We had a donut social for our most experienced Kampers. Here is the pictures from that time. It was fun to hear why they love coming to camp!
Also, As I walk through the mailroom every day I am amazed at all the mail that comes in for these kiddos! You moms are incredible. I thought I would let you know a few ideas for a fun package at kamp.
Kanakomo Fun Package Options
Cross Stitching String for making Friendship bracelets
Silly Bands (you can get these at walmart)
Blank T-Shirt to have their friends sign on it (or a pillow case)
Fake Flowers and Elastic Headbands to make flower head bands
We had our talent show tonight and we had some unbelievable acts! Your kids are so talented. Tomorrow Cabins 1,2,7,8,13,14,15,16 are all going on trip! Stay tuned for more fun stuff at kamp!
Today we had a Yuk Fight at K-1. You are asking yourself probably...what is "Yuk"? It comes in a small powdered box and it takes one cup of powder to 6 pitchers of water. Its fabulous. It comes out as this clear, slimy substance that is so fun to squish your hands in and soooo fun to throw. Its completely biodegradable, non-toxic, wont hurt you if you get it in your eyes or eat it. (although probably not tasty...) Whats even better is that it is easy to clean and it comes right off of any clothing! Just a hose bath away from clean! I have heard it is actually the substance in diapers. (The stuff that absorbs the moisture when a diaper is soaked) The crazy thing is that it comes in all textures...slimy, gooey, sticky...the list goes on. How we found this...I am not sure, but anything for your kids.
We had our Galactic Spectacula PArty. Because of rain we didn't get to do the "yuk" fight but we did it this morning. I will have footage soon. We had a dance party in the partybarn with lots of neon and glow in the dark. Today we had our first Klinic Day. It was really fun. The kids got to do the sport of their choice all morning and then we had the "yuk" fight. What is "Yuk" you might ask? Stay tuned to find out!
Hey this is Kristen Cole standing in for Jennifer Farley. The first Sunday of each term is what we like to call "I'm 3rd Sunday". We get the opportunity to hear from Joe White (president of Kanakuk Kamps). This morning he shared the story of our namesake, Chief Kanakuk. His name means the loved one and he earned his name by serving others in everything that he did. Joe connected that story to other stories about living the I'm third life (God first, others second and yourself third). Some of his stories were about specific kamp kids and how they lived their life for Christ. His final story was about Kamp legend Johnny Ferrier and how he sacrificed his life to save others. All of the stories related back to Christ and how he is the perfect example of putting God 1st and others 2nd. We love I'm 3rd Sunday because it sets the tone for how we want to live our life at Kamp as well as when we walk out of the gates!
Yesterday we welcomed our second term campers (3rd term two weeks) to K-1. We had a lot of fun yesterday! Our theme is amplified and when they got off the bus they found that they were rockstars! They got to go back stage and then get on stage to amp it up.
They found out who their counselors were. Then we had a picnic and then we headed to K-Life.
Today we found out who won the term for term 1. I promised that I would post the winner for our first term two weekers! Well here it is......drumroll.....well, I will let the video tell who won!
As quick as we could say goodbye and wipe the tears away we got really excited and said hello to our new campers and boy were they excited! Stay tuned for tomorrow morning. I will have some great footage of what we did today!
Well, it is our last night of first term. We had a fun family night with our K-Life crew. I am sure that all of our parents here are not reading the blog tonight. They are on their way to their hotels after spending a fun night at Kanakuk. Those of you at home are waiting for the sun to rise, to get on a bus, a plane, or to make the trip up to Kanakuk Kamps. We are finishing up first term. There is a busy day finding out who won the term, seeing who won awards, and who will be next summers Mini Princess. The new staff for term 2 (term 3 and 4 13 day) are getting a good nights sleep getting ready to greet your kids. HAve a fun night at home packing your trunk, sleep well, have a fun bus ride and We will see you when you get here! Until then, here are wise words from one of our Assistant Directors Sons
Today was a really fun day. This morning your kiddos continued with a fun day of partybarn, ski day, zipline and all sorts of activities. This afternoon your kids got two hours to go around and get more points on for their Ks. What is a K? Well, its like a Letter you would put on a Lettermans Jacket. I have seen many girls frame them, some have them sewn on a blanket, or they are like me and I kept them in a box. The girls work soooo hard to get their Ks. They get points for everything they do (in 8 activities) and at the end of the term we tally them all up. They have to acheive a certain amount of points to get a specific K. The order of Ks are as follows
Midget K Mini K Little K Big K Super K
I thought it would be fun to share with you the requirements from 1931 at Kanakuk Kamps for boys.
