Flashback to Flashdance
There are some really amazing friendship bracelets being made at camp this session. After mastering the basic techniques, the “Chevron” for example, the girls are quickly moving on to more advanced patterns. There are zig-zag patterns, box shapes, multiple layers, braids, loops, arrows and diamond shapes. Of course, part of the fun is selecting the colors of embroidery floss that make up the final bracelet. There are so many! Plus, with so many friends at camp, it’s easy to think of someone to receive your latest pattern. Friendship bracelets are always a part of camp. Someone is always making a bracelet, carrying around a half-finished one (a portable craft project!), or wearing one (usually many).
Down on the riflery range, we’re seeing true marksmanship as the girls practice shooting. Counselors Haley and Molly are running the girls through the drills and making sure all the safety protocols are followed. There are very specific commands everyone follows to insure nothing unexpected happens. “Ready on the range. Commence firing.” It’s a real accomplishment for the girls to become comfortable shooting. Most have never fired a gun before and are understandably nervous at first. But over time, they gain confidence and show a smiling sense of pride as they improve their scores. This is another great example of camp providing an experience that can’t easily be reproduced at home, and something that can mean so much to the girls.
Tonight’s evening program was an all-camp dance down in the gym, but not just an ordinary dance, an 80s dance party! Out came the scrunchies, the lycra, the baggy t-shirts worn off the shoulder, and lots and lots of really big hair. With all of the campers and counselors dressed up and dancing, it was quite the sight, proving that “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” There were conga lines, group dances, and of course, a great version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller to end the night. Lining everybody up, with our best zombie faces, the whole camp followed the classic choreography. It was a great way to end the evening.
Oh, I wanted to also mention the special dinner we had tonight. The kitchen crew made us a feast of traditional chicken (and vegetarian) tamales, homemade sauce, beans, rice, and salad. They began preparing everything two days ago, including the dough for the pastry desserts. So much work goes into rolling each tamale in its corn husk! Everything was absolutely delicious.
Art, Arts and more Arts
It really seems like the art activities at Rockbrook never stop. At exclusively art summer camps you would expect that, but when there are outdoor adventure, sports, horseback riding, and other creative activities (like drama, for example) also going on, you might think the arts would fade. Well, at RBC, it’s a well-rounded camp experience where you can really get into the arts, learn a lot of new techniques, and be involved in the rest of camp too. This photo was taken in “Curosty,” our fiber art craft cabin set in the heart of camp. Weaving, bead work, basketry, needlepoint, knitting, lanyards, and so much more go on in just this one art area. It’s definitely a favorite part of camp for everyone.
So hey, what are you making?
Bend It Back
July 1, 2008 by
Filed under summer camp
There are people in my life who I admire, who I emulate, because they, without hope for award or acknowledgment, joyfully and selflessly give all that they can in service to others. Many of these people are campers and counselors at Rockbrook Camp.
Rockbrook campers are often recognized for their good deeds by being awarded colorful, way-cool Bend-It-Back bracelets. And I mean that. They truly are way-cool.
I watch my co-workers exemplify selfless generosity every day as they put campers first, and I watch campers recognize this generosity and give forth to others on their own as well. From volunteering to do the dishes to making a card for a friend who doesn’t feel well, RBC folks are about helping out.
To give selflessly – to put others before oneself – is a daunting task. But once the joy that is the product of such giving is recognized, it becomes the lifeblood of one’s daily action; it is the lifeblood of this place. This is a joyous place that depends upon gracious giving and gratitude. May the bracelets be a reminder of this joy and the camp that thrives in it.
How to Make a Bracelet
There’re loads of different techniques for making string friendship bracelets. We describe one right here on the Rockbrook Camp website: How to make a Friendship Bracelet. But there’s another way that uses a knot you probably already know and use for a different purpose. Tying your shoes! Yep, the same basic knot, pulling one strand over and around the second is it. Then you just alternate which string you move… like this (holding the two strings in each hand): right over the left, left over the right, right over the left, and so on. This makes kind of an alternating square knot, and depending on what colors you choose, it looks very cool. So hey, go get some string and get started!
Loom Weaving at Summer Camp
One of the most traditional arts and crafts activities at Rockbrook is weaving. It’s been something girls have done at camp since the very beginning back in 1921. In the craft cabin we call Curosty (which even pre-dates camp!), there are several table-top and floor looms we use to teach basic weaving techniques. It takes some time to set things up and to learn how to operate the looms, but you can make really cool designs. Bits of yarn and string, even natural fibers you gather around camp, all come together to create fabrics, place mats, belts, and other straps. Weaving is a lot of fun, and if you really enjoy it, it’s something you can do at home too.
Bracelet Making Teen Camp
Whoa! How many bracelets is that? It’s such a classic camp activity to make a bracelet. Stringing beads, tying friendship knot bracelets, weaving yarn straps, stamping leather strips… it’s always fun to combine unusual colors, maybe try to spell something, or come up with different patterns. Of course, it’s almost impossible to wear every bracelet or anklet you make (well maybe not completely impossible 
), so you’ve got plenty of gifts for your friends back home. “Hey mom, I made this for you at camp.” Sound familiar?
