Author: Elissa

Today in Arts n’ Crafts there was a group of boys in our Lego room, all sitting around our new Lego tables each making their own works of art. Some made cars and raced them down our Lego track but everyone in that space was creating and having the best time.  I was watching them as they each worked alone and were completely focused on their project. This space allowed each camper to use their imagination as one camper said to me, “I built a triple decker firehouse, you wanna see what I made?” He was so proud showing me the trap door and the entrance for the fire trucks and it had a story. A few other boys came over to us and asked if they could add on to his firehouse which they all agreed how awesome it would be to connect all their pieces to create a city.  They got a plan of what this would look like and then the plan went into action. What started out as a single triple decker firehouse grew into an entire city. They started out alone and then were drawn together to work with one another. Right in front of my eyes, I saw their connection grow. They used these little colorful pieces to create a work of art and did it together. In a 45 minute period, these boys started out working alone and by the end were all together working in harmony, compromising with one another, negotiating, creating an entire city and this is what it is all about. These boys came to camp alone and are building cities together, with each other.

It was a great day for sports and tourneys at Chenny. We hosted a Collegiate Boys baseball tournament with Wayne, Westmont and Tioga.

Game 1: CAW 5 vs. Tioga )

Game 2: CAW 1 vs. Westmont

Game 3: CAW 8 vs. Wayne 1

Freshman/Junior Girls Basketball – CAW 30 vs. Tioga 2

Inter Girls Tennis – CAW 4 vs. Tioga 1

Collegiate Girls Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Westmont 1

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 17 vs. Westmont 37

GC/CIT Girls Soccer – CAW 9 vs. Tioga 1

Senior Boys Tennis – CAW 3 vs. Weequahic 12

GC/CIT Boys Soccer – CAW 0 @ Starlight 2

We have so much talent here at Chenny and it’s just not our campers. Tonight out staff showed just how talent they are at our Staff Talent Show. They sang and danced and got up on that stage and were fearless. Our campers cheered for them with standing ovations and screams of pride. When one of us is on that stage, its as if each of us are on that stage. It what truly makes us a family. Another incredible day here in Paradise.

Chenny out.

 

To say the day was incredible would be an understatement. Waking up to the bluest sky, with the cleanest crisp freshest air, the warmth we feel from the sun shining down on us and the greenest rolling mountains that surround our summer home, gives each one of us a connection to nature and has this incredible positive effect on how we feel. You walk outside and you are just in an awesome mood. When an entire community starts their day with this much positivity, it is hard to have a bad day. That is one of the many reasons why life is great here. We are all embraced by the beauty of our surroundings and it allows us to feel so good, all the time. I try and observe our campers experiences so you at home can feel what is happening here inside our gates but today was that kind of day that deserved a description of the beautiful landscape we live in and how it effects each one of us in the most awesome way.

Our Super boys had a day full of baseball as we hosted Camp Westmont with a double header tournament. They were on the field all day long and loved every minute of it. CAW won both games with a 8-0 victory followed by 2-1 win. More than the win, it was the fact that the boys played baseball all day and they couldn’t have been happier.

As some things change some just stay the same and one thing we can always count on to stay the same summer after summer here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda is Sign & Song. This very long-standing camp tradition is celebrated by so may who came before and you can count on this camp favorite every summer for years to come. Each bunk decorates a plaque that will forever be placed on the bunk walls. It is a tradition that cements your summer here at Chenny. Your name will forever be up on our walls, that you can count on. When any Chen-A-Wanda alum come by for a visit, the first thing they do is find their bunk plaque and grin ear to ear. Each bunk on girls side performs a dance they have worked on all week long. From the cutest Freshman through our beautifully talented CIT’s, the girls put on quite a show tonight. Boys side was cheering them on and nights like this makes us a camp family. There is a winner for lower and upper camp plaques as well as winners for dance in both camps. Tonight was incredible and we didn’t envy our judges as they had a tough time choosing the winners but a huge congratulations goes to the bunks that we’re crowned winners:

Lower Camp Best Plaque- Boys Bunk E and Girls Bunk F

Upper Camp Best Plaque – Boys Bunk W and Girls Bunk W

Winner of Sign & Song Dance: Lower Camp – Girls Bunk H / Upper Camp – Girls Bunk S

It was an electric night and another amazing Sign & Sing is in the books. All campers are sleeping peacefully and camp is quiet but only for a few hours until we rise and do it all over again.

Chenny out.

 

 

 

We had another beautiful day here at Chenny. It was late wake up this morning and though we’ve only been here for 5 days, it has been a packed 5 days and the sleep-in was so great.  We’ve been playing hard all day and all night long so the extra hour felt amazing. Here at Chenny, we go to breakfast in our pajamas – just like were home. Roll out of bed and head to the kitchen and today was a camper favorite as we all filled our bellies with the best chocolate chip pancakes. A great way to start our day. So we have nourished our bodies and then it was off to play.  The sun was shining, the lake was glistening and camp was full of smiling happy campers.

So much happens in a day here. There were more team tryouts, theater auditions for our show Legally Blonde and the campers were so excited about this years Chenny’s Got Talent show. Campers auditioned for the show and brought their “A” game. There were singers and dancers, comedians, musicians, jugglers and other talents you just have to wait and see for yourself. As each camper took that stage to show what they got, it blew our mind how talented our kids are. Some went in groups and some rocked it all buy themselves. This years show will blow our minds, that you can bank on.

