Week 2 found us well into the swing of things! It’s so much fun to have so many campers returning from week to week.

Best Moments:

• Lots of cooking – and eating!
• The “wet sweatpants” race
• Reptile Rainforest Roadshow
• Harry Potter Colour War & the game of Quiddich!

Best Quotes:

“Be more like us… neurotic and dependent.”

“Smiley Face.” “Smelly face?”

Wow, Week 1 of our 2011 summer season just flew by! We are off to a great start, thanks to great weather, happy campers and an awesome staff!

Best Moments:

• Human Foosball
• Egg-Spoon Race with “Counselor Gauntlet”
• Pudding War

Best Quotes:

“Can I call you back? I’m bathing a camper in the sink.”

The 2011 MKDC Camp Calendar!

Finally, here it is! Our Summer 2011 Calendar is now finalized and ready for your downloading & printing enjoyment! It will look great on your fridge.

You will notice that all our Fridays have “?” marks on them. MKDC Friday events are carefully guarded secrets and will be fun surprises for our campers. Three of these will be Colour War days, and the others will be other exciting all-day events. You’ll have to be there to find out!

Download the 2011 Camp Calendar Now!

We were very pleased to offer a full lunch program for the first time in Summer 2010. Parents really appreciated not having to pack lunches everyday, and the campers really enjoyed the variety!

Based on parent & kid feedback, we have improved our menu offerings for Summer 2011, and here they are! Warning: Don’t read our menu on an empty stomach!

Monday & Wednesday: Subway Sandwiches

Choose from:

• Cold Cut
• Pepperoni
• Ham
• Veggie

Tuesday & Thursday: Sunflower Bakeshop

* One hot and one cold option are offered each day. To see menus for each week, download our registration form.

Hot Selections:

• Bean Enchiladas with Mexican Fried Rice
• Veggie Lasagna with Garlic Cheese Pull-apart Buns
• Cheese Pesto Tortellini with Garlic Bread
• BBQ Chicken Kebob with Roasted Potato

Cold Selections:

• Pizza Bun with Veggie Sticks
• Bowtie Pasta Primavera with Fruit Kebobs
• Pinwheel Tortilla Wrap Sandwiches & Veggie Sticks (Choose a Filling: Almond Butter Banana/ Tuna Salad/ Turkey Cheese/ Cream Cheese Cucumber, Chicken Salad)
• Hummus with Fresh Baked Whole Wheat Pita Triangles and Veggie Sticks
• Fresh Baked Bagel with Cream Cheese with Fruit Kebobs

Friday: Thomasino’s Pizza

• Cheese & Pepperoni

A Colour War Dress-Up Challenge

Colour War is a special event that occurs at many summer day and residential camps. The entire camp is sorted into teams, each assigned to a colour, and the teams compete in various challenges to earn points. Exactly how, when, and under what conditions colour war happens varies greatly from camp to camp.

At MKDC, our colour war dates are preset on our calendar, but the themes are kept top-secret. On the Thursday prior to each colour war, the staff surprise our campers with a skit that reveals the next day’s theme. Campers are then assigned to their colour for the following day. Part of the fun is that the campers can dress in their team colour, or dress up according to the theme and try to win Best Dressed and earn extra points for their team.

Teams earn points in a variety of team and individual events, all based around the theme. Teams also earn points by creating a team logo/flag and cheer. We keep the emphasis on team building and fun by awarding additional points for good sportsmanship and spirit.

Colour War days are not only an exciting way to end the week, they are also an excellent opportunity for campers of different ages to play together, and for older campers to gain leadership experience.

For summer 2010, we are introducing two new camp features that we hope will help to make the camp transition easier for everyone.

First, all registered camp families will receive a phone call from their child’s senior counselor in the weeks leading up to the start of camp. This phone call will provide an opportunity to ask any questions that may come up, as well as provide you with additional information, such as the first names of your child’s counselors.

Secondly, MKDC will be hosting an open house during pre-camp (the week before the camp season begins). Families who attend the open house can tour the facilities, meet their child’s counselors, and take a look at their group schedule.

By creating more opportunities for communication between camp and our camper families, we hope to decrease anxiety and help our campers to feel excited, not nervous, about camp!

• Eating red and white cake (that Mike baked!) on Canada Day
• Messy art projects
• Counselor hunt in the rain (and Matt doing a mad dash with practically every kid in camp chasing him)
• Dancing to the Cha Cha Slide
• Colour War Breaks!
• Dale’s first trip down the slip n’ slide
• Spa Day
• Watching and laughing as the campers fed each other pudding during a Roadblock on the “Amazing Race”
• Carnival Day
• Hugs

What are your favorite memories? Tell us!

One of the most important goals of MKDC is to foster healthy relationships between campers of different ages.

At school, children are separated by age and rarely have the opportunity to interact with kids from other classes. At our camp, we have brought back some of that “one room school house” feel by allowing the age groups to mingle on a regular basis. We do this in a number of ways:

• Whole-camp flag time
• End-of-day whole-camp activities
• Special “big buddy & little buddy” programming

There are many benefits to combining age groups:

• Older children begin to develop leadership skills and feel increased confidence when they have the opportunity to be “experts”
• Younger children look up to the older campers as role models
• Campers who are only children learn to interact with children of other ages
• Cooperation skills are more fully developed

By the time our campers are in their last year (age 12), many have already developed the characteristics of a good leader. These campers are encouraged to apply for our Leader-In-Training program. There is nothing more rewarding for us than to see former campers take this first step to becoming the next generation of counselors.

Camp professionals recognize the value in inter-generational relationships. Here is a fantastic article from the director of Centauri Arts Camp: Bridge The Generation Gap

How does the multi-age setting benefit YOUR camper?