A super quick project…but you definiteily need parental supervision if you want to make this!  You will need…

1.  Scrapbook paper

2.  Scissors, or an exacto knife (ask your parents!)

3.  A clear cell phone case

4.  It’s helpful if you have a cell phone to make this project for 🙂

All you have to do is trace the shape of your case, and then cut it out.  Make sure to cut out the spots where your phone has the camera lens.  Then, put the paper behind the clear case, put your phone in, and you are done!  It takes less than a minute, so I’ve made a bunch of covered, and I plan to make a Camp Canadensis one soon!

We have some new horses coming to Camp Canadensis this summer, and although they won’t need to be fed and groomed like our real camp horses that live at camp, these guys will definitely be fun to ride!  It’s sort of like an individual inflatable “bouncy castle”, and we are going to come up with SO many games and ways to use them this summer…it’s going to be so much fun!!

If you also want to do the “traditional” horseback riding at camp this summer, don’t worry, we will still have 5 horses living at Canadensis this summer, and they can’t wait to start taking the kids on trail rides.  Horseback Riding is one of those amazing activities that you can’t really try in your backyard, so it’s great when you can test it out at camp!  Check out this amazing photo of Dana, an Upper Inter Girl doing jumps at camp last summer!

If you want more information about horseback riding lesson, contact our office at 484-674-1941.

Can’t you feel it?!  Camp is getting SO close!  This warm weather just makes me want to put my friendship bracelets back on, and start building my 2012 “Camp Wrist“.  A “camp wrist” is how you lovingly display all of your favorite friendship bracelets, and as you get more and more throughout the summer, it gets higher and higher up your arm.  When it reaches your elbow…it means camp is almost over!

My absolute favorite friendship bracelet was made for me by BeckyJ (she is going to be at camp for her 13th summer, and will be a Group Leader!) and it’s the top one in the photo above.  It’s made out of rubber and metal chainmaille links – and she tried to teach me how to make it, but it’s really hard, which only goes to further prove how amazing she is!

The middle one was brought back from Africa by Terri Konst who has been working at camp for many years, and has been making sure our Evening Activities are top notch for the past four summers!  It’s one of the coolest bracelets I’ve ever seen, and they were very popular with the 2011 CIT Girls.

I made the bottom one on the last day of camp in 2011.  It was during the street carnival, and one of our staff members was teaching us how to make parachord bracelets – I always love learning a new skill, and I love the way it turned out!

These bracelets will definintely be on my “Camp Wrist” this summer, but I wanted to try out a few more options that I’d been seeing on Pinterest lately, so I got out some supplies…We keep our Arts & Crafts room SUPER organized, and I try to do the same at home.  I keep all my bracelet making supplies in a labeled shoebox, and it’s full of chains, string & beads.  Here’s what I made…

#1 Is just the standard “cobra” stitch made with a cotton rope, and I used a chain to attach the ends so I could roll it on and off like a bangle.  I used a dab of glue on the ends to keep the rope from fraying.  It was super quick so I made one in silver, and one in black.

#2 Is a quick version I made of the necklace tutorial you can find here: I used some friendship bracelet thread and just wove it through the chain and tied it all off together.  I think this will be a great project for art this summer!

More bracelets to come soon!  Remember…you can follow Camp Canadensis on Pinterest now!

The winter office took advantage of the warm and sunny Tuesday weather to take a day trip to Long Island for some staff fun! Here are a few pictures from our travels:

Ralph's! Twin Pop recommended Graham Cracker and he was right!

Alex and I want you to vote Sigal Negrin for Merrick School Board!

We had the best time visiting Alex and Ben! What an amazing family 🙂

Eric and I got to hang out with a new camper this past week…Eli is a current 4th grader, and will be a Lower Inter Boy at camp this summer.  He lives in Philadelphia and goes to school at Friends Select, and in the past few summers he’s been splitting time at the beach and day camp, but he’s excited for his first summer at Canadensis!  He’s done some camp overnights before, so he is ready to leave the day camp behind and have 4 weeks of non-stop action.

Eli has a younger sister and brother, and when we visited they had just gotten back from Disney World, where they had conquered just about every ride!  He enjoys pretty much everything we have to offer at camp.  During the school year, he especially likes tennis and skiing.  He’s skiied most of the slopes in the Poconos, so he should be able to learn to waterski pretty quickly this summer!  Eli is also a guitar player, and will be bringing one to camp with him this summer…I can’t wait to hear him play.  He also happens to be a Yankees fan, so we will be cheering together at morning line-up when the pinstripes have a great game this summer!

