Camp Westwind

YWCA Camp Westwind
Encouraging Community
Embracing Diversity
Exploring the World Around Us!





Saturday, July 31, 2010



The photo above are campers enjoying the snacks from a kitchen raid. The kitchen raid has become quite a popular activity this session; of course, why wouldn't it be? Wouldn't you want to steal pirate Chicken Skin Flynn's treasured cookies? Mmm...

Well, all of the campers did so well last night on the overnight. They all stayed out in the campsites with the dampening mist (not raining, just heavy mist). They seemed to have a great time too! Some kids hiked, some kids played beach games, and a couple even went to some brand new overnight spots!


Tonight at dinner we had a silent dinner. It was so quiet! 146 people and I could hear a pin drop - okay, not actually a pin, but I think you may get the gist.

I hope you all had a great Saturday afternoon! More to come tomorrow!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Session 5 Day 4


What should we learn today? How about Frampton the Crab?

One day me, my mommy and daddy were sitting at the beach
Sitting at the beach in East Hampton
When out of the water, along came a crab
And the crab's name was Frampton.

Now Frampton was a crab who loved to climb
He loved to climb bushes and trees all the time
One day Frampton climbed all the way up in a tree
And he fell out of the tree and bit me on the toe

He bit me on the toe, he bit me on the toe
I didn't know what to do and I didn't know where to go
So I ran home and who was standing there
But my grandma to put a band-aid on the toe.

Whew, I enjoy that song! I apologize for missing a post yesterday. I was so excited about the Banana All Camp, I forgot.

Today we did our second round of Interest Groups. Our second round of Interest Groups were: Extreme Sand People, Creative Writing in Creative Places, Funkadelic Tie-Dye, Kangaroo-a-pa-looza and Board Game Bonanza.

We also spent time playing cabin games, Ninja is a popular one, as well as Elimination. After Interest Groups and games, we had lunch, followed by more games and packing for the overnight. Currently all cabins are out on overnights! Sleeping under the stars - well, clouds tonight - while eating food cooked over an open fire, and having value sessions.

Meals for today:
Breakfast: waffles, berry mixture, whip cream, eggs, cereal bar
Lunch: DINO nuggets! tots, grapes, salad bar
Dinner: Cookout! Most units favor Foil Dinners, enchiladas, and fajitas.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Session 5 Day 2

Alright, here is the song of the day. Now when you read this, you should sit or stand every time you say the letter "b." Any questions?

My bonnie lies over the ocean
My bonnie lies over the sea
My bonnie lies over the ocean
So bring back my bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back my bonnie to me.

Man, wasn't that fun?

So, today has been a pretty chilly day! The clouds are covering and there's a slight breeze. This morning was so much fun! Campers split into interest groups (see the definition section if you don't know what this is). The interest groups for days 2 & 3 are:

Super Pooper Trooper: learning about animal scat, and how to properly use the bathroom in the woods. The photo is Cowpie showing campers the bear & elk scat that he found.


Extreme Napping: I don't know about you, but this one sounds great & self-explained.

Hobbit Heroes: Campers are laughing, joking, singing, and learning how to be hobbits!

Breaking all the Rules: Now, these aren't actually broken rules. The directors have already pre-approved their rule "breaking." Things like kitchen raids, going on the whale watching deck (staff only), ringing the bell, etc. This photo is campers on the whale watching deck.

Extreme Meadow Exploration: Campers are heading to so many amazing meadows during this one. They get to end their week at High Meadow.

Which interest group would you want to participate in?

After interest groups, we had lunch, and now. Well, now we are heading to do cabin activities. Alpine is going to go hike Cascade Head today, other cabins are going on the Bouldering Wall, Challenge Course, Archery, and more!

Menu:
Breakfast - Chocolate chip pancakes, sausage patties, bananas, cereal bar.
Lunch - Chili dogs, or hot dogs, chips, chili, cut apples, baby carrots, salad bar.
Dinner - chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, watermelon, salad bar, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Happy Camping!

