Camp Kupugani Blog
Cabin Day a Win for All!!!
Today was an amazing cabin day with the girls at Camp Kupugani! We slept in, had delicious donuts and fruit for breakfast and, most importantly, spent some quality time with our cabins! After cabin and all camp pictures, a hike and a yummy picnic lunch, we headed down to the flats for an afternoon on the lake doing many different water activities, including dam jumping, canoeing and going under the waterfall. We wrapped up the day by devouring eight Titanic pizzas from excellent local pizzeria Mimmo’s. All in all, it […]
Soccer Saturday
Today unfortunately did not go down in history. The campers lost a close match to the counselors in the staff vs campers soccer match. This year was very close with the campers taking an early lead with the wind in the first half, but they couldn’t hold onto it as the staff evened it up before half time. In the second half, the campers succumbed to the staff’s relentless pace and so fell behind 2-1. Despite a frenzied effort, the campers couldn’t quite find the back of the net to […]
Friday Flurry
What makes you beautiful was the theme of today–a day when all the mirrors in camp were covered so the girls understand that appearance is not everything and that they are beautiful inside and out. In the spirit of the day,the girls seemed to be completely at ease. A lot of them tried new camptivities. Frolfing was the surprise favorite of the day with slacklining hot on its heels. The girls are presently enjoying the campwide ga-ga tournament. There has been a lot of talk about it throughout the day […]
Terrific Thursday – June 27, 2014
As we look back on the day, our returning camper ceremony was a highlight. Our Kupugani girls sat down and showed maturity and respect while listening to one another give all the returners positive reinforcing comments. Before dinner, the girls took part in various camptivities–most popular were bench building and pool (as it has been on other beautiful warm days). Also during the day the campers relaxed and thought about their progress made towards developing their personal goals. And who could forget the French toast served at breakfast by the […]
Fantastic Fourth Day For Camper Girls
Good late evening. After filling up on Natasha’s delicious egg casserole and cinnamon rolls this morning, the girls immediately started to sweat off their breakfast in the beautiful warm pre-midday sun, doing team building and conflict resolution exercises. And some even went further to show off their personalities by jazzing up their outfit for the day. Another highlight for the day was the girls enjoying the newly installed lake raft. Happily, they splish-splashed around, seeing quite a few turtles and frogs also enjoying the water. The senior camper girls in […]
Superb First Day of Camptivities!
This morning, the girls woke to tables full of various egg dishes and an assortment of cereals. The muffins and cinnamon rolls also served as a great energy source for the very exciting day ahead. The camptivities have started, which engender trust and confidence within the group. These camptivities help the girls to gain confidence in themselves and build a sense of empowerment. After everyone swarmed La Tienda (the camp store) yesterday, it ran smoothly today and already the Snickers ice cream has emerged as the favorite. Time to go […]
“Reverse” Stereotypes In My Life (Part 3)
[Continued…] There’s a perception that African Americans have only one manner of speaking–reinforced on TV, music, and media. Ghetto-speak, “Black English”, other derogatory terms are often used to describe it. In meeting a brown person who does not speak that way, sometime a well-meaning white person might say that brown person is well-spoken or “articulate.” It may be intended as a compliment, but…if someone were to tell you that you were “articulate,” how would you interpret that? Would you understand that as saying that others of your background cannot speak […]
Pondering “Reverse” Stereotypes (Part 2)
By living in northern Illinois, Iowa and Spain, my experience has been that (in general) people from small towns generally have limited worldly exposure. Most have not traveled much, lacking the opportunity to broaden their horizons due to lack of finances, time, desire, or opportunity otherwise. Therefore, their worldview is often shaped by mass media portrayals. My experience has been that the media often portrays negative images of certain races and ethnicities, and rarely shows successful members of those communities. Local television stations often air African-Americans only when their mug […]
Is There Such a Thing as “Reverse” Stereotypes?
(This is the first excerpt of a multipart blog to unravel during the coming weeks.) My life hasn’t been much different from any other life of a young adult from northern Illinois. Since I was young, my family supported me in all of my decisions and always pushed me to be my best and pursue my aspirations. Because of my family’s influence, I always strove to be the best both academically and outside of the classroom with extracurricular activities. As high school in a different, yet similar small town to […]
5 Reasons Why Your Children Are Safe With Us
Especially in a world where many perceive risks to pervade their day-to-day lives, the last thing that parents need to worry about if their child is safe as s/he is away at summer camp. There are several reasons why parents can rest assured that their children are in good hands while at Camp Kupugani. Here’s Why: The topography of camp (i.e. bluffs, cliffs, water, rural location bounded by large farms and forest) prevents / minimizes any outside access. This includes the thick brush and trees that prevent outsiders from looking […]
Camp’s Social Teachings Vital to Child Development
Camp provides social opportunities that can’t be experienced in other venues, like schools. Social life at school is not likely to provide truly wholesome, guided, and nurtured opportunities to make sincere friends and to respect others. Over the years of our parent surveys, an overwhelming majority of our parents noted their child’s improvement in the quality of relationships with others as a result of their child’s camp attendance. School teachers provide valuable learning tools inside the classroom. We often employ teachers as counselors and recognize the positive character traits they […]
Things I Learned When I Stopped Yelling at My Kids
Often, despite being an “intentional parent” and trying my best to offer only constructive lessons, well-thought-out feedback for my child, and other mature, responsible, fatherly-type actions, I find my voice rising seemingly uncontrollably, and only afterward realize…whoops, I yelled for no apparent reason. An article from blogger “Orange Rhino” encapsulates why we should endeavor to manage those emotions properly. Below are the highlights from her pledge to refrain from yelling at her kids for at least a year, with the whole article at this link. 1. Yelling isn’t the only […]
