Posts Tagged ‘camp activities’

OMG S-Day

Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

S-Days at Camp Starlight are often a time of relaxation and fun. The Upper Inter and Lower Deb girls received just that when Camp Starlight partnered with Oh My Girls . Oh My Girls is “a health club designed exclusively for girls ages 8-18” as their website (ohmygirls.com) describes. The mission of Oh My Girls is to “create an environment that aims to put the fun back in girlhood while guiding its members toward healthful and successful living in a most challenging time.”

In a session focusing on the girl’s relationship with the outside world, Eugene Gerhman, Presirdent of  Krav Maga Centers Of America taught self-defense moves and Krav Maga martial arts techniques. “My favorite part was learning self-defense tips and what to do if you are in a dangerous situation,” said Dani S. an Upper Inter.

“Everyone was interested and excited the whole day about what was next,” said bunk specialist Mollie F.  Next on the Oh My Girls S-Day agenda was creating all-natural skin products. The sprays can be used on their hair, face, and skin. The girls created a cooling spray, bug repellent, hair spray and sun burn healing spray.  “I liked making different products because I learned about taking care of myself and my skin,” says Upper Inter Marlie K.

“I’ve already started using the hair product in the shower and the cooling spray,” Lower Deb Reese C. added.

The girls also focused on eating healthy. While making fruit smoothies the girls accepted the Spinach Challenge by adding at least one leaf of spinach to their smoothies. The girls learned that eating healthy can be tasty. Reese C. added one leaf of spinach last year and decided to up the ante by adding 2 leaves of spinach to her berry smoothie.

Without a doubt, the upper inter and Lower Deb girls left the Oh My Girls session feeling confident, empowered and pampered.

Hitting a Bullseye in Archery

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Camp Starlight’s archery specialist Mark Gale has some tips for getting a bullseye. It’s simple, according to Mark who is an Archery coach in West Midlands, England. “Form, Repetition, Practice-in that order,” he says.

Mark tells campers to place their ring, middle, and index finger above the arrow. An easy way to remember finger position is that your hand should make the salute from Hunger Games. Next, draw the string back to your eyes so that you can see down the line of the arrow.  Finally, release your fingers from the string. BULLSEYE! If you don’t hit a bullseye the first time you have the rest of the summer to practice and sharpen your archery skills.

Miss Starlight 2014

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

One of the best parts of working at summer camp is that one frequently has the opportunity to participate in activities and events in which one wouldn’t necessarily engage at home. One such “opportunity” for male counselors at Camp Starlight is the Miss Starlight Pageant. Yes…You read that correctly: MISS Starlight Pageant. For anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if roughly a dozen girls were unleashed onto a male staff member–makeup, wigs, costumes, and props in hand to transform into the best looking semblance (kind of) of a female beauty contestant that they can, the Miss Starlight Pageant would definitely be a “can’t miss” activity at camp.

The remainder of this blog should probably be prefaced with a disclosure that nomale staff members were–or are ever–harmed in the making of the Miss Starlight Pageant. In fact, they volunteer…happily. Being crowned Miss Starlight is a BIG deal for both the girls bunks and their adopted “contestants.”

Once the contestants are beautified (term used loosely…very loosely), they take the stage to compete in a series of rounds to convince a panel of judges, as in traditional beauty pageants, why they should be crowned Miss Starlight. Following the initial Evening Wear round, the contestants are whittled first to ten and then finally to five before the winner is crowned. The first runner-up, of course, has big shoes to fill in the event that Miss Starlight cannot fulfill her–er–his role.

Unlike traditional beauty pageants, however, the Miss Starlight pageant is not reserved for the young. All ages, nationalities, and races are represented and competitive. In fact, one of this year’s semi-finalists was a granny who required a walking stick. Celebrities and pseudo-celebrities are also drawn to the Miss Starlight pageant. “Ellen Degeneres” danced her way across the Miss Starlight stage and into the semi-finals in this year’s competition…and she didn’t even have to wear a dress to do it.