Session 5 Day 1

We welcome you to Camp Westwind,
We're mighty glad you're here.
We'll send the air reverberating with a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in
We'll sing you out
To you we raise a mighty shout
HAIL HAIL
Gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!

Welcome Session 5 campers (and parents who are reading this blog). I hope you are all ready for a treat. Our staff are super excited to spend these next 8 days with your children! All campers (and luggage) have made it across the river to the place we cherish: Camp Westwind. As we speak, the campers are all with their cabins, thinking of goals for the week, deciding what kind of activities that they would like to sign up for, and more!

We had a Blues Clues campfire tonight. I unfortunately did not make it to campfire, but the staff told me it was very funny!

All the campers are now in bed. I hope you all had as great of a day as we did!

Today's Menu:
Lunch-
Chicken patty sandwiches
Potato chips
Fresh fruit
Salad Bar

Dinner-
Whole Wheat Pasta
Spaghetti
Meatballs
Cheesy bread
Grapes
Salad bar
Brownies

Tuesday, July 20, 2010



On the Road: Campers and staff on the road are having a great time and making many stops. Today, their destination will be at Camp Westwind. The van of travelers who packed up 8 days ago to go on an amazing (first) travel camp has crammed so much fun into 10 days, it's crazy! In the last few days, they have ventured to Trees of Mystery, Game Park Safari in Bandon, and today they will be heading to Sand Rails in the Dunes! Wow, what an amazing week!

Here at the Beach, we have been having so much fun with Mother Child Camp! The moms and children are so amazing, and the kids always find a way to make us laugh. We have had many activities open: archery, kayaking, bouldering wall, arts, art by Indigo, art at the barn, slip n slide, ocean dipping, mudmucking, hiking, campfires, talent shows, and more! This week has been great!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Session 4 Day 6




“In the end we are all separate: our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We are drawn to each other because of our similarities, but it is our differences we must learn to respect.”

This week cabins have grown to be great friends. Kids who came to camp with different backgrounds, found things they had in common to come together to make this magical community happen. This week has been an amazing week. The campers and staff have such a great bond that will hold everyone together until the next summer when we can hopefully meet again at Westwind.

This morning we had a great sausage, hash brown, fruit berry, and egg scrabble mix (tofu scramble for those who couldn't eat the later). We are now packing up our bags and color coding them, while some cabins are taking showers, and others are playing games. Lunch today is going to be pizza!

And now, to finish with our favorite camp song.

Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!
Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!

He hops from place to place
To save the human race

He’s Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!

The rabbit and the boy were caught in a radiation storm!
And when the clouds uplifted the boy had been transformed!
The rabbit and the boy had been mutated into one!
And that is the story how Murry our rabbit boy begun!

Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!
Murry the rabbit boy, Murry

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Session 4 Day 5


Good Evening!

Travel camp had a great day! Today they went hiking and found some really amazing waterfalls. Their photo above is near some mountains on the 299. Yesterday they went to In-N-Out which, in my opinion, is super amazing!

Here at the beach, it is our last full day of camp. Campers came back from their overnights, unpacked, and some even showered before rotations. This afternoon we enjoyed the sun during our Round Robin rotations, which included: archery, boulder wall, ocean dipping, art @ the Barn, art @ the Palace, elimination, capture the flag, and challenge course. Just about every camper was able to get their top 3 choices! We just love it when that happens. This evening, we had a great Spongebob themed campfire. Some videos will be posted on our YouTube page later.

Now, all the campers are in bed, after some evening unit activities. When they wake, it will be the very last day of the session.

Please remember, crossing for car campers is at 3:00pm. Please also remember to bring your ID!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Session 4 Day 4




Good evening camp friends!

We hope you all had a marvelous day, as we did here at the Beach too. The photo to the right is a camper who's ready for the overnight. All units headed out on their overnights today, eating pasta, fajitas, enchiladas, and of course s'mores.

We really do have a great group of kids this week. Besides packing and heading out to the overnights, we also enjoyed some new interest groups. Today's were: Make Your Own Superhero, Board Game Bonanza, Creative Writing in Creative Spaces, Fantastic Fairies, Epic Salt Marsh Xploration, Pirates of the Kayaking Carribean, Xtreme Predator Prey, and Papermaking. Some of the paper the kids made was fantastic! They all had their own little flair to them; glitter, leaves, colors, and more!

