We haven’t been this excited about a Monday since last Monday! Another week down, and we’re on our final stretch of ESP Groovy Summer! In our seventh week of summer camp, our campers spent their days groovin’ and moovin’ with all of their friends and fabulous buddies. There were more laughs, more smiles, and ESPECIALLY more exciting activities than ever this past week, and we’re looking back with no regrets! Here’s a look into what went on at our campsites last week!
Flag Fun
As the great poets once said: FLAAAAAG! Flag is a great time to highlight amazing campers through brags, sing enriching songs together, and dance like no one’s watching! It’s also an opportunity for campers to play fun tricks and pranks on unsuspecting summer staff!
The red team had delicious pie brags this week! Spencer and Aysha didn’t hold back as they smashed their buddies with a creme-filled surprise with a brag inside! The yellow team also incorporated a sweet treat into their morning flag, but used cupcakes instead of pies!
This week, it was Slime Time Live at the purple site! The campers made a huge bucket of green slime, and Landon, Isaac, and Clarissa happily volunteered to pour it right over their unit leader Erin’s head (and promptly covered other counselors with shaving cream right after). They couldn’t stop laughing about it all day long!
Things got a little saucy at the green site on Monday! Fraser dressed up as a giant bottle of sriracha, and all of the counselors went around squirting different condiments (like ketchup, honey, and mustard) into the camper’s mouths and saw who could eat the most without stopping!
Adventure Day
After having so much fun in the great outdoors last week, all of the campers at ESP couldn’t stop asking when the next Adventure Day was!
The yellow team brought lots of fun blow-up rafts and toys to play with in the pool for their time at Camp Twin Lakes! Rod and Patrick played a game of water volleyball, and Adam put on some shades and floated around the pool with unit leader, Ben!
The green team loved singing songs and making jokes during the bus drive on their Adventure Day, and things got even more fun when they finally arrived! A massive dance party broke out amongst campers in the pavilion during lunch, and Kailey Lynn loved being twirled all over the “dance floor” by Madison! Avery and her buddy, Haley, hit the lake on a paddle board, and Avery pretended it was a surfboard that caught some waves!
The red site took another fun trip to Sandy Creek Park, but this time they brought tons of fun inflatables to play with on the lake! Campers enjoyed floating on rafts and donut pool floats, and throwing beach balls back and forth with friends! Max loved this tropical themed floaty!
Yummy Creations
The orange site made some scrumptious miniature pies on Monday! The campers and their buddies whipped up some chocolate filling and poured it into tiny pre-baked crusts. DJ loved having the chance to measure ingredients and pour it into the mixing bowl, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the dessert with some bubbly fruit juice when they were done. They always say food tastes better when you enjoy it together!
The red team made yummy homemade vanilla ice cream! They sealed vanilla and sugar into one bag, and then filled a bigger bag with ice and salt! Campers then had fun shaking their bags around for several minutes until the mixture was ready to eat! Participants added chocolate syrup for even more flavor!
Science
Things got physic-cal at the yellow and red sites when campers made marshmallow structures using toothpicks and mini marshmallows! The twins made some awesome pyramids with the help of their buddy, Ryan!
The blue site blasted-off making alka seltzer rockets and erupting volcanoes with baking soda. The campers loved the anticipation of the explosion during each activity, and wanted to do them over and over again!
The purple team made slime for one of their mad science activities! One of the site leaders dressed up as Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the campers couldn’t get enough of it! To make the slime, campers poured glue, Borax, and green food coloring into a plastic bag and mixed it until they had their gooey creation! Afterwards, everyone got to chip in to make a giant batch!
Arts and Crafts
The red team thought regular paint was too basic, so they decided to create artwork using fruit instead! They cut some brightly colored fruit into slices, and the campers pressed the fruit into paper so the fruit and juices acted as a stamp and ink! The hardest part of the activity was resisting eating the delicious fruit while coloring!
The participants at Camp Hooray made beautiful bird feeders out of popsicle sticks, hot glue, and markers! Justin filled his bird feeder with lots of seed, and colored it one of his favorite colors, red! He couldn’t wait to bring it home and pick a spot for it amongst the trees!
The blue site made some creepy crawly nature bugs to practice their abstract thinking and ability to follow directions! Campers used materials right in The Farm at High Shoals own backyard to make the critters. They loved exploring nature while collecting different twigs, leaves, and rocks to bring their bug to life! Campers glued the bugs together and personalized them with decorations to reflect their personality!
At the orange site, campers got to customize wooden coasters using markers! Luke’s buddy helped him write his name on his coaster, and then he drew a pretty vine of hearts all around the edges! He loved using it for his drink during lunch!
The purple crew made serene sounding wind chimes using soda can tabs, keys, paper plates, and string! Campers loved using fine motor skills to paint their different metal items whatever color they liked, and then tied string around them to create a flowing wind chime. Everyone loved the sound the decorations made, and couldn’t wait to take them home and show their parents their hard work!
Outdoor games and activities
There were lots of exciting outdoor activities at the greens site this week! On Monday, campers participated in a vigorous relay race which got a little… messy to say the least. First, campers had a blast participating in an egg-on-a-spoon race where there were happily no egg casualties, and Amber made record time!
Then, two sets of campers teamed up to wrap one of their teammates COMPLETELY in toilet paper before the other team could! Avery and Amber had one of the staff members wrap them together back to back. There’s nothing like a little team bonding! Finally, campers got to squirt their friends with shaving cream and tried to get the most cheeseballs to stick on them! Brady didn’t seem to be too bothered that he was the target, especially since he got to chow down on the leftovers!
On Friday, participants got a surprise visit from the two Jackson County sherifs! Everyone loved taking turns sitting in the back of their car and receiving cool frisbees and stickers with their logo on it!
The orange site also got a special visit this week! A firefighter came to visit and let all of the campers try out their hose, which meant there wasn’t a dry participant in sight! Everyone also got to squirt ketchup, mustard, and shaving cream (the ESP special), at their buddies and other campers, and chased each other all other!
The purple site had tons of frisbee fun during a competition to see who could throw a frisbee the farthest! Counselors taught campers different throwing techniques, and each participant was VERY adamant that they threw their frisbee farthest! Let’s call it a twenty-way tie? Everyone also received a pool noodle to balance their frisbee on, and saw who could go the longest without dropping it. We loved seeing campers cheer on their peers and practice taking turns!
Indoor Activities
The red site built sky high towers using soda cans! Everyone competed to see who could build the tallest structure, and then got to knock them down using balls and pool noodles!
The purple site had their own Little Big Hearts showcase where all of the campers got to show off their unique talents and celebrate their abilities! Rey and Hannah both sang a dazzling number, Issac did an impressive breakdancing routine, and Cara showed off her amazing gymnastic skills!
We can’t believe how fast time flies! Next week will be our last week of camp, and while we’re sad to be wrapping up this amazing summer, there’s so much more to look forward to! Next week will be packed with tons of exciting end-of-the-summer activities and PROM! Stay tuned, we can’t wait to share our new memories with you!
