Camp Songs and the Amazing Race!

Hi Everyone! It's blog post time!


      So this week we were lucky enough to get to participate in a couple of Camp Harbor View traditions: the camp song and the Amazing Race. Every morning, before the campers get off the ferry, they all gather on the top deck to sing a camp song together, led by some of the staff there. On Thursday we got the opportunity to lead the campers in a Save the Harbor remix of one of their songs, normally called the Pizza Man Song. Our version was the Fisherman Song. The campers really got into it.

The Save the Harbor team, leading the daily camp song.

      The other tradition we got the chance to participate in was the Amazing Race. The race is basically a big scavenger hunt around the whole island.There are several stations set up at different sites across the island, including the dock, the lighthouse, the art pavilion, the great hall, and Shell Beach. At each site the teams are directed to perform some kind of task in order to get the next clue. We set up our station on Shell Beach. As each team came through we asked them to work together to find 3 different object on the beach. Usually we asked for some kinds of shell (either an oyster or a mussel shell), something man made (either sea glass, something metal, something plastic, etc.), or a blue marble that we had hidden on the beach. After they found the objects the group had to take a picture with them before getting their next clue. The kids had a great time, and the Race gave us a chance to build on what we taught them about sea glass the day before with the storytelling game.

A team successfully completes the Shell Beach portion of the Amazing Race!

Hey hey bo diddly bop,

Justin Warrener

Beach Event & The Amazing Race

Thursday at Camp Harbor View the kids took part in the " Amazing Race", which is pretty much a scavenger hunt around the island. We were stationed at Shell Beach and made the kids work for their clues. The kids had to find three objects along the beach before receiving a clue that usually said "Keep those feet moving and continue your trek, your groups next clue is on the LIT deck". The three objects varied between muscle shells, oyster shells, a blue marble, plastic, etc. After they found their objects, they had to take a group picture before we gave them the next clue.

Thursday night I was fortunate enough to attend my first beach event for Save the Harbor. The event was at East Boston's Constitution Beach and was held by the YMCA. The campfire was warm, the marshmallow's were gooey, and the DJ was playing. The kids loved learning about and looking for clams and managed to dig some pretty deep holes in the process!

Until Next Time!
     Sam

The Trash Tree

The staff at Camp Harbor View really gives their all to try to make it a good time for the kids there, and this week is no exception. Thursday and Friday this week saw any kids involved the Knowledge Is Power, or KIP, section of the camp sent on an Amazing Race. This race would require groups of kids to work together as they figured out puzzles, or did activities. Upon completing one puzzle or activity, they would be given a clue that would lead them to another location of the camp for a new one. Save the Harbor was involved with this race. We were located on what they call 'Shell Beach' on the island. When groups came to us, we would ask them to scan the beach. Each time requiring them to collect three different objects. The objects varied from things like oyster shells, clam shells, plastic bits, sea glass and more. We would often have instances where multiple groups would show up at one time because certain kids would run in front of their other group members.

Incomplete Trash Tree

On Friday we showed up earlier to our location for the race then we needed to be. Groups wouldn't be showing up for another 25 minutes or so by the time we were ready for them. In this time, I did what we were asking the kids to do myself, I searched the beach. When I first started, I saw normal beach stuff, shells, sand, trash, etc. But I was stopped when I saw the tree. It was a small pine tree, about four feet tall. It was completely dead and turned brown, with one side of it decaying or gone. I had the idea to ease my boredom waiting for the kids by standing it upright like a Christmas Tree. I decorated it with garbage that had washed up on the shore like ornaments. I also used bricks that were there like presents for underneath it. I myself was not impressed with the final outcome, but it was cool to be able to create something out of what would have just laid there otherwise.

-Ian P.

Interesting Week at CHV

     This week at Camp Harbor View was very different from last week. On Wednesday the camp had health advisors come and teach the kids about their health and how bad it is to eat junk food in abundance. There were stations that each group had to go to. Although, we are not health related, we were able to get our own station. In our station we had out our sea glass box and we began to tell the kids about sea glass and other shells or metals that dried up on the beach. The kids were into it for the most part and we even had a game that if they grab a piece of something from the box and tell a pretty interesting story about it they could get a marble, and if they sent in a picture of themselves holding the marble then they would be entered to win a prize. We also met a winner of last years prize, a lobster dinner, which helped give us more credibility.

     The next day, the kids had to do CHV's version of the Amazing Race. Once again, we had our own station, but this time it was on Shell Beach. The way the kids would get their next clue and move is if they found a mixture of three things on the beach. The things were either an oyster shell, clam shell, mussel shell, sea glass, plastic, metal, a blue marble, a brick, or a pine cone. Once they found the three things we asked them for we would take a picture and they would get their next clue.

Sincerely, 

Ivan

Off to the Races!

Yesterday Camp Harbor View hosted their yearly Amazing Race. The campers and camp counseling staff raced through the course, making stops at designated race stations all over the island in search of the next clue that would aid them in their journeys. At some stations the groups were required to hold hands and form a large ring and then pass a hula-hoop around the ring without breaking the circle. At others they were instructed to create haiku poems and when given a series of three words, break apart each word in order to form an entirely new word. Upon completing the tasks the groups were then rewarded with a clue directing them to their next location.

The Save the Harbor/Save the Bay crew had a station staged on the famous Shell Beach where the campers scoured the shore in search of various sea shells, washed up pieces of sea glass, and their favorite, expertly-placed mystical blue marbles. At first many were  discouraged by the task as the shore line seemed too flooded with infinitesimally small items to locate the ones they were looking for. They soon learned that with teamwork the task became tangible and were successfully able to locate the hidden pieces and move on with the next clue.

Great job everybody,

Maxwilliams Iwuala