DAY 5: Rock Pets and a night at the Opera (in a Bag)

Breakfast today was breakfast sandwiches with eggs and sausages, and strawberries. After were warm-ups led by Dana, who talked the group through massage trains, tongue stretches, and yoga to wake our bodies up and prepare campers for their musicianship lessons. Will’s class continued their dictation practice of “happy Birthday” and talked about how the first rhythm is a triplet and not a pasta.

Lunch today was delicious burgers, salad, and plums.

Art and crafts today was a fan favorite — pet rocks! Daria made many pet rocks and also learned how to make a friendship bracelet for the first time! Charlotte C and Leeza made friendship bracelets while chatting with fellow crafters. Eleanor, Chloe, and Ramona also made pet rocks. Ainsley, Zophia, and Elodie made very intricate pet rocks, using the rocks as a canvas for their artwork.

At the tarp, Anjali won the game “taco cat goat cheese pizza” twice in a row! Josie and Issac played chess and even taught one of their counselors how to play.

Dinner was a baked potato, turkey chili, corn bread, salad, and a small dessert of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

Tonight’s evening activity for CC and Ensemble was Opera in a Bag (or this year, a box). Campers split into small groups to create a short skit where everything had to be sung and they had to incorporate everything from a box of items, including a fedora, scarf, cone, fan, bandana, and the box itself. They also had to use 3 words from a list of 6. The words this year were: Potato, Larynx, (Mark) Winges, conjure, and one of their fruit or vegetable syllables that help them remember their challenging rhythms. Many of the operas featured Winges witches and differing portrayals of the camp director, Tate, in their fedoras. The witches tended to CONJURE some POTATOES (or po-Tate-to’s) all while chanting varying choir mantras and lyrics.

CJV celebrated their last day with a trip to the creek. Campers got to enjoy the beautiful forest, work on their friendship bracelets, and wade in the creek. Sonam and Goldie both braved the cold water and went in up to their waists. After leaving the creek, Shai and Tallulah went to Turtle Pond for a last hurrah before going home tomorrow. This evening, CJV had their end-of-camp tradition of a closing circle, complete with s’mores and a talent show featuring skits, singing, and piano performances. Before bed, the campers all shared their favorite camp memories and learned some favorite camp songs. Adelaide said her least favorite part of camp was when she couldn’t hang out with the CITs when they were on their breaks. Camp Joyful Voices campers had a great week with their CITs, counselors, and teachers!