As the sun set over fiddle lake and campers enjoyed free play, which is the time of the day after dinner when kids get to roam around, be with friends and enjoy some unstructured time, we saw something that we had never seen before. Our Dance director had an impromptu Zumba class and there were well over 100 campers that jumped in danced to amazing music and worked up quite a sweat. It was insane fun and the campers loved it.

Evening activity was a blast as our campers played Deal or No Deal. It was electric and so much fun. One camper who played just would’t take a deal as he watched pizza parties and extra canteen for his bunk pass him by. He had his site set on one thing and was playing until he got it. The last case held what he wanted and as the crowd was trying to sway him to take a deal actually any deal for that matter, this cherokee camper wanted the new Chenny baseball hat and in that last possible move – a suitcase turned over and the prize was that hat. He cheered as if he won the lottery tonight and walked out of Shields Hall with the best looking baseball hat on his cute little head. A deal was made and our camper was happy. Doesn’t get better than that. A great day and an awesome night. What life at Camp Chen-A-Wanda is all about.

Chenny out.

Imagine for a moment a world where no electronics existed. There were no tears or heartbreak because you weren’t invited to that party you saw on someones snapchat story or because you weren’t tagged in a picture on Instagram. A world where group texts didn’t exist and that cold isolating screen was replaced with the warmth of your friend laughing at your jokes. You could see his face and feel her emotion when you have conversation. There is empathy that develops when you see how your words and actions can effect those around you. It isn’t just keys you press to communicate. Camp is the ultimate environment that brings us together rather than keeps us apart. I was watching our CIT’s tonight sit around a table after evening activity, some on each others laps, some leaning against one another but the entire circle was connected by human touch. I sat and stared at this group of 16 year olds talking about anything and everything. It reminded me of how things used to be and one of them said, “I am so happy we don’t have our phones – Look at us.” That said it all. Camp makes us better versions of ourselves.

The day was incredible and the campers are taking advantage of every corner we have here at Camp. Gaga games were full of happy kids, the biddy courts had campers playing on them, the spin room was spinning all day long. It just doesn’t get better than this. Today was our get together for our Littles and Bigs. We love this program where we paired up our new Chenny kids with campers who have been here for years. They pass the torch to the new kids just starting their journey and our camp family grows. When you watch the Littles and their Bigs, you see why Camp Chen-A-Wanda is so full of love, laughter, joy and kindness. We take care of on another up here. We are a family.

Love was in the air as our evening activity was a camp favorite, The Dating Game. We had bachelors and bachelorettes and it was a great night. The laughter coming from Shields Hall was deafening. It is a night we all look forward to. Starting with the freshman all the way to the CIT’s – the questions were awesome and the answers were even better. It was a day full of love here at Chenny. Just doesn’t get better than this.

Chenny out.

It’s only day three here and when you look around it is the strangest feeling like we’ve been here for weeks already. The comfort you feel when you are here is unexplainable. Being at Chenny is like wearing the most comfortable pair of warm slippers you just slide right into and never want to take off. Friendships start fast and last long. I was in a girls bunk today at rest hour and was watching these connections develop right in front of my eyes. There were a few girls dancing, another group playing jacks, another circle of painting nails and a group sitting on one bed reading jokes to one another cracking up. It was the happiest place on earth in that moment. As I was sitting getting my hair braided by a very talented and sweet Inter girl, I was in awe of witnessing this moment. A group of girls living together, all very different but each adding something incredible to this melting pot of friendships. I thought how lucky they all are to experience this every day for the next seven weeks. There were new campers that were added to this bunk this summer and they were accepted into the group as if they had always been there. It was magic and my heart skipped a beat as I saw the best part of your children today. Acceptance, Inclusion and Kindness – They way it’s supposed to be for our children. The bugle rang letting us know that rest hour was over and it was onto the next but I didn’t want it to end. I could have sat in that bunk all day long watching your kids exchange ideas, laugh and giggle from their core and see how much they crave these connections.  These girls I spent rest hour with were so happy and as they all ran out of the bunk, full of giggles and smiling faces it reminded me the power of this experience and how it changes every one of us.

There were so many sport tryouts today and our courts and fields were packed with kids giving it their all and most importantly having the time of their life. Sports at Chenny is unlike the experience at home for many. There is no pressure, no stress, no disappointed coaches, no cuts, no bad feelings, no feelings of self doubt, no initimidation and no nerves. There is an enormous amount of encouragement, support, lots of incredible training, insane amounts of fun and a feeling of why playing sports can and should be approached in this manner. I will never forget a few years back when a camper came to me and had tears in his eyes as he begged me to tell everyone at home who would listen how sports can be played without stress, fear and intimidation. You see, he is the star pitcher of his team back home but after his love for the game was being destroyed by the amount of stress that he was feeling, he wanted me to tell everyone how we played up here at camp. That he loved playing ball again because when he played, he was encouraged without stress and the game he loved so dearly was here for him. That same camper comes back each summer and you can find him on field with the biggest smile on his face. I watched him today as he was killing it at his tryouts and what was so impressive was that he was inspiring the new younger kids to have fun up here. I overheard him saying to a new camper, “You’ll love playing ball up here. The game will be fun, you will learn a lot and nobody will be disappointed when you get an error.” We can’t wait to watch these kids PLAY!!

For our Cherokee and Mohican campers it was an incredible night of BINGO… Prizes galore and so much fun. Pizza parties, ice cream socials and a few Beats head sets were given away. Our older kids had an optional evening activity. Some got into a great game of Wiffleball while others opted to hangout in the new canteen, playing card games, listening to music and just having a perfect summer night. We aren’t counting the days up here, we are making the days count!!!

Chenny out.