How is it Wednesday already?

We have had a great week!  For those of you who couldn't come, we hope you can live vicariously through these photos of our experience! 

4-H is a community of young people learning citizenship, and one component of this is our daily flag ceremonies.  Here, members of the Owl pack help Romeo and Tarzan lower the flags for the evening.  

These volunteers help fold the flag.

After flags, it was time for the DANCE!!!  This is a big highlight of the week and a special event for the last night of camp.  The auditorium is ROCKIN' tonight!

The smiles say it all, and we have had a great week.  Thank you to all who participated!  In case we don't get time to blog tomorrow, we just want to let you know that we will know our 2014 camp dates by late September, and we welcome all kids in grades 3-8.

Also, both Orange and Madison 4-H offer summer workshops from next week until school starts.  Check with your local Extension office for options and pricing.  (Many are FREE!)

More Class and Afternoon Photos

We program from sun-up to past sundown around here.  More photos for you to enjoy!

The tie-dyed T-shirts are so vibrant.

Our counselors were good sports when the campers had to make beards for them Monday evening.  Has anyone seen Marrs Bar or Ninja???

The counselors work on new songs for the kids.  Little Red Caboose is an oldie, but goodie.  Choo-choo!

Play ball during afternoon rec.

 We are CRAZY for ga-ga over here.  New this year was a ga-ga tournament!!!  Which pack won?

See that big hill???  That's where the fourth "H" in 4-H comes from: Health to Better Living!

Friends are an important part of camp!

Our adult volunteers are priceless and we sure couldn't offer this experience without them!  Smylyn and Goldilocks guard the bank vault as campers choose how to spend their money on the last day.  Sorry, parents, but we don't think they're bringing too many dollars home.  (We know you're surprised!)

Look at these pool moves!

Sparky and a camper got decked out for the plaid spirit day.

Fun times hanging out in the "ool".  If you don't know, ask your camper why it's called the ool.

Woodworking students built 2'x2' gardening boxes. We can't wait to hear what they plant when they get home! 

Nightly campfires are special.  After a rainy Tuesday, we were happy for a clear Tuesday evening!

Four Orange 4-H'ers Inducted as Virginia 4-H All Stars

Congratulations to four of the newest members of the Virginia 4-H All Stars.  Being inducted into All Stars is the highest honor a Virginia 4-H member can receive.  Today, Delaney O'Donnell, Robert Nixon, Megan Harris and John Michael Knight achieved this recognition.

The ceremony was held at Virginia Tech in conjunction with the annual 4-H State Congress event.  Orange delegates for Congress include O'Donnell, Andrew Miller and Zach Swope.  Miller and Swope competed in state competitions in public speaking and presentations, respectively.

The All Stars inducted have all been involved in 4-H since they were young.  O'Donnell has achieved much in the 4-H horse project arena, from district shows all the way to national judging and public speaking events and the Arabian World Nationals event.  She mentors younger children in the Bit N' Bridle 4-H Club.  Harris is a Dairy Club member and officer, a 4-H camp counselor and has been a delegate to State 4-H Congress. She is hosting a Costa Rican 4-H delegate this summer and has given leadership to her club as one of the few teen members at this time.  Nixon is an accomplished livestock showman and judge who has competed in various local, district, state and national events.  He has won with the state cattle working team, is also a member of FFA and serves as his club's Treasurer.  Knight has been a 4-H member since Cloverbuds and has been a consistent volunteer for 4-H Ag Day, Farm Tour, the county fair, Achievement Night, and Stockman's Camp. He shows cattle at all levels, participates on the stockman's and judging and cattle working teams, and is Vice-President of the Livestock Club.

Congratulations to these young people! We are proud of you for representing Orange 4-H so well.  The All Stars' motto is Service, so we wish you well as you continue to contribute to 4-H for your remaining high school career and throughout adulthood.

So What Do Campers Do in Those Classes Anyway?

Each camper takes three classes daily.  Here are some action shots to show what has been happening!

The gloves were on for tie-dying T-shirts.

Digital Scrapbooking students took camp photos and made collages using iPads.

Rocketry campers had to read the directions to know how to build their rockets and pack the parachute.

Canoeing was calm on the waters of Lake Culpeper.

Teamwork and communication skills were necessary in Low Ropes.

To the top of the wall!  That's where High Ropes campers went.

Safety comes first in our camp activities!

Guest Blog by Olivia Camper

Good morning!  This post is brought to you by Olivia, one of our fabulous campers!

