Let me tell you, I’m lucky to have 200 amazing coworkers each summer at camp, but our tiny team that works all winter is pretty fabulous too!  As the two full time office females, Cara Corradetti and I wind up getting into all sorts of fun together.  She’s unbelievable, and exactly the kind of camp friend you want to have…every day she’ll make you laugh, encourage you to join in a sing along, teach you a new craft project and tell you about some fabulous game/product/website you had no idea existed.  She’s up for anything (like decorating the Matt & Melissa engagement bus ride with tablecloths and balloons) and she’ll help you with whatever is on your plate.  She is an amazing Head Counselor and the CIT Program has really grown under her leadership.  She is also a fantastic trip leader who takes our kids out of camp for around 12 days each summer, and you’ve probably grown to love her as co-host on the Canadensis Today Show.  I’m so lucky to work with her all year, and I thought I’d share just a few of our recent adventures…

We do LOVE Bingo!!  Our first Bingo outing was in Canadensis during post camp 2012 with Sam Ginsburg and Robin Forti, and we were instantly hooked.  There were awesome prizes (like a whole watermelon!) and Cara won the biggest cash prize of the night.  Since then, we’ve been actively seeking out Bingo playing opportunities – we’ve played with Robin at Temple Beth Or where one of our camp moms, Stacey Frezel, organized a huge Bingo fundraiser!    We’ve also played in Philadelphia at an 80’s themed Bingo night where Lower Girls Head Counselor Melissa Torban joined us in crazy costumes as well…Robin was a big winner that night!

We want to bring our love of BINGO to camp this summer…we’ve learned a lot of exciting ways to play, fun games and contests to go along with the number calling.

The pictures above are a BIG REVEAL!  Cara and I recently spent a day painting plaques that represent the amazing theatrical productions that the Canadensis campers put on each summer.  We’ve gone back in time to create plaques for some recent years, and they will be hanging in the Rec Hall this summer – each year new plaques will be added and it will be a fantastic reminder of the hard work our actors, actresses, tech crew and staff put in!

Cara has introduced me to many new crafts, including paper embossing and stationery – but our most adventurous crafting by far was the glass blowing class we recently took!  We were instructed by Julia Eckenrode (our returning glass fusion director at camp) and it was an incredible experience!  It was amazing to watch Julia work, and we very quickly got our turn to learn how to make paper weights, cups, flowers and bowls…unbelievable!

Name:Mallie Feldman

Years at Camp: 9 Years

Hobbies When You’re at Home: Tennis

Secret Talent: I can talk with my mouth closed

Favorite Camp Activity: Cooking and Ropes Course

Funny Camp Memory: That time my bunk had a huge shaving cream fight.

Advice for a First Time Camper: Camp goes by so fast so make every moment count.

Something You Learned at Camp: Camp friends are your best friends

I never leave for camp without my… Nutella

If I could have any job in the world it would be… A journalist

My favorite place I’ve traveled is… Paris

One thing my campers will learn about me is… I’m weird and fun

One fun fact about me is… I can touch my tongue to my nose

Mallie, Casey, and Lauren by the lake!

I’ve been on the road for camp a lot lately, but before I left I got to meet some awesome new campers that I can’t wait to introduce you to!  First up from Blue Bell, PA is Lily, a current 4th grader who will be a new Lower Inter Girl this summer.  She cannot wait for her first summer at Canadensis, it’s a family tradition!  Her father went to Canadensis for many years, and her cousins Alex & Valerie are currently campers too!  Here’s what you need to know about Lily:

• She loves animals and would want to get a dog.  She currently has a fish, but if she could pick any animal in the world she would get a teacup pig (never heard of it before, but they are super cute!!)
• The best thing about living in her neighborhood is getting to hang out with all of her friends, and they have tennis courts which is one of her favorite sports.
• She plays basketball at school, even if it’s just her with the “guys” because she really enjoys it!  She’s also on a softball team.
• She has been horseback riding in Arizona on a family vacation, and wants to take lessons at camp this year.
• She goes hiking as a family, and she’s going to love going on the overnight the summer!  She collects snow globes and has them from some of her vacation spots.
• She showed me some of the arts and crafts in her room – she had a whole drawer full (that was very organized).  She’s made clay coasters, bracelets with beads, and things she’s created on the ceramics wheel.
• She’s likes paddle boarding, so I told her about the Macarena game that girls bunk 3 taught me to play on the boards last year, so fun!  She wants to also try waterskiing this summer!
• She can’t wait to go zip lining and try the summit on the lake.  Her cousin Valerie told her that she is going to absolutely love cooking!  She’ll probably choose glass fusion for an elective, and maybe quads too!
• Her favorite subject in school is math…really!
• She knew the blue team won cw were last year… it must have been a lucky guess!?
• She came to camp on Fourth of July for her tour last summer, and she got to have the cornman – YUM!  She also spent time looking for her father in pictures in the dining hall.
• Lily thinks she is going to sign up for a medium group at Dorney park – which means lots of rides, but nothing upside down!
• She’s started planning how she’ll decorate her camp walls.  I won’t give it all away, but it involves posters of Luke Bryan (country singer) and Taylor Lautner’s abs!
• Lily is pretty much ALWAYS in a good mood – she has a daybed so it’s not even possible to wake up on the wrong side of the bed!

Finally, you should also know that Lily has an “unnatural sibling” at camp!  This is a game we play at morning line-up at Canadensis, where you look similar to someone who is NOT a relative.  It’s hard to tell with the sunglasses on, but former camper & counselor Sammi Goldberg and Lily look A LOT alike!! 

I also spent some time in Lafayette Hill with Alexa, a current 3rd grader who will be an Upper Junior Girl this summer!  She greeted me at the door wearing an “I <3 Canadensis” – so she has a TON and excitement for the upcoming summer!  Here’s what you need to know about Alexa:

• She is a very good student!  She knows how to speak a little bit of Chinese, Spanish, and is learning Hebrew.  She also knows how to count and French!
• Alexa loves Justin Bieber…really loves him!  When we up in her room, I counted 10 Justin’s in her room but I’m sure there are a lot more!
• She likes a lot of different kinds of music.  She has gone to a lot of concerts, including Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber and Jingle Ball.  And a Madonna concert too!
• She’s actually named after a Billy Joel song…”The Downeaster Alexa” – and even his daughter is named Alexa.
• Alexa loves to read…she can’t get enough of it, there were tons of books in her room!
• Her favorite sports are kickball and gaga – she will get to play a bunch at camp!
• Alexa goes to gymnastics and really loves it!
• She currently takes hip-hop dance and wants to also take lyrical next year.
• She’s a big dancer…we even played “just dance” video game during my visit.
• She is an older sister to two brothers Ari and Max.
• I was there the day before her birthday – and she showed me the cupcakes that she decorated herself that her classmates got to enjoy!
• At her birthday party, they did airbrushing (see below) and learned how to play the cup games that we do in the dining hall!
• She likes to vacation both in Colorado to go skiing and down the shore at the beach.
• She is definitely going to be signing up zip line and glass fusion electives this summer.  She also can’t wait for cooking.
• She had a lot of ceramics projects that she has painted in her room.
• She likes carrots and cucumbers but maybe we can introduce her to some new vegetables too?
• Her mom went to summer camp and had so much.  She’s still really close with a lot of camp friends, and Alexa can’t wait to have that at Canadensis!

At Alexa’s birthday party, showing some Canadensis spirit!  Marissa, Kylie & Alexa will all be Junior Girls!

Here are some other photos I’ve recently received from Canadensis Campers…if you are meeting camp friends, send photos to pam@canadensis.com!

Some girls from last years Bunk 7!  Abby, Maddy, Samantha and Alexandra!

A brother/sister meet up!  The Amanda’s will be new Junior girls, and their brothers Jordan & Jeremy will be Upper Inters.

Brett, looking dapper!

Name: Brett Levine

Years at Camp: 7 going on 8!!
Hobbies When You’re at Home: Singing, Acting and Hanging out with my friends.
Secret Talent: Has yet to be discovered…
Favorite Camp Activity: Definitely cooking.
Funny Camp Memory: loosing battle of the sexes and having to sing with my division at lineup.
Advice for a First Time Camper: Live every moment to the Fullest and try everything! Enjoy your time at camp because it goes by so quickly!!!
Something You Learned at Camp: I learned that I could still have an amazing time even though I was away from home and didn’t have my parents with me.
I never leave for camp without my… iPod.
If I could have any job in the world it would be… Either performing or a job at camp!!
My favorite place I’ve traveled is… Disney.
One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love listening to music.
One fun fact about me is… I have two dogs and a sister who is going to be an upper senior this summer!

