Have you read the latest Camp Voyageur Paddle Post? Be sure to catch up with the latest summer happenings with the 2017 digital edition. As always, we've collected stories from both our campers and counselors. I bet there's a few in here you haven't heard of yet! Click here to check it out!
Uhhh, so what is this about? I’ll stop with the click-baiting. The purpose of this post is to share a video which I feel speaks to some tendencies in not just teens, but in many of my own peers, that can become reinforced as habits that ultimately undermine our own happiness. It follows closely the work of psychologist Randy J. Paterson, who wrote the book “How to be miserable: 40 strategies you already use”. By necessity, summer camps intervene Many of the points addressed in the video are simply impossible at camp. You live and eat with your peers everyday,...
Given the historic precedence of computers and the internet and how integrated technology has become in our children’s modern education, spending a month or two away from screens is a much bigger commitment than it used to be. In fact, if I had to describe the largest cultural shift in the last decade, it would have to be that what we consider “normal” amounts of exposure to screens and computers has perhaps tripled in length. But taking this even further, I’d argue that for our kids, the internet is much more than just a tool. It is increasingly becoming a...
An Exclusive Interview with Filmmaker John Behnke [as told to John Burgman] Anyone who has attended Camp Voyageur knows that embracing the past—and understanding history—is an important aspect of the summer experience. It’s why we still sleep in the same rustic cabins as campers did in the 1950s; it’s why we hit the trail with a purposefully low-tech approach; and it’s why there’s still a chair at the Fire Circle that is reserved every Wednesday and Sunday evening at dinnertime for Charlie Erdmann—camp’s founder. At camp, we appreciate the past, and we like to keep old memories and stories alive...
The Youth Woodsmen Competition kicked off a few weeks ago and it’s time for a mid-season update! The Woodsmen measures campers’ fitness levels when they arrive at camp and at the end of camp. Fitness tests included curl-ups, shuttle run, v-sit reach, half-mile run, pull-ups, and push-ups. The results of the first session are remarkable! Over a span of only 24 days, campers improved significantly in nearly every statistical category. Campers’ half-mile run times improved, on average, by over 20 seconds. One camper even improved his half-mile run time by 1 min 35 seconds! By the end of the session,...
Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon sugar 2 cups buttermilk 2 eggs Directions: Combine all ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated, but not too thin. Ladle batter onto greased griddle on medium high heat. Flip when air bubbles appear on top. Serve when both sides are light brown. Add chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter to mix it up a bit! Be sure to top with your favorite maple syrup, butter, fruit, or all of the above! Serves 4
CV entered its very first fitness competition! The 2017 Youth Woodsmen Competition kicked off today and for the first time ever, Camp Voyageur signed up! The Woodsmen is a competition that dates back to the early 1950’s, when President John F. Kennedy said that “physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” President Kennedy’s famous words resonated with the whole nation, and as a result many of today’s mainstay fitness competitions emerged from this Golden Era of physical fitness. The Youth Woodsmen is...
As the long awaited first day of camp approaches, our staff are wrapping up their training and preparation. While the staff this year have a breadth of experience at the helm, it’s still important to have a thorough refresher, brushing up on everything from safety protocols to the “art” of making sure all campers feel included in the program. But still, two weeks to do that?! Well, there’s more to it… What is “pre-camp”? Preparation has always consisted of a wide array of topics that include everything we could possibly encounter up here. Of course, that includes a healthy number...
Have you read the latest Camp Voyageur Paddle Post? Be sure to catch up with the latest summer happenings with the 2016 digital edition!
There are leaders, and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us. We follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but for ourselves. And it’s because we want to that we let them influence us and those around us. Though I never met the founder of Camp Voyageur in person, I've seen glimpses of his life and leadership in this place we seem to seasonally gravitate towards. It radiates from the leadership that continues...