Week Four- 2016

Hello Creek Run Tribe!

Hello parents and campers! Welcome to the fourth edition of the 2016 on-line Trail Talk, Camp Creek Run’s summer camp newsletter. We had a fun-filled week and we hope you did too!

Fossil Hunt!

Our good friend Nature Ned Gilmore, the vertebrate collections manager at Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, visited CCR and led an activity with our lower campers. The mini-fossil dig had our kids sifting through debris to find tiny pieces of fossilized plant and animal life. Some kids found shark teeth! Ned has made a great impact on so many of our campers through the year. Bring your family to the Academy in Philly! It’s one of our treasures in the city.

Take a Dip!

Our lifeguards are second to none! They instruct all of our campers about the ins and outs of swimming during our daily lessons, and keep them safe from the beach to the pools! It’s great to see our littlest campers performing their first kicks in the pool, as well as, seeing our oldest show great form with their strokes. Keep up the great work, everyone!

Pay it Backwards!

Sure, we love hearing the Camp Creek Run campers sing our song in the morning. But it is so crazy to hear it at the end of the day! The entire tribe turned the day’s schedule upside down for a day and it was sure disorienting. Upper campers were amused by picking their afternoon activities at 9:15 and lower campers laughed as they had morning snack after lunch. Weird! You have to shake it up once and a while, folks!

Your Just Desserts!

CCR ran its first Bake Off this week. All the villages picked a country (the theme was the olympics) and created a cake that would be delicious and beautiful. The camp was buzzing as we had counselors participate in a blind folded taste test and later compete for the overall best cake! There were secret ingredients and each team could bring something from home. We even brought in celebrity chef Phil Manganaro to help judge the sensational creations. The winners were the Kittatinnies and the Iawandas! Another great example of why we have the best staff in the state! Well played everyone!

Camp Directors Neil & Keara

Week Three- 2016

Hello Creek Run Tribe!

Hello parents and campers! Welcome to the third edition of the 2016 on-line Trail Talk, Camp Creek Run’s summer camp newsletter. We had a fun-filled week and we hope you did too!

Run Over to Creek Run!

Representatives from the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge visited CCR this week. They put on a raptor presentation where they educated the campers about local birds of prey and their habitats. The birds were really beautiful and the kids asked lots of great questions.

Sportiness!

Keith and Jon are our upper and lower camp sports directors. They do an amazing job coming up with sports activities every week that get our campers up and moving in all kinds of crazy directions. At CCR we love to see the kids involved in physical activities that build teamwork and are also fun. Great job guys!

Avant Gardener!

The Creek Run Garden looks spectacular this summer, and, as always, is pesticide- and herbicide-free. Keara, Caitlin, and Dani started our garden a few weeks ago and they invite our campers to water and weed. The crop of veggies this summer are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, zucchini, and eggplant. We have created separate gardens (Italian, Mexican, and Herb Gardens) and use lots of the vegetables for our Cooking Class held during afternoon activities.

Mustachio!

No one shaved on Wednesday. And you could tell! We had our annual Mustache Day and the whole camp had a new look. Even the Kittatinnies looked sophisticated in their ‘staches as they made their arts and crafts. It’s always great to see the whole camp get in on the gag and enjoy themselves.

Camp Directors Neil & Keara

Week Two- 2016

Hello Creek Run Tribe!

Hello parents and campers! Welcome to the second edition of the 2016 on-line Trail Talk, Camp Creek Run’s summer camp newsletter. We had a fun-filled week and we hope you did too!

Meet and Greet!

Some of the animals from Doittle Farm took time out of their busy schedule to come over and meet our tribe this week. Keara and Caitlin did the interpreting as they talked about each of our CCR critters. We have chickens, rabbits, turtles, goats, pigs, and roosters at our farm. We invite all of our campers to go over and spend some quality time with them each week.

Express Yourself!

So many of our campers love visiting our Art Pad where Judi leads our campers in all things artsy! From arts and crafts with the lower campers in the morning to mixed media projects with the upper campers in the afternoon, Judi is all art all the time. Remind your campers to explore their inner artist as often as they can during their stay at Creek Run.

Dropping the Mic!

On Wednesdays, campers are filling the woods with the sounds of singing and dancing. Adam leads our Open Mic Wednesdays and navigates the individuals and groups of talented kids through a set of eclectic performances that astound the CCR tribe. We think that someday one of our kids is going to make it big! We can see it now, a hula-hooping, singing, gymnast, who can play keyboards. Just you wait and see!

The Olympic Village!

To commemorate this summer’s olympic games, CCR held their own olympic festivities. We started off with a rare visit from the Litter Critter who carried the CCR torch and lit the eternal olympic flame. The villages were combined into 8 countries that competed for the glory of a medal at our afternoon ceremony. The events were heavily contested and the olympic spirit could be felt throughout the camp. There were few dry eyes as the Italian National Anthem was played to a capacity crowd in the common area. After lunch the campers were treated to Leo’s Yum Yum water ice. Thanks to all the staff for making our crazy ideas come to life!

 

Camp Directors Neil & Keara

Week One- 2016

Hello Creek Run Tribe!

Hello parents and campers! Welcome to the first edition of the 2016 on-line Trail Talk, Camp Creek Run’s summer camp newsletter. We had a fun-filled week and we hope you did too!

We Wake Up Hello Good Morning Sun!

It was so great to see so many new and old friends at our first morning ceremony. Adam’s drums called all the camp together to say our first hellos of the season. We always remind the kids to welcome new kids into each village make them feel like a part of the family.

Cuddling Up With Snakes!!

Whenever Scott the Snake Guy visits Creek  Run, people notice! Scott stopped by and brought some of his slithery friends this week. Scott has been a great friend of CCR for many years. He teaches our kids about many of the interesting facts about reptiles and how he cares for them. You can hear the campers ooohs and ahhhs from across the camp every time Scott introduces another one of his snakes. The kids had lots of questions and Scott had lots of answers!

Nature’s Way!

We had spectacular weather this week and we were so happy to see all of our campers get reacquainted with Creek Run’s 50 acres of nature. From trail walks to farm visits to garden tending, Camp Creek Run is the perfect place for a young mind to open up to their surroundings. Make an effort this summer to take a walk in your local woods or the beach or the mountains. We are trying to grow children who are invested in their natural world!

Activities Activities!!

For the Upper Camp, the afternoon is an opportunity to try lots of activities. There’s something there for everyone. Sports, jewelry, clay-work, fishing, ping pong, nature, archery… and so much more. Campers love to participate in activities with their friends (isn’t that what summer is all about?!), but do try to remind your kids to sample a new activity as often as they can. Whether they visit our farm one day or go for a stream study another, every camper has a chance to learn something new on a daily basis.

I Can’t Hear You!

There’s something primal about our Cheer and Flag Parade. To hear 200 kids screaming their village cheers at the top of their lungs and displaying their creative village flags can be moving. Earth shaking, sometimes. All week our 8 mighty villages practiced their cheers and it all paid off with an astonishing tribal celebration. Thanks staff for helping nurture all the spirit this week!

Camp Directors Neil & Keara