Author Information
Being a Camper at Camp Courage!
Being a Camper at Camp Courage!
I was a camper for many summers at Camp Courage. Camp Courage is a camp for kids and adults with disabilities. Camp Courage is a terrific place for children and adults with disabilities to go in the summer time. Just because some people have challenges doesn’t mean they can’t try to be “normal” like others. The cabin I stayed in looked like a castle.
At camp Courage there are many activities available for campers to do. These include horseback riding, swimming, tubing, crafts, nature activities and speedboat rides. My favorite activity as a camper was tubing. I like this because it is a lot of fun, and it was my first time when I was a camper.
We also got to experience campouts. Everyone in the cabin goes on the campout. If the camp session is more than two weeks there is more than one campout. At the campout, first we put up the tents and decide who goes in which tent. We made our own food on the campfire. When we had to go to the bathroom we had to go in the woods. We used leaves for toilet paper. We had to dig holes to use as toilets.
At the campout we had a campfire. We sang songs, played games, and made s’mores. My favorite part of the campout was the s’mores. The campout at Camp Courage was my first time sleeping in a tent. I got to sleep in a tent with my new friends I made at camp. We stayed up talking all night long and played with our flashlights.
Going to Camp Courage I met many different kinds of people who became good friends. Some of them were even from other countries. I enjoyed learning about the different cultures they came from. If I asked them, they would teach me some words from their languages.
Camp food was interesting at times. Chicken was on the menu frequently. I really enjoyed the desserts. I always enjoyed the cake. It had whipped cream frosting with sprinkles on top.
Some things not to do after lights out include trashing boys’ cabins with toilet paper, raiding the camp fridge, playing with flashlights after lights out, and hiding people’s underwear. Pillow fights were also very popular after lights out. Some things not to do during the day include things like food fights. Every kind of food imaginable gets thrown out. Another thing that happens is people throw big buckets of ice water to cool themselves off in the dining hall.
We have a star made out of a piece of wood or a piece of cardboard wrapped in tinfoil. A staff member hides it around the dining hall and the campers had to try and find it. When a person finds it they get to pick out of the star jar. They could get a speedboat ride; force another camper to dress up as the opposite gender, take a dessert of someone else, or get your teeth brushed by a staff member. The star has been a tradition ever since I started going to camp.
Being a camper for many summers at Camp Courage was very exciting. Being a camper was so much fun for me that I now work at Camp Courage. I will be the assistant in the craft area next summer. I think Camp Courage is a terrific place for children and adults with disabilities to go in the summer time.
2-26-05
Misty Yanish