To get your Big K you had to do the following: 1. Hike 75 miles (back then you stayed all summer mostly so I am sure this was an accumulation 2. Handle Canoe Well 3. Handle Horse Well 4. Shoot 35 ouf possible 50 with rifle 5. Equivelant in Archery 6. Swin Lake and Back (back then it was the White River) 7. Pass Jr. Red Cross 8. Know 10 birds 9. Know 10 trees 10. Know Constellations 11. Know Poison Ivy 12. Know Characteristics of Poisonous snakes 13. Tie 5 Knots 14. Pass First Aid 15. Catch, Mount, and identify 5 kinds of butterflies
Oh, how things change. Rest assured your daughter did not hike 75 miles :) Darnell White wrote a book called the Legacy of Kanakuk. IT is fabulous and I think its a neat thing to have at your house. You can buy it at the Kanakuk Store. Anway, Its tells the K requirements back in 1931.
This brings me to the next part of what I love about Kanakuk....its traditions. Not many things in this world hold to traditions. I know that its always great to try things new but a few traditions in life are a good thing. What traditions do is they create a bridge between Generations with shared experiences. IT is really neat to see that you are apart of something that has lasted longer than you have been alive and even longer than your mom or dad or grandparents have been alive. I think its an earthly reminder to me to leave a legacy. I want to always make sure I am a part of something that will last longer than your lifespan. Being part of the body of Christ is exactly that!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Well Today is a warm day on Kanakomo Hill and we are busy swimming and doing lots of water Activities! Today our Super Deal cabins (and a few other or our 25 day kiddos that are 12years old and have come for four or more years) got to go on their "Big Deal" trip. We have changed it up this year. You will have to ask your girls how trip was when they get home. I don't want to disclose any suprises to our future K-1kampers that will go this summer. Tonight is the grand prize for honor cabin. Those girls have worked hard. I graded honor cabin (oops...the mystery might be out on who is the "mystery lady"...well, not every day) and today I was blown away by our younger cabins. Those kids know how to make a cabin clean. And I know its not the counselors. They have a lot to do in 30minutes so there is no way possible a counselor could do it all. Our Honor Cabin winners are Cabin 2, Cabin 6, Cabin 9 and Cabin 13! The rest of camp has a fun night planned. Its tripmen's k-life tonight!
Here is Cabin 3 doing crafts. We have a fun craft project. We are doing headbands with flowers on them. The kids love krafts (note: that is not misspelled...everything starts with a K here) and they get excited about learning a knew skill. I totally think doing krafts is 10 times better than just watching tv at home. If you and your kids want a night away from the television....do a Kraft! I have the perfect website for you!!!!
www.dollarstorecrafts.com IT great! Most things are soo cheap!
First of all, this is my second post today so if you are checking out the blog for the first time today I put footage of the party up earlier. Every once in a while I will post a few posts that talk about the Music that we play at Kanakuk. There are so many parents and kids that ask me about where we get the music that we play here at Kanakuk. Here are three songs that kids love. Moms and dads you could suprise your kids with a fun playlist on their ipods or CD mix of kamp songs. These are also great songs to play at your sporting events or activities at home. Your kiddos will probably be so excited if on the way home from kamp you played these tunes in your car. They could teach you all the moves they learned.
The First Artist is "Flame" His song is called "Go Buck" You can find it on itunes for 99 cents. Just type in "Flame Go Buck" in where it says search. Here is the song with the lyrics (no worries mom I had to read it to see what the song says) By they way..."Go Buck" means go crazy and celebrate.
The next artist is Lecrae featuring Trip Lee. This song is called "Get Loose" They actually wrote it for the Kids Across America Theme Song. You can also buy this on itunes for 99 cents.
