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Halloween 2009 at Kennolyn Camps

We celebrated Halloween 2009 in style at Kennolyn Camps this year!

Magician and Santa Cruz legend Mickey Magic performed his show for the kids. He was, as always, a huge hit!

Mickey even conjured up a couple fuzzy baby bunnies, which the kids were very excited to see.

"Dorothy Gale" was particularly fond of this little bunny.

The weather was unseasonably beautiful; lots of folks came out to visit for the games, pumpkin carving, cookie decorating and trick or treating!

This little Dracula (and dad) are having fun under the parachute. Because, as we all know, vampires hate the sunlight!

The parachute was almost as colorful as this little peacock.

Even The Flash zoomed in for some candy and fun - gotta keep that energy up!

See more Halloween 2009 pictures on our Flickr page!

3rd Annual Kids n' Trees Event

The 3rd annual Kids n' Trees Event was held at Kennolyn Camps on October 25th, and just like previous years it was a huge success!

 

Kids n' Trees is an event put on by Friends of Main Street and Nature First Tree Care to benefit the art and music program of Main Street School in Soquel CA.

We had games, nature hikes, face painting, a bounce house, a farmer's market and more!

Be sure to click over to our Flickr page where you can see more pictures from Kids n' Trees!

Halloween at Kennolyn :: Details!

Come have fun on Halloween at Kennolyn Camps!

There will be free: Trick or Treating, pumpkin carving, cookie decorating, and a performance by Mickey Magic!

Games, bounce house, face painting and climbing wall will be available in special kid's play area for a $2 donation to PCS School.

When: Halloween Day, Saturday October 31st from 1-4pm

Where: Kennolyn Camps 8205 Glen Haven Road Soquel CA 95073

We hope to see you here! If you need any more information, please call our offices at 831-479-6714

Halloween at Kennolyn

 

Halloween is just around the corner, and this year Kennolyn will be hosting an afternoon of fun with games, candy, and trick or treating!

Mark your calendars and come on out to our Stone Creek Village on Saturday, October 31st from 1-4pm.

We'll post more information as the day approaches, so stay tuned!

A World On Pause: The Joys Of Being Unplugged At Summer Camp From A 16-Year Old Experiencing It

by Cassie Goldring

Originally Posted on The Huffington Post: September 3, 2009 01:02 AM

(Note: This was written while at summer camp, and posted and edited upon return).

It was another stormy night in the Maine woods. The rain pounded on the shutters and roof of our cabin as we sat huddled together in our Crazy Creek chairs, drowning out the sound of thunder with our laughter. The time, the date, the day of the week, the shows we were missing, the movies which we didn't get to see, the status of our Facebook pages - everything that we usually deemed "important" in our daily lives, all completely forgotten. All that mattered was the present moment. It is a moment such as this, when a group of 16-year old girls can be released of the everyday pressures of the "real world" and simply enjoy themselves in the comfort of close friendship that is a rare gift too few are lucky enough to experience. I write this article while I am fortunate enough to be experiencing this gift firsthand.

After seven amazing, sometimes difficult and trying, years at my all-girls 7-week camp in Maine, I find myself too soon faced with the last weeks of my final summer at the place that has in so many ways shaped the person I am today. Currently sitting cross-legged on the rickety top bunk bed in a cabin without air conditioning that houses 37 girls from various place across the U.S.A., one may wonder why I am spending my time hand-writing an article for the Huffington Post. This, however, exemplifies the exact point I am trying to make.

As a 16 year-old girl, turning in my Blackberry to the camp director before stepping onto the bus, not to see or hold it again for 7 weeks, was certainly not my ideal way to begin my summer vacation. However, once my Blackberry was pried from my fingertips, the entire outside world was soon forgotten and I entered the indestructible, protective bubble of camp.

With only my iPod and the occasional supervised phone privilege to call parents or friends, I am otherwise utterly and completely removed and unplugged from technology and the outside world. This forces me to find new ways of spending my down time. This task, however, is not so difficult when I have 36 of my best friends in the same boat as I am.

I have come to realize that falling asleep immersed in a good book or after a good laugh cannot be compared to forcing myself to keep my eyes open in order to watch the last five minutes of 24 before I pass out. It is not until we are removed from the constant flow of technological communication and media bombardment when we can actually realize how we can live more fulfilling lives.

Although I do at times find myself writing my older sister a letter home begging her to send me a copy of my Facebook wall and update me on the recent episodes of Entourage which I have missed while I am away, the opportunity to put the outside "world on pause" and enjoy a stress-free summer can only truly be experienced in one place: camp.

Camp has taught me to become a more productive person. It has forced me to step back and enjoy my beautiful surroundings without distraction, and fill my days with walks around the grounds, or a swim in the lake, rather than a full day of computer and TV. Camp has taught me that I can make the most out of any situation and how to live in the present moment. It has provided me with the opportunity to make lifelong friendship bonds, and given me the tools for situations I will undoubtedly experience in the future. Looking back, I realize how truly fortunate I have been in this day and age to now have spent nearly 49 weeks of my formative pre-teen and teenage years "unplugged" at summer camp.

