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Have a favourite camp memory? Blog it & share it, comment and help send a kid to camp! #campexpo

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Last year when I participated in promoting Camp Expo 2012, I blogged how going to camp helped me to become the adult I am now.   Last summer, Rachel went off to her first year at camp and can’t wait to go back!

The memories she made in that one week at camp are going to stay with her for a lifetime!

This year, with your help, we can send some kids to camp and help them become amazing adults too!!

Are you a blogger? Do you have a summer camp memory that you’d like to share?

Our Kids Is hosting a Camp Memories Blog Linkup in support of Kids in Camp.

For every post linked up on their Linkup page, they will donate $5 towards sending a kid to camp. 
 
For every comment on this post or on the Our Kids page, they will donate $1 towards sending a kid to camp.

Imagine the camp memories you could help create!!

To join me at the Camp Memories linkup with your own blog post, click here for the instructions.

Be sure to read the instructions, and then add your link here:

Connect with over 60 Camps at the Our Kids Camp Expo!
Talk to camp directors in person and find the right camp for your child.
Register now for free admission on the Our Kids Expo page.

School Memories: My teachers made school great! ~ Our Kids Private School Expo #OKSchoolMem

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I have so may school memories!  When I think back, my memories are all tied to a teacher!

Kindergarten – Miss Brooks
No specific memory jumps out, but I probably remember her because she was my first teacher.

 
Grade 2

Grades 1 and 2 – Mrs Smith
I had Mrs Smith for 2 years.  She is the one who introduced me to Shel Silverstien. I also remember her bringing her cat into our classroom and her giving us birthday spanks  (Can’t imagine either of those things happening these days!)

Grade 3 – Mr Cashmere
He let my friend, Shannon, and I do our work sitting under our desks.  We had created mailboxes that were on top of the desk and we insisted that if anyone wanted to talk to us the had to leave us a note! That was also the year that Shannon and I choreographed a dance routine to “Eye of the Tiger”

Grade 5 – Mr Zavitz
He read us Jacob Tutu and the Hooded Fang.

Grade 8 – Miss Barclay
Miss Barclay was my homeroom teacher.  She was very funny. A lot of the kids in the school either loved her or hated her.  She always gave you that little extra push to do your best and to work harder.  I remember her taking her false teeth out in class one day.  As the school librarian, she had Paul Kropp come into our school and he autographed some of his books.

Highschool – Mrs Wanless and Mr Gaines
Even though I didn’t continue studying music past high school, music was my life while I was at high school  Mrs Wanless was my music teacher and choir director and Mr Gaines was also my music teacher and band director.  They made music so much fun!

I can only hope that Rachel and Lauren’s teacher leave lasting memories for them!
 

I’m participating in the Our Kids Private School Expo Blog Hop. Yesterday’s School Memories post can be found at Did you know Canada?. Tomorrow, the fun is happening at Raising My Boys. Join the conversation!

Twitter: @ourkidsnet
#OKSchoolMem
 

Stay tuned for Twitter Party Dates and times!

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and come September I will remember our camping days and friendships true.

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If you didn’t go to summer camp, or maybe specifically Girl Guide camp, you might not know that the title of this blog is a line from a camp song.

Linger is one of the songs that we would sing at the end of a campfire, especially on the last campfire of camp.

 
Linger
Mm-mm, I want to linger 
Mm-mm, a little longer 
Mm-mm, a little longer here with you. 
 
Mm-mm, it’s such a perfect night 
 Mm-mm, it doesn’t seem quite right 
Mm-mm, that this should be my last with you. 
 
Mm-mm, and come September 
Mm-mm, I will remember 
Mm-mm, our camping days and friendships true. 
 
Mm-mm, and as the years go by 
Mm-mm, I’ll think of you and sigh 
Mm-mm, this is good-night and not good-bye 
Mm-mm.
 
Camp songs hold so many memories for me.  We sang them while on a 10-day canoe trip through Temagami or while doing chores on site.
 
Last weekend I spent time with my mom and the girls camping.  One night sitting around the campfire, Rachel started singing the songs she learned when we were up at Muskoka Woods for the weekend a few weeks ago.  This led into me singing songs that I could remember from when I went to camp.
 
The memories started flooding back… singing “Keep on the Sunny Side” while paddling a canoe through Algonquin park on a 10-day canoe trip. Rachel’s favourite from our Muskoka Woods trip was “The Moose Song“.  She and her new friends got to sing it during campfire.  It’s nice to know that when she goes to camp this summer she’ll know a few songs but she will learn so many new ones.

I’m so excited for her! Rachel is going to get to do a lot of new things at camp this summer…more than just learn new songs.

