Camp Journal - Village Day Camp Geneva

Half way through Session 1

Well it is Friday and the end of the first week here at Village Camps, it is hard to believe that the first session is half over...

but I suppose that is what happens when you are enjoying yourself as much as all our counselors and campers are.

The forecast this morning was for showers in the afternoon, which had us slightly worried, but thankfully the rain stayed away and it was another day full of excursions as well as activities here on campus. A few groups were able to do the pottery activity today- they design, decorate and paint their own plates, which then get fired at the pottery kiln in Versoix, and the children are able to bring them home at the end of the session.

The Seven year olds had a great day- they spent the morning at the pool in Nyon and the afternoon bowling in Gland. What a tough life! The nine year olds and SA1 spent the day up in Signal de bougy, the seniors were able to try the Rope Obstacle course, it is a new activity that we have this year and judging from the pictures, it was a huge success.

The mini campers were also busy today- the sound of them practicing their elephant and lion impressions in the drama room was floating through the office all day, and we were actually quite worried at first!

In short, it was a great day and great end to our first week, hopefully next week will be just as fun!

He is the Senior Counselor for one of our groups of Five year olds.

Paul is South African, he moved to Switzerland at a young age and has lived in Zurich and Geneva, and speaks French and English fluently.

His favourite sports are rugby, kayaking and snowboarding, but he also enjoys tennis, squash and football, he studied sports development in the UK and hopes to come back to Village Camps next year as he enjoys meeting new people and working with children.  

Day four, and as we approach the half-way point of the first session the lovely weather meant that it was another very enjoyable day at Village Camps. The Five year olds and one of the Senior groups spent the morning relaxing at the pool in Nyon, swimming and sunbathing, and earning the envy of all the other groups.

The younger Senior groups, SA1 and 2, spent the day making and testing boomerangs on the basketball pitch, and the fact that many of the boomerangs failed to return to the throwers was more than compensated for by the original and colourful designs that the campers had painted on them- racing stripes, leopard spots,

The nine year olds went to Gland in the afternoon for a few hours of Bowling, they enjoyed themselves immensely and, like every year, they proved themselves to be more talented than their counselors by convincingly outscoring them. SA3 went on one of the more popular excursions to the Lac de Divonne, where they spent the afternoon windsurfing on the lake, today was the first time this session that we had a group go to Divonne and, like last year, it seems to have been a great success, we only have to hope that the weather holds for the next six weeks and none of the other groups have to cancel.

Even with all the field trips that happened today the Village Camps campus was also very busy today, thankfully the weather stayed nice all day and so all of our sports fields were bustling with activity, and as usual Drama, Dance, Arts and Crafts and the various other indoor activities. The only downside of these fantastic sunny days is that the danger of sunburn and dehydration increases, and although all our groups take regular water breaks it is still a good idea for parents to make sure their children have their own bottle of water and sun cream.

She has come all the way from New Orleans, Louisiana to join us this summer, and she is doing a fantastic job as senior counselor for group 4A.

Jessica is currently a senior at Louisiana State University studying Communications and Journalism.

She enjoys running and hiking, cooking, and traveling and spent a few weeks traveling around Europe before camp started.

The sunny weather meant that all our outdoor sports grounds were hives of activity all day, as the shouts of jumping, racing, running children reverberated throughout the camp. It was so nice that Katie, our dance specialist this year, decided to hold her class outside, and all morning there were children square-dancing, pirouetting, and jiving their way across the basketball courts. The senior campers had another busy day, SA1 and 2 spent all day in the Jura mountains, hiking and picnicking, while SA3 spent the day in Signal de Bougy, a fantastic nature park with playgrounds, obstacle courses, and a small zoo where the largest pig in the entire world lives! The 4 year olds, 9 year olds, and 8 year olds were at Nyon pool today, enjoying the sun and the water, while SB1 and SB2 spent the afternoon bowling in Gland. It was another great day here at camp and hopefully the next six weeks will be just as fun.

Nyon pool was busy as all of the 6 year olds and three of the Senior groups went in the morning, and the rest of the Seniors went in the afternoon- quite a day for our swimming specialists, Tanya and Erin! The 8 and 9 year olds went to the forest in Trelex today, where they spent their time playing various outdoor games, and doing some of the exercises along the Parcours Vita. SA1,2 and 3 had arguably they best day of camp- pool in the morning, and bowling in the afternoon, they definitely had fun- their group counselors were reluctant to tell us how the bowling went which is a sure sign that they were all beaten by the campers!! Some of the mini-campers also went on excursions today- the 4 year olds took the boat this morning from Coppet to Nyon, and got back just in time for lunch-perfect timing.

With so many groups off campus it was quiet around camp today, but dance, drama, music and all the sports activities were still buzzing with the sounds of campers’ voices, and in arts and crafts some groups started work on their costumes for Special Day. I’m afraid it is too early to reveal what our theme will be this session; it is a closely guarded secret! But it is never too early to mark the date in your diaries, we hope to see you all there!