The next song is called Orangitango by Fly Golden Eagle. You can also buy this on itunes. This is one of the kids favorite songs. If you play this they will do the dance moves to this one. Get ready for fun!
Its a few days late due to me being on a 2-4 but here is footage on the Color Catastrophe Party. If you cannot recognize your kid its probably because they are coverd in watered down Tempera Paint. How did they get clean?....well the fire truck came and sprayed the water in the sky and all the paint was washed off. If you are a mom sending your kid to camp this summer (and they have not arrived for either Month term 2 or 3 or 13 day term 4 or Term 6.....pack clothes you dont care about throwing away. Moms, no fear. We told the kids to wear nothing nice and if in fact it got on something...it does come out!
Then, it was like God was watching down and about 10 minutes later it rained really hard and washed all the paint from the field away! But with the rain came a power outage. What! We were right in the middle of dinner and all the power on our side of the lake goes out. Does that end a Kanakuk Party...NO! Time to bring in the generators. We danced the night away in the dining hall, had our snacks...saved all our food in the walk in fridge and went back to our cabins. Right when the kiddos returned....the lights turned on again!
Anyway, this brings me to another one of my favorite things of kamp....the party never stops. When we have planned something fun for your kids....nothing can stop the fun from happening. (In all safety of course :) We are all about making memories for your kiddos for a lifetime and I really think this one will be in the memory books for a while. They were covered in paint, washed by a fire truck, danced in the rain and partied during a power outage with glowsticks and generators! Until tomorrow!
Well, Stunt last night was a hit! You should be proud of all your girls! They were so great and we did our best to cheer them on the way you moms would.
Here is the Kiowa Stunt Highlights:
Here is the Kickapoo Stunt Highlights:
Small Lessons I learn from being at Kamp: During Parties and Stunt our counselors and kids use our huge Skit Closet. (On a Side note, I think every family needs a small version of a skit closet. Skit clothes can make a simple dinner at McDonalds with the family a memorable night. Theme family nights can be so fun too!) Anyway, I remember when I first showed up as a counselor at K-1 (in 1997) and I would laugh at some of the dresses that were hanging up in the skit closet. The other day, I saw a counselor wearing an old bridesmaid dress that I wore about 8 years ago. Yes, I only wore that thing once; so I went ahead and gave it a little more life in the K-1 Skit closet...the place were many a bridesmaid and prom dress retire. Then it hit me.... one of MY dresses...one that used to be stylish in MY time is now a skit closet dress that is worn to be silly and funny. After I had processed how fast time flies, I realized the lesson the skit closet can teach. The skit closet is great because it makes many random pieces of clothing timeless. Each dress, pair of pants, and vest always has purpose...no matter the current trends. It makes the funny looking, the out of style, and the "worn out" ...classics. For example, there is no limit to the potential that you can find with one suit jacket in the skit closet. It can make you a CIA agent in one skit, and a dad in another. You can be a marching band member, an ESPN announcer, or a Game Show Host. Who we are in Christ is the same way. It doesn't matter how young or old you are, you still have value to our Savior and you are a significant part of His will. It doesn't matter what you look like or what condition you are in... God always has a purpose for your life. Finally, there is unlimited potential in what God can do through each one of us throughout our life. What a great reminder of who I am in Christ the next time I go to put a costume on from the skit closet.
A couple days ago we had our Donut breakfast for our 13 day kiddos that have come for 4 years or more. Click here to see the one we did for our 25 dayers earlier this term. It was a fun morning and I wanted you to see the pictures.
Today is Stunt day and our kiddos have been preparing for the play that they will put on with their tribe. There is lots of paint cans, glitter, pipe cleaners, card board boxes, and smiles today. They have been making their own costumes, learning their dances, and practicing their lines. It will be a late night tonight so I hope to post the footage of Stunt tomorrow.
The Kickapoos Present: Toy Story (their version of it that is...) The Kiowas Present: Kung Fu Panda (their version of it that is....)