Bamela Anderson–not to be confused with Pamela Anderson, though as similar in appearance to Pamela Anderson as a 20 something male lifeguard wearing a long blonde wig and a red Baywatch style swimsuit can be–was a pseudo-celeb who clearly showed up to win. Though her CPR talent demonstration was easily one of the most CPR demonstrations ever presented and elevated her to the status as the one to beat, she faced some tough competition from “Berica,” a purple loving weight lifter.  In the end, however, Bamela’s fun loving attitude and passion for her life as a lifeguard secured her the crown and the title of Miss Starlight. As for the Lakehouse, her sponsoring bunk, well…they get the bragging rights of having “created” Miss Starlight 2014.

Name That Tune Camp Siblings

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

S-Days are already special days, but when one concludes with music, excitement and ice cream (for the winners), they’re extra special. And an extra special occasion the most recent S-Day was. A special Camp Starlight edition of Name That Tune brought camp siblings together to test their knowledge of all things  Starlight in categories such as Dining Room Songs, Starlight Playhouse and Sports Anthems.

For anyone wondering who–or what–a camp sibling is, campers are brought together in groups of threes at the beginning of camp and attend designated sibling activities throughout the summer as brothers and sisters. Older “siblings” function as mentors for younger campers.

At Name That Tune, siblings were given a snippet of a song and had to guess the song name and artist. Hearing songs like “I’m a Believer” from the recent all camp show Shrek the Musical brought campers to their feet for lots of dancing. The theme of teamwork echoed throughout the night. “It felt good to win because I was working with my friends and camp sisters,” said Junior Lindsay S. And there was an extra special surprise for campers at the conclusion of the competition: The two teams with the highest scores were whisked off to everyone’s favorite ice cream shop, Alice’s Cow Palace.

Rain: No Problem!

Saturday, July 26th, 2014

Ideally, every day at camp is sunny and warm. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t always prescribe to human ideals and, although not often, occasionally the skies are a bit more gray than blue and the weather a bit more wet than dry. Although such conditions are “ideal” they certainly don’t bring the fun and activities to a halt. Quite the contrary, those rare thunderstorms are an opportunity at camp to allow campers to enjoy special activities that are reserved for such days rather than a regular part of the daily camp program.

Camp Starlight has plenty of multi-purpose indoor space that can accommodate small as well as large groups of campers. Despite the gray skies, the mood is decidedly sunny indoors as campers take advantage of the extra time they have to catch up with bunk/cabin mates. Rain also slows the pace and gives campers time to reflect on their time at camp thus far. Many also use the time to write the letters home or catch up on reading.

It may be a stretch to claim that the weather outside is perfect every single day at camp, but regardless of the weather, the mood is always sunny.

A Closer Look at the Camp Starlight Circus Option

Monday, July 21st, 2014

Tossing the diablo

The Circus program at Camp Starlight is very popular, and for good reason. It is the only program that gives campers the opportunity to walk on stilts, juggle, do diabl0, flip devil sticks, and spin plates. Campers in the Camp Starlight Creative Writing option decided to spend some time there to see just what draws campers by the dozens each day.

The Circus program is led by Ben. He first became interested in Circus when he was in the Youth Theater, which is an amateur theater in his home country of England. Ben says that a circus person once came to his theater to demonstrate juggling and diablo, which made him very interested in all things circus. So he asked the circus person to teach him his tricks, and so the circus person taught Ben everything he knew. Ben practiced a lot, and eventually became better than his mentor.

Campers find Circus fun and different.  Around the world, spaghetti string, and

Walking on stilts

throw and catch might not be familiar terms to those who aren’t familiar with the diablo. But one Junior who was interviewed by the roving reporters of the Creative Writing Option and has been to Circus five times this summer has learned all of them. For those less familiar with all things circus, a diablo is a popular circus toy comprised of  two large cylinders attached to both ends of a metal center piece that are balanced and juggled on a piece of string controlled by two sticks.

