Everyday Extras - New Camper Blog Series

Welcome New Camper families! I love the middle of February as it always kicks off my favorite blog series of the year: the New Camper Blog Series! Every Tuesday from now until camp, we will post a blog specifically geared towards our new campers. While camp may seem like a LONG time from now, it will be here before you know it. This series will be a great place to reference as you start thinking about camp over the next few months.

First off, we’ve been doing our New Camper blog series for a few years, so make sure to check out some of our past posts. These previous posts are a great place to start as you dive into all-things-camp as a new parent.

So, what do we have in store for our first week of our 2019 series? Today, we are going to talk about all of the camp “extras” that are part of our day-to-day life at camp. You can find a copy of our camp schedule on our Explore page (scroll to the bottom). The gist of camp is that we have breakfast, classes, lunch, rest hour, classes, free time, dinner, and then Evening Program. But what about all the “other” stuff we do each day that you see on our camp schedule? Today, we’ll look at those parts specifically. Let’s get started!

Flag: We raise and lower the flag each day at camp. It’s a long-standing tradition at Greystone, and we are proud to honor our country in this way. Girls will stand with their cabin groups, salute the flag as it is raised or lowered, and then in the mornings, also recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Table Girls: You’ll see Table Girls on our schedule, and this is for those campers who help set our tables at each meal. For Junior Camp, our Adult Staff help do this. At June and August Camps, our oldest age groups help with this. And at Main Camp, older campers can sign up to do this as a paid job.

Breakfast Club: After breakfast each morning, we have Breakfast Club, a fun time spent with our camp director Jimboy, as he shares encouragement with the girls for the day. He ends this time with a funny joke (that sometimes only half of the girls understand). Campers look forward to Breakfast Club (and it’s a great thing to talk about with your family after camp too!).

Morning Assembly: After breakfast, we head to our Pavilion for Morning Assembly. We sing some fast songs, slow it down with some worship songs, and then have a short devotion. Girls race to the Pavilion each morning for this time together – a fun way to start the day!

Rest Hour: After lunch, each girl will head to her cabin for Rest Hour, an hour-long break in the day for girls to get some much-needed downtime. They can read their mail, take a nap, read a book, or do some quiet activities on their bunk. In our Spring New Camper Sparks (mailing in a few weeks!), we will have some great Rest Hour suggestions for campers.

Free Time: This is the part of the schedule that ends up being MOST confusing to girls. After the final class, we have Free Time on the schedule, but this isn’t a “free to do whatever you want” time. Instead, all girls head back to their cabins for showers, cleaning the cabin, and getting ready for dinner. Girls enjoy actual free time (to do camp activities) on Sunday afternoons.

Apple Cart, Candy Shoppe, Watermelon Table, and Crackers: Let me tell you – campers do not go hungry at Greystone. Throughout our day and worked into our camp schedule, girls have the chance to get many healthy snacks. This free food is available to all girls if they want it. Side note: we also have ice huts that have free, protein-rich snack options for girls if they need even more food outside of these other provided snacks.

Think that sums up the gist of the “extras” we have in our camp schedule each day. Have questions about anything related to the day-to-day part of camp? Let us know below! Join us next week for our next New Camper blog for this year.