CIT Guest Blog: Part I

     This week we are going to be featuring guest blogs from our CIT campers from last week.  They are giving details about their experiences as well as their overall impression of what it meant to be a counselor at Camp Whitman.  Our first blog was written by CIT counselor, James Yoon.

2014 CIT campers and counselors

Reflecting upon my Counselor-In-Training experience at Camp Whitman, I can only recall fond memories. My experience as a CIT was not only eye-opening, but it taught me skills that would be useful for the rest of my life.

One thing I learned from this week is that being a counselor is not easy. The second thing is that it isn't impossibly hard, either. Although it is quite a big responsibility to babysit twenty campers for over 100 hours. Yet, a counselor is a teacher, a parent, a social worker, a spiritual guide, all built into one. And that's what's so rewarding about being a counselor. It's beautiful. Glorious.

CITs working with our day campers

During this week, under the direction of my phenomenal counselors, Ileya and Jess, and our Graded Camp Coordinator, Courtney, we spent lots of time interacting with campers of various age groups, skill levels, personalities, and cultural backgrounds. Slowly but surely, we learned to lead entire activities smoothly with minimal help!

More than anything, my experience with the Pine campers was the most meaningful to me, mostly because I had a prejudice toward people with disabilities before. To be completely honest, I used to feel scared and uncomfortable around them. However, from this experience, I finally understood that people with disablilities are human beings just like us and that they deserve to be respected like anyone else. They have a strong faith too, maybe even stronger than any of ours.

Speaking of faith, we looked into that during this week, too. With the guidance of Pastor Colin, my fellow CIT campers and I explored our faiths and assessed our connection with God. As Pastor Colin put it, we began telling each of the beginning of our personal stories, of why we are where we are today. Through this experience, I came closer to God and formed strong bonds with other campers, counselors, and of course, Pastor Colin.

So that was my week. I bonded with remarkable people, built my faith, and learned priceless leadership qualities. I can't really ask for much else.

James playing the piano

Camp Whitman's 2014 Camping Season Begins!

     This past Sunday, was Camp Whitman's opening day of the regular camping season for graded campers as well as our program for people with developmental disabilities.  It was awesome to see so many new and familiar faces this year in the registration line!

1st year counselor Matt, helps some Sports and Games campers
make their buttons

Adventures campers kickstart a game of Kickball

     We were able to welcome campers from 6 different camps this week.  In graded camp we had, Adventures (3rd-5th grade), Sailing (6th-8th), and our Counselor-in-Training (CITs) camp, while our campers with disabilities came for Sports and Games Camp as well as Explorations Camp.

Sailors getting to know each other

Counselors Jeremy, Riley, and Leah leading name games in Adventures camp

3rd year counselor Ben heading to Main Field

Our staff was very excited to finally meet campers after our week and a half of training, and jumped right into singing songs and getting to know everyone.  After meeting such great campers on our very first Sunday, we are very excited about what the rest of the summer will bring.

Our CIT Campers ended their evening with some Teambuilding
and trying to untangle a Human Knot.

     We want to extend a huge thank you to our volunteer Chaplain this week, Colin Pritchard from Victor, NY.  Campers are very excited for the energy and enthusiasm he will bring to all of our family groups.

Volunteer Chaplain, Colin, leading a song to close our Sunday
vespers service.

   

Our new Graded Camp Coordinator, Courtney spent
Vespers with Colin's dog, Chauna.

Meet the Camp Staff: An Interview with Lindsey

Lindsey (far left) at Camp Whitman last summer. 

Lindsey Jensen came on board as a counselor in 2008 and is about to begin her 3rd summer as the Coordinator for the Camps for People with Developmental Disabilities. Here's what she had to say about Camp Whitman.

What is your favorite part of the camp? Why is it your favorite?
My favorite part is getting to meet so many different people. I love to hear their stories and know their background. I also enjoy finding things in common with them and becoming life long friends.