It’s the winter, and that means travel season for all of us who work full time at camp!  I wanted to tell you about some of my recent journeys, and I hope you’ve been following along through the facebook group, twitter and instagram as Eric & Matt went to Eastern Europe, Brian & Cara went to Michigan, Ohio and Western PA, and Eric went to New Zealand and Australia!

My first trip was to Maryland for a camp fair.  We offer bus transportation from Bethesda to camp, so we went down to spread the word!

Jason “JCal” Calabretta is a Senior at Geroge Washington University in D.C., so I got to spend a bunch of time with him.  He came to both days of the fair, and showed me around D.C. at night.  JCal is an amazing volunteer, he worked so hard at the fairs!

The highlight of the weekend was getting to see our existing Canadensis families in Maryland!  Pictured above from left to right:

Lauren, Freshman Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

Emily, Freshman Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

Dani, Junior Counselor, 10th summer at camp.

Haley, Upper Inter Girl, 4th summer at camp.

Ben, Super Senior Boy,2nd summer at camp.

Marshall, Lower Inter Boy, 4th summer at camp.

Jes, Lower Inter Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

We sort of turned it into a Maryland Canteen on the Fly, and decorated t-shirts!

On the second day of the fair, Pete Skurman came to volunteer as well…he was a huge help, especially when he used his Spanish skills to speak with an interested family – muy impresionante!Volunteer all day, and get some t-shirts!  Here are some “new” vintage shirts I found for Pete & JCal as a thank you for spending their weekend with me!

The next big trip for work was to Paris for more camper recruitment! We attended 3 camper fairs at bilingual schools.  Having a small number of French campers at Canadensis each year has added an exciting dynamic to our program.

Liam has been at camp for the past two summers, and it was so great to see him and his mom!  He is currently in 7th grade, and his Bar Mitzvah is only a few weeks away.  School is incredibly busy for him, but he’s still finding ways to have fun!

Dave came on the trip and was a huge help navigating a foreign country, and talking to interested parents where there were 5+ families waiting to get information about all the activities we have at Canadensis!  When we weren’t at the fairs, we walked a lot – we trekked over 20 miles exploring Paris, and it was great to see the city on foot!

Later today I’m off to Arizona for staff recruitment…can’t wait to see our 2012 staff members, and find awesome new people to join us in 2013!  My travel isn’t even halfway done, so stay tuned!

I recently got to spend some time in Rye Brook, Westchester, NY.  I was visiting with Zoe, a current 3rd grader that will be an Upper Junior Girl this summer.  She’s really sweet, and although she’s been at camp for the past two visiting days – I really first got to know her during the Tour & More Weekend last summer, check out her photo above.  Here are some things you need to know about Zoe:

• She is a good writer will write many more letters home than her brother – her parents agree!
• Zoe’s favorite color is red (maybe she’ll be on the red team for Revolutionary War Day on July4th?) and for Color War she wants to be on the blue team…because it’s harder to find gold shirts!
• She plays soccer every season – winter, spring, fall, and of course she’ll be playing at camp this summer!  She just started playing in a new indoor winter soccer league.
• She has a seashell collection in her room.
• She had lots of books in her room, including a collection of  “summer camp” books.
• If she could redecorate her room, she would paint animals all over her walls.  Her favorite animal is a monkey, but right now the only pet she has are the fish that have a tank in her room.
• She’s a good cook, and her specialty is cupcakes!  She once was trying to decorate cupcakes like a soccer ball, but it turned into a smiley face 🙂
• Zoe is excited for the lake activities at camp!  She has been on the water trampoline and water mat in the lake, and is excited to do more activities.
• She is a snow skier, she’s gone skiing in a lot of places, including Colorado.
• She loves 1D (the band One Direction, in case you didn’t know the lingo…)
• She plays the guitar (awesome!)
• She plans on choosing glass fusion for some electives this summer!

