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A Typical Day at Camp
Everyone wakes up, cleans their cabins, showers (either morning or night), and moseys up to breakfast, prepared by a professional food service staff of five people. All meals are hand prepared, and not just thawed or warmed up. Campers choose four activities the prior evening, and after breakfast they go off to their first two choices. After those lessons and experiences, kids join up with their cabin to do an activity that the group decided on their first day at camp. Kids have about 20 choices, and they have a chance to do 5 of them in a given week.
Following cabin activity time is lunch, a rest period, and then the whole camp gathers for the “Camp Augusta Playstation.” Here, in addition to trying out other activities or swimming in the lake, there is the opportunity to do things kids could only do at camp, such as play shoe golf, find out why Sally is Silly, play kick the can or Indian Kabaddi, or a host of other games and events. Counselors and staff sell their options and kids choose which one they want to do.
A snack, usually fruit and granola bars, comes next, followed by the campers’ other two activity choices of the day. A dinner feast follows, and then our evening activity, which the whole camp does together. Evening activities change every day and week, but they always include a couple of campfires, and the necessary kid-prepared S’mores. After a very full day, everyone retires to their cabin to get ready for bed. Before the flashlights go off, the counselor arranges for a special evening ember, which may be a story, discussion, or quiet activity to close out the day.
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Six Reasons To Attend for Two Weeks
Developmentally ready?
Most summer camps are in the Northeast of the United States. There, children go to camp for 3+ weeks. The vast majority of camps similar to Camp Augusta have 4 or 8 week sessions, and they have cabins full of 8-year-old children. Certainly, not every young child is ready, yet the overwhelming majority of 8+ years olds are capable. Below are some points to help you. :-)
- Has your child spent a couple nights away from family before
- Is your child comfortable camping out, and has no fear of the dark
- Is your child capable of taking care of all personal hygiene without significant complaint
- Is your child able to eat a varied diet
- Is your child fine being in varied groups (every clinic activity is a different group of children)
- Are safety and instructional verbal instructions processed readily
- Is your child REALLY excited about coming to Camp Augusta, and is that excitement long-lasting and with a balanced understanding of camp life
Enhanced personal development
Research evidence from camps around the country shows that a longer camp experience offers greater social, emotional, cognitive, and character benefits. You can think of it like the sun and rain with flowers . . . a little definitely helps, but more in the right proportions is better. Camp Augusta aims to be that nurturing environment where children can flourish and bloom.
Deeper friendships
One benefit of living up at camp is being here when Camp Augusta alumni drop by to see the place and share stories. Without fail, they come up in pairs or small groups, with their camp friends. During summer camp, the staff and kids alike comment on how much better people get to know one another in the longer sessions. Two-week sessions offer a slower pace, deeper connections, and richer memories.
Different programming
The weekend offers special programming that doesn’t happen in one-week sessions. There is a special, large game/adventure. Campers get to experience adventure with rich plots, deep and close characters, wonderful props, and be right in the middle of the action. Special Playstations (not Sony), teambuilding, later wakeups, Giants-Wizards-Elves, and special cabin time for games and bonding also characterize two-week sessions. Finally, clinics not offered during a one-week session are available for campers to sample or specialize in.
More clinic choices
Instead of 20 clinic choices, campers have 40. With greater clinic time, campers can experiment with more clinics; we offer more than 40 different clinics in a two-week session.
Greater skill levels
Campers have the option to specialize in more clinics, and/or go deeper with one or two. In two weeks, campers can advance to the higher levels in clinics such as archery, equestrian, climbing, or mountain boarding, which is rarely possible in just a week. There is also the opportunity to develop more skill in clinics such as arts and crafts, since offerings often change with the weeks.
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