Tag: Best camp in Maine sleepaway overnight girls camp

Preparations and anticipation at Camp Runoia

Posted on by Alex

The weeks leading up to the summer camp season are always a little frantic.  May is a month full of preparation and anticipation.  A whole years’ worth of work is rapidly coming to fruition.  The result will be the June arrival of staff and campers to the shores of Great Pond for their amazing summer camp season.  What was once just a concept is rapidly becoming a reality. Preparations for the 2017 summer sleep away camp season are definitely in full swing here at Camp Runoia.

There is the sudden leap into spring here in Maine which generates plenty of outdoor work.  There are sticks that need picking up, grass that needs mowing, flowers that need planting, docks to put in, a beach that requires raking and a myriad of other tasks that need doing right now!  Cleaning up the winter detritus and getting our campus looking beautiful is a high priority.  The longer days allow for more outdoor work and are a great distraction from the office!

I think Camp Runoia probably has it’s own UPS warehouse!

 

The UPS truck is a regular visitor to the Camp Runoia office with daily drops of packages filled with the needed supplies to make the camp program run smoothly.  Soon the food service trucks will be rolling in as we get our kitchen opened up and fully stocked and let’s not forget the oil truck and maybe even the septic guy getting their jobs done before camp opens.

 

At this time of year the names on the shack and staff lists take on more personality as we learn more about our girls and counselors and their hopes and dreams for their summer.  Parents are sharing medical information, travel plans, concerns and excitement for the sleep-away experience.  Staff are making travel plans, getting certifications completed and wrapping up their home lives to free up their summer so that they can be completely present at camp.  Penpal letters will be going out soon so that new campers will feel a stronger connection to their new summer family.

The phone never seems to stop ringing, it’s either the leadership team calling to run something by each other, a parent calling to check on the status of their forms or share a concern or maybe a local young person calling about a kitchen job.  We love talking to people and sharing our excitement for the opening of camp.  New parents read here – the ACA has lot of great articles to help you mentally and physically prepare for your daughters first sleep away camp experience.

We love that our days are filled to the brim and each brings us one step closer to the moment we are looking forward to the most.  When we pass through the Runoia gate and get to be ‘home’ for the summer in the place that we all adore surrounded by a community that supports and sustains each and every member.

Bring it on summer of 2017 we will be ready!

Passing through the Runoia gate into the summer of a lifetime!

 

What Will You Read This Summer?!

Posted on by Pam Cobb

My childhood friend, who has been living abroad with her family for the past 24 years,  recently returned to live in Atlanta, Georgia. I recently reconnected with her and we visited a classic bookstore in St. Pete together.

Each year we add new books to our library and although we try to read them all before we shelf them, sometimes we rely on the expertise of others to determine if it’s a good book for Camp Runoia. Little did I know, I hit the JACKPOT with Ann.

I discovered she had gotten her masters in Library Science while living in Cairo and when she moved to Phnom Penh, she was a librarian in the American School. So, I picked her brain about suggestions of books with female protagonists for the Runoia library.

My to my delight, after our visit she sent me a catalogue of suggested titles with genre, summary and review by Ann. WOW!

Weeks have gone by since I’ve seen Ann and this past week, she emails me out of the blue to say she was so inspired by our night time reading aloud in cabins at bed time, our lending library and our word of the day at assembly that she has been on a mission to bring us books. She has been perusing yard sales in her neighborhood and has collected almost 100 quality books for the Runoia library! She asked if she could drop them off when she is in NE in June. A resounding YES was the answer.
At Runoia, we celebrate reading. It might sound funny that that’s a thing at camp but between Rest Hour reading, reading out loud at bed time and reading by flashlight, summer reading and reading for joy, campers and counselors read an extraordinary amount of books each summer at Runoia. Our typical count is around 7-800 books a summer. And yes, we do count!

We also have a book club each summer. Our Assistant Director, Barb St. Peter, will be selecting and announcing the book this month. Barb runs the club which meets a few times during the session to discuss the book.

Reading as a pastime, for relaxation, for knowledge, discovery or curiosity is a life skill we value at Runoia. Plus is a lot of fun! What books will you bring to camp or take on vacation this summer? If you’re a camper reading this blog, get ready for a new section in the library from my friend, Ann!

Letter Writing at camp Runoia

Posted on by Alex

The lost art of letter writing is found at Camp Runoia

For many people a letter or card written by hand and sent through the post is a rare treat to receive.  There is incredible value in the sending and receiving of letters to and from Camp.  Although modern alternatives may have crept into our regular everyday lives and mail has now often been replaced by type or text, at camp the options are much more limited and therefore pen and paper is the go to form of communication.

