• 8:45 - 9:00 AM - Campers arrives at camp, maybe still a little sleepy, but excited about a day filled with fun activities! They say goodbye as they leave their car, Ok, sometimes we have to remind them to say goodbye because, well you know, they're so excited about the day ahead!
Campers walk up to their assigned cabin. Campers are assigned a cabin based on their age and gender. This, and the afternoon cabin time prior to our afternoon flagpole, are the only time the campers are separated into these groupings. The remainder of the day they're going to interact with so many different children with just one thing in common - they also are in activities that they've signed up for! Everyone in an activity is there because they want to do that activity, not because they have to!
• 9:00 - 9:10 AM: Morning flagpole time. Each cabin group gets to raise the flag, as we pause at the start of the day with a moment of silence while the flag is raised. We use this time to think about the great opportunities we have living in this country and the men and women who do so many things to allow us those great opportunities: elected officials, soldiers, police and fire personnel, Peace Corps Volunteers, Government workers.
We record our first attendance of the day at this time and announce the 7th block game of the day and the 7th block arts and craft activity - always a fun discovery! Finally any additional announcements are made at this time and wow it's off to 1st Block!
• 9:10 - 10:00 AM: Block 1. Campers go to their first Block activity where the first order of business if attendance. Attendance is taken at the start of every activity block! This is the first activity block of the day and there is a wide variety of activities that are going on throughout the camp. Woodworking to archery, baskets to canoeing, fishing to soccer!
• 10:00 - 10:10 AM: Juice/Snack Break: Time for a little something to hold everyone over until lunch! Juice and a snack are served in the dining hall!
• 10:10 - 11:00 AM: Block 2. Campers go on to their second Block activity, again attendance is taken and 50 more minutes of fun begin!
• 11:00 - 11:50 AM: Block 3. Block 3 is either an activity block for half of the our campers or a lunch block for the other half, depending on the schedule the campers have created based on the choices they made during the activity sign up times. It it's lunch, there's great food in a fun atmosphere! Sometimes the noisiest table gets to go through the lunch line first, sometimes it's the quietest! Sometimes it's the first table that can answer a trivia question, such as, "In what summer did Camp Nonesuch begin?" (Here's a hint --- it's sometime between 1979 and 1981!) Campers can sit with whomever they like at lunch, there is a counselor or two who sit at each table. We also have peanut free tables for those children with peanut allergies - friends may join them, however we make sure they understand there can be no peanut based foods at the table!
• 11:50 AM - 12:40 PM: Block 4. If campers had an activity in Block 3, then they'll have lunch in Block 4 (although we've had some campers try to skip lunch so they can have another activity and other campers try to have two lunches!). Like the 3rd Block lunch, the food is served cafeteria style. We encourage healthy eating habits so our counselors will remind campers to take what they want, but also try not to waste food! Our rule, if you're full it's ok. We understand that sometimes our eyes are larger than our stomachs! You can check out our menu at "What's for Lunch" !
What about those campers who have activities either 3rd of 4th block? Yes, that's right, they're having fun!
• 12:40 - 1:30 PM: Block 5. More great activities including swimming! Swimming is not required at Camp Nonesuch, but we do offer instructional swim as one of the activities campers may choose! We do all of our instructional swim lessons in the afternoon during Blocks 4, 5 and 6 when the summer day has warmed the pond to, on most days, just the right temperature. Swimming in chilly, morning water - well we just don't do that (unless you're a penguin!)
• 1:30 - 2:20 PM: Block 6. Still more fun activities. At other camps most campers would likely be having a rest period now! Not at Camp Nonesuch! Because campers have ownership in their activities and they're doing the things they really want to do, they're still revved up and ready for more! And because our counselors are teaching activities they love and in many cases originated, they're also full of energy, even at this time of the day!
At the start of Block 6, campers are asked to choose their day ending, 7th block activity. Their choices are Free Swim, Board Games, Arts and Crafts, or the Game of the Day! They choose their 7th block activity each day - so one day it might be Board Games the next, Game of the Day! It's not unusual to find campers checking in with their friends in order to sign up for the same 7th block activity!
• 2:20 - 2:30 PM: Afternoon Juice/Snack Break: We take a quick break to recharge one last time!
• 2:30 - 3:20 PM: Block 7. So you've made a new friend in your cabin who's also in your 1st Block, but you're not together in any other activities! By signing up for the same 7th Block activity there is another opportunity to be with new and old friends! Whether it's hanging out in Free Swim, doing that neat arts and crafts project - just the thing I can give to Mom or Dad - or playing the traditional Friday afternoon game of the day, Capture the Flag, great times and great memories will likely take place! Just being with friends on a summer afternoon can make the summer seem like it will last forever!
• 3:20 - 3:45 PM: While no one likes to see the day end, at 3:20 campers go back to their cabins check in (our final attendance of the day) ,collect their gear and go to afternoon flagpole.
Here we make any final announcements for the day - including trying to find the owner of this beautiful beach towel with no name on it - then campers are dismissed and walk down to the pick up area.
During pick up we have four or five counselor manned stations. They open the doors for campers to safely get into their rides, often with a reminder to put on their safety belts! Now on their way home, the conversation is usually one sided with campers describing all of the fun they've had that day!
What about the campers who participate in the Early Drop off or Late PIck Up program?
Campers enrolled in the morning Early Drop Off program arrive in the morning anytime between 7:45 and 8:45 AM. Still a little sleepy, the hour is an easy going "chat" time with the counselors on duty with some quiet games if the campers feel up to it!
Campers in the afternoon Late Pick Up program have a nice wind down to their day. Camper centered, they may play a little volleyball, maybe try their skills taking penalty kicks with one of the counselor's on duty, perhaps do a little fishing, or if one of the counselors is one of our life-guards, take a swim! One size doesn't fit all so it's not unusual so see two or three different things going on! Campers can be picked up anytime between 4:00 and 6:00 PM, it's not uncommon to hear a camper say, "Can't I stay a little longer? It's not six o'clock yet!"