Every day I want to end at least one of my posts about what I love about kamp. Today I stopped and watched a kid walking on a sea of peat gravel stop and pick up a friendship rock. (A friendship rock is a rock that naturally has a hole in the rock. The kids love finding them) I am always amazed. That rock was sitting among thousands of other rocks and she picked up that rock with such confidence it was like she saw it from yards away. I can search for hours for one and never find them but the kids always seem to know where they are. Anyway, I love the simple nature of kamp. Life is simple here and you get excited about such little things. I am sure the moment the kamper picked up that special rock she knew exactly what friend she was going to rush back to her cabin and make a necklace for. I love that at kamp you are always thinking about your friends here. We make friends here, we love our friends here, and it amazes me how strong the bond is even though your time together is short.....I think God places those friendship rocks here to remind me of this fact.
We suprised our kiddos with a Luau night last night. The girls and boys got to be togehter. They watched a movie and ate some chocolate fondue!!!
One of my favorite things about kamp is how a kid feels encouraged. I walked by a counselor today and she was encouraging a kid in her cabin on how she had such a sweet spirit about her. The other day I saw a counselor encouraging a kid to go down the zipline when he was scared. The kid did it and really felt a sense of accomplishment. I was a kid here and felt encouraged by my counselors. My prayer today is that every kid here at K-1 would be encouraged by someone specifically today.
Last night we had the K-extravaganza party. We had a "Krazy" Time. The kids ate Kabobs and had Kremesickles for dessert. We had a Kanakuk Legends scavenger hunt to get ingredients to make a "kake" with your "Kabin" We also had "Kruises" and K-Krazy fun on the bottom of "Kamp"
You might have already seen this but this was K-Life the first night of Kamp.
Here is some footage I forgot I took from the first day at kamp. These are a couple of cabins at their first breakfast at K-1.
Tonight we are having the K-Extravaganza party. I have seen the great costumes head to the party from outside my window. There are "Krayons", "Kandy", a few "Karrots", and I even saw a hershey "Kiss". Thanks moms for helping come up with these great costumes!
Last night we had a game night for our kids. Here is what it was like! Today is the K-Extravaganza Party!!!!! We woke up late and the counselors served the kiddos "Koffee Kake" in bed! Our 13 Day kampers with 4 years of experience or more had a donut party to thank them for coming to camp year after year. Right now your kids are in their "Klinic Kamps" this morning. I will post one time this afternoon and then again tonight. Stay tuned!
Today was our first normal day for our new two weekers. We put our new kids in their tribe. Tonight we are doing a bigger than life game night. Do you remember battleship when you were a kid? Well, the kids are the game pieces. We are going to play bunco and some other games too! Today our 25 dayers continued with their fun kamp term. Cabin 15 got a special treat. Mattie, one of the kampers in that cabin entered the K-1 Slide Contest and she got fourth place. She won a slip-n-slide pizza party. Here is the footage from their fun day. Stay tuned moms I have got some candid shots of our new kids and some footage from K-Life last night!
Well, we had our first closing day at K-1 for the summer and we changed over our to our second set of two weekers. They are all here and we had K-Life tonight! We have alot of fun things planned for this two weeks. For all you two-weekers that just left if you keep watching the blog I will keep you updated on who is winning the term...the Kiowas or the Kickapoos. We found out this morning that the Kiowas are ahead at the half. This a great head start for the Kiowas...good work! BUT Kickapoos don't dispair there are still alot of points to be had and I can't tell you how many times I have see the one who was behind at the half win the term.
Well, today we did a first on Kanakomo Hill. We elected two week Mini Princesses! The reason why is because we are changing our terms at Kanakuk. Next summer we will start all of our terms on Saturday and we will end our terms on Saturday. K-1 and K-2 will start the summer with a 14 Night term. It will begin June 4th (the first Saturday in June) and will end on June 18th. There will only be 14 night campers there and therefore we needed to elect a Kickapoo and Kiowa Mini Princess. We will continue our summer with 4 more 14 night terms that will go along side our two 28 night terms. (see the kanakuk website for dates)
Our 25 days are changing to 28 night terms. The first 28 night term will start on June 18th and end on July 16th. The second 28 night term will start on July 16th and end August 13th.
What does this mean for you and your family? If you have a 25 day kamper you will want to decide what 28 night term will fit with your family schedule. Also, realize that there are three month terms now so we will be going to two 28 night (month) terms. You might want to enroll sooner than later to get the spot you want.
