I went to sleepaway camp for a week at Camp Deer Run. We shot b-b guns. We had targets, and I got one of my bullets in the middle of the target. We went canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boating. We had swim time, and we played all sorts of water games.
One day our counselor forgot to pick us up from swim time. They had fallen asleep, and when they woke up, they forgot about us! We waited an hour until they came.
We went on an overnight and took a speedboat there. We all slept in tents, but I didn’t sleep well. We made sand castles on the beach while dinner cooked. We all played a really fun game called Celebrity. One person goes and hides, and the other people thing of someone the person who is hiding could be. Say the person was Taylor Swift. They would call the person back and ask her questions like, “Why did you name one of your albums ‘Red’?” You would keep asking her questions until she guessed who she was. After that, we had s’mores. I had six. When we woke up, we packed up and took a speedboat back.
When we got back, we had donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast. We also went for a hike up Rattlesnake Island. I tripped over a root and skinned my knee. Every other day, we have store. We can have a candy bar and a soda or a slushie. One day we went and groomed the horses.
We also went on the blob. The blob is like a water trampoline. There is a really tall tower and you climb up. Then you jump off onto the blob. Then you bounce each other. Then you jump off. One morning we had a breakfast cookout. We had pancakes, bacon, and French toast.
One night we could do anything we wanted. We went swimming, and we roasted s’mores until 11:00! One day the guy who owns the camp took us on this private speedboat. We also went sharking. You sit on a rubber shark and you tie it to a speedboat. Then you go flying. If you let go, you fall off. I didn’t fall off.
One day we had a birthday party. We played Pin the Tail on the Deer, Swatty Potty, Crab Race, Musical Chairs, a Quiz, and a birthday card station.
One night we had a thng called Miss Deer Run. The counselors dressed up as all different things. Our counselor was a yellow minion from Despicable Me Two. We painted her face, neck, and hands yellow. The wipte counselor was My Little Pony. Her hair was full of glitter. The other counselors were a random surfer guy named Blake, Olaf, Duke of Wesseltown, Siri, and Oompa Loompas. They all had to have a talent. Ours sang a song. We also went on a rope swing. Our counselor lost her shoe and then fell in the water. It was very funny! We also made rockets. They really launch!
I LOVE camp!
I’m going to explode with wonders! My Uncle Josh won a radio contest to see the Thompson Twins live! He went with my Geezie who hates them. They went back stage to get their autograph, and one of the men gave him his Swatch watch. They were the craze back then.
My Grammy has her old Halloween costume from when she was a girl. She was a Danish girl. It had a little black shawl and a head cap.
Every Halloween we go to the Pirate House in Hanover. It is soooo cool! You go through a whole tour. You sign a guest book in the back yard and go to Mermaid’s Cove and watch a mermaid paddle through a pool in a canoe to give you a bracelet. Next, you go to a fortune teller to get a ring. You go to the jail next. They give you a pirate sticker. Then you go to the house to get a gift bag full of candy!
We put up two Christmas trees, one in the living room and one in the dining room. The one in the dining room is our Jesse tree. The ornaments are handmade and come with a devotional.
My mom tried for years to have a baby. She went to the pharmacy to get medicine to help her, when the doctor called and said, “You are having a baby!” My mom hurried with shopping and ran home to tell Daddy. That baby was me!
Perseverance Walk
Who do you know that has lived a life of grit and determination to reach a big goal? That was the challenge put before the 2nd/3rd graders. They each interviewed a “gritty” person and shared a tale of perseverance.
Noah’s Baseball Walk
Hi! I’m Mr. Crane, and I would like to tell you about baseball. During my life so far, one of my biggest goals that I have set is having a baseball team. I researched a lot before I made one. I had inspiration from a book called Wild and Outside and from experience playing. One of my obstacles was shortage of time. I overcame that by working harder. My wife encouraged me while I was reaching my goal. I never wanted to give up. Now I would like to have a second team.
I learned this game at camp. We played it at camp when there was a fire. You need a large group of people. First, you get in a large circle. Next, one person goes in the middle and sings the chant.
“Little Sally Walker, walking down the street. Clap-clap. She didn’t know what to do, so she stopped in front of me.”
When the chant says, “Stopped,” the person in the middle stops. Then, she sings the next chant to the person she is standing in front of.
“Hey, girl, do your thing, do your thing. Now switch.”
When the middle person says, “Switch,” the person she is standing in front of does the same dance. Then that person goes around the circle. It’s just a fun game. Nobody wins.
Lobsters live in the muck and mud of the deep. Lobster claws are so strong that they can break a man’s hand! They also shed their shells or molt. Their eggs are called roe. They sometimes are bright blue! Lobsters eat clams, sea snails, and crabs. As a small lobster, what eats you are fish, such as wolffish. When you are a big lobster, your main predators are people. Some fun facts are that lobsters can age up to one hundred years! They were considered poor men’s food back in colonial times, and kings and queens would not eat them.
I am an ant. I live in New York City. There are so many people and skyscrapers. I live under some trees in Central Park. Here there is plenty of food—day old hot dogs, leftover bags of chips, kids’ old peanut butter sandwiches, pizza, and anything else you can think of. Life around here is exciting! Here comes a boy on a skateboard. See what I mean? This is life around here, especially if you are small.
I read the Food Network magazine. Ice cream makers make slushies. Pour in your favorite drink. Diet soda doesn’t work. Churn it until it is icy. In 1995, Jason Schayot set a watermelon seed-spitting record. He sent a seed flying 75 feet and 2 inches! Crazy watermelon games include Exploding Watermelon. One by one, wrap rubber bands around a watermelon until it explodes. It could take more than one hundred bands! In Greased Watermelon you drop a watermelon into a pool with the watermelon greased with shortening. The first person to get the watermelon across the finish line wins. I really like this issue because it has a music issue in the back.
(With thanks to Bobbi Katz for her wonderful poem, ‘What Shall I Pack in the Box Marked “Summer”?’)
Twelve gooey s’mores,
A scoop of sand from the seashore,
A piece of fluffy, white cloud
From the airplane to Colorado,
A hug from my cousin Juliana,
Who I’ve only seen once,
The crunch of grilled bread in my mouth,
Crunch!
The taste of frosting and lavender pearls
On the cake that my cousin and I made,
The clank, clank of my gramm’s old typewriter,
The rich chocolate wedding cake.
When I think of an old, country store, I imagine tall, striped sticks of candy all in rows and a big bowl of apples sitting on the counter. We went to the old country store at Tunbridge Fair! There was a lady weaving blankets. They had red and tan stripes. There was also a lady who was baking pies which smelled like warm cinnamon apple. There was an area where they sold little penny candies. There was also a bedroom that had a trundle bed, a little crib, a Carsen lamp, and a night stand. There was also an old post office. They also had farm equipment for farmers and flour and baking things for the ladies. We had lots of fun!