Hello, 4-H Camp! I was with Ms. Kaci and she asked me to be her guest and I said yes, so here we go! OK. So my favorite class if Riflery because I shot my first air rifle ever. I love Broadcast Journalism. It's all about getting over your fears, and I love this camp. Plus, did you know that Monkey and Chimp are sisters??? Plus, I wanted to give a loving shout-out to my mom, sister, dad, brother, NeNe, PaPa, Emmie, Reptar. I just wanted to say I love you guys. Please be reading this. I love you.

We are having so much fun we couldn't blog!

It was rainy most of today, so we couldn't blog much because we were too busy having fun with all the schedule changes! We still held all our classes, and we all had the option to swim! Say tuned for stories and photos tomorrow!

Polar Bear Plunge this Morning!!!

We had a brave group of campers risk the Polar Bear Plunge this morning!  The early morning swim was refreshing for sure.  Some said it was "freezing"; others were tough and said, "That wasn't cold at all!"  Either way, we are grateful to staffers Chimp and Outlaw for lifeguarding and Extension Agents Kaci and Kelly for chaperoning this event for our campers.  Adult volunteer Asa gets extra credit - he took the plunge!

The photos show the sun coming up, the campers waiting on the whistle that okayed them to jump in, and then the actual plunge!  

Last night's evening program was the Duck Hunt - a series of challenges campers had to complete in their quest for rubber ducks.  We'll post more on that later, but we were excited to share the Polar Bear Plunge with you as you sit down to your desks this morning.  

Afternoon fun and Evening Activities

After a great morning learning lots of new skills in classes campers had some time to relax and swim. This evening, with a nod to our Camp Dynasty theme, evening activities included a Duck Hunt. Campers and teens moved around camp in their pack groups and completed activities to earn rubber duckies. We did have a passing shower so campfire was move under the shelter but we still enjoyed this special time.

Guest Blogging by Camp Teen Counselors

From Kel-Bel of the Rattlesnake Pack:

This morning started off great! A couple of counselors and I started the campers' morning off by singing some funny camp songs! After breakfast all of the classes broke out. I helped with Digital Scrapbooking, which is a new class here at camp. We took pictures from home and from around camp to make different types of collages. There are far more picture effects than I can count. Everyone has three classes and is looking forward to a great rest of the camp day. I know I am!

Kel-Bel 

 

From Blondie of the Hawk Pack:

I had a fantastic morning! I got all my campers up & ready. When we got to the dining hall other teen counselors were singing songs to pump everyone for breakfast. The breakfast was really good, too.  We had French toast, bacon & cereal…yum! Then we had flag raising. Classes started; I teach creative crafts first & we were making collages with magazines.  Even though I didn't have all the supplies I needed, I improvised with no problems. I had canoeing second & we learned the proper rules & instructions. We got to go to the other side of the lake & back; it was a lot of fun! So far camp seems to be going great :)

                -Blondie

 

Camp Update Sunday Night

Tonight after dinner campers enjoyed a great deal of time in the pool. Never mind the adults standing poolside in sweatshirts, the kids thought it was fine! Luckily we I only had a few sprinkles of rain this afternoon, and then it was clear until sunset.

Campfire was fun. The Little Bear of each pack was introduced, we sang songs, and the Great Sphinx came out of Lake Culpeper. You will have to ask your campers about that one!

Everyone is doing well and looking forward to classes starting tomorrow.

Camp Update

Just letting everyone know we made it to camp safe and sound! We are having so much fun that we haven't had time to set up the computers yet, but we will soon and will post more later.

4-H Camp Buses Leave on Sunday

Now that the school year is complete, it's time to leave for 4-H Camp!!!  Remember that check-in is at Orange Elementary from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Sunday, June 16.  A packing list was included with the final mailing.  Campers are responsible for carrying all of their luggage, so please pack efficiently.

We are looking forward to a great week.  Get ready to have fun!

Fair Entries due This Friday!

Reminder:

Fair Entries are due THIS Friday, June 14, by 5 pm. 

Beef: http://tinyurl.com/ocf2013beef

Lambs: http://tinyurl.com/ocf2013sheep

Pigs: http://tinyurl.com/ocf2013hogs

Cloverbuds: http://www.tinyurl.com/ocf2013cloverbud

Goats: http://www.tinyurl.com/ocf2013goat

Dairy: http://www.tinyurl.com/ocf2013dairy

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the extension office.  Please make sure your friends who may not have computer access get this task done.  Extension computers are available to those who need them.