Term 3: 1..2..Term 3 Let's Go!
July 6, 2024
Term 3 at Camp Balcones Springs– our unique three-week session of summer camp – has kicked off with a ton of PHUN! On Sunday night, we began camp with our classic camp tradition – team initiation – where old campers put on their red, green, purple, or blue to welcome new faces to Camp Balcones Springs onto one of four camp teams, the Texas Rangers, Rough Riders, Silver Spurs, or Texas Rangers. Boys and girls will compete in various games and events over the course of the term with their teams.
The start of camp also included our New Camper Ice Cream Social where we bring all first-time campers together to meet and chat over delicious ice cream sundaes. Many new friendships are already forming between campers from different cities.
Campers got started with their major and minor activities this week. In Arts & Crafts, boy and girl campers are exploring painting and ceramics. Projects from the week include embossed oyster shells rimmed with gold shellac - perfect vessels for bedside jewelry or coins – and watercolor still life paintings.
Meanwhile in canoeing and kayaking, campers spent their first day mastering the “J turn,” the most common maneuvering tactic for kayaking! As campers gained experience, we ended class with a race!
Monday evening, we held our epic Counselor Hunt night event! During the Counselor Hunt, around 35 of our counselors hide in secret places (even trees!) all across camp as boy and girl campers search for them. Each counselor is worth a certain amount of “money” based on the difficulty of their hiding places, and campers are able to later redeem their findings for special prizes. Some of this term’s hiding spots were the best they have ever been! Counselors were up in trees, in bushes, and even hiding on roofs!
Once all of the counselors were found, we all gathered in the gridiron for a live auction where campers could use the “points” they earned from finding counselors as “money” to choose prizes! Garner Cabin – one of the most successful searchers of the evening – got to leave Counselor Hunt and go to Sonic for a special treat because of their bounty! Rayburn Cabin won pet rocks, and we have never seen a cabin more excited! These new members of Rayburn cabin all have names and special arrangements in their cabin already. Angelina Cabin won the “clone any prize” option, and they chose Chick-fil-a breakfast in bed!
On Tuesday, the Work Crew campers – our oldest boys and girls who serve in the camp kitchen – did a cardboard run (collecting cardboard throughout camp to take to our recycling station), and we turned it into a game of Mission Impossible! Campers had gel blaster water toys and used the cardboard as shields while they were breaking it down. Has a cardboard collection ever gone faster? Probably. But it’s certainly never been more phun!