Some letters from camp are short and oh so sweet!

A hand written letter, postcard or note-card shows a commitment and acknowledges that a person has taken the time and resources to show how much you are valued. A paper note can be stored under a pillow, treasured and reread over and over. They don’t require an instant or  speedy response or even any response at all, they can be savored and relished.  Camp Runoia parents often tell us years later that they still have those letters from camp as treasured memories of their daughters developing independence.

Content is often deeper and more profound in a letter than it is in a hurriedly typed email or an even shorter text message.  There is not room for emoticons in a pen and paper note, real feelings are expressed carefully using vocabulary that often never appears in type,

A note can communicate messages that may be difficult to address in person or may be impossible if the distance covered is great.  The recipient sits with the content without an immediate verbal response needed.

At Camp Runoia we value the time old tradition of hand writing notes.  People in our community receive ‘real’ mail long before our campers even arrive to the shores of Great Pond.  We send welcome notes, Birthday postcards and of course penpal letters for new campers all before June.  Parents, family members and friends continue to send postal mail during the summer season and while a one way email service is now available some girls still get stacks of ‘real mail’ every day.  Our campers reciprocate those letters filled with love and news from home.  Rest hour is often spent filling up stationary and notecards with tales of camp adventures, new friends, how the food is and what EP’s have been a blast.

The Belgrade Lakes Post Office manages the Camp Runoia mail

The Belgrade Lakes Post Office is near and dear to our hearts and trips to visit can sometimes even be won as EP prizes. The 04918 zip code is imprinted on our hearts.  We are encouraging Runoia Girls to build real life communication skills.

Jen’s Update on the Runoia Horses

Posted on by Pam Cobb

The Runoia horses heard that the chickens and guinea pigs were featured on the blog, and of course, they insisted on being highlighted as well. While most camps rent a herd of unknown horses each summer, at Runoia we own many of our horses, supplemented by a few leases from Dream Acres Equestrian Center, who return year after year.

After camp, most of our horses head back to college! Coco, who celebrated his 10th summer at camp last year, and Verano, who earned his 5 year blanket last summer, were at the University of New Hampshire this winter. Did you know you can take riding as a PE class in college? Coco & Verano, not only work in PE classes, but also show in Intercollegiate (IHSA) competitions with the UNH equestrian team. Additionally, UNH runs a therapeutic riding program for the community and both Coco & Verano are valued assets in that program. They will both participate in the New Hampshire special olympics on June 2nd before they head back to camp. We are proud to have such calm and safe horses in our program and to be able to share them with the kids in the special olympics program.

Johnson & Wales University Equine Center in Rehoboth, MA is the winter home to four of our Runoia horses. At JWU, our horses work in both hunter/jumper lessons with the IHSA team as well as dressage (IDA). Pablo will be back for his 5th summer in 2017. Avatar & Coastal, who were new to Runoia in 2016, will return as well this summer. We are also welcoming a new horse from JWU/Dream Acres, Vale, this summer. Vale is replacing Toby, who is taking it easy this summer. We hear great things about Vale and we are excited to welcome him to our herd.

Ditto and Rory got a reprieve from the New England snow and got to spend their winter in Virginia at the Liberty University Equestrian Center working in the IHSA lesson program. Ditto, back for his 4th summer, and Rory, on summer three, are both gentle giants who take great care with even the tiniest of riders. Dulce, who stables at the Runoia summer barn, has spent the winter in Florida at Fox Lea Farm and won Circuit Champion in the .75 meter Jumpers at the Venice Equestrian Tour.

Prince, who also returns for his 4th summer at Runoia, spent the fall with Jen in Indiana working in a lesson program. He is a favorite in the Interscholastic Equestrian (IEA) circuit known for his great manners and easy going nature. Joining the royal Runoia family is Duke. Natalie (Jen’s daughter) has been busy getting to know her new horse and he will join Jen and Natalie at Runoia this summer.

Flower, who was a wonderful pony in our program last summer, is retiring this spring. But don’t worry, we are leasing two new wonderful ponies, named Cricket & Dazzle. Both of these ponies come to us from Dream Acres and have been in lesson and show programs for years, so we know they will be wonderful ponies.

We hope our returning campers look forward to seeing their favorite horse back at Camp Runoia and we can’t wait to introduce our new campers to our wonderful horses and ponies. Just like you, our horses have been in school all winter long and they are excited for summer. They are well trained, safe, and ready to make 2017 the best summer ever!

