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Really?!? Only 12 days until camp? That is music to my ears.

In just over a week, we get to return to our Summer home – Shibley Day Camp. And I couldn’t be more PUMPED for my 25th year at Shibley. What still has me excited after so many years? The smiles of joy I get to see on a daily basis from our campers and staff does the trick every time. I love watching our campers try new activities, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime. Equally, I love seeing Shibley’s staff work hard, have fun, and cultivate their professional skill sets.

This past weekend many of our veteran staff gathered on the campgrounds to welcome all the new staff for Summer 2018.  The training has begun, the campgrounds and facilities have never looked better, and the pieces we work on all year long are coming together to create magic.

Only 12 more days until we get to start making new friends, trying new things, and having the best Summer of our lives! As for me, I consider myself a very lucky lady…..because I will spend my summer with all of you!

I would love to hear what you are looking forward to for Summer 2018.  Please send me an email with your thoughts at Randi@shibleydaycamp.com!

Camp is less than one month away!  The trees are in full bloom and camp is GREEN.  Our incredible facilities team is putting the finishing touches on the property and camp looks awesome!!  For this month’s blog, I want everyone to get excited about the Field of Dreams, Fenway Park, new sandboxes AND our new Welcome to Shibley area in Junior Camp.

The fields are ready for some baseball, softball and kickball – check out how great they look!

And, we know how much everyone loves the sand at Shibley.  This year, we created boxes where the campers will be able to play in the sand.  (We also purchased some new shovels and pails, so we look forward to seeing our creative campers in action!)

Lastly, we have a brand new Welcome To Shibley Day Camp all set to welcome the buses on Day 1!

Please join me, once again, in thanking our ever expanding facility team – Billy, Mario, Carlos, Danny, Danny and Liam.

I always love to hear from families and staff.  Please reach out with any feedback or thoughts.  You can always reach me at rachel@shibleydaycamp.com.

It’s really the countdown until Summer 2018…

NEW WEBSITE

We are excited that you have come to visit our BRAND NEW WEBSITE! Please look at it on your computers, tablets and phones and let us know what you think!

SPRING FLING- SUNDAY, 6/10

We hope you are available to join us for the RESCHEDULED Spring Fling on Sunday, June 10 from 1pm-4pm. Enjoy air bungee, Green Giant, face painting, games & light refreshments with your family and friends. Sylvan Learning of Port Washington will demonstrate some of the robotics and coding activities we have in store for campers this summer. This event is for current Shibley families and prospective families that wish to learn more about camp for 2018 or 2019.

PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES

We are also available for camp tours 7 days-a-week if you are not available on 6/10.

REMINDERS FOR ENROLLED FAMILIES

Don’t forget to send in a completed medical form for each camper attending Shibley ASAP if you have not already done so! The form can be found in your CampMinder account. The form must be completed by your child’s pediatrician.

Please also let us know the exact dates of camp your child(ren) will attend this summer if you have not already.

The other day, in my capacity as a standards visitor for the American Camp Association (ACA), I visited the day camp that I attended when I was a child. I love being a part of the accreditation process for local day camps. This is my 7^th year as a visitor and I hope to stay involved for years to come. For me, there aren’t many feelings that are better than stepping into a camp, especially on a beautiful spring day like it happened to be last week. This time it was even more meaningful, having spent summers at this day camp at an early age. Even with all of the updated amenities and facilities it was very recognizable. Walking through certain parts of the camp gave me the chills.

The first thing we (myself, an associate visitor and a camp director) do is sit down at this time of year and review…wait for it…paperwork. It doesn’t sound exciting, but It is very interesting to see how so many successful accredited camps and summer programs meet the standards set forth by the ACA in their own unique ways. Handbooks, charts, forms, digital documents, orientation outlines, etc., etc. How, when, what and to whom we communicate has become one of the most important parts of running any program that involves children. We looked at all sorts of certifications and written policies.

We took a quick walk around camp which was interesting because there were several projects in progress that we will get to observe the children enjoying in just a few weeks. During the summer we visit the camp up for accreditation while it is in action. We observe arrival, instructional swim, lunch procedures and many of the activities as they take place while we tour around camp checking for standard compliance. We review any paperwork not seen in the previous visit or timely items like current health forms and nurse logs. We document it all and if the timing works out, we eat lunch with the campers before we part.

In essence we have the opportunity to experience a few hours of another camp which means we watch children participating in valuable activities with interest and excitement. And in case you didn’t know, creating a camp program where children feel this way for 39 days straight is my passion. The goal of the ACA accreditation process is EDUCATION, EDUCATION & ECUATION. If we do it right, the camp being accredited, and the visitors should each walk away with ideas on how to make their respective camps even safer. I am so excited for this summer’s visit, I’m sure I will follow this up with some details when it’s complete.

If anyone out there is a camp professional and looking for a way to volunteer, I recommend becoming a standards visitor! You can share your camp knowledge and experience, keep children at all camps and summer programs safe and improve your own camp by learning from others! I can point you in the right direction- heath@shibleydaycamp.com.

It is May 17 and I am starting to feel the anticipation because there are less than 40 days left until the start of camp.  For me the most exciting day of my year is and has always been the first day of camp. Even though I have experienced it over 40 times, the newness of it is always the same. One of our favorite sayings in the camp industry is 10 4 2. It means it takes 10 months of very hard work to get ready 4 the 2 months of camp. After extra-long hours of preparation in May and June, it will all come to fruition on June 25.

I know I will wake up that morning at 5:00AM with no alarm clock needed.  My body knows it is time. I get to camp at 6:00AM and the adrenaline is rushing. At 7:00AM the early morning staff starts arriving and there is a buzz in the air. I think about our staff members and campers starting to awaken in their homes and the excitement they are feeling as they get ready for the first day of camp.  I can imagine the parents kissing their children goodbye and wishing them a great day as they board the Shibley bus.  As the time approaches 9:00AM, the buses start to arrive at camp and ready or not here they come! And boy are we ready!

This is the moment that I wait 364 days for and it never disappoints. There is a special energy in the air on the Shibley campus on this day and the 38 days that follow.  And then we cry when it ends on August 17 and start all over again…10 4 2.

Sylvan Learning of Port Washington will be at Shibley for a few special days summer providing special coding and robotics classes for our campers and we are extremely happy to have them on board! Here is a brief description of what our campers can expect this summer:

Summer Camp

Build robots. Build friendships. Build confidence! Sylvan robotics will give your child a lively introduction to building and programming robots.  The students will build cool models out of LEGOs® and animate them with award-winning WeDo™ software — while they learn basic programming skills.

They will also be here on 5/19 from 1-4pm at our Spring Fling:

Please come and join us for a few hours of Robotics, Enginering, and Coding!  You will have the opportunity to work on projects in which you become bold builders and cool coders!  Raffle and prizes will also be given out that day!