Organizers say that part of summer camp’s mission is to get children away from their cellphones and Xboxes and enjoy the great outdoors.
This week, about 50 children began doing just that at Western Illinois Youth Camp on the shores of Lake Jacksonville.
“I come to summer camp because it’s fun and there’s a lot to do here,” said Cordell Walker, 13, of rural Arenzville, who is attending his second year at the camp. “I enjoy learning from the camp counselors, and I like doing all the activities.”
Activities during the nine weeks of summer camp include swimming, fishing, hiking, games and crafts.
Among the new activities this are a forestry overnight camp, “Writing Wednesday” and gaga ball, said Kori Daniels, director of Western Illinois Youth Camp.
Forestry overnight takes place at the youth camp June 19-23. During the morning, campers will learn forestry management techniques, such as determining the volume of board feet in a tree, tree identification and hiking trail maintenance.
In the afternoon, forestry overnight campers will have the opportunity to participate in regular day camp activities. And in the evening, there will be a competitive forestry activity, during which campers will earn points for their team by answering questions pertaining to that day’s forestry activities, according to Ed Anderson of rural Concord, a Western Illinois Youth Camp board member who is helping coordinate the forestry overnight.
“During ‘Writing Wednesday,’ we take a portion of our morning to write thank-you notes to civil servants and other community members for their service,” Daniels said. “The idea is to keep kids engaged in learning all summer.”
Daniels said she introduced gaga ball, “a friendly version of dodge ball,” as a fast-paced activity that all the campers could enjoy. She added that Sunrise Rotary Club of Jacksonville donated all the supplies for gaga ball.
Summer camp ends Aug. 11, and registration is still open for all weeks of day and overnight camps, according to Daniels.
“Campers may attend for only one week or for all nine weeks,” she said. “Many of the campers come year after year.”
Daniels said summer camp can be a great experience for children.
“I believe that camp is important because kids are outside learning and growing,” Daniels said. “Kids get to be kids and play while being supervised by caring adults.”
Daniels and 16 other staff members, more than half of whom are teachers, lead activities at the summer camp.
“The kids get to have independence while choosing their activities for the day,” said camp counselor Emily Seymour of Jacksonville, who is in her third year working at the camp. “I feel that’s important because they don’t feel forced to do an activity they’re not interested in.”
