Week 2: A Look Ahead

The Y camps ended a great first week with a splash and a bang! The MVP Camp had a great time slipping and sliding down two awesome water slides! Afterward, the whole camp got together for a carnival-style bonanza. Campers had the chance to make sand-art, have a counselor face-paint them, and eat a bag or two of popcorn. They also had a chance to try a hula-hoop challenge or catch a paper fish with the Leadership Academy.

This week, be prepared to saddle up, kids! The week's theme is Wild Wild West. Look forward to living back in the Old West and watching the tumbleweed slide down the rocky road with the wind. Yeehaw! For Fun Friday, there will be a Wild West YMCA barbecue for all Discovery and MVP campers.

MVP campers can look forward to a diverse array of activities this week. On Monday, campers will be playing handball. On Tuesday, campers will get the chance to unleash their inner Wayne Gretzky as they take on hockey. After Wednesday's relaxing break (no camp on  July 4th), campers will race back into camp for a day of track and field. And on Friday MVP campers will join the Discovery campers for a camp-wide barbeque! With such a fun-packed  week  in store, campers can expect to have an amazing week 2 at MVP Camp.

Leadership Academy campers have a great week ahead of them as well. After finishing up restoring carpetball tables and shadowing camp counselors today, they can look forward to building marshmallow towers and taking a Myers-Briggs test to learn about themselves and how they would best work in a team. We can't wait to see how it goes!

This week, we also begin our first specialty camp of the summer: Critter U! Campers are learning all about their favorite sea-dwelling creatures. The kids will get to experience ocean touch tanks filled with hermit crabs, blue crabs, fish snails, and more. They will also witness Sergeant Drew and his helper, police dog Esso, show off their impressive law enforcement skills. Campers will be visiting Insectropolis and the Bugseum of New Jersey where they can explore bugs with all of their senses. They will also able to experience the amazing agility and skill of the Princeton Dog Training Club. It's going to be a great week for specialty camp.

Staying hydrated and being active are part of having a safe, fun-filled summer while leading a healthy lifestyle. Campers are doing this without even knowing it! While the kids are enjoying their day, Ms. Parker reminds them to, "slather on sunblock and drink plenty of water!" The day starts off with the counselors getting the campers' energy up by playing various games. The MVP and Discovery Camps participate in an array of sports activities and all of the campers enjoy daily time in the pool. There are also other activities going on in the YMCA. Campers have a lot of fun ways to stay moving this summer.

The blog will be adding a few new fun sections soon! Beginning Thursday, July 5th, the Princeton Family YMCA Summer Camp blog will sport a new page entitled "The Adventures of __________." The new page will follow a few campers on their journeys through camp this summer and detail their experiences. These will be a combination of short-term campers and campers who are here for the whole summer. The pages will be updated regularly with photos and descriptions of the campers' participation in the day's activities. This isn't something you will want to miss, so be sure to check regularly to see what's going on in these campers' lives, and see what camp is like from a camper's perspective!

This week, we also hope to bring back last year's hidden picture sweepstakes! Prizes will include gift certificates, mystery prizes, and more. The sweepstakes will start tomorrow, Tuesday, July 3rd, with our first secret image: a cowboy hat. Can you find the mystery image on one of the Princeton Family YMCA Summer Camp blog pages? If so, send us an email (PrincetonYMCAsummercamps@gmail.com) with your name and the page on which you found it, and you could win a prize! Check the link at the right side of the page for more information.

This past Friday, we also sent our first weekly camp mailer. Parents, please email us if you didn't receive the newsletter so that we can add you to our mailing list and keep you updated!

That's all for now! Remember, the YMCA is closed of Wednesday, July 4th, which means there is no camp. Have a great 4th of July!