Summer Camp England

First full taste of camp!

Today was our first real day at Village Camp York and we were ready to make it unforgettable for the kids. It can seem quite difficult at the beginning to get use to the camp routine but we took the time to explain everything so the campers could feel comfortable.

The first part of the day was dedicated to the morning programs for what each kid signed: Football, Activity and Adventures, English, Creative Arts, Performing Arts, Golf and Horse Riding. Golfers and Riders left before the others to join their lovely offsite facilities while the other benefited from the wonderful campus facilities of Queen Ethelburgas College.

Today was about getting to know each other! One of the main goals of Village Camps is to help the kids to make new friends from all over the world and help them cooperate and work together as one team. All the programs started with ice breakers games thus the atmosphere in each group was filled with laughter and fun.

And what is the best way to learn how to become a team then play together! Footballers know it very well and during the first games our coach Neil assessed the level of the campers' skills to be able to design a program fitted to their abilities. Similar assessment took place for Golf, Horse-riding, Performing Arts and English. We like to pay attention to personal abilities and skill levels of each camper to help them develop their proficiency.

The afternoon was dedicated to colour group activities run by our wonderful Colour Leaders Hannah (Blue House), Sameena and Steffen (Yellow House) and Maddie (Red House). By the end of the afternoon the atmosphere was getting more and more cheerful as the kids got to know each other better and started to make new friends. And the counsellors all agreed, even though the group of this session is smaller than we are used to, this session has one of the best atmosphere that we saw so far.

At 3PM, it was time for Kangaroo Court! Wondering what that is? Well, let me explain this to you. Every day at our 3PM All Camp Meeting we hold the Kangaroo Court when 3 counsellors put on some fancy dresses and call four or five campers/ counsellors who did something silly during last day or were the good Samaritans. First counsellor is the Prosecutor, second one is the Defender and the last one is the Judge (with the help of the rest of the camp of course). Then if the camp decides that the accused people are guilty they get punished. Kangaroo Court quickly became a favourite part of the day for all the campers and counsellors as well. At the 3PM All Camp Meeting we also read the Secret Friends Messages. This is an opportunity for the campers to send each other anonymous messages saying things they like about each other, about their counsellors or about the camp.

After dinner campers spent their evening night with their colour groups. The Blue House counsellors organised a race for the campers while Reds and Yellows some played fun group games.

Finally after the first full busy day the campers had a long night sleep to keep their energy levels high for the next morning.

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