Crazy Shoes Day

Today (Monday) was the last full day of camp! We started off the morning with French toast for breakfast! We did flag raising, and cleanup before we headed off for 2 sessions! Some of the campers were at high ropes challenge course, shooting sports (muzzle loading) at this time also! We had our group session, and then optional session! We had soap making, line dancing, capture the flag, zip line, adle-adle (a type of safe javelin game), ga-ga ball, duct tape crafts, marshmallow guns, basketball, climbing wall and water polo.

After an exciting morning we had tacos for lunch and heard some inspiring words about friendship and making friends at camp! After a relaxing hour of rest and relaxation, we were refreshed and ready for two more sessions! We had fishing, line dancing, zip line, sandpaper tote bags, ultimate frisbee, canoeing, climbing wall, flying things, tie dye, and adle-adle. 

We had free time and started preparing for the war game! We had a beef and noodles for dinner, and sang “roll me over the ocean” with the permanent staff. After dinner began the war game. It is a giant game of capture the flag with two teams, green and yellow! Those that didn’t want to play the war game could earn points by playing board games for points! The war game was cut a little short because it started to pour down rain! We headed back to our cabins and got cleaned up for the final night activities! Our counselors gave us all certificates with “superlatives” for each and every one of us! The rain didn’t let up – so it ruined the counselors plans to have mini campfires and make smores. They were able to set up the movie “Horton hears a Who” in the dining hall, with board games and card games! The counselors also had the recreation hall set up for lots of line dancing with glow-sticks. The adult staff figured out how to make our smores in the oven and we had a snack! The last year counselors and campers got to stay up an extra hour for dancing while the rest of the campers headed back to clean up and settle in for the night! 

Cindy Lou Who Crazy Hair Day

Well today was a little on the wet side, but we still had fun! We started off the day with a polar bear dip, and early run and then flag raising. For breakfast we had coffee cake, cereal, and fruit! After we cleaned up our cabins and the public spaces we headed off to activity number two called Oh the Places You’ll Go! Some of our group headed off for Archery with the shooting sports instructors! During our activity we got to dunk our counselors in the dunk tank, ran a relay race of Dr. Seuss characters, participated in a big water balloon toss and we covered our counselors in whipped cream, Cheetos and fruit snacks! (luckily they washed off pretty well!) After our activity we cleaned up and headed off for lunch where we had barbecue pork sandwiches with French fries.


We heard from Tom for inspirations where he talked about being proud to be an American and the places that we all can go if we aspire too. After rest and relaxation we had a group session! It started to storm so we headed to the recreation hall where we did a dutch auction! We filled one pillowcase with random items from our cabin and then the adult staff called out what item they wanted. The first person to find it in the bag and present it to the staff won a point! We did group planning for campfire with our sessions and then headed off for dinner! We had pasta with hamburger and sauce and bread sticks. After dinner we lowered the flag and headed off for the sessions we had missed in the afternoon. About 15 minutes after we went to sessions it started raining really hard! Everyone ran back to the recreation hall and we decided to dance and play board games to wait the rain out. The whole camp was a giant puddle!  We were able to get goodies from the camp store and shaved ice! We headed off to campfire where we the Cat in the Hat stole the time capsule we made for camp! Luckily we rescued it! We also had a few group skits, and a tongue twister challenge from the counselors. At the end Chuck from the staff told us a great story to finish the campfire. We did our friendship circles and headed off to bed! We are looking forward to 4 sessions tomorrow, and the counselors are planning the “war game” for us tomorrow night! We have many activities planned for the last night including a closing ceremony and a dive in movie!

4-H Camp Palmer - Green Grinch Day

We started the day off right today with a polar bear dip (swimming) and an early bird run! Rise and shine was at 7:00am with a “Proud to be an American” flag raising. We had pancakes and sausage for breakfast (or cereal and fruit if we wanted). After breakfast we cleaned up our cabins for cabin contest and did our part to keep camp clean by picking up trash and tidying up our public spaces. Two groups of campers went to participate in shooting sports in the rifle and shotgun disciplines. We have a shooting range here at camp and we go over safety and how to use a firearm before shooting. Our instructors are Ohio 4-H Shooting Sports certified and have lots of experience! We had our first group session at 9:30am this morning. We went with our campfire groups and participated in swimming, line dancing, gaga ball, stomp (music with random objects), and kickball! After that session we were able to pick our sessions which included:  putt putt, line dancing, dodgeball, crafts (friendship bracelets and paracord survival bracelets), canoeing, H20 volleyball, card games, and basketball! We had some free time before lunch to play on main camp with the gaga pit, 9 square in the air, and swings! For lunch we had chicken quesadillas and French fries! Before rest and relaxation we heard inspirations about “Being Unique”. We were all rested up and ready for our large event of the day….Super Suessical Suspense! We played water kickball, sponge dodgeball, fish dip (we fished sweedish fish out of a swimming pool of jello), water volleyball and a fun game of find the ham with green pudding (vanilla) and ham (starbursts). We dismissed in time to clean up and refresh before heading to dinner. Right before dinner it started pouring rain! We were able to play in the rain and enjoy the summer shower (no lightning or thunder). For dinner we had chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. After singing songs in the dining hall we dismissed for flag lowering, and went into group planning for campfires! Before we went to campfire we participated in a dance, recreation, and photo booth!


