Buddies Intensive Camper Program
For adolescents with special needs, ages 12-15
$680/week
Important Notice! In an effort to keep the integrity and effectiveness of our special programs such as Special Needs Campers (40), Buddies Intensive (8), Junior Camp Counselors (12), and Yak Apprentice (12) there will be a cap for participants each week, noted in parentheses. Once the cap is reached, a wait list will be generated. Please don’t wait to register because these programs fill up fast!
Registration Opens April 17th at Noon
Buddies Intensive Camper Program
For adolescents with special needs, ages 12-15
$680/week
Important Notice! In an effort to keep the integrity and effectiveness of our special programs such as Special Needs Campers (40), Buddies Intensive (8), Junior Camp Counselors (12), and Yak Apprentice (12) there will be a cap for participants each week, noted in parentheses. Once the cap is reached, a wait list will be generated. Please don’t wait to register because these programs fill up fast!
Registration Opens April 17th at Noon
Week 3: Under the Sea
Diving into Week 3
Hello friends! It is time to swim through a new week of Camp. We are eager to get started with this deep-sea adventure. This week, we are focusing on everything under the sea! It will be a splash learning about marine life through art and other cool projects. With lots of aquatic games and activities planned, we are more than positive that this wonderful week of Camp will be one of the wettest! We are so excited to have all of our young scuba divers joining us for this deep-sea adventure!
Day 1
It is officially our third magnificent Monday at Camp! We had such a fun fishy first day back after the weekend. Our young scuba divers
made a delicious "under the sea" snack today in Cooking. It consisted of yogurt, rice cakes, graham crackers, and a few gummy fish! Today, our Buddies made jellyfish and got to play with Play-Doh! Over in Yak Academy, we worked in groups to color in giant squid drawings. They were massive, and took a lot of awesome teamwork to complete! In Chit Chat, we had a great time drawing fish with colored markers. We could either color our fish's scales before gluing them on, or draw straight on our fish!
Since it is the beginning of a new week, our Explorers Red set their group norms for themselves for everyone to follow! In Games, we played a ton of soccer. From drills to an actual soccer game, everyone loved this new activity! Meanwhile, we made delicate and whimsical hanging jellyfish structures in Discovery! Our friends in Friendship gathered in a circle and tossed a yarn ball, creating a link between all of them. This activity taught us that we are all connected in some way or another! In Projects, we read the book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. After, we colored in and decorated fish coloring sheets with glitter glue! We are feeling so bubbly after this maritime Monday!
Day 2
We had a terrific Tuesday at Camp today! Our Explorers Red dived into identifying different emotions and then checked in with groups. They also reviewed yesterday's group norms. After, they split up and helped out the younger scuba divers in their classes! Our Explorers Blue used painting sticks and metallic sharpies to color on black paper and see how the colors showed up. They also spent some time outside, enjoying the cooler weather!
Our Yak Apprentices focused on their inner voices today, also known as their inner coaches and critics. They learned that these voices can help, but can also hurt. Later, they had adapted PE with an obstacle course, which was new and fun! Our Buddies decorated fish attached to a fishing pole. They
also had a lot of fun playing with stamps! In Discovery, we worked on an art project beneath the waves by creating sea life below the surface! Over in Friendship, we played with sensory bins filled with different ocean-themed materials and shells. The shells had various acts of kindness written on them! We read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems today in Projects, and then made our own knuffle bunnies with paper and staples. What a great Tuesday at Camp!
Day 3
We had such a wonderful Wednesday at Camp with so many water activities! In Games, we did our best to beat the heat with water relays. We also had an epic water bottle flip challenge! Our chefs had quite the adventure in Cooking today. They made vanilla muffins with either blueberry or chocolate chips added in. Yum! Today in Mindfulness, we played a memory game called "Moose." We came up with gestures for different animals, and then acted them out in a circle! Our Explorers Blue painted rocks today! They also had a great time completing puzzles, reading books, and playing in the sensory bin with rice and beans!
The Yak Shack is going great for our Yak Apprentices! It is a huge success and everyone is so thankful that it is so busy. Today, our Buddies had fun making ocean headbands and playing with slime. They also got to cool off outside with a water sensory bin! Over in Discovery, we made super cool sea glass and salt sculptures. In Friendship, we played "Icebreaker Bingo" and got to know all of our friends. Nothing like a Wednesday at Camp!
Day 4
We are back for a delightful Thursday at Camp! Today in Games, we stayed out of the sun and played a ton of indoor board games. We focused on being good winners and losers while playing! Over in Cooking, we made a delectable Hawaiian fruit salad using a variety of tropical fruits. Yum! After our Explorers Red did their morning check-in and schedule review, they had a quick lesson on perspective and compromise. They have been learning so
much this week! Our Explorers Blue had an exciting day making either a paper plate fish, octopus, or jellyfish. They also sang along to their favorite musicals!
Our Yak Apprentices learned about self-confidence today. Self-confidence and believing in oneself is not always easy. Just like everything else, it requires practice! Later in the day, they had adapted PE with beanbags. It was a lot of fun! Our Buddies explored the sea by making jellyfish out of pipe cleaners. They also got to paint today too! In Discovery, we made fancy fish
out of all sorts of materials. We used paint sticks and markers to color our fishes, and glitter and gems to decorate them! Over in Friendship, we learned about conflict resolution. We started in a circle and and went through different scenarios using ocean-themed characters. The characters worked together to try and solve conflicts! After, we made scenario cards with matching solutions. In Chit Chat, we had so much fun complimenting our friends! The rule was, whoever had the beach ball in their hands had to compliment someone near them. Such a lovely Thursday at Camp!
Day 5
We had a fantabulous Friday at Camp today! We ended the week on a strong note in Games with open gym time. Some of our young scuba divers' favorite activities were basketball and scooter racing! Our Mindfulness activity today required self-reflection through a "body scan." We reflected on whether we felt hungry or full, tense or relaxed, and more. After, we played dinosaur tic-tac-toe! Our Explorers Blue got to experience painting on cardboard. It was so fun to try something new!
Our Yak Apprentices spent their Friday celebrating Michael's birthday with an epic basketball game! They did a fantastic job this week, and deserved some social time together. Our Buddies made super cool seashells out of paper plates and played with shaving cream today! In Discovery, we drew our favorite sea creatures as big as we possibly could. In Friendship, we loved completing a beach-themed scavenger hunt with all of our friends! It was definitely a challenge. We had a colorful time in Yak Academy with rainbow scratch paper! It was
a great sensory activity for our young scuba divers. While eating our well-earned popsicles at the end of the day, we welcomed a special visitor! Our longtime friend Rick Huddle visited us and performed songs from his album Arrrr! Pirates Have Feelings Too. Best way to end our week at Camp by farrrr!