February Home Visit

Camp gets divided up into what we call sessions. Almost all the sessions are six weeks long, except for the one between Thanksgiving and Christmas. At the end of each session we have a party night before the boys head home for a few days to be with their families.

Party night is a fun time because all of camp gets together for supper and an evening of sharing. We do a lot of singing, talk about what happened during the session, and also about how we did on our goals. Each group gets a chance to share something as a group. Sometimes they sing a song, but often they will share a skit they’ve composed that tells a story about something that happened during the past session. Even when they choose to sing a song, the words often get changed to tell us a story.

The supervisors have been reading Farmer Boy at chuckwagon recently so the Pioneers acted out a school scene from those days.

The Woodsmen have been enjoying (at least depending on who you ask!) going swimming at least once a month even if it means sometimes chopping ice first! After a little background skit, they regaled us with “Sweet Home Allegany.”

https://youtu.be/fQlGdgXD-N0

The Mountaineers gave us the inside scoop on what it looks like to plan a skit for party night.  These guys are witty! It took me a few times of watching the video to catch all the puns!

https://youtu.be/56dwPpO_t3g

Party night is fun and it’s a great time to learn the skill of public speaking. It’s a community spirit builder and a great way to get set up for going home on a visit. Home visits are about a lot of things. They are about reconnecting with family as well as learning how to work on our goals when we’re not surrounded by our group. And it goes without saying, it’s about going home and having fun with our families, too. Although, just maybe it’s all more connected than we even realize.  According to Jake, “You can’t have fun unless you’re working on your goals. You’re not going to have fun if you just sit around on the recliner.”

Sometimes party night holds a twinge of sadness because it’s often when graduations happen.  We get super excited about seeing a boy graduate and be able to go home, but it’s hard to see your friends leave.  And while we are excited about seeing what new things will happen in a chief’s life when he leaves, it’s always hard to say goodbye, especially for his group.  Tonight we said goodbye to Chief Jeff.  We’re thrilled to have Chief Antoine join us (look for his introduction on the staff page soon) as a chief in the Mountaineer group.

Chief Jeff, all the best!