Summer Begins! Opening Day Session 1
Camp Huawni is officially underway! Thank you to all our Huawni families who dropped off their kiddos yesterday— we hope your experience on Opening Day was a good one.
Thank you also for tuning into the Camp blog. Parents, stay tuned this week as I’ll be posting daily updates on what’s going on here at camp. Also, one fun feature we have on this blog is our “What are you gonna say” comment section below. I’d love to hear from you parents on these posts and for you to share your experiences as you’re watching your child grow this week from afar.
Sunday Night
Last night we began the evening with supper and Ms. Ada’s famous, famous, most famous, FRIED CHICKEN!!! It was delicious as always, and a parent even had the idea yesterday of selling Ada’s Fried Chicken in “To Go” boxes for parents as they leave on Opening Day. We’ll put that idea in the suggestion box.
After dinner, campers went immediately to Capture the Flag. As tradition has it, the Huawni Staff dressed up in silly costumes to spice it up a bit. As the match ended, campers and counselors joined together in a dance party as they broke it down to the Wobble.
Next, we headed to the Dining Hall for the Opening Night Show. The Opening Night Show was a hit, and we purposefully tried to get campers as involved as possible. We were accompanied by director emeritus Chris Watlington and family liaison Juliana Quintero, who made up show band The Clay Roots (a spin off of The Roots Band on the Jimmy Fallon Show). The show consisted of a surprise glow stick dance, a gigantic paper/rock/scissor match, a crowd surfing mattress race where boys camp faced off against girls camp, and an appearance by the spartan cheerleaders. Campers had a full day, and they were ready for bed by the time we winded down Opening Night Show.
Last night was also the first cabin time, where counselors sit with their cabin campers and talk about hopes, guidelines, and bucket lists for the week.
Homesickness
Our one-week session is usually more heavily weighted with first-time campers. That being the case, for most of these campers, it’s their first time at a sleepaway camp away from their parents. To you parents in this situation, I want you to be put at ease, as what your camper may be experiencing is normal (even though it can be very difficult). While your child is growing at camp, I want to use this week as an opportunity for you to better understand homesickness and grow right alongside your child.
I strongly suggest you read this blog/commentary I’ve written on Dr. Michael Thompson’s book Homesick & Happy.
First-time Huawni parents, if you’d like a free copy of this book, please comment below on this blog and I’ll send you a free copy.
As a camper parent, what are you most excited about and anxious about as your child attends Session 1?