Her older brother Zachary is a current 5th grader, who will be an Upper Inter Boy this summer.  Zachary started at Canadensis with the Tour & More Program in 2010, but I won’t post a picture since it’s not “Throwback Thursday”!  This will be his third summer at camp, and he’s been enjoying spending time with the Bunk 9 guys, especially at the camp reunion.  He had great stories about last summer, including a few about his CIT Jordan “JMitch” Mitchell – it’s always great to hear the impact that our oldest campers have on Lower Camp.  During the winter, Zach has been playing basketball and soccer.  He also really loves roller hockey at camp and can’t wait for CHL (Canadensis Hockey League) this year.

Always love to spend time with returning siblings too!  In Short Hills, NJ, I caught up with Sam, a current 7th grader who will be a Lower Senior this summer – first time on Senior Side!  Lots of new things are in store for Sam, (and all the Lower Seniors) at camp this year.  He is in the process of preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, he’s listening to the parsha once a week on his iPhone (my how times have changed, I used to have to pause and rewind it on my walkman!).  Sam has also been seeing lots of camp friends this year has also started taking tennis lessons because he liked it so much at camp!  He’s a busy guy, doing lots of homework – and he’s looking forward to baseball league this Spring.  He saw the custom iPhone case I made (see below) and said he’d want to make one with the Geico Gecko!

Lexi is a current 5th grader, and will be an Upper Inter this summer.  I can’t believe it’s already going to be her 3rd summer at camp!  She loved soccer at camp this summer so she started playing in the fall and really enjoyed it – she was excited to hear that “the Smasher” was returning and thought that my upcoming trip to London to hire staff was really cool.  Lexi had a great time at the reunion, all of last years Bunk 9 decided to work together and won more than 2000 tickets in the arcade!  They decided to get a bunk prize, so they all got rubber ducky’s – hers is orange, so cute!  She’s been busy taking dance lesson, and spent winter break in Los Angeles visiting her family out there. One of her favorite memories from last summer was the “HCM”…Hot Chocolate Mission…I can’t give you too many details, but let’s just say it sounded awesome!!!

Here’s a picture of my current cell phone case…it’s just a clear case, but I used the Silhouette tool to cut out some paper with my name.  I put it between my phone and the clear case, and it looks awesome – plus I can easily change it daily based on my mood!  This is just one of the different types of projects we can make in the new Stationery elective this summer!

It always awesome spending time with new campers!!  Annabelle is a current 3rd grader, who will be a new Upper Junior Girl at camp this summer.  She lives in Philadelphia, and without a doubt they are the Canadensis family that lives closest to me, so I just walked over to visit!  Here’s what you need to know about Annabelle:

• She has an awesome bedroom, with an antique doll house that once was her moms!
• She’s an artist, in the photo above she’s holding a cool stuffed animal with a roll out tongue that she made at Handworks Studio.
• She’s already climbed up two of our rock wall paths on visiting day, can’t wait to see her master all of them this summer!  (she even had a broken pinky at the time!)
• Annabelle once camped out in her backyard, and can’t wait for the overnight!
• She loves Grease, and thinks we should do it as the camp show – I’ll definitely suggest it!
• She has dressed up and performed as Katy Perry in a talent show.
• She can’t wait for Glass Fusion, and might also big the ceramics wheel as an elective.  She has her own ceramic wheel at home, so she’ll be ready to try our big ones this summer!
• She likes our surfboards, and is excited to do more activities on the lake.
• She wants to be on the Gold Team (in part, because she has blonde hair).
• Even though archery was hard for her at day camp last summer, she’s still excited to do it at Canadensis!
• Her guinea pig is named “Sarah” and her dog is named “Jordan”.
• She is a Yankee’s fan (in Philly!) – just like me!
• She loves crafting so much that she was on her way to A.C. Moore after I left!

Annabelle’s big brother is a returning camper.  Eli is a current 5th grader who will be an Upper Inter Boy this summer.  Since I visited on Martin Luther King Day, he was having a sleepover with one of his bunkmates.  Lucas is also a 5th grade, Upper Inter Boy, who is excited to return to Canadensis for his second summer.