Juggling with devil sticks

For campers who are looking for an activity they can’t try at home, Circus is the perfect choice. Every camper interviewed at Circus told us that they learned everything they know about Circus at Camp Starlight. Favorite camper activities at Circus include, devil sticks (aka Chinese juggling sticks), stilts, and the balance board known as a tiabolow. Many Camper Starlight campers build their skills at Circus over multiple summers. One particular enthusiast of the stilts said she has been learning and practicing the art of stilt walking for more than a year.

Circus was even offered as a Starcamp at Camp Starlight this year. Special

guests from Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus taught campers the art of Circus comedy that included pies in the face, water

roving reporters of creative writing option: Samantha S., Dori H., Hannah W., Zoe S..

throwing, and gags, which are funny skits that many circus clowns perform in between acts during circus shows. Campers also learned new circus skills, such as getting up on stilts without the aid of a wall as well as new juggling and spinning tricks with the circus tools available at Camp Starlight. The Ringling Brothers crew shared that in addition to camp clinics, they also perform for patients at children’s hospitals.

Campers agree that the circus is fun to watch but even more fun to actually do. It is no wonder campers rate the Camp Starlight Circus program a 10!

Thumb Wrestling Federation

Wednesday, July 16th, 2014

There is a very special showdown that takes place at Camp Starlight for which you must be a Junior boy in order to be eligible to compete. Athletic prowess is not necessary nor are any special skills required in order to have a chance at emerging victorious. Flexible thumbs help, however.  We’re speaking, of course, of the annual Junior Boys Thumb Wrestling competition.  That’s right…TWF.

The rules are quite simple—two thumbs duel until one manages to hold another down for several seconds—but referees keep the contest fair. The competition is light and good spirited, but there are bragging rights at stake. Not just any boy can call himself the Camp Starlight TWF Champion. Many thumbs enter the thumb wrestling ring, but only one may be the champion in the end. Flexible thumbs must defeat others in several elimination rounds before the final two thumbs face off for the title.

This year’s competition was fierce but in the end the thumb of Ryan S. emerged victorious.

Options, Options, and More Options

Tuesday, July 15th, 2014

Parents of Camp Starlight campers know that the Camp Starlight program is a unique combination of structure and choice. Few probably realize, however, just how many activities there are from which to choose.  In addition to popular sports and other activities that are part of the regular program, campers  choose from dozens of arts, hobby, and science related programs.  Campers can explore their creative sides through writing, photography, arts & crafts, and woodworking options. Those campers with a passion for science can engage in fun science experiments, build rockets and robots, or construct an object using the brand new 3D printer in the Maker’s Space area.  Performing arts loving campers can develop skills in sports broadcasting and radio broadcasting, dance, theater improv, television and movie production, circus, and even magic. Aside from our popular swimming and boating programs, water lovers can also have the opportunity to go paddleboarding, play water polo, or even choreograph their own synchronized swimming routines.  Of course, no one could—or does—forget about all of options available as part of the comprehensive Outdoor Adventure program here at Camp Starlight. High and low ropes, outdoor living skills, mountain biking, fishing, hiking, climbing and ziplining are just a handful of the choices available to campers who choose the Outdoor Adventure option. Add in the more unique games that are featured as part of the Super Sixth option and the list of possibilities seems nearly limitless. So many options…so little time. In fact, the unique combination of activities that campers choose for themselves makes each summer an exclusive, once in a lifetime, experience!

Let me take a selfie…

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

What’s better than a Camp Starlight dance party? A Camp Starlight dance party with a photo booth, that’s what!

Mustache Bash

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014

By now, most people know that mustaches are a “thing” here at Camp Starlight. In fact, mustaches are such a thing here that we held a bash in their honor appropriately called “The Mustache Bash.” Campers put on their best mustache gear, wigs, and tutus (of course) and danced the night away with their counselors. We decided that we “mustache” a few of our campers for the inside scoop on all things Mustache Bash. Click on the photo below to hear what they had to say.