The photo booth had lots of props, a backdrop and resulted in a whole photo album of fun pictures! Tonight was the “Act without a hat” and the Grinch returned! We had a green eggs contest, and a I wish I had duck feet contest with flippers and sweedish fish! All the groups showed off some awesome skits, and we danced the night away! After dancing we had friendship cirlces and the outposters headed out to the Adirondack shelter house. They will sing songs and sleep under the stars tonight, and make breakfast in the morning! It’s past lights out here at Camp Palmer and all the staff and counselors are ready for a good nights sleep! 

Cat in the Crazy Hat Day!

July 5th, 2013

The first day is always exciting! The counselors are excited for the arrival of their campers, the staff is still peppy, and the kids are bursting with excitement like it is Christmas! We registered in a total of 240 people including 86 campers, 21 counselors and 4 adult staff from Van Wert County! Campers settled into their new home for the week (their cabins) for a meeting and a chance to meet their bunk mates! We covered important things such as a deep swim test, pool and canoe rules, and emergency drills such as inclement weather or a fire. Adults set the tables for our first dinner of lasagna and breadsticks! We sang camp songs, and introduced warm fuzzies to campers. During dinner the Grinch stole our spirit stick! While the counselors were very upset we had a good feeling we would see that Grinch again! After our dinner we lowered our American flag and headed off for a camp picture! With that many people we took a while to get all settled, but it was right off to dances and ice breakers in the recreation hall! The permanent (Camp Palmer) staff showed us all some new dances, and we all busted a move while getting to know one another. We had a snack of indoor smores and milk, and headed off for campfire planning. We reported to campfire where we were asked to send a participant for “sam I am” where we played simon says competing with their groups! After a winner was declared, we got down to business hunting down the Grinch. Of course he showed up, and we were able to convince him to share the spirit stick!

We also dressed one person from our group up to be the best “Dr. Suess” character. We had some good competition with green eggs and ham, little Cindy lou, and even a cat in the hat! During campfire the permanent staff showed us a skit about “How Dr. Suess characters eat” and it was very funny! After campfire we celebrated the end of night #1 with a dance in the recreation hall. After showers and putting our PJ’s on – all the campers and staff had a great night’s rest. We look forward to sharing the rest of the week with you all! Tomorrow is sessions, and a “Super Suesical Suspense”—they said there is lots of water and fun to be had tomorrow afternoon! 

The Hustle & Bustle before 4-H Camp

Five days, four nights of cabins, non-stop activities, games, giggling, and fun! With over six months of preparation these days have been carefully thought out to a theme, and the counselors have had training to meet American Camping Association (ACA) standards.

Each counselor completes 24 hours of training including the history of camping, youth protection, child abuse, supervision, developmental stages of children, behavior management, homesickness, diversity, basic healthcare of campers, and emergency procedures. These skills help the counselors prepare for many of the challenges they face as a surrogate parent in the 4-H camp environment. Counselors are prepared to handle a whole array of situations. Throughout the camp adults help counselors work with youth and handle especially tough situations of homesickness.  While at camp our counselors help kids learn at sessions, teach crafting, dancing, put together their planned activities, and inspire the creative minds of those youth who are at camp to have fun, but to also experience new things.

On top of all of the training counselors must also plan camp. They choose a theme, select sessions for youth to participate in, plan large group activities, campfire skits, and build decorations for their cabin, and the other areas of camp. This year our theme is Dr. Suess!

Once the planning has begun we start putting it all together. For the last two weeks the Extension Office has looked like a mini-art studio with paint, yarn, glitter glue, and paper. For the past two weeks I have been blessed to have a number of very hard working counselors in our office putting the final touches together and working collaboratively to make camp the best it can possibly be! In last few hours we have carefully packed our trailer, and the office seems to be returning to a state of normalcy…until fair that is.

Next time you hear someone tell you that they are a 4-H Camp Counselor remember one thing: the youth standing in front of you has worked hard to be able to work with youth, is American Camping Association certified, and has the trust of me and my staff, and is highly responsible. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It is often what I would call “The most wonderful time of the year” as we are days away from 4-H camp, closing in on 4-H judging and it seems that the days go faster and faster as those deadline approach! Make sure that you pass along the information for making judging appointments.

We will be signing up for fair entry online like last year. ALL projects must be entered in order to get a premium through the Fair. We will help with entry at the July judging, and an information sheet will be sent to homes to give you a step by step guide.

Please note that youth who cannot attend their judging, must come to a make up at the other judging. They will still need to sign up for a time slot.

If you have information that you would like to see in the papers, please email them to me! I would love to get them in our weekly section of the Times that is published on Thursdays. We are always looking for 4-H members of the week, so please submit names of youth that you think are deserving.

The update next week will be at least delayed until I return (and recover from the lack of sleep) from camp. We return on the 9^th and unload on the 10^th. If you have immediate questions please feel free to  call the office (or email me as I will be checking it at camp).

Keep updated on information at https://www.facebook.com/vanwert4h and through our Blog at http://vanwert4h.blogspot.com/ with club news, column postings and stories about the behind the scenes here in Van Wert County!

Downloadable Livestock Books

The 4-H livestock books are available for download! Use the following links to access them! 

• Livestock Book Explanation
• Market Record Book
• Breeding Project Book