Coco, Verano, Pablo, Avatar, Coastal, Vale, Ditto, Rory, Prince, Cricket, Dazzle, Duke and Dulce look forward to seeing you soon!

Maine hunts for spring

Posted on by Alex

Patience is apparently a virtue of which Mainers require an excessive amount.  Spring while allegedly here on the calendar has yet to truly arrive in person.

I write on a day when once again snowflakes are falling from the sky and the ground is still covered in a good amount of the white stuff.  The lakes are still frozen and while there are signs that spring is on the way it still seems like weeks until the grass will be green and the leaves are on the tress.

March came in and went out like a lion this year and it will be April snow showers that hopefully bring May or perhaps they will be June flowers.

 

While it would be easy to complain the general feeling is one of anticipation and even excitement.  There are pussy willows to be spotted along the sides of the roads.  Those days when the temperature’s get over 40 seem balmy and call for picnics on the porch and even shorts!  The days are longer and there are many more birds singing in the trees and geese flying back overhead this time on their way north.  Many a bet is being placed on when the ice will be out on local lakes and generally people are upbeat and hopeful for the new season ahead.

Ice on Great Pond, Belgrade Lakes ME

Every day at our house there is talk of camp.  How many weeks to go? Will the lake warm up quickly? When can we open up our camp house?  Who needs new uniform ordering? Is school almost over?

We cannot wait to see all of our Camp Runoia family and reconnect and embrace the new people that will be joining us.  One of the great things about spring in Maine is how quickly it turns into summer; we just have to make it through mud season first!

See you in June!

Runoia guinea pigs life after camp

Posted on by Alex

Cream Puff and Mount Skittlemore the Camp Runoia guinea pigs were feeling a little jealous that the chickens had their 15 seconds of fame on the Runoia blog so here is their moment of stardom.

Life outside of Camp Runoia is fairly entertaining for everyone’s favorite ‘farm’ pets.  They have a large cage in the living room (‘but mum it’s too cold in the mudroom’!) at the Bolduc-Jacksons so are generally the center of attention.  Most of their day is spent eating  – who knew that 2 such small creatures could eat so much!?  Breakfast is lettuce and leafy greens often with some strawberry tops thrown in, lunch is a delightful blend of guinea pig pellets and all day long the hay buffet is open.  There are always plenty of treats too, their favorites are fresh fruits and veggies but they will happily eat the commercial snacks.

A  change from the summer is that their winter bedding is made of fleece and old towels rather than sawdust and shavings.  It seems to keep them warmer and drier but still needs changing every couple of days.  It helps with waste reduction too as it can just be throw into the wash.

Did you know that we have an entire Runoia Pinterest board dedicated to interesting articles about guinea pig care.  There are even guinea pig birthday cake ideas for those dedicated cavy lovers.

The farm and garden program at Camp Runoia provides campers with the opportunity to experience animal care, grow organic food and learn about farm to table principles.  Many girls enjoy the responsibilities of growing things and taking care of the pets.  We hope that Camp Runoia campers will maximize all of the opportunities that activities at camp have to offer.  Getting to snuggle a guinea pig is certainly a perk.

Cream Puff and Mount Skittlemore look forward to seeing you all back at camp and getting lots of snuggles and snacks from the Runoia vegetable garden.

Sleep away Camp in Maine – ‘the way life should be’.

Posted on by Alex

This past summer a photo journalist from Maine Magazine spent some time with our alumnae at Runoia’s 110th reunion.  It was a bit of a wild and windy day for August but the Camp Runoia warmth shone through.  The reporter was amazed that women of all ages had traveled from near and in some cases very far to join together to celebrate their Maine sleep away camp experiences.  For many the time they had spent as a child at camp had been a very long time ago yet the memories and friendships made had truly lasted a lifetime.

Camp Friends for always!

It is very exciting for us to be featured in the camp issue of the magazine and to get the front cover cameo! How perfect to see alums flicking through the log books that record a hundred years of our sleep away camp history.  Runoia in 2017 still maintains the spirit and some of the activities that girls participated in back in 1907.  We are proud of our heritage, history and traditions.

 

The passion that these women have for Runoia was apparent, they dove into the chilly waters of Great Pond to swim to Oak Island in order to raise money for the scholarship program, sang songs with gusto and shared memories and stories from their childhoods.  Many brought along their family members to share the experience and enjoyed playing and laughing together and sharing meals in the dining hall.