Two week terms will not change that much except that we now have six 13 day terms and we will only have five 14 Night terms. K-2 will have the exact same term schedule as K-1. K-west and K-Kountry will have five 14 night terms and some 7 night terms. K-7 Will continue to have just 7 night terms.
14 Night Terms Term 1 (14 Night) - June 4-June 18th (2011) Term 2 (14 Night) - June 18th-July 2nd (2011) Term 3 (14 Night) - July 2nd - July 16th (2011) Term 4 (14 Night) - July 16th- July 30th (2011) Term 5 (14 Night) - July 30th- August 13th (2011)
28 Night terms Term 1 June 18th-July 16th Term 2 July 16th - August 13th
Well, its a busy day on Kanakomo Hill because our two week parents are here. We have been finishing up some last minute things we needed to do and then we are going to see them in about 20 minutes. Here is what our Day looked like.
Cabins 15 and 16 went on their ski day out on Table Rock Lake. Cabins 1,2,13 and 14 had a fun day with free swim, slip-n-slide and party barn. All the 25 dayers are going to have fun games on the bottom of kamp and then watch and Outside Movie!
Our 13 dayers finished up their K-Work, packed their trunks, and played on the slip-n-slide, pool and party barn.
Here is some fun footage of what it looks like out on trip
Stay tuned moms. We are announcing our new terms for next summer at our closing ceremonies. We are kind of changing things up for next summer and you will need to know for enrolling your kids for next year.
Today was our March Madness Tournament. The girls are put into college teams and they play a bracket against their own tribe. The evening game is the National Championship. We also have a MVP game. The coaches pick one MVP from each team and we have that game. Tonight the Kiowas won the National Championship and the MVP game!!!
We had a talent show at K-1 and I am always amazed at the girls talent. Check it out! Today our 25 day kampers came back from their 3 day trip. They were a little tired and ready for a shower. They got to catch up on their mail and rest extra long today. We are back at the fun with K-Life tonight! The 13 Day kampers are out on trip. I went out there today to see all the fun. I will show you tommorrow. Have a great evening! Travel safely for all you parents heading our way soon!
We had a rainy day the other day and we had bible class. The girls made up a cheer to learn the 10 commandments. I thought it was so great! I thought you might want to see it.
a Few days ago our 25 dayers left for their two night 3 day adventure on trip. Cabin 15 and 16 went to White Water, Cabin 13 and 14 went to Island and Cabin 1 and 2 went to Wilderness.
White Water gets to canoe down the White River Island and Wilderness they get to ski and tube and bluff Jump. The kids that go on White Water get another day were they get to ski and tube on the lake as well.
This was part of Joe's Im Third talk. He did a very traditional I'M Third Talk. This brought me back to my camper years. Joe used to do this when I was a kid at K-2.
Today is a normal day. all of our 25 day kampers are out on trip and won't come back until tommorrow. Our thirteen day campers are gearing up for trip tomorrow. We have a "girls night" tonight. Stay tuned for more footage.
Sorry that this took so long. I will blog one more time tonight so stay tuned.... Today was a normal day. It rained a little this morning so we had rainy day activities. This afternoon the sun came out and we had a lot of fun!
So last night was the party and I had a computer malfunction trying to upload the footage I got from the party. No fear...it is really fun and I want you to see it! Please forgive me for not getting it on there but by tonight or tomorrow morning it will be on here. Today is Sunday. On Sundays we get to sleep in and the first campers to flag pole get a piece of coffee cake. Some of you have experienced Kanakuk before so you understand what I am about to talk about. You wake up to the smell of cinnamon traveling through camp. Most kids are up, fully dressed and ready to go because they know the tradition....if your there early you will get a piece of what you have been smelling. The rule is that you have to stay on the porch until you hear the voice in the sky (aka the intercom system). When Diane Cooper and I round the corner and the morning wake up song turns on....you would think we were big celebrities they way those kids run towards you. Except they don't want an autograph...they want a piece of coffee cake fresh off the pan. I probably need to video what that moment is like. Lesson learned moms, when you want to get your kiddo out of bed... make camp coffee cake!
