SURVIVOR!

We had a busy day! There was lots to do as tomorrow is the last day of camp.

The kids were dying to know what 'Who Will Survive' meant on the camp schedule. This morning they were told that their pirate ship had sunk but they managed to swim to a deserted island - saving only two buckets. In each bucket was