Another new Friends Select student is coming to camp this summer too!  Lucas is in 4th grade and will be a Lower Inter Boy for the first time this summer, but Camp Canadensis is a family tradition for him!  His mom was a Canadensis camper, and he is really looking forward to his first summer around Lake Lenape.

Hello Canadensis!

I am writing this blog on a beautiful sunny day that totally has me longing for the summer to begin.  This past weekend was so nice that I had to delve into the deepest depths of my closet to find my stack of shorts!  Ha Ha!  I got to hit the tennis courts this weekend, too, to get back “in the swing of things.”  Pun intended.  All I’ll say is this…I need to get back into camp shape!  Summer is closing in on us, that’s for sure!  I even started to do my own annual camp shopping for Summer 2012 this weekend.  For me, that means trips to the Sports Authority for new sneakers and a visit to Marshall’s (one of my favorite stores) for some shorts and socks.  I am now ready to go!

Of course, if you need to be further pumped up, Jason “J.Cal” Calabretta made another Summer 2012 Promo video to get you excited.  Here it is…

In just a few weeks, Matt Unger will be moving up for good as he is a key component in making sure that camp is ready for everyone’s arrival.  Matt also is in charge of all of our preseason camp groups that come to camp.  If you didn’t know, when our camp isn’t in session, we use our facility to host other programs from schools to youth groups to other organizations.  Most groups come for a three-day period, but some stay for up to a week.  Many of these groups have been at Canadensis for close to 20 years, so they have a close bond with Canadensis as we all do.  Every once in a while, we will have a camper come to Canadensis with their school group, which is sometimes a little strange for them.  That is, they are up at camp with their school friends.

Matt was actually up at camp yesterday and took some updated pictures of the new Blue Pool that is being built.  They look awesome!  Here they are…

The concrete work is being done around the new pool.

A shot from another angle. The water slides will eventually be put in the back left by the pump house.

The Canadensis Indian Head will be at the pool bottom in tiles. How cool is that?!

In mid-May, the remainder of our winter staff will head up to camp for good.  Having done this for so many years now, I really look forward to my move up to camp, but it is also met with some challenges.  Specifically, I try to use the next few weeks to see all of my friends and family before I go.  That is sometimes hard to organize with everyone.  But, I won’t see many of them again until September.  I guess that’s life in the camping biz.  Ha Ha!

Our Annual CIT Weekend up at camp will be on June 2-3.  This weekend has been a great opportunity for our CITs to begin their once in a lifetime experience as the camper leaders for the summer.  In addition to having the camp all to themselves, they will work with Head Counselor Cara Corradetti on their summer experience.  For more about this year’s CITs, be sure to check out Cara’s blog for a profile on each of them.  On June 3, the following day, we welcome all of our camp families for our Annual Open House.  We hope many families can make it to this fun day at camp!

Over the past few weeks, Eric, Pam and I have been meeting for hours at a time to develop the 6-Day Camp Week.  This is the rotation of activities that we use to make sure that the divisions get a wide range of activities from sports to art to water sports to outdoor adventure.  We also plan out all of the elective choices for the summer.  We start this process, which usually takes 3 to 4 full days, from scratch each year.  This allows us to take into consideration the camper surveys that are filled out at the end of each summer as well as all of the new activities we want to incorporate into the program.  On top of this, we have also been putting the finishing touches on the summer calendar, which includes all outside entertainers, trips, camping overnights, inter-camp games and evening activities.  For our Senior campers, we have also included the return of a Mystery Bus Ride for you.

In my last blog, I forgot to congratulate the winners of our 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets.  This year, our camper winners were Morgan and Haley Brettschneider and our staff winner was Max Hecht.  All three can expect a camp prize when they get to camp!  Congratulations!  I need to know your picking secrets for next year’s bracket.

In Montvale, NJ, I got to hang out with Alyssa Snyder, who is currently in the 4th grade and will be in our Lower Inter Girls division this summer.  Alyssa told me that she is in a dance group, where she is learning hip hop and jazz dance.  In the spring, she will be performing at a dance recital.  Alyssa is also involved in her school’s chorus which will be putting on a spring concert very soon.  When not performing, Alyssa plays defense on her soccer team, the Tigers.  Some of her favorite TV shows are Victorious and Pretty Little Liars.  She also let me know that she loves having sleepovers with friends.  At camp this summer, she is ready to try cooking, gymnastics, fabric art, tennis, dance, soccer and swimming.  Here is a photo…

Me with Lower Inter Girl Alyssa Snyder.