On OurKids.net there is a nice article about singer-songwriter Amy Sky (one of my favourite artists) where she talks about her time at summer camp:

“Camp broadens your horizons, because you meet people from all over,” says Sky. “And it increases your confidence since you get positive feedback just for trying something new.”

And when she comes home from camp, she’ll have a whole new list of songs to sing, and a lot of memories to go with them.

Do you have a favourite camp song? What does it remind you of?

I’m an Our Kids Brand Ambassador because I love Summer Camp!

Our Kids is Canada’s trusted resource for everything kid – http://www.ourkids.net
Follow the conversation on Twitter and don’t forget to LIKE Our Kids on Facebook

gearing up for camp — teddy bears and all

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With only one month until the end of school, the race to be ready for camp is on!

I’m sure parents everywhere are making lists and checking them twice!  It’s amazing how much stuff one little person needs when they go away.

Rachel’s going to Muskoka Woods and they were very smart to include a list of “what to pack” on their webiste:

  • Hat Bathing suits (no bikinis) 
  • Towels (beach and shower) 
  • Underwear and socks 
  • Pajamas 
  • Several modest shirts/tops and shorts 
  • Several sweatshirts and/or sweaters 
  • Jeans and/or sweatpants 
  • Jacket, raincoat and rubber boots 
  • Flashlight 
  • Sunscreen 
  • Insect Repellent 
  • Toiletries (shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant) 
  • Pillow Blanket/Sleeping bag/ Sheets 
  • Labelled water bottle   
  • Lockable suitcase or trunk 
  • Spending/trust account money 
  • Do not bring valuables such as MP3 players, jewellery or cell phones as Muskoka Woods will not accept responsibility for lost or stolen items.
That’s easy enough.  And I would think that most camps are pretty similar.
Sunscreen and a hat would be number one if I was writing the list but I’m fair-skinned and sun isn’t usually my friend.

(And don’t forget to label everything — Mabel’s Labels – Labels for the stuff kids lose!® )




But Rachel has her additional items that she won’t leave home with out:
  • China – her stuffed dog that she’s had since forever
  • Books to read
  • notebooks for journalling or doodling
The fact that she wants to bring China pulls at my heartstrings.  Everywhere I went, my teddy bear, Knickerbocker, came with me.  Every summer camp, every sleepover at friends’ houses, trips to Grandma and Grandpas.  He was my best buddy.
Knowing how much Knickerbocker means to me, my mom even smuggled him into our wedding.
So now my little girl is off to camp, and her best buddy is going with her.    Guess he’s moving to the top of the list!
What items do your kids bring with them to camp?
What are your priorities when preparing for camp?

I’m an Our Kids Brand Ambassador because I love Summer Camp!

Our Kids is Canada’s trusted resource for everything kid – http://www.ourkids.net
Follow the conversation on Twitter and don’t forget to LIKE Our Kids on Facebook

My daughter is going to summer camp! Is she ready? Am I?

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Summer break for the kids is less 2 months away!!

For us this means weekend camping trips almost every weekend.  We have a camping resort that we go to and the kids love it!  Swimming, riding bikes, camp fires and marshmallow and amazing memories as a family.

But this summer, Rachel will be going away to camp for a whole week.  During the Our Kids twitter party, I won a week at Muskoka Woods!  She’s so excited to be going.  And I’m very excited for her to be going.

As I wrote previously, “I am me because of summer camp“!  It’s very true. Camp gave me experiences and memories to last forever and I hope that this holds true for Rachel.

Now we start the prep for summer camp. We’ll be going to the Muskoka Woods website together so that she can see the photos and videos. Plus they have lists of what to pack and how to prepare.

Over the next few months, we’ll need to talk about how she feels about going away. I can’t just sit her down and make her talk; it will need to come up in conversation when she’s relaxed. I want to know if she scared or nervous, excited and happy.  She could very well have all of those feelings.  Getting ready for camp together, will allow us those times to chat about feeling and emotions.  I’m sure I’ll be emotional too, but I need to be strong for her.

The Our Kids site, has a great eBook “Preparing for Camp” and I know that it will have valuable information to guide me and Rachel through this process.

As an Our Kids Ambasador, I’ll be sharing all our experiences with you over the next few months.  If you have any questions that you want answered about picking a camp, or preparing for camp, please comment below and I’ll be sure to get the answers for you!


Also, check out the other great ambassadors!!

I’m an Our Kids Brand Ambassador because I love Summer Camp!
Our Kids is Canada’s trusted resource for everything kid – http://www.ourkids.net
Follow the conversation on Twitter and don’t forget to LIKE Our Kids on Facebook