There are several theories of child development that really interest me. One is that of “acceptable risk.” The idea is that a child’s healthy development through young adulthood relies to some extent on navigating the waters of risk and consequence. Teenagers are risk seekers, and many that they choose (as you know) can be unhealthy. … Continued
I certainly don’t want to jinx things, but one sure sign of a great staff is that I have not seen a homesick tear yet this summer, and we are almost four weeks into the season! An interesting phenomenon with homesickness…the campers who struggle with it at the start of a session are usually the … Continued
Our kayakers didn’t need to leave camp today! They could have launched their boats at the top of the steps across from the office about 2:30 and ridden the deluge all the way down the driveway! We got an inch of rain in about half an hour! Luckily, by a little after rest hour (we … Continued
If you ever toured Illahee before visiting, you were probably serenaded at least several times by groups of campers singing, “Welcome to Illahee…the mountains echo welcome to thee…” The sounds of camp were certainly echoing from Heigh Ho and Hillbrook hills as we started our four-week and mini 1 sessions today. All is “right” in … Continued
A number of years ago, we threw caution to the wind and changed a tradition at camp. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth from the 13-14 year old age group, that change is now a tradition, and one of my favorite at camp. Before, final campfire was a parade of activity heads acknowledging this … Continued
We emphasize over and over in pre-camp “counselor camp” how important flexibility is in the camp world. Our weather has been pretty darn close to perfect considering that we entered the session very dry. We were watering all of our new grass and rhododendrons like crazy trying to help them gain a foothold when the … Continued
I’m starting to write tonight toward the end of gutter sundaes…7 tubs of ice cream, a case of Hershey syrup, several cases of whipped cream, a box of sprinkles and about 12o feet of vinyl gutter. That’s right…the stuff that catches rain from your roof. Only this gutter has taken a trip through the Hobart. … Continued
I’ve been checking the Doppler (as Laurie likes to call the radar) more often than usual today. I’m happy to report that the entire Southeast is calm and clear as a bell. That’s especially comforting in the wake of some pretty crazy fronts blowing through the past couple of days…since we have three trips out … Continued
I must be the envy of every father out there this Sunday in June. It’s like being Bono walking down the streets of New York (notice how I didn’t choose Justin Bieber). As everyone’s camp dad, I’m a rock star! It’s hard to turn a corner without hearing a sweet voice or chorus say, “Happy … Continued
Occasionally, when I walk by Assistant Director Kris Campbell’s office, with her back still to me, she’ll mutter “busy, busy, busy…” That was today for all of us at camp. In any given day, there’s just a LOT going on. It started again with an early morning trip to Kuykendall to pick up Laurie and … Continued
