intense competition for Gaga bucks raged on all summer as many great players put all their energy towards succeeding in the Octagon. Thank you to everyone for making the Gaga program outstanding all summer long!

Jake Asman

2014 Gaga Director

 

 

 

Brian, Cara and I, joined Matt and Eric up at camp two weeks ago…and our “pre-camp” time is already more than half over.  Our awesome staff start arriving for training in just over a week…and then it’s only 18 days until our campers get off the bus, and get into an amazing summer!!  This might end up being my last blog for a while…but I wanted to share some photos of what’s been going on up here during precamp!

Yesterday, our new art director, Hallie Dennis, came up to camp to continue planning her amazing Arts & Crafts program for this summer!  Her ideas are fantastic, and the projects are awesome!!  This will be Hallie’s first time working at camp, but she’s been a Canadensis mom for 4 years, and her children Dylan & Jacob have already been at camp for several years, and this time Hallie can’t wait to be a part of the magic our staff creates each summer!  Above, is a sample project we made – it’s crayon art!

 And, this is what they looked like after we melted them!

This is another awesome project…it’s a wire sculpture, then covered with masking tape, and spray painted.  This is just the tip of the iceberg for all the amazingness going down in the art shack!!

There’s been a lot of nature/animal spottings around camp!

1.  There’s been a bird that builds a nest on my tires every night – he’s so fast!  I check every morning to make sure there are no eggs before I remove it, but then it’s back again every morning – it’s wild!!

2. One of the girls up her over the weekend found the biggest (and friendliest) butterfly I’ve ever seen!!

3. When heading out of camp the other day, I saw a turtle trying to cross Upper Seese Hill Road…but of course he was going super slow! I was afraid the next car might not see him, so I got out and helped him get across safely!

4.  And of course, my favorite animal is Annie the Dog – she had a nice playdate with Aunt Terri’s dog Petey!  If Annie had long hair, don’t you think they’d look alike??

The night before Open House, we held a BINGO! night for our pre-camp staff and CITs who were up at camp for CIT Weekend!

It was a ton of fun running the game with Dave & Cara.  There were fabulous prizes on the line…including cozy sweatshirts ad triple, double oreos!  One of the biggest winners of the night was Brian Krug!!

We had nearly 80 players…so competition was SERIOUS!!  Hopefully we’ll have many more BINGO nights in the future!

The next day was Open House, and it was awesome – one of the most beautiful days we’ve had so far!  I couldn’t help but snap a picture of that delicious looking cornman corn before biting in!

Loved seeing so many new, and returning campers at Open House!!  Including these Upper Inters in the photo above (from left to right…Bailey, Jordan, Ilana & Julie!)

On another beautiful camp day, one of Aunt Terri’s friends snapped a photo of our Rec Hall with DOUBLE RAINBOWS!

It hasn’t been all cornman, BINGO, nature walks and rainbows…it’s been a lot of hard work and prep to make sure this is the BEST SUMMER EVER!!  Personally…we couldn’t do everything we need to do in the precamp office without the help of Group Leader, Pete Tarnoff (who is spending his 16th summer at Canadensis!) and Program Coordinator, Theresa Malafronte (2nd summer at camp).  They’ve been up here with us, and knocking out task after task…no matter what we’ve got going on each day, they are able to get it done and make it fun!!  Above is a photo of Pete counting our staff tees for the special orders…you can barely see him amongst the mountain of colorful staff shirts!!

And finally, speaking of work…whenever we are in the office (from 8:30AM to at least 10PM each night), Annie is right by my side (or, actually Cara’s side…she likes her corner of the office better).  She’s putting in the hours too!  Checkout this awesome photo showing off her “heart spot”.

And finally…how AMAZING are these new signs you’ll be seeing around camp?!!  You’ll get to see them in 18 days!!

Earlier today, Eric, Brian and I went out and took this photo for our NEW WEBSITE that will be unveiled next month.  We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!  We are looking forward to seeing so many of you at Open House this weekend!!  (Sunday, June 1^st, 2014).  In addition to new websites, we’ll also have tons of new gear on sale to benefit Canadensis Carewear!  I wanted to give you a preview…

We will have SnapBack hats!

We will have new baseball hats with a patch design!

 

New pullover sweatshirts!

 

New Zip Up Sweatshirts! (Modeled on the right by Group Leader, Amanda Miller.  Matt’s jacket on the left is not available.)

  With so much new gear around camp…we had to let the staff get some spiffy new stuff as well!  We have a new staff logo for this summer, and here’s a photo of it coming hot off the shirt press:

We also have a very talented mom who’s been making Canadensis gear for her camper for years!  Jordan will be coming to camp for her 4^th summer and will be an Upper Inter!

 

And, of course I couldn’t leave Annie out.  She’s recently got a new collar from ETSY!