Month: October 2019

We couldn’t have asked for a better day to host our annual Fall Festival at Shibley Day Camp. We had over 400 people at camp, and It was so wonderful to see all those smiling faces running around and enjoying camp activities. It felt like a typical summer day. Our new families got to enjoy camp in all its glory and our returning families got to see all their camp friends and many of their counselors. Children were flying high on the air bungee, picking and decorating pumpkins, getting their face painted and creating projects at arts and crafts, riding our tractor pulled hayride, and climbing to new heights in the green giant!

 

Our friends from Sylvan of Port Washington demonstrated the activities they offer here at camp on special days throughout the summer. Campers and families played soccer with our friends from Super Soccer Stars who will be offering classes at Shibley this spring. Everyone was kicking up a storm with Tiger Shulmann’s of Manhasset who provides excellent Martial Arts instruction for our campers in July & August.

Highlights of the day:

• All the campers in costumes
• Delicious hot cocoa
• Smiling faces
• Amazing staff volunteers
• Seeing friends and family
• The sounds of laughter throughout camp

By now most of us are fully entrenched in our Fall activities. Summer has faded, the Autumn colors have taken over the landscape, and in 8 short weeks we will be welcoming in the holiday season and the new year.  2019 is the year my husband and I experienced being grandparents for the first time. It has been quite a ride.  I thought I would share a few funny moments and some “Aha” moments as Brody turns 1 year old.

My husband and I visit baby Brody just about every week.  In the beginning, we would arrive at Brody’s apartment and wait our turn to hold the baby.  We have a decent size immediate family   so literally it was like taking a bakery ticket with each of us announcing…”I’m next.”  This went on for hours.

There have been some new developments since Steve and I became parents some 30 years ago.  One afternoon, Steve and I were babysitting for Brody.  Both mom and dad were out.  We had the baby all to ourselves.   We were in Brody’s room adoringly watching him sleep in the crib when all of a sudden we heard a deep voice call out, straight out of a Star Wars movie, “Brody…I am your father!”  We literally freaked!  We looked at each other incredulously trying to figure out where the voice came from. It was shortly after that that our son explained to us about the infamous nanny cam, which can not only be viewed on your cell phone but can also transmit sound from anywhere.  As it turned out, my son activated the nanny cam on his phone from work and decided to have some fun with us.

Here’s another goody.  We have been introduced to the “Shusher.”  Back in the day when you wanted to calm a baby, or rock a baby to sleep you would soothingly hold the baby close and rock back and forth making a continuing shushing sound. We were blown away to learn that  there is now a mechanical hand held device called The Shusher!  You can place it by the crib to calm a baby down or lull the baby to sleep. What will they think of next???!!!!

Here are a few AHA moments in year 1……

It is amazing how this little baby boy has brought our family even closer.

Steve and I don’t sweat the parental details.  Our job is to crash their place, play with and spoil Brody, give him endless hugs and kisses, rile him up, and then head back home.

We have come to realize that our son, who at times was a challenge growing up, has become a wonderful loving father and husband.  Steve and I sometimes look at each other in amazement and giggle.

After raising 3 children, who turned out pretty well in my opinion, I find it quite humorous that my son feels compelled to give me advice and instructions regarding “the Baby.”

Being a grandparent is about all of the joys and not about the headaches.

During so many of Shibley’s special events throughout the year, as well as summertime visiting days and shows, grandparents play an integral part of our camp experience. They come in droves to see their grandchildren in action. Their pride and joy is unparalleled. Before becoming a grandma myself, I would marvel at the sight of a camper running into their grandparents arms and thinking how lucky they all are to have each other.  Shibley is a place to celebrate family and I hope to see all our campers, parents and grandparents this Saturday at our Fall Festival enjoying the day!

My first summer here at Shibley was definitely one I will never forget!  There are so many things that make Shibley such a special place, what stands out the most however on any given day are definitely the campers and the staff members. From the day camp began until the day camp ended, as I looked around, all I saw were smiling faces and happy individuals who would rather be exactly where they were rather than any other place.

The environment that camp provides is motivating for both the campers and staff, day after day, and the fun and excitement never stops. Whether you’re 3, 13 or 23 years old, where else can you make oreo rice krispie treats, cruise down a zip line, tie dye your own shirt, swim in a pool after sliding down a windy slide and have pizza for lunch all in the same day while wearing a green tutu?

The positivity and optimism here at Shibley are extremely motivating and just as contagious as the GREEN values! Whether you’re on the ball field, running lines at the theater for an upcoming production or climbing around the green giant, connections are constantly being made and friendships are consistently being fostered. We’re here to cheer each other on and lift one another up. Shibley is a family, the kind of family that only camp can provide and we are all extremely fortunate to be a part of it.

SAT, OCT 26 – 1PM to 4PM

Shibley is a place for our families to gather throughout the year! The annual Halloween themed Fall Festival is a great time for campers to reconnect with friends they haven’t seen since school started.

New and prospective families will have the opportunity to meet camp staff, participate in camp activities, tour the grounds and make new friends!

Please CLICK HERE to RSVP if your children are not currently enrolled at Shibley for Summer 2020

Pumpkin picking/painting, hay rides, face painting, games, music, refreshments, air bungee, Green Giant and a chance to enjoy our beautiful 20 acre wooded facility with family and friends.

One of my projects after each summer is to put together a folder of pictures to use throughout the year for emails, social media posts, flyers, brochures, website updates and other marketing initiatives. So I have spent the last week looking through over 40,000 pictures, most of which are also available to you on the Shibley App.

I would like to give a shout out to our awesome media team from Summer 2019. Choosing the best of the best is not easy and I ended up with a folder of over 1000 pictures to work from.

I can’t share all of them here and now and I had to pick a number to stop at so enjoy ONLY 39 of my favorites (to represent the 39 days of camp), with captions.

Do you have favorites of your own? Post them or share them with us!

heath@shibleydaycamp.com