FLC for Boys: Boys Camp Typical Day

7:30 Reveille
7:50 Assembly/Hoppers Call
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Cabin cleanup
9:00 1st period Activities
10:15 Morning Snack
10:30 2nd Period Activities
11:45 Free Time
12:10 Assembly/Hoppers Call
12:15 Lunch
1:00 Rest Hour
2:15 3rd Period Activities
3:15 4th Period Activities
4:15 Afternoon Snack
4:30 5th Period Activities
5:30 Free Time
5:55 Assembly/Hoppers Call
6:00 Dinner
7:15 Evening Activities
8:15 Evening Snack
8:45 Call to Quarters
9:00 Taps
9:15 Junior Camp lights out
9:45 Senior Camp lights out

Morning

A typical day in the Boy’s Camp begins with Reveille call and occasionally a cheerful song played over the loudspeaker.

Assembly for breakfast is at 7:55 am. This is where each cabin assembles together in front of the Hill Office and all walk down to the mess hall together.

Breakfast is at 8:00 am. We have a breakfast bar available every day with cereals, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, and some type of bread (bagels, pastry, muffins, etc). There is also always a hot meal served; some examples are: French toast with sausage, breakfast sandwiches, or scrambled eggs. After morning announcements, the boys head back to their cabins for cabin clean up. Each camper has a responsibility to keep his bed, drawer, and locker clean and neat. In addition to his individual responsibilities, each boy will also have a cabin chore to complete. This is decided on a rotating basis as a fair way to divide up the chores. Some of the chores include sweeping the cabin, cleaning the showers, and taking out the trash.

At the end of cabin clean up, the boys re-assemble and the first period bugle is called. First period is generally a sport activity. The boys choose their activities on a three-day basis. An example of choice activities for first period may be: basketball, soccer, and tennis; OR lacrosse, volleyball, and rugby. Of course, there are many other activities that fall into this first period category. What is described here is simply an example of what could be.

The morning periods last 1 hour and 15 minutes a piece. First period ends at 10:15 and there is snack time for roughly 15 minutes. The boys come to the Hill Office to get a snack of fresh fruit (bananas, apples, peaches, etc), and a drink. At the end of snack time, they will move on to second period at 10:30.

Second period ends at 11:45and free time before lunch follows. During this time, the boys often get together on a porch and chat, practice for a camp event with a music jam session, maybe write a letter, play some tetherball or the ever popular ping pong. If boys have a particular interest in continuing or picking up an activity during this free time, a Counselor will set up and oversee the activity.

Midday

At 12:15 the boys assemble for lunch. Again, we walk over to the mess hall as a group. The boys eat all their meals with in their cabin groups. While our boys don’t spend all their time with their cabin mates (during activities and such), we do encourage, and the boys thoroughly enjoy their time with their cabins. Mealtime is a great example of this. We serve our meals family style so everyone learns to be polite, take appropriate portions, and be considerate to others. Every day, a camper from each cabin is chosen to be the “waiter”. The waiter’s job is to prepare the table for the rest of the cabin, set the table, retrieve all the food from the kitchen and lead the cleanup.

Rest hour follows from 1:00 to 2:00. During this time, the boys are required to be in their cabins for some down time. Sometimes this means sleeping, reading, writing a letter home, or maybe playing a simple board game with some cabin mates.

The afternoon activity periods begin at 2:15 and are an hour long. There are three afternoon periods, with a break for snack time at 4:15. Each of the afternoon activities is centered around a certain theme, similar to first period. One period is set-aside for the boys to have general swim. This is offered every single day and is mandatory for all campers to be down at our waterfront for that given period of time. Another period is set aside for hobby activities. Again, the boys choose these activities on a 3 day basis and some examples are: drawing, music, drama, and science, OR dance, crafts, riflery, and archery.

The last period is an activity that all the boys do together and is usually split into junior and senior camp options. These activities are usually a change of pace from the rest of daily program and are wide-ranging.

Our last activity period of the day ends at 5:30, and then there is free time till 6:00 at which point the boys assemble for dinner.

Evening

During dinner (as with lunch), there is always a salad bar offered with all the fixings offered to make a green or pasta salad in addition to a hot dinner. Of course, if a camper has specific/special dietary needs we work with our food service to provide quality and appropriate meals for all our as necessary.

After dinner, the boys head back up the hill. At roughly 7:15, the evening activity begins. Evening activity varies every single evening and often depends on age. Senior campers will have their social events with the girls one night a week. This can either be in the form of a dance, luau at the lake, or even a game of dodge ball. Senior campers also have an opportunity twice during a 4-week session to go on an outing, off camp. Both junior and senior campers often participate in other special activities. A few examples are a camp-wide Square Dance, Outdoor Movie night, Talent Show or the highest rated “activity”, Campfire. The last week of camp some special evening activities take place to showcase what the campers have learned over their time at camp, such as Music Show, Dance Show, and the Camp Play.

Once Evening Activity is finished, the boys head back to the mess hall for evening snack. This usually consists of pretzels, popcorn, maybe a shortbread cookie, and always a drink. When snack time has finished, the boys head back to camp to have a little more free time before they are required to be back in their cabins.

Call to quarters is at 8:45 with Taps called at 9:00, a proper way to end the day. The junior camp has lights out at 9:15, and the senior camp at 9:45. Everyone rests to get up and do it all over again the next day!