Do you have a least favorite part of camp?
I don't have a least favorite part of camp, except having to say goodbye.

Describe a typical day for you at camp. 
My typical day is crazy! I wake up super early and spend all day doing activities with the campers including; the dance, talent show, motor boating, crafts, games, sing a longs. I also spend time meeting with people to plan for the rest of the week and summer.

What do you do during the non-camp months of the year?
When I'm not at camp I am a fifth grade teacher. I spend most of my time off with my puppies Bailey and Bentley and when I have additional free time I travel.

What advice do you have for first time campers?
The advice I would give first year campers is to come to camp with an open mind and willing to try something new. You never know what you will love once you try it.

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
I would be a butterfly! Who wouldn't want to fly and be pretty?

A Busy Last Week!

Everyone at lunch on Monday. 

Camp is busy this week with six different camps going on! We have Explorations and Born for the Wild camps happening in Pine, Wet 'n' Wild happening in Day Camp, and Explorers, Adventures, and Moonlight Mystery happening in Cedar, Oak, and Maple. We are super excited about all of the activities and adventures going on right now, and everyone seems to be having fun so far. Although... Moonlight Mystery seems to be having an issue with some missing sleep-out tarps. They're working on figuring out who took them so that they can enjoy this awesome camp tradition . 

Pine & D.R.I.V.E. staff get competitive...and a little bit messy!

This summer, Camp Whitman has been lucky enough to have two programs for people with disabilities working together onsite. Our overnight camps for people with developmental disabilities (known as "Pine" for the area of camp where the live) have consisted of several weeks of Explorations camps, in which campers are able to explore camp and try a little of everything, as well as some themed camps such as Water Fun and Born for the Wild.

We also have the D.R.I.V.E. program from Keuka College on site with us during the day. The group that comes to us from D.R.I.V.E. is able to experience some of the best parts of camp, such as canoeing and field games, combined with the opportunity to volunteer at camp and learn a lot while doing so.

The two groups have had a great time doing all kinds of activities together every morning. Two weeks ago, camp and D.R.I.V.E. staff members teamed up to provide some rainy day entertainment for the campers in the form of a pie scavenger hunt. Kier, Ben, and Ileya had to search through their whipped cream pies to find as many pieces of fruit as possible without using their hands. Their campers (and their co-counselors!) had a great time watching and cheering at this event, which is sure to become a favorite rainy-day tradition.

On your marks, get set...

Go!

Ileya appears to be winning!

Explorations Camp Shows Their Creative Side

    After one day of camping our Explorations campers have had many opportunities to try some new things as well as participate in some camp traditions.  After an evening vespers service on Sunday, campers woke up today refreshed and ready to do some great activities with our counselors as well as the staff of the D.R.I.V.E program at Keuka College.  Just one of the activities that was very entertaining to watch was Counselor Painting.  Our campers were allowed to take this time to paint on the arms, legs, and faces of the staff that they will be spending the week with.  Not only did our campers get to show their creative side, but some great memories were made that will last all summer long.

Jeremy, a counselor painting Lindsey, our Coordinator for Campers with Developmental Disabilities.

A camper unleashing his creative side :)

The artists and their finished products.

Top 10 Reasons We're Excited About Camp This Summer (Part 2)

Part 1 of the countdown can be found here.

5.  We have a whole bunch of new graded camps!

In addition to the old favorites, we have some new options for campers in grades 6-8 and 9-12. New camps for 6-8 grades include indoor/outdoor culinary camp, wet & wild, explorers camp, and more. If you're in 9-12 grade, new choices include pay it forward camp and ultimate action camp. These camps will involve everything that is awesome about camp (swimming, kayaking, banana boating, field games, etc), but will also involve some new activities related to each camp's theme.

Are you ready???

4. Our camps for youth and adults with developmental disabilities are going to be fantastic!

Choices for our adult campers this year include Music & Art, Explorations, Sports Camp, and more. Also, we are very excited about our new Whitman Under the Stars camp for campers ages 11-21. During this camp, campers will have the opportunity to stay up late and maybe even sleep out under the stars one night!

