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Pioneer Web Journal
 Daily Schedule

 

Go Getters:
The rising bell rang this morning right on time at 7:00 AM.  I was ready to go down to the waterfront and swim.  I was able to get 10 laps in which means I earned my blue bead.  Some mornings I like to go running or do yoga but this morning was hot so I thought swimming would be the most fun.   
 
Flag Raising:
Our village gets to do flag raising this morning. Every morning a different village chooses a topic to present to the community which everyone can think about for the day.  We decided to talk about having a positive attitude today. This is what I said: "A positive attitude is a good thing because you always have a smile on your face and always try your best.  You can also put a lot of effort into your work and camp will be a much more fun place if there is a positive attitude". 
Meredith said "I think a positive attitude is important because you will make camp more fun for your friends and leaders".
Christina told that group that "Having a positive attitude is great even if you are in a bad situation because you do better when you believe in yourself". 
After we all presented we gave the whole camp about five minutes to think about how they can have a positive attitude while at camp.
 
Breakfast:
  • Instead of reflecting I went to the eating lodge to 'cruise' for my village.  That means that I set the table with plates, bowls, spoons, forks, and cups.  I also put out all the cold food that was ready to go to the table.  Once everyone was in the eating lodge and ready for breakfast all the cruisers got to go into the kitchen and bring the pancakes back to their table.  I love being able to eat with my village and every day we work hard on passing all the food around in a circle and making sure everyone gets firsts before taking seconds.  Our leaders also emphasize the importance of portion control.  There is always plenty of food so we don't need to take too much in the beginning!  This morning I decided to have yogurt and granola.  The kitchen sets out yogurt, granola, oatmeal, raisins, and hard boiled eggs each morning so if we don't want the hot meal we have other options. We also always have the bowl of fruit out all day long.  During announcements we found out that we had gotten under 1 pound of ORT (remaining food that can't be composted) so the ORT Choir will sing for us at lunch. 
     
    • KCISP (Keep Camp in Shape Please!)
    After breakfast my village all went back to our cabin to clean up and get ready for interest groups. We are learning that is it important to take care of the space we live in.  I picked up my sleeping bag off the floor while Miranda put her shoes away and Caitlin swept the cabin floor.  In order to make cleaning up more fun our leaders play peppy music for us!  I then got ready to head to soccer for my first interest group. 
     
    Interest Groups:
    Today is the first day of our second round of interest groups.  That means I have four new things to try!  On my sign up sheet I said I wanted to try lots of different things.  The four things I have are soccer, swimming, bead making and windsurfing.  I am so excited!  There are so many things to choose from!  Some of the other choices were: Merrowvista Musical, Cricket, Rock Climbing, Origami, Sailing, Cuban Dance, Soccer, Batik, Windsurfing, African Drumming, Basketball, Outdoor Cooking, Canoeing, Ultimate Frisbee, Wild Sculptures, Woodworking, Croquet, and Archery.
     
    Assembly:
    After the 2 morning interest groups all the villages get together outside the Bahn for assembly.  The leaders give us Wild Words where we guess which crazy definition is the right one out of four choices.  The Lucky Penny is where we try and guess the year the penny was made.  During Nature Nuggets the leaders give us fun facts about some of the nature around us and the Psychic Food Person tells us what is for lunch.  Sometimes we also get a song of the day or we hear three facts about one of the leaders and get to guess which leader it is.

     

    Lunch:
    At lunch Marissa and Summer were the cruisers for our village.  They brought out our hot meal but we also had the option of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or making a salad from the salad bar.  We did get to hear our ORT song which was so exciting! 
     
     
    Easy Time:
    After lunch we returned to the village for Easy Time. This is a time in the middle of the day to rest. We can either take a nap, write letters home, or play quiet camps with our villagemates. We can also choose from some quiet activities like Bracelet making, or playing Chess.  Today I decided to play a card game with Sally on our bunk beds.  

