Council.
It begins and ends each day of camp.
It’s what brings us all together, and it’s where the most shenanigans ensue.
Also it is my favorite part of camp.
Every single morning of camp, we make the most of being outside and try to get nice and dirty to start our day off right, whether that means having gross eating competitions, obscure obstacles courses, or general tomfoolery. Afternoon council is a great time for stories, songs to help debrief of the day and set the tone for tomorrow.
No matter what, council gets all campers, from across activities, involved and excited for the day ahead. Join me for a visual excursion through councils past!
Our “pre-council-council” often gets all of our campers running around while we wait for of the buses to arrive. Full court press rock, paper, scissors gets everyone’s blood flowing for an awesome day of camp.
CalleVA fashion shows became a staple morning council activity last summer. Here, Captain Fashion is strutting his most fabulous outfit assembled from materials in our costume bin and designed by his campers.
Counselors and campers alike cannot believe the shenanigans as they observe from the crowd. Frequently, I am grateful to be watching the eating competitions rather than participating in them!
Post-council group games keep the energy high and jumpstart the day before activities begin. This game of “Bang” helps campers remember their group mates’ names.
After a day of activities, adventure campers return to afternoon council to show off their tribal pride before battling it out to see which tribe will take the win for the day. If I’m being honest, it is usually the most winning and favorite tribe, Vellaca.
Explorers’ campers have their own Council, where they show their group pride by waving the flags they made in Arts & Crafts. Explorers are all about their color war competitions throughout the week, and the culmination happens at Friday afternoon council with the weekly song competition.
Adventure camp song competitions are also on Friday afternoons. Songs get our campers invested in their group and bonded as a team. This Kayak 3 group was really showing up strong!
Council is the connecting point for campers to make friends outside of their adventure group and to experience the community of Calleva as a whole. Whether kids are making friends in their tribe or interacting with their past staff, everyone is sure to have a good time and get a little dirty in the process!
~ Olivia Murphy, Calleva Camp Director
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