Maine is the perfect place to spend time in the summer, the clear cool lake, usually bright sunny days and nights filled with the cries of the loons make it a relaxing getaway.  Camp still provides girls from many different places the chance to grow and learn together.  They build long lasting relationships, have a chance to embrace the natural world and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

 

Maine Maple Syrup – natures bounty

Posted on by Alex

The sap is running!  It is an exciting time of the year in Maine. After being buried in snow we are so happy to see that  spring is just around the corner.   At this time of year local syrup producers long for cold nights and warm days.  As the air warms up and the signs of spring appear, trees are tapped and buckets of sap collected in order to produce real Maine maple syrup. The temperatures must be below freezing at night and above during the day time. Right now with a thaw happening conditions in Maine are perfect.

Maple syrup comes from sap.

By literally tapping into Mother Nature sap is collected and boiled down in a simple process that produces maple syrup. It does however, take a large quantity of sap, time, patience with the weather and a willingness to get outdoors even with a chill in the air and snow still on the ground.

Maine Maple Sunday is the last weekend in March if you have the chance to pop up to Maine it is a fun time to see the process in action.  Maple Syrup producers are often small, family owned operations that welcome the public to visit and see the all-natural product being made.  Along with the syrup there are always a large selection of yummy maple products to try, our favorites are maple popcorn and maple beans.

 

Great Pond frozen.

Sometimes we wish we had winter camp at Runoia then we could do fun things like this!  Can you imagine skating on Great Pond, cross country skiing around the archery field and warming up by the fire in the Lodge?  Sadly the shacks would be a little chill so I suppose we will have to stick with our summer overnight camp experience.

We are now actively counting down the days until camp! 119 to go.

Camp Runoia chickens in winter

Posted on by Alex

How we keep the Runoia chickens happy in the snow.

You may be wondering what on earth the Camp Runoia chickens are up to during all of this snow in Maine.  It is fun and easy to have the chickens in our Runoia farm program during the summer, the winter takes a bit more planning.

The hens are well cared for and we thought that we would share some of our best tips for keeping the flock safe, warm and laying all winter long.  This latest nor’easter dumped 2 feet of snow on the coop and was certainly a test of our chicken farmer resources.  Typically when the weather is fine the flock free ranges and like to be out and about but once there is snow on the ground they stay in their covered pen attached to the coop.

 

The hens have an insulated coop and are hardy breeds so they don’t mind the cold too much.  They tend to stay inside if it is very cold.  They hate their feet in the snow so we put down lots of straw and shavings to help them keep their toes warm

A heated water bucket is essential they drink a lot even when it is cold and we have to keep it clean and unfrozen.

Grain is kept filled up as they eat much more food in the cold months as there is little available to supplement.  They love tasty, high protein treats which help them to stay warm, dried mealworms look a little gross but they get eaten up quickly.

The girls have surprisingly been laying a lot this winter even though we choose to not put a light in the coop.  Hens typically need around 12 hours of daylight in order to stay in a laying cycle.  That is tough up here in Maine with the short days and usually they stop laying for a couple of months.  Oyster shells keep the eggs coming and stop weak shells forming when there is no dirt to peck at outside.

All in all they don’t seem too bothered by the snow and cold but will be excited to get out free ranging in the Spring.

Need more info about chicken care check out our Pinterest board – ‘Runoia’s backyard chickens’ keeping hens is easier and more fun than you think!

Why choose sleep-away camp at Runoia?

Posted on by Alex

Returning Runoia parents already know about a million reasons why they send their darling daughter off to sleep-away camp at Camp Runoia in Maine for a few weeks each summer.  They are happy to share with us stories of the growth their daughter makes while on Great Pond, the life skills she has developed and how Runoia has helped her to become a strong and fearless young woman ready to head off to boarding school or College.

 

We also speak everyday with parents who are not quite sure why they would pay to be away from their child. Or why sending her far from home away from all of the creature comforts and technology that she is used to would have any value at all.  The overnight camp experience can be a tough sell especially to the many parents who themselves have never had the experience.

We know that there are parents who lurk out there wondering and pondering if a Runoia summer is right for their daughter.  We make it easy to get information and are always happy to chat about camp in a general context not just as a sales pitch for Runoia.  Finding the right place for all kids to grow and be successful is our goal.

 

If you are out there in cyber space wondering if Camp Runoia is the right sleep-away camp experience for your daughter drop us a line.  There are also lots of great articles that support the benefits of  a residential summer camp and we are happy to share our thoughts and discuss your concerns.  We love talking about Runoia so share us with your friends and family so that more girls may experience the wonder of a life changing summer building life skills on the shores of Great Pond.

Some good reads:

A grandparents perspective

More reasons in favor of camp

From the NYT

Hope to see you on Great Pond

Aionur