In Armonk, NY, I saw Isabella Yallof, who will be in our Lower Inter Girls division.  Now in the 4th grade, she loves to dance…everything from hip hop and jazz to modern to ballet to acro.  Her hip hop and jazz company will also be competing in the upcoming weeks.  Isabella also loves to sing and act and has even starred in plays such as Charlie Brown, Peter Pan and The Sound of Music.  Isabella plays the alto saxophone and loves gymnastics as well.  Some of her favorite TV shows are Victorious, iCarly and Zoe 101.  She also let me know that she is a huge Justin Bieber fan and loves the game Movie Star Planet.  In Summer 2012, she is ready for tennis, archery, gymnastics, dance, theater, pool and lake parties and hoping that her bunk wins Honor Bunk.  Here is a picture…

Me with Lower Inter Girl Isabella Yallof.

Me with Lower Inter Girl Isabella Yallof, along with siblings and future Canadensis campers Abby and Alex and mom Amy.

In Wayne, NJ, I spent some time with Jake and Ella Rudd.  Jake is in the 3rd grade and will be in our Junior Boys division while Ella is currently in 1st grade and will be in our Junior Girls division.  Jake has a busy spring as he is playing both travel lacrosse and baseball.  In the fall, he plays football and soccer.  And, in the winter, he plays basketball.  This summer, he is really looking forward to all of the sports at camp, swimming, Color War, sleeping in a bunk and making new friends.  Ella takes jazz, hip hop and acro dance classes and will be performing at a recital in June.  She plays soccer and softball, too.  She likes to plant flowers in the spring and jump in the leaves in the fall.  She also loves having virtual sleepovers with friends.  At camp, she can’t wait to swim, go to the Art Shack and gymnastics, meet her new counselors and learn the Color War names.  Here is a pic…

Me with Junior Girl Ella Rudd and Junior Boy Jake Rudd.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve received a few terrific e-mails from camp families and wanted to share them with you.  First, I got an e-mail from the Pearlman Family in New York City.  As it turns out, it looks like we might have a star on our hands at Canadensis as Junior Boy Ozzie Pearlman just recently starred in a commercial for Verizon Fios.  Ozzie is the boy with the popcorn on his lap.  I was not able to embed the video, but you can check it out here:  http://vimeo.com/38142746. 

Got a great photo from the Stern Family, who was traveling during their Spring Break to San Diego, CA.  While there, they caught a San Diego Padres game, which happens to be my favorite baseball team.  Here is a pic…

Upper Inter Boy Noah Stern wearing his Canadensis shirt while at Petco Park in San Diego, CA at a Padres game!

Finally, it looks like some of our new Junior Girls had a sleepover recently.  Great to see that some nice relationships are being made even before the summer starts!  Here is a pic…

Some of our 2012 Junior Girls! Top (from left to right): Jordyn Weinstein, Bailey Germain, Julie Pulewitz, Frankie Ader and future camper Jamie Kurtz; Bottom (from left to right): Alexis Lefkowitz, Mandi Kurtz and Ilana Lefkowitz

Well, that’s all of the blogging for now.  Back to work.  Things here are really starting to get busy!

Have a great day!

-Brian

I woke up Saturday morning in a crafty mood, so I decided to make some small notebooks!

As always, step one is to ask your parents and then you can gather your supplies.

1.  Scrapbook paper

2.  Plain printer paper

3.  Scissors (and a paper cutter if you have it)

4.  Strong, but sharp needle with thread (I used the thick kind you use for friendship bracelets)

5.  Pretty tape (I used washi tape, but duck tape would be cute too!)

All you have to do it cut the printer paper into a size you like, and then you will fold it in half (remember, this doubles the amount of pages).  I suggest only using 5-8 sheets of printer paper so you can easily sew through it.  You want to make a REALLY good crease in the middle so that you have a nice binding.  Then start sewing!Next, you’ll put some tape on the edge to cover the stitches and give it a nice edge.  I was really happy with the way these looked, they were good…but not good enough!  My friend Ali was with me while I was crafting (she is a former Canadensis counselor!!), so I decided to add a little detail to the front… I used the accucut to cut out our initials in a contrasting scrapbook paper, and then I used some spray glue on the back to turn it into a sticker.  You can use any kind of glue, but this stuff is great because it doesn’t make your paper wet and gloppy.  And now…it was finished!

