Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with summercamp

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah ... Oy veh! Why am I here at camp for so long?

scblackman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:35:43 -0800

So why is it that we Jews send our children to sleep-away camp for so long (4 weeks - 8 weeks)? My wife, who is not Jewish, was always amazed at the fact that my summer camp experiences were always 8 weeks away from home. For me, it was perfectly normal. Of course, so was having camp counselors who sang songs about how much they missed eating bacon. Tonight she came home, and after telling me about a colleague of hers from work who is sending his kids away to a (Jewish) summer camp for a month, she asked me, "Why exactly do Jews send their kids away to summer camp for so long? Is it a tradition? How long has it been going on for?"

Frankly, I had no good answer. All of my peers, when I was growing up, went away for the summer, as did I. My wife, on the other hand, knows only of day-camps and occasionally a one-week sleep-away type thing (organized, I'm sure, by their church).

As you can tell, from this question being posted on Shabbot (with me typing, and not my wife), I'm hardly what you'd call orthodox. As such, I simply may have missed the explanation along the way. Any ideas? Is her observation, in fact, accurate? Is sending kids away for 4 or 6 or 8 weeks during the summer primarily a Jewish thing?

Name that tv show!

NekulturnY — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:24:43 -0800

Name that tv show from the eighties. I vaguely remember a television series that was quite heavy on the aspirations: it showed a bunch of kids on a summer camp zapping around on motorised quads, buggies, speed boats, ponies, bmx bikes and all the other stuff I so badly wanted as an eight year old.

Plots seemed to involve the same bad guy if I remember correctly. I distinctly remember an episode with a bush fire. I think it was Canadian.

Google didn't help, but maybe my fu was low.

Have your kids learn how to kill people!

Phire — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:23:32 -0800

A few years ago, Amnesty International (I think) ran an awareness campaign about child soldiers by putting up posters about a summer camp where they could send their kids to be tortured, molested, beaten, and taught how to use rifles. Where is it? I remember seeing this on MeFi, and it may or may not have been Amnesty International. Either way, the website itself was a flash based site and you could look at details for the shooting range and the obstacle course and the cabins and whatnot. Apparently there were posters for this in downtown Toronto and there were a lot of outraged parents who didn't quite get that it was meant to be an awareness campaign.

I can't for the life of me remember what the camp was called, but I remember it being a really well done site. Does anyone else recall this?

Where to find nurses and lifeguards to work at a short camp?

rmless — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:40:25 -0800

Where should I look to find lifeguards and nurses to staff the short non-profit camp in Maine that I help run? Each year we seem to run into some problems with finding lifeguards and nurses and I am wondering if there is a group of people I should tap or website that I should be posting on that I've missed.

The camp runs the last two weeks of August (19- Sept 1), which rules out a bunch of college and high school students who have to go back to school at that time.

We run on a pretty small budget so while we do offer stipends for working there, we can't cover more than $100 of transportation costs per person so we can't ship people in from Europe or something like that.

We've so far tried: posting on Idealist, Craigslist, and contacting other camps in Maine directly to see if their counselors want to stay after normal camp session to work at ours.

Any other ideas?

Taps

buriedpaul — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:35:19 -0800

I'm looking for information about a basketball game we used to play at summer camp a hundred years ago called Taps. Here's how we used to play: one person would take foul shots. He'd get a point if he scored a basket. The other person would stand under the basket. If the shooter missed, he'd try to jump and -- while in the air -- "tap" the ball in. He had three tries to score a basket this way; if he tapped the ball in he'd get two points. If the shooter missed three shots in a row or the other guy tapped the ball in, they'd switch places. We played either to 11 or to 21, and, to win, the shooter, after scoring the required number of points, had to hit a final shot from the top of the key.

Until recently, when I saw some kids playing it in Brooklyn, I thought it was unique to the camp. They were playing it a little differently, so I'm curious if the game's regional and, if the rules vary, I'm interested to hear about the game's different forms. (Note: it's not this game, but it's similar, sort of. Also, these kids are great.)

It's not gonna be "Camp Doyouwannalayme"

gavia — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 19:49:29 -0800

Can you provide some name suggestions for a summer camp? Calling all those former campers out there: I'm looking for some suggestions for a name of summer camp. While I don't think it's entirely relevant, this is a summer camp for adults.

We're looking for a name that:

-is easy to spell if you've only heard it spoken
-isn't a first-nations-based (or sounding) (e.g. "Camp Cherokee)
-may have metaphorical significance
-has some relationship to the natural world or a classic camp activity
-could be turned into a .com

But really, any idea would be appreciated.

Camp/gym games that can be played by youth with disabilities?

The Wig — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 16:21:19 -0800

Camp/gym games that can be played by youth with disabilities? (with bonus game already inside the box!) What are some good games that can be played by 15-30 kids aged 13-30 with mental and mixed physical handicaps (from in wheelchairs to fully mobile)?

Can you suggest a favourite game from your own experience as a camp counsellor/camper that can be adapted for this kind of group? It's impossible to accommodate everyone and their abilities but some games can come pretty close and still be fun.

In case you've never worked with youth with disabilities, here is an example of a game I adapted and play at the camp where I work.

Ultimate Frisbee is almost impossible to play with a group like this. Kids in a wheelchair or with otherwise limited mobility have a hard time catching a frisbee because of their limited mobility and many of them cannot throw a frisbee any great distance or with any accuracy (neither can I for that matter).

So at the camp where I work, instead of Ultimate Frisbee, we play Ultimate Hoola. The rules are the same as Ultimate Frisbee, except the game is played with a Hoola hoop. Anyone can throw a Hoola hoop, and anyone can catch one, all you have to do is get an arm inside it (or your whole body, wheelchair included). Completely immobile kids can even be included, as staff can pass to them and easily 'ring toss' the Hoola hoop onto them (doesn't sound as fun as it is!). You'd be amazed at how into the game the kids get, most sports that involve passing and catching can be very frustrating for them to play.

I want to work in Amer-i-ca.

Lotto — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:33:21 -0800

I'm considering what to do with myself next summer (I know it's a long way off), and have hit upon the rather vague idea of working as a counselor at an Arts/Music Camp of some type, in America. I like in the UK and there isn't quite the same tradition of Summer Camp. How do I go about finding somewhere I'd like to work and finding out if they'd like me? I've done some vague googling and turned up a few places, but I'd really like some more insight from people that know about these things. I'm a violinist/trumpeter in my first year of University (studying Music), and I'd definitely want to be at somewhere where I can use that, by coaching ensembles or whatever. I don't want to apply to Camp America, which does place students on summer camps, but they don't seem to do specific music ones.

So, give me your recommendations of good, reputable arts/music summer camps in the US!

Zeroach-a-roach a-rolla rock!

arielmeadow — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 22:46:43 -0800

Does anyone know anything about this cup-passing game? (that's a 12mb .avi) I learned the game at summer camp in 1990. It's got gibberish lyrics ("entree, zeroach-a-roach a-rolla rock, poka a lina poke, a lina berry chook a chook a chook!") and I assume at some point it was a drinking game. Anyone recognize it? Can anyone tell me where it came from or what the lyrics mean? It's hard to google since the lyrics are gibberish and impossible to spell. Searches for "cup-passing game" revealed seemingly unrelated games.