Chilling Out on Purpose

The weekend at Huawni is very chill. We want to give Campers ample time to slow down a bit and really just relax. Unstructured play (a fancy new term for what Campers have been doing for years at Camp) is never more event than on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a blog I wrote a while back that dives a little deeper into how Camp and unstructured can play a vital role our children’s development.

Saturday at Huawni was a very full day. Campers competed at individual competition in the morning and in the afternoon we headed about 3/4 of a mile down the Camp Road to the famous, famous, MOST FAMOUS carving trees. Campers indulged in Pinson Creek mud, mud facials, excursions down the creek, and ice-cold Huawni Dinosaur Eggs (aka watermelon).

Last night we gathered on the front lawn for a big hot dog family meal that we call Cookout. With country music playing in the background, campers relaxed, hammocked, played in the sand, played tag, threw the football, and much more. It really was like one big family picnic. As the sun began to sink behind the East Texas pines, we hosted our famous, famous, MOST FAMOUS storytelling. I was really proud of our Men’s Director Billy Martin, as he made his Huawni Storytelling debut…he did an outstanding job as he retold the Blue Wolf, Jo Shields, and Wild Woman stories. I told Billy afterwards that he did a way better job than I did earlier this summer. Our directors continue to thrive this summer, and this is just one example of how they have been leading Camp and having fun doing it.

Once storytelling was over, I led our staff in Daddy Earl’s favorite song This Old House and then we hopped on the trailers for a truck ride and Wild Woman hunt. There apparently was one sighting of the wild woman last night…some Campers say they saw her while others were not sure. Last night’s truck ride route was fun as we headed back toward Pomegranate Hill and did a u-turn at Crazy Charlie’s spot. We ended the evening at the pool with a Sing Song. You can listen to our Sing Song recording here on our KWNI Huawni Radio Soundcloud station. The stars last night were amazingly bright— it was a picturesque way to finish a great, full Saturday at Camp!