But after making some notebooks, I still had a lot of crafting energy!  So, I decided to make the freezer paper stencils I’ve been seeing all over pinterest, and turn my boring plain t-shirts into exciting Canadensis Gear!  This project definitely needs parental supervision.  Instead of explaining all the steps, I’ll let you click here to read about how to do this project…

A few months ago I showed you the awesome personalized Indian Head Accucut tray that we got, and I thought it would be the perfect thing to use and experiment on shirts.  I cut out the logo and letters, and all you have to do is iron the shiny side down (it comes up REALLY easily later).Then, I took it outside to a well ventilated area, and I started spritzing.  My bleach must have gone bad because it wasn’t working…but this bathroom cleaner did the trick.  (I later went to the store and bought new bleach!).The shirt I’m wearing didn’t bleach at all…I kept adding more, but the colors didn’t run.  I didn’t want to waste the cute design, so I spray painted over it so that when I peeled up the freezer paper, you could see the design.  My sweatpants came out cool…love them!  Even though the bleach spread a lot more than I planned, I will definitely still be rocking them this summer, so watch out!

So, my experiments didn’t all come out amazing, but I enjoyed it and plan to make more again soon.  I think with the stencils I was using, it would have been a much better idea to paint it instead of squirting it all over with bleach – and, when you use bleach you should have a bucket of water nearby so you can stop it from spreading and getting to areas you didn’t want it to reach.  You craft and you learn!

And here is some exciting news…Camp Canadensis now has Pinterest! Click below and follow us…

In the winter office, we seem to have a new “tradition” where during lunch we go around the office and discuss our BIG weekend plans. Unfortunately, it’s rare that any of us have such thrilling and exciting weekend plans. But…starting in 2 weeks, Matt and I will easily answer that question with an excited response of “WE WILL BE WORKING UP AT CAMP!!”. We both move up to camp in <2 weeks and are thrilled to be back in our 5-month home (we are there from late April through late September). So, this weekend is supposed to be nice and warm…what are your weekend plans?

Tomorrow, I will be spending some time prepping the house for our new arrival next month (Baby Girl Forti) and then spend the rest of the day seeing family. On Sunday, I will be participating in the MS Walk in Freehold, NJ on a team with one of my friends. Looking forward to spending some time with her and my friends, before it’s time to pack up and head to camp. And Sunday night, I will be having dinner with Dr. Menkowitz and his wife, Sue! Dr. Menkowitz has been a camp Doctor for a bazillion years at camp and is still continuing in the tradition for the 2 weeks following visiting day. So, an exciting weekend and hopefully I will enjoy some time outdoors.

This past week, I had a belated Passover seder (more like dinner) with Robin’s side of the family and that included campers Allie and Lily Ernst! My family is a little jealous of the Ernst girls because by them being at camp, they will get to see Baby Girl Forti more than anyone else in mine or Robin’s family!! They are really excited for camp and as you can see, Lily bought a special furry, soft, and cuddly sweatshirt with a Canadensis patch on it- AWESOME! They were both down in FL spending time with their grandparents (Robin’s Aunt and Uncle) and doing trapeze and other cool activities. While they were down there, Allie got an awesome airbrushed shirt made of the Indian head, which is certainly not something that’s easy to replicate.

Here is a photo of the 4 of us:

Dinner with Allie & Lily Ernst. What do you think of Robin's belly? She looks great and feels great. Due date of May 26, still on track:)

Yesterday, Brian, Pam, and I met to work on the Programming Schedule for this coming summer. It’s a really fun few days of meetings where we design, from scratch, the Canadensis Daily Program for this coming summer. By redesigning it each year, we get to take the input we get all year long (camper surveys, Senior summits, home visits, emails, phone calls, etc.) and incorporate as much of it as possible into the schedule. I say as much as possible because sorry campers, we can’t schedule each of you for cooking EVERY DAY of the summer!

Well, time to finish up work for the day and head out to enjoy the beautiful weekend. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Max getting ready for a fun day at camp!

Max Hecht

University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Business Administration. From Plainview, NY.

Years at Camp:10

Position this Summer: Group Leader

Previous Positions: Junior Counselor, General Bunk Counselor

Favorite Camp Memory: CIT summer amazing race.

Advice for first year staff: Treat the kids with respect. You give respect, you’ll get it back in return.

One thing you’re going to do this summer that you’ve never done before: Mah Jongg.

Advice for a first time camper: Don’t take a second for granted. These seven weeks will fly by. Cherish every moment of it.