Although camp is an amazing place that many people will not have the privilege and opportunity to experience, I believe everyone should try to incorporate the benefits of camp into their own lives in some shape or form. I encourage people to take a minute out of their busy day, turn off their iPhones, Blackberries, TVs and computers (as difficult as that may be) and just take in the present moment. Do something different with your time, even if it's just talking in person with a friend for 5 minutes without being interrupted by a vibrating cell phone or email message. There is no better antidote in this period of rapid technological advancement and 24/7 connectivity because it is the best way to remind ourselves that we humans, not robots.

The Kenn-Ducky Derby!

For the second time this year Kennolyn held the Kenn-Ducky Derby, this time during Session Five's Friday Funday!

The track was all laid out...

...and the ducks were ready to race!

The ducks were open to intense scrutiny, as the campers tried to select the speediest ones.

This duck looks fast!

Choose wisely, the ducks may look the same, but they can't all win.

Once all the ducks had been chosen, they were placed together in a bucket of water...

... and waited patiently for the start of the race.

Ready, Set...

...GO!

The ducks flowed fast down the watery track! It was anyone's race...

...as the waves washed over and some ducks got sidetracked from the competition and took up surfing!

There were a few traffic jams, giving the leaders a big stretch as they moved into the lead!

After a few elimination rounds the field was narrowed, and only the fastest of the fast survived to challenge one another in the final race. And the winner is...

... lucky #178!

And just to show how good a sport #178 is, she posed for a picture with her best friend duck (and duck owners) after the race.

Stop Motion Kennolyn

Kennolyn's Cartooning class includes a discussion about animation along with a couple of relevant drawing activities. In Session five we took the concept a little further and discussed stop-motion animation. Stop-motion animation is a series of still photographs played together to create the illusion of movement.

Objects are moved a little bit between each photograph, and when the photos are played together the objects appear to move on their own. Examples of stop-motion animation include Gumby, Wallace and Gromit, and Nightmare Before Christmas.

The students of Session 5 Cartooning became the "objects" to be animated, and we first had them slide back and forth on their benches, taking a new picture after each small movement:

The students then executed a series of jumps in a large circle, pausing between each jump for a new picture to be taken. Played all together, it looks like they are flying!

During our class, a group of campers were playing with stacking cups. They built a large pyramid, and we asked if they would let us click a picture after each level was taken down. Here's what it looks like when the pictures are played together:

That's all, folks!

Hang Ten!

The totally tubular dudes and dudettes at Kennolyn know how to have a good time, that's why they offer surfing as a KC Select activity.

Cast your peepers on these bodacious beach bombers from Session 4.

  

The waves are really boss at the local beaches...

...and so are Kennolyn's surfer girls...

 

...and surfer boys.

Whoa! That's radical!

Cowabunga!!!!

Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world.

Another round ready for takeoff.

Shred it, Big Kahuna!

Don't wipe out!

Sometimes the dolphins come out to play too. (You can see two of them in the background.)

Excellent surfin', dude.

To learn more about Kennolyn's KC Select activities, click HERE...dude.

Boardwalk!

Yesterday the Santa Cruz Boardwalk was again invaded by the "green monkeys."

 

Trips to the Boardwalk are a Kennolyn tradition and one of the most anticipated activities of each session!

There is so much to do at the Boardwalk. There are plenty of rides...

(...look out girls, that guy in front of you isn't looking so good!)

Some of which are more exciting than others.

There are plenty of games of skill and chance, like the milk bottle toss.

We have a winner!!!

There are plenty of healthy and nutritious snacks available too.

These campers are waiting in line for the Haunted House.

You can almost taste the fear!

So much fun, so little time; but even the most die-hard Boardwalkers need a break now and then!

A Great Day for a Swim

Arguably one of the best loved destinations at Kennolyn is the swimming pool!

Summertime and swimming are an inseparable pair when it comes to growing up!

Kennolyn offers plenty of opportunities to get in the pool.

We offer skin diving, board diving, water polo and many other swimming activities...

...not to mention plenty of free swim opportunities throughout each camp session.

It also helps that the weather is almost always "swimming weather" here at Kennolyn.

It's currently 72 degrees at 3pm in the afternoon, and while the younger campers are away at Outpost the older campers are enjoying Water Carnival in the pool right now.

Who wouldn't want to spend their afternoon in such beautiful blue water!

This camper is practicing his water polo spike...

...while his fellow camper practices his block!

Of course the pool is also a nice place to just float and chat.

On a hot day, it's tough to wait through all your other activities until you can make that first jump into the refreshing water!

But once you are there, the wait and the heat are forgotten and time seems to stand still.

At least that is until the bell rings and it's time to get out!

But that time isn't now! Now is the time for one more dive!!!