Next up was a trip to Penn Valley, where I visited with Lindsay, a current 3rd grader that will be an Upper Junior Girl.  Lindsay is SO ready for camp, she’s watched Today Shows, seen tons of pictures, and even spent two nights at camp!  She has done Tour & More for the past two summers, and above is her picture from 2012.  Here are some things you need to know about Lindsay:

• She loves the banana boat and rock wall already – has already tried both!
• She loves basketball, soccer, gaga, gymnastics and dance.
• She is also very artistic, she showed me an awesome pillowcase she made at handwork studio – it was blue & gold and embroidered with “Canadensis” – amazing!
• I was also impressed with the beads she wove together to spell out her name, and the bracelets she made.
• She loves to be on stage, was just recently John Valjean in Les Miserables.
• She is reading all of the Harry Potter books, for the second time!
• Lindsay loves riding her bike at home, and makes her bed (most of the time!)
• She can’t wait for all the activities at camp – we are going to have to make sure she gets enough sleep!
• She’s a big snow skier (can’t wait to see her on waterskis!) and she has a whole scrapbook of all the vacations she’s been on.
• She wants to be on the blue team so she can use the color hairspray, and was wondering if she’ll be on the same team with her big sister.  (FYI, only CIT’s are guaranteed to be on the same team as their sibling – but if siblings end up on opposite teams, they can share blue & gold items, and celebrate whoever wins!)
• She’s already planning what kind of water gun she wants to use for the HUGE after visiting day water fight!
• She is outgoing, fun, and ready to try anything!
• Lindsay is going to be missed a lot at home…especially because she has great eyes, and her parents loved that she could pick out her older sister in every single picture on the website, no matter how small!

Which brings me to Anna, a current 4th grader that will be a Lower Inter Girl, and this will be her second year at camp!

It was so good to see her, and talk about last summer!  She said her favorite place in camp was the rock climbing wall… or the summit – she couldn’t decide, but said both were even better than cooking!  She’s been busy doing a lot of reading, including a set of books sent to her as a gift from Jen Romberg, her group leader and counselor last summer.  It was such a kind and unexpected surprise, and Anna’s been loving the Lemony Snicket series!  Anna was in the camp show Annie last year, and she suggested The Music Man for 2013…great idea!

Younger brother William has started kindergarten, and he was building legos during my visit.  He very quickly put together a model car without any help!  We all posed for this fun and silly photo above.  Lindsay loaned me a clown nose, while she used a balloon as a mustache!  Anna has an awesome blonde curly wig, and all the “props” in the photo are great examples of some of the fun and silly things that are good to pack for camp!  Always think about how things can serve double purposes at camp, the wig is great for dress up evening activities, and will come in handy for gold team during color war!

Check out some of Anna’s camp memories from 2012!  She has a box full of letters and awards from camp (she received the Fabric Arts award!), and she used stickers to spell the names of all her Bunk 4 camp friends.  The poster on the right is some of her favorite pictures from last year – awesome!!

Name: Mel Sukonik

Years at Camp: This is going to be my 8th summer at camp.

Hobbies When You’re at Home: Lacrosse, running, eating, sleeping, being with my friends.

Secret Talent: I can touch my tongue to my nose.

Favorite Camp Activity: Tennis!

Funny Camp Memory: Making up songs with my bunk.

Advice for a First Time Camper: Laugh with your bunk! The little fights are unimportant and not worth your time. You will end up laughing about them later on anyway!

Something You Learned at Camp: Don’t forget to ask if anyone needs anything! (D.A.N.A)

I never leave for camp without my… DS. You never know when you want to play an intense game of mario cart!

If I could have any job in the world it would be… A singer (if I could sing…)

My favorite place I’ve traveled is… St. Thomas.

One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love to be active! Camp has so much to offer each day and I love every part of it.

One fun fact about me is… The first and only time I’ve been stung by a bee was on my eyelid!

Name: Maddie Hecht

Years at camp: This will be my 8^th year at camp!

Hobbies when you’re at Home: I play soccer, I hang out with my friends and I love to eat

Secret talent: I am really good at impersonating movie characters

Favorite camp activity: Canacapella

Funny camp memory: THE HIKING TRIP

Advice for a first time camper: Make every second count. Where else would you be able to have a sleepover with 12 of your best friends for seven weeks straight?

Something you learned at camp: Don’t forget to ask D.A.N.A (does anyone need anything?)

I never leave for camp without… my blankie 🙂

If I could have any job in the world it would be… a famous person that can sing and dance!

My favorite place I’ve traveled is… Bermuda

One thing my campers will learn about me is… I’m always enthusiastic and I love camp so much!!!