Today is also I'm Third Sunday and Joe White comes over to K-1 to give his I'm Third talk to the kids. The older 25 dayers are heading to K-2 to see what it is like. They will get to do part of the tree tops and play on the dock. Everyone else is going to do Sunday Funday! Also, tonight is the big Kanakuk Talent Show and some of your kids are performing. I will have footage of that as well. Stay tuned, I have alot to show you. Until then, I have put the new Kanakuk Theme Song on for you. We have not even revealed it to the kids!!! Its done by Toby Mac, Lecrea, and Tedashi...all three very popular hip hop christian artists. If youou want your kids to listen to clean music that they will like and think is cool....these three are great picks!
Most Days at Kanakuk Kamps we do Super Duper Honor Cabin. In the morning the kids wake up and go to flag. They then go to the All Kamp Devo and right before breakfast they do honor cabin. It gets graded every day and if their cabin has the most points at the end of the term then they get to go on a fun trip that will include pizza, coke and candy! (Those are valued items here on Kanakomo Hill!) I wanted you to see what the before and after shots look like. This is Cabin 5 and Cabin 7. Cabin 5 even won that day!!!
Today is also the World Fair Party. I will have pics and videos tonight! Here is your kiddos schedule:
This Morning they are vacationing in the Gulf of Mexico where they can do the following activities: Cliff Jumping in Baja Lay out on the beach Play at the Resort in Cancun (Janeland...where the blob is) The Mississippi River (waterslides) Zipping across the Panama Canal (zipline)
They will also vacation in the Mediterranean Barn swinging in Monaco Slip and Slide down the Tiber relaxing on the greek coast line (the pool :) Playing Soccer in Spain Playing Wiffle Ball in Tanzania
We will have a world cultural lunch and then FOB. (Hopefully you will get a postcard from all their world travels today)
This Afternoon They will embark on the Amazing Race Their teams will take their passports doing challenges all over the world.
Tonight we will eat more foods from around the world (they get to try a ton) and then we will be having a World's Fair full of dancing and HUGE inflatable games (like you would get to do at a carnival) It should be a fun night. I will have pictures and videos for you soon.
I hope that you are having a great Friday! I had to be reminded that it was Friday. At kamp it is easy to forget what day of the week that it is. We had a fun day at Kanakuk! It was tournament day. The kids are getting ready for the talent show. Right now they are in K-Life. As I am blogging I hear the girls screaming. They must have won the competition. Here is a talk that the kids heard this morning on how God Sees Us. It is by Debbie Burk one of our Leadership Staff.
Here are the girls doing klinics yesterday. Today we are doing tournaments. We have a huge bracket of tons of different tournaments that kids play in. They have a jumprope tournament, checkers, hopscotch, ping pong, tetherball, putt putt and washers. Stay tuned for more footage!
This was actually yesterday but I wanted you to see what kiddos did on the first full day of kamp. Please forgive my beginner video skills. I wish I had more time to edit but in hopes to get it up for you I do it pretty quickly.
Tonight we did a Mystery Crime Night. The girls had to go around with their investigative journals asking the different characters their alibi and who they think did the crime. I tell you what....we have some future crime investigators...their interigations were pretty thorough! Today we had Klinic Day. The girls got to pick the Klinic of their choice and were there at a mini sport camp all afternoon. It was really fun. I will show that footage tommorow.
Today Diane Cooper and I ate donuts with the kids who had been to Kanakuk more that four years. We ate donuts and found out what their favorite thing about Kanakuk is! The girls got to hang out with our favorite Kanakomo Gal...Kay Holiday. Stay tuned...I have footage from last night when we put kids in tribes. Today we are doing Klinics (the sport that the kids get to pick on their own) Tonight we are having a Mystery Night!
Well, the kids are officially here. We have most of them (waiting on the airport crew) I will have footage of kids at camp on the blog before I go to bed tonight! We do a talk the day the kids come to our staff and its too precious not to share it with you. We interviewed some parents about what its like for their kids to go to camp AND what its like to drop them off here with our staff. I am sure all you parents know how this feels. We are so appreciative of you sending your kids to camp!