Explorations campers and counselors enjoying the pond. 

3.  We have a new day camp this year!

Brand new for 2013 is CW day camp! This program runs every week of the camp season (July 1 - August 16) for campers entering kindergarten through 6th grade. Day campers will have the opportunity to participate in camp activities such as swimming, boating, field games, and crafts. Each week will have a theme, such as Wet and Wild, Mission Possible, Going Green, Creativity, Carnival, Pay it Forward, and Nature. More info about day camp can be found at http://campwhitman.org/joinus/day-camp

2.  It's ok to be a little bit silly and random at camp. 

Campers tell us again and again that they love camp because it's a place where they can be themselves and just have fun. That means that, if you're lucky, lunch might start with dessert, or one of the counselors will get up and sing a song about being a pirate. Silly things happen all the time at camp, and these moments make some of the best memories!

Levy got in trouble with some pirates and had to walk the plank. 

EXTREME painting!

Hmm...is that how canoeing works?

And the #1 reason we're excited about camp this summer is....

(drumroll please....)

1. Camp friends are the best friends!

We come for the s'mores, banana boating, and other adventures, but we stay for the friendships. The CW community is a strong one, where everyone is accepted, and camp friendships tend to last much longer than a week at camp. One of the best parts of a new summer is getting to see these camp friends again!

Some of the returning counselors have had the joy of watching a few of these long-time campers grow up to become counselors themselves!

For information about how to register for the opportunity to make friends, enjoy camp activities, and make your counselor get up and sing during lunch, go to www.campwhitman.org.

Explorations July 15-20

Hey Everyone!  This is Amber and this week I was a counselor in Explorations.  This camp is designed for some of our older adult campers and we have done so many great activities in the last five days.  Some of the most successful activities that our campers really seemed to enjoy included line dancing, where campers learned the steps to several of the songs that we play at the dance on Thursday night.  It was awesome to see our campers enjoying themselves so much!

Some of our campers and staff dancing

One other activity that was really succesful this week was the baking session that our campers had the opportunity to sign up for.  On Wednesday, some of the campers and I made a yellow sheet cake that had brownie mix and raspberry pie filling baked in.  The campers had a great time decorating the cake with swirls, and getting creative.

On Thursday, the campers then decorated the cake before giving it to the kitchen staff so that they could serve our cake up for dessert for lunch.  The cake was a huge hit among the other family groups and it looked fantastic!!

The Final Product :)

Catching up with camp in July

Hey Everyone,

Two weeks ago we had campers come to Camp Whitman for our opening week of camp.  The themes that week included; sunfish sailing camp for middle schoolers, camp quest for 3rd graders, Leadership in Training for high schoolers, Adventures for 4th and 5th graders, and Explorations Camp for Adults with Developmental Disabiilities.

LIT campers completing the "Magic Carpet" ropes course element

Camp has been very busy over the last couple of weeks and we have had a lot of great  campers.  During the first week of camp I was a counselor for our 3 Leadership-in-Training campers. 




During this camp, they completed a range of activities to improve their leadership skills.  My favorite activity to watch campers complete was our session that focused on communitcation.  The campers were either blind,  deaf, or spoke a different language and had to show each other how to make a Peanutbutter and Jelly sandwich, and work through these communication barriers.  Here are the results of that exercise:

Mac who spoke Yiddish is trying to teach Rachel how to make a PB&J

Zack is being taught how to make a PB&J by Rachel who had to pretend to be deaf

These campers also enjoyed all the regular fun camp activities, like making homeade ice cream, and tye-dying.  This week was a good beginning to a summer of fun and exciting camp experiences.  This week also included many of our traditional camp activities like the dance and the talent show. 

Counselors and Campers enjoying the Dance

Stay posted for more exciting activites from camp :)