Camp Edey, Week 4: Trailblazing Week!

This week in camp we worked on our hiking skills with our Trailblazing week, learning how to read trail signs, make s’mores and trail mix, and make our own compasses too. We traveled all across Camp Edey and put all our skills together into one giant hike!

This week I was with Blue group. We had a couple of new girls come into Blue group throughout the week, and they were concer
ned they weren’t going to make any friends because all of our campers were such good friends already. This upset me a little because all of our girls are such good kids and would make friends with anybody! The other counselor and I talked to a few of our original girls and asked them to make the new girls feel welcomed. By the second activity, all of the girls were playing Gaga together like they had been friends for life!

We had such a good day today, that all of the girls were hugging each other at the end of the day, not wanting to leave each other’s sides. It was a really great thing to see; I guess camp friends really are best friends!

Our big event this week is COLOR DAY! Each group dresses up head to toe in their group color and competes in events against all the other groups. I know the campers are definitely looking forward to an exciting day of camaraderie and friendly competition.

Camp Edey, Week Three: D.I.Y. week was F.U.N.!

With the new “do it yourself” trend picking up momentum, we decided we would give it a try here at Camp Edey. The girls learned new and helpful skills and created projects using their own two hands.

This week, I worked with the Purple Group and from what I saw, they seemed to really enjoy creating something on their own. For many of the girls, it was their very first experience at attempting something like this. We showed them how to use tools like a hammer, screwdriver, etc. While most of them didn’t like the less-than-fashionable safety goggles they had to wear, they seemed to be interested once we got going with our demonstrations.

Our dress up day this week made me feel like I was seeing double! Twin Day was like looking into a mirror and it was incredible how closely some of these girls got their outfits to match. We even had a couple of triplets mixed in with the twins!


One of our big events this week was the “yacht or not” special event, where each group made a boat out of recyclable materials, and at the end of the day raced them to see which group’s boat went the furthest. Unfortunately, we didn’t have too much wind to help our boats across, but luckily one of our lifeguards jumped in and helped the boats along. The girls thought it was one of the funniest things they’d ever seen! One little girl told me ten minutes later that she was still laughing about how funny the lifeguard looked swimming around in the lake.

We are looking forward to the other competitive event this week---the staff boat race on Friday morning. The girls love to cheer on their counselors to beat out the other groups!

The girls gained skills this week that I believe they will carry along with them for the rest of their lives. They learned important life lessons to go along with their new skills, and they had enough fun to keep them laughing way into next week!

Camp Sobaco, Week 4: A Day at the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center!

The excitement of our visit to the Aquarium started days before our trip, as we talked about sea creatures, and viewed several ocean life documentaries. Part of our pre-trip planning was having campers explore a touch tank with items that felt like sea life. In reality, the items were actually everyday things such as a mushroom cap that felt like a stingray, etc.

When we arrived at the aquarium we were welcomed by the sound of Sea lions. We learned about “Bunker” the California Sea lion who was not very shy at all! She waved, danced and even sang for the crowd! After the show we continued on to the aquarium, where the campers took part in an archaeological dig and enjoyed making fish faces and trying to swim like the sharks.

A refreshing and fun part of our visit was the interactive Salt Marsh. Campers walked through the water and touched spider crabs, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and whelks. Even the youngest campers loved getting their feet wet and exploring the marine environment. After their refreshing dip, the campers observed the otter feeding and training session. Excitedly they watched the trainers teach the otters how to perform tricks such as jumping through hoops. Lastly, the campers loved petting the stingrays and white bamboo sharks at the Ray Bay- touch tank.

The trip ended with the way it began--at the Sea Lion Show! Both campers and counselors had such a good time, that they all requested seeing Bunker the Sea Lion before we left!

Camp Sobaco, Week Three: Children’s Museum of Long Island

The third week of Camp Sobaco kicked off on Monday July 14th. As expected for a Monday, we experienced our share of nervous newbie campers, but faster than a hare in a race, our children adjusted into a multitude of fun activities. One of these activities involved our guest speaker Lauren, one of our local meteorologists. She taught the campers about how weather is measured and recorded using a weather balloon. She also discussed tornados and hurricanes as well as weather safety.

This week’s highlights included a field trip on Wednesday, July 16, to the Children’s Museum of Long Island and a Nature Preserve. The younger groups, Einsteins and Engineers, went to the museum and our older campers, the Techies, went to the Nature Preserve.

Our theme this week was the discovery of weather and its effects upon nature. We learned about the water cycle, clouds, and even got to make our own thunder and lightning with a Van de Graaff Generator!

Meanwhile, our visiting group, the Atoms, went on an adventurous hike throughout our nature trails where they discovered signs of weather such as wet leaves, wild fungi, and even signs of wildlife being affected by nature. All of our campers were quite enthusiastic about this week’s adventures. Our upcoming week is expected to be even more wonderful with days full of creatures and critters!

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Camp Sobaco, Week Two: Culinary Arts Tour!

Today we toured the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Department. 

As soon as we walked in, our campers’ faces lit up as the sweet smell of baked goods filled the air! We then started with a brief introduction by the Community Liaison and Chef, Jim Fogerty. His high energy really helped in keeping the campers excited for their tour. We walked through the halls to experience the daily routine of attending students, learned about a typical student’s day, and explored the student study area/library. The campers were intrigued that the books that filled the library were all cookbooks. One camper remarked, “Wow! There are so many different books about food!”

Our next stop was the lecture hall. Chef Fogerty spoke to the campers about different tools and utensils used in the kitchen, such as the various spatulas, the frosting bag and its different tips, poultry scissors, and the spider strainer. Then Chef Fogarty introduced two student bakers, and surprised our campers with some freshly baked goods! Campers chose from a variety of cookies, including oatmeal raisin, coconut and lime, white chocolate chip brownies, plain brownies, or oreo pudding brownies!

The tour did not end there! Campers explored the various culinary kitchens where they met more chefs and participated in a kitchen scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was wonderful, as the campers were so excited to locate their items. The tour wrapped up in the lecture hall, where Chef Fogerty shared some wonderful and easy recipes for the campers to try at home with their parents.

Both campers and chaperones had a great time!

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Camp Edey, Week Two: Art, Dress-up & More!

Camp Edey off to a strong start with Art Smart week! With Rockstar Week being such a success, it was hard to imagine how summer camp could get any better! Well, Art Smart Week came in strong!

This week, girls channeled their inner artist to create some amazing pieces for the art show at the end of the week. We also helped the girls towards achieving their Art Smart badge with lessons in pottery making and other artistic endeavors. We didn’t just make things for display purposes--girls also “painted” their own cookies for snack and made edible art!

In following with our dress-up theme days at camp, Wednesday was cartoon character day. The girls dressed up like their favorite cartoon character and they did an awesome job! I really felt like I stepped into my TV and onto the set of the girls’ favorite shows and movies with all the great costumes around me! The girls (and even most of the counselors) really were into pretending to be their favorite animated characters.

Earlier in the week, we had a few new campers who were nervous about their parents leaving when they were dropped off on Monday, One child in particular cried and held on to her mom for what seemed like dear life. We were concerned about whether she would want to stay for the entire day, so the other counselors and I checked in periodically to see how she was doing. She was making the best of friends, having a great time with all the activities, (sand art at Mae K seemed to be the crowd favorite!), and looked like she was having such a good time with the rest of the group. At the end of the day, she said she had so much fun at camp that she didn’t want to leave, and said she couldn’t wait to come back the rest of the week!

I have to say that I agree with my campers. This week was so much fun that even I didn’t want to leave! Art Smart Week has been a blast, and the rest of the summer is looking like it’s shaping up to be the best one yet! I can’t wait to see what fun comes next week!

Week Two Pictures

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Camp Sobaco, Week One: Sounds, Swimming, and Archery!

Week One proved to be a bustling and exciting week at Camp Sobaco 2014!

The action began with the week’s theme Sounds Surround! Campers learned about how sound works by going on a nature sound hike and identifying sounds around them, participating in a Rock Under Water Sound challenge, and learning how to make music with Boom Whacker Tubes. After learning about the tubes and how different lengths create different notes, campers put on a concert for each other, showing off their new-found talent!

It was yet another busy day at the archery range. Campers first learned archery basics. They identified parts of a bow and arrow, and learned proper archery form. Additionally, they learned how to launch the arrows, as well as the different commands and line procedures used in archery.
Yes, Week One was a great time! Be sure to check out this blog on a regular basis for all the details and excitement happening at Camp Sobaco!

See pics from Week One

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Camp Edey, Week One: Rock Star! Week

We kicked off our first week of summer at Camp Edey by pumping up the volume with our Rock Star! week. I have to say it’s going to be a tough act to follow!

In true rock star fashion, we jammed through the week with songs, games and even a talent show put together by our purple group! All the girls took to the lime light and showcased their many talents. Since dress-up themed days are always a favorite at Camp Edey, the girls embraced their inner super star and dressed up as their favorite famous person. Some of the girls were very creative with their costumes. It was really cool to see.

When we weren’t rocking out, we were enjoying sports, fishing, arts and crafts, swimming and the famous Gaga pit. I must say that the campers loved every minute of Rock Star! Week. This week was so much fun, and I know I can’t wait to see what next week has in store for us!


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