     

     
    Village Time:
    After easy time we all got on our closed toed shoes and headed over to the Athletic Field for Team Challenge.  This is the time of the day where each village gets together and does an activity as a group.  Some of the activity options include: team building, the Climbing Tower, an afternoon at the waterfront, visiting the waterfall, or one of my favorites - Ice Cream Making. We used milk, ice, sugar and salt and got to eat the ice cream we made. Today is a day where we get to do different activities that work on team work, communication, listening, and leadership. 
    Interest Groups 3 and 4:
    I got to do two more interest groups after village time. It is so fun to go from team challenge to bead making in the arts and crafts cabin then down to do windsurfing on Dan Hole Pond!  
     
    Free Time:
    After the afternoon interest groups we get a hour of free time.  Today I decided to stay at the waterfront and swim since I was already down there.  Today they also offered cricket on the A - Field  and Bocce in the Meadow.  There is also always someone in the Eating Lodge to play board games with or people on the basketball court playing knock out.  Sometimes if I am tired I like to take a shower, write letters or visit the camp store during free time.     
     
    Dinner:
    Tonight is Crazy Dinner.  Most of the time dinner is just like any other meal but tonight everyone goes to dinner in their most crazy outfit. We all got dressed as a village and helped each other find things that are REALLY CRAZY!  There was even someone at dinner in a gorilla costume! 
     
    Nights Doings:
    After dinner we all went back to our villages for closed toed shoes so we could play Capture the Flag.  Each night after dinner there is time for the whole camp to come together and play fun games and other big group activities.  Some others are The Talent Show, Camper - Leader Hunt, Grab Bag, MV Idol, and the Merrowvista Musical. It is usually a time when we can run around, and be loud and sing, and get out any last bit of energy before we head to bed.
     
    Evening Reflection or Village Insight:
    Our last activity of the day is either Evening Reflection as a whole community or Village Insight where villagemates have honest smaller discussions. Evening Reflection is often led by the Four Trails villages, and they choose topics such as individuality, Determination or  what Merrowvista means to them .  We then get to sit and think about that topic.  Tonight we had village insight where we went down to the waterfront and had a camp fire.  Since we are leaving for our three day hiking trip tomorrow we did a 'fear hat'.  This was where everyone could write down a fear they have about the trip and we read them out loud and talked about them but no one had to know who had what fear.  It made me feel much better about going on the trip!  After our fire we walked back to our cabin where our leaders read some of Harry Potter to us while we fell asleep. 

    OTHER EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

    Water Carnival and County Fair:
    This is a favorite day at Merrowvista. We get to spend the morning outside of the Bahn and eating lodge enjoying our own County Fair. There are different stations with games, and fun activities. Tickets can be earned and we can use those tickets to put our leaders, coordinators, or even Heather in 'jail.' In order for them to get out of jail they need to sing a song to everyone crowded around them. We get a picnic outside, and then head down to the waterfront.  There are different stations we can do on the beach such as candy walk, marshmallow fishing and sponge toss.  There is also relay races going on in the water.  I got to do the one where we danced on windsurf boards then I also helped with sandcastle building.  In the end, we got to choose what leaders we wanted to 'walk the plank' into the water.

     

    Four Fold Tournament and Melbourne Cup:
    As 3-weekers we get to do the Four Fold Tournament. The last 10 days of the session we are broken up into six different teams and compete in wacky events. Two of the events are Camp Conquest (a bigger version of Capture the Flag), and Melbourne Cup where we each make a chariot and race them.  The last big event is the all camp relay race where we go from the waterfront all the way to the council circle.

     

     
    Overnight Trip:
    Every village goes on at least one overnight. Younger campers go on a hike and an overnight to the Ledge, Flag, Blueberry or the Outpost. If you are a Trailblazer then you get to go out on a 3-4 day hike in the White Mountains.  As a trailblazer you also get to go on one overnight canoe trip.  The trips give the village a time to get away from camp, have fun, laugh, and work as a group.

     

     

     

     

    If you have questions about Merrowvista Camp programs and availability please contact Lauren White at lauren.white@ayf.com or 603-539-6607 x2052.