Happy Camping!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Session 4 Day 3




TRAVEL CAMP UPDATE: Travel Camp is off to an amazing start! The team is enjoying the sunny warmth of Southern Oregon and will be hanging out in the Oregon Vortex today with a stop at the House of Mystery. Last night the team planned their budget and menu, utilizing their mad organization, teamwork, and leadership skills. On with the show!

IN THE CITY: Camp Westwind in the City is also in their 4th week of camp! This week is Frolic in the Fountains! They have been playing hard out in the city, exploring the fountains of Portland. Today, they are going to be heading to the zoo!

AT THE BEACH: Camp Westwind at the Beach is well underway with our amazingly creative activities. This morning we had more interest group time! The leprechauns did an amazing job not being seen, or turning into trees when people were around (very funny!). The teens are preparing to be packed out and camping the next 2 days, the rest of camp has activities abound today: slip 'n' slide, showers, store time, mud-mucking, archery, bouldering wall, extreme sand castles, tie-dye, soccer, games, challenge course, hiking, art, and more! Plus, the sun is shining and looks glorious!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Session 4 Day 2


Welcome new parents of Session 4 campers & Travel Camp campers!

We are very excited, our all camp for the Beach is Harry Potter, there have been skits, cabins are eating in houses in the dining hall (pictured), even a point system for the houses!

This week is also very special, because today kicked off our first session ever of Camp Westwind on the Road! We will be getting updates from the staff and campers to post as well as tweet (if you aren't a follower of us on Twitter, you should be!). Also, if you would like to watch some videos from prior sessions, please visit our Camp Westwind YouTube Channel (there's a link on the right towards the bottom).

During the morning hours, we had Interest Groups. This week's first groups were: Lord of the Flies, Monster Madness, A Challenging Morning, Extreme Sand People, Archaeology, Xtreme Napping, Interpretive Dance, and Leprechauns! If you had an interest group, what fun, crazy idea would you have?!

This evening, we will have our opening campfire, which has been based around Fairy Tales!

Breakfast: Pancakes, Bacon, Cantalope, Milk
Lunch today: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Carrot Sticks, Salad Bar
Dinner: well, we aren't quite at dinner yet, but I'm pretty sure it is going to be Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Sliced Peaches & Salad Bar.

Happy Camping!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Session 3 Day 5

We have had a great week so far at camp! We are so sorry that today was the last full day.

Everyone came back from their overnights, and were ready for more fun! We had activity periods, and some Round Robins (at camp those are open choice activity periods where kids get to choose what they would like to do). We also had BBQ dinner and our last campfire! While Sherwood campers were showering and getting ready for bed, the Highlands and Alpine kids were having a fondue & dance party!

We'll try to attach a video from our first campfire this week!

Session 3 Day 4

Camp is all quiet, as everyone is asleep on their overnights. They've had fajitias, pizza bread, s'mores, and more! The weather today was not as warm as yesterday, but it was still a nice day all-in-all.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Session 3 Day 3

Good evening friends! Today was a great day! The sun was shining bright down on the Beach today. We finished our first group of interest groups and will have another group tomorrow. Teen Ad went out on their 2 night overnight tonight, we had a birthday all camp, with face painting, cupcake decorating, international song leading, pin the tail on the donkey, and birthday crown making. It was loads of fun to celebrate everyone's birthday's together.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Sesion 3 Day 1


We Welcome You to Camp Westwind!
We're mighty glad you're here
We'll send the air reverberating
With a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in, we'll sing you out
To you we'll give a might shout HOORAY
Hail Hail the gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!

We are off to another week here at camp. This week's 6 day session is going to be filled with fun adventures. We started off today with high winds, making crossing fun! Tonight's dinner was spaghetti! For the agenda: We will have campers check in with the nurses in Friar Tuck, they will make their top choices for programming this week and interest groups.