Excitement was riding high as the upper elementary students arrived at Camp Capers.
After meeting with our counselor the first job was to pick bunks. In the boys cabin the top bunk on the three tier bunks is always a favorite and has become a right of passage for the oldest boys.
Girls took their time settling in, but for the boys, once the bunk distribution was settled, it was off to the gaga pit. This tends to be the “go to” place for any free time. (Wondering what on earth this is? Check out a description here and a video of how to play here)
Lunch was followed by team building exercises on the “low ropes” course.
These exercises challenge the children to work together to achieve a task. It is always interesting to see the leaders emerge, to listen to the discussions, to see the frustration when plans do not work, and witness the celebration of success. After many attempts the group of sixteen managed to balance the huge teeter-totter and sing “Row, row, row your boat” three times!
The biggest achievement was passing everyone through the ‘spider web” without awakening the spider (ringing the bell). This required students to lift and pass their friends through the various sized openings of the web. Quite a feat!
After dinner we assembled at the open air St. Francis Chapel for a time of praise and worship led by the student. In Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we have been working on virtues and groups of children presented short skits on the four cardinal virtues of Temperance, Fortitude, Justice, and Prudence.
Then it was off to the camp bonfire for songs, stories and of course…S’MORES.
As darkness began to close in around us, the flashlights came out and we ventured along a woodland track on a night hike.
Off in the distance we saw a white tailed deer, evidence of the digging armadillos was all around, a bat flew overhead, an opossum eyed us curiously as it shimmied up the tree and we heard the croak of the frogs settling down for the night.
Back at the cabins it was time for us to settle down. Sleep did not come easily to a group of enthused students, but finally the chatter died away and the cabins fell silent.
Everyone was awake and ready to go long before the call for breakfast. Refreshed and reinvigorated, the children organized games at the gaga pit, the basketball court, and the nine square.
After breakfast the counselor led the group in a raft building exercise. Using sticks, gathered from the surroundings, and twine, the students worked in pairs to mesh together a small raft. Then it was off to the river to launch the rafts! In spite of the chilled water, students wearing water shoes did not hesitate to pursue their rafts into the water. Another success…all the rafts floated away downstream.
Before lunch we helped in the Camp garden by pruning some of the heavy-laden peach trees.
After lunch there were a lot of downcast faces as we said farewell to the camp, especially for the students for whom it was their last year. We know they will carry with them many happy memories of school camp!
Here are a few comments from our students.
Gaby: It was very fun and a lot of walking and there was nothing that wasn’t interesting.
Will: I really liked the food! The chicken was tasty.
Liz: The best part was having fun with friends!
Noah: My favorite part was playing gaga ball.
Luna: I liked making rafts and floating them down the Guadalupe River.
Zora: My favorite thing was working in teams to get through the spider’s web.
Summer camps are available for students ages 8-18 at Camp Capers. Check out http://www.dwtx.org/departments/camps/contact/ for more information. Scholarships are available.