Congo Camp 2010

Many of our campers may be coming home stating this exact phrase, but, parents & family, no fear. . . the lost & found is here! 

Below are photos of the many items that were left at Congo Camp this summer.  If you see something that is yours, please stop by the camp office and one of our Camp Admin will gladly help guide you to your items:

Campers entering the Haunted House.

The seniors set-up an exciting activity for the rest of our day campers today: a haunted house.  The sock hop went from a calm place for campers to meet and complete games into a bone-chilling haunted house.

All of the campers enjoyed walking through the mysterious walkways and dark corridors and our Seniors had fun spooking our campers a bit. 

Good job, Seniors, on an excellent haunted house!

Campers rearing to go down the slide!

All of the campers have been enjoying the various moon bounces, but one of the bounces enjoyed by our older campers is The Cliffhanger.

It may look like a simple slide from far away, but as you near this slide you can see just how steep it is.  Almost a straight drop down, the campers love the flying feeling they have on the way down. 

The campers all have been having fun sliding down The Cliffhanger and we hope they continue to enjoy it for the rest of the day!

Can you spot the camper on the wall?

One of the Carnival activities is the Velcro wall.  This activity is pretty similar to how it sounds.

The campers put on a special velcro suit.  Then, they take a running jump at a bouncy wall made of velcro.  As they jump up, their suit attaches to the wall and they get a few moments being stuck with no ground below them. 

All of the campers have a blast getting to bounce around on this moon bounce before they spring onto the wall. 

Each of the campers likes to see just how high they can get, but sometimes the difficulty is getting oneself down!

After a session of working hard, the seniors finally have completed their excellent mural.  We are all excited to see it finally posted in the cafeteria.  But, just in case you may not get to see the mural, here is the excellent artistic work the seniors did:

The excellent Senior Mural!

A few of the Moon Bounces available for campers.

Our Day Campers are having fun today as the Carnival continues all day and the end of day camp arrives.  There are many activities and moon bounces available for our campers to enjoy throughout the day.

One of the campers' favorite spots is the Cotton Candy stand--at which they can get freshly spun cotton candy. 

There are also many moon bounces that the campers can go on such as the Spongebob bounce, the Madagascar obstacle course, and the velcro wall.

We hope our day campers have fun getting to enjoy all of the activities available today!

The PB Pit settling after being swung over by campers!

By swinging across the PB Pit, of course!  As the day campers kept cool in various places around campus, they enjoyed some time getting wet in the PB Pit at Ropes.

The day campers have all been enjoying the many water-based activities of the day, and we are hoping they are getting excited for the Carnival tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your day campers, and we can't wait to see everyone excited and energized during the Carnival!

Campers having fun in Outdoor Ed.

The Outdoor Ed counselors had our campers doing one of the best summer activities to stay cool: having a carwash. 

As day campers headed over to the Outdoor Ed counselors, they got to get hosed down and then start playing in the soap and water to stay cool.

Each camper loved getting splashed with the hose and rained on by the water as they scrubbed the cars clean.  They got to clean some admin and camp staff cars while staying cool and comfortable.

We hope they have fun as the are working at the carwash!

The top of the inflatable water slide!

The Cracker Barrel counselors had an inflatable ready for our younger day campers for this Tsunami Thursday. 

Each camper was excited to take a quick trip down the slide and then splash around in the mini pool.  At the bottom of the slide are a few inflatables that ensure a complete splash at the slide bottom.

All of the day campers wanted to enjoy the trip down and loved the top of the slide because they got an extra splash of water from the sprinkler.

We hope the campers are having fun on their Tsunami Thursday and enjoy all the activities that are planned for them. 

The Slip and Slide on the hill!

The Sports counselors set up the slip and slide today, so day campers could stay cool as the day heats up. 

All of the day campers had loads of fun sliding down the slide into the nice cool pool of water at the bottom.  The sports counselors helped to make the slide even more enjoyable by adding some turns and hills to it.

As the Tsunami Thursday continues, all of the day camp groups will be having fun as they slip and slide down to the bottom. 

The waves may not be this big, but the water will definitely keep campers cool!

And the rain has disappeared, so today the day campers get to enjoy a nice, wet Thursday. 

A few of the exciting, water activities planned for today are a slip and slide, water inflatable, and carwash. 

All of these events are being held by our various day camp areas such as Sports, Cracker Barrel, and Outdoor Ed.

A few of the day camp areas will continue with their normal activities such as Ropes, Equine, and Pool.  We are excited to see our campers get wet and wild with the Tsunami and we hope they have fun staying cool all day!

Yesterday, we relayed how the Sophomores had posted their artistic sign in the main hallway.  It was well done and many people commended them on their excellent efforts.

But, our freshman and primary groups decided to show their pride by decorating and making their own signs. 

Campers preparing to play another round of Spoons!

The Cracker Barrel counselors had a fun card game activity planned for our day camp counselors. 

As the campers entered the Cracker Barrel camp room, they sat in groups of four or five.  Each group then received plastic spoons and cards to play: Spoons.

If you haven't played spoons, the object is to acquire four of the same kind and then one of the spoons in the center of the group.  Whoever is the person without a spoon at the end loses that round.

The day campers were enthralled as they tried to pass cards and grab the spoons before the others in their group.  We could tell they were having a blast playing this game today!

Campers hanging out in the Cafeteria.

As the rain continues to pour (and, the old man continues to snore), the Congo Camp is preparing for various indoor activities to complete.


Every day camp area has a room to which they are assigned and within these rooms they have many fun games for the campers.

Our Cracker Barrel counselors have already acquired playing cards to play some card games, while the equine counselors have information they will be helping the students learn about horses.

While we hope that the rain clears, we know that the day campers will be having fun at their activities today!

The campers in the midst of a Lacrosse game.

The day campers had the chance to enjoy some Lacrosse in Sports today. 

They have played many games over the course of the session, but all of the campers were enjoying the game of Lacrosse today. 

Every camper had their position and then got to get a lacrosse stick to practice throwing and catching the Lacrosse ball. 

Each of the campers did their best to score a goal and they all showed excellent ability and agility to get the ball across the field. 

The counselor testing out each A-Frame fire.

In Outdoor Ed, the day campers have learned many important skills for surviving in the wilderness.  Today, the campers practiced one of the most important: making a usable fire.

To make this fire the campers had to set up an A-Frame.  The A-Frame fire is based on sticks positioned in the shape of an "A" to help the fire burn properly.

Once the frame was set, the Outdoor Ed counselor lit the wood to see how well the fires burned.  The campers definitely showed a knowledge of survival skills because their fires burned well.

We hope the campers remember all of the skills they learned in Outdoor Ed the next time they go camping!

A Cracker Barrel Counselor modeling the Paper Bag Animals.

In Cracker Barrel, our day campers had the fun of creating their own animal.

Each camper selected which animal they wanted to make and then colored in the parts of it. After coloring the parts, they next cut out those parts.

Then, came the fun: the campers glued on the parts onto a paper bag. Once the bag had all of the parts glued on, the campers could use the bags as puppets.

All of the campers were excited to play with their animals after they were completed!

Some of the hats campers made.

Walking around Congo Camp today, you may notice that our Congo day campers have a great way to shield themselves from the sun: hats.

Well, there is something unique about these hats, though, they are handmade.  Each hat was made during Arts & Crafts today.

The hats were made from paper plates and tissue paper.  They were decorated by the campers and reflected each camper's personality.

So, keep your eyes open to see the excellent hats these campers made. 

The Day Camp Daily Doings flyer.  Feel free to click on it to see a larger image.

During the last week of day camp, our Congo Camp Staff has many events planned for these day campers this week.

On Wednesday, we will be having a Wet and Wild day. For Wet and Wild day, many of our normal activities such as Equine and Ropes will continue, but there will also water-based activities around Congo Camp. 

Thursday our day campers will get to see the staff/camper basketball game.  We can't wait to see everyone cheering on their side.

And, to finish off a wonderful summer of day camp, the Carnival will be on Friday.

For more information, see the attached flyer!

The Senet board being set up by campers.

In Cracker Barrel, the counselors carried our campers back in time to the Egyptian Era and had them play the game Senet.

This game requires just a board, sticks, and some intelligence.  Our counselors explained how one moves around the board and how to obtain points. 

The campers sat in groups of four and really enjoyed the game.  It was a game very few of them had played before and we're sure many will be playing again when they get home!