I recently spent an evening visiting two new campers, and my first stop was in Woodbury, NY. I got to spend time with Kaylee, who is a current 3rd grader, and will be a Junior Girl at camp for the first time this summer. Going to camp this summer was all her idea, and she even got to spend the night before Visiting Day at camp last year in the Tour & More program. Kaylee is super sweet, very funny, and clearly she is awesome because we have the same favorite color…green! She loves to dance, play the piano, and she is looking forward to tennis and cooking at camp this summer.
She is really lucky to have a late bus to school, she only needs to wake up at around 8AM (the same time we wake up at camp) and before she gets on the bus, she manages to eat breakfast and practice piano – she is super dedicated! She gave me a tour of her awesome room…she really has two rooms, her main bedroom and her “secret room”, which you enter from a small door in her closet, and it’s full of dolls, toys, and it would be a fun place to hang out with a few of your closest friends. She also showed me her collection of angry bird dolls…she loves them! Kaylee has a very tall bed, it’s like being on the top bunk (which only counselors are allowed on at camp). It also has a railing all the way around it, so it’s pretty impossible for her to practice making her bed, but we’ll make sure she’s a pro by the end of the summer!
Kaylee is the youngest of three sisters, and her oldest sister Sam has a lot of years at Canadensis under her belt. She will be going on a teen tour this upcoming summer, but I hope she knows that camp will always be her second home! Kaylee will be really excited to receive letters from her sister, and she plans to write home a lot. Maybe she’ll write a letter about the first time she goes on the ropes course!? At her day camp, she didn’t like climbing up that much, but she loves the feeling of flying while coming down. She pretty much loves everything…except homework! But, she does enjoy school, and in her music class she is learning to play the recorder.
On the other hand, Shawn loves homework, and said her teach barely gives her any! I had never heard that complaint until I got to hang out with Shawn, a current 5th grader that will be an Upper Inter Girl for her first summer at camp. She is a very good student, and her favorite subjects are science and Spanish. She is about to take a French class, and then when she is in 6th grade, she will have to pick a language to focus on. One thing is clear about Shawn…she wants to go to camp right now!! She wanted to know exactly how many more days were left until she could hop on the bus and then run into the lake! We checked out the counter on the website so we could have an exact number, and I showed her this blog which helps introduce the new campers to the Canadensis family!
When we looked at the blog, my paper bracelet DIY was on top, and she wanted to learn how to do it. It only took her about a minute to learn, and by the time I left she had already made herself a blue and gold bracelet, and she made me one in pink and green (which I’m wearing as I type!). She and I have a lot in common – she is super crafty, and love crochet too! She showed me a crochet blanket she is working on, and it’s REALLY good! It’s pink and white stripes, and she’s doing a perfect job!
When I first met Shawn at Canteen on the Fly, we looked through the photo album of camp photos, and she remembered so much! She remembered that COALS activity stands for Canadensis Outdoor Adventure Learning/Living Skills. She’s really excited for the overnight, and that makes me happy because after arts and crafts, it’s definitely my favorite! She is in her school chorus, so maybe she’ll lead her bunk in some sing-alongs while they are hiking out to the waterfall? She also plays the violin in the orchestra, but I don’t think she’s going to pack it for camp!
Although she will miss her parents, cute little brother and an adorable dog named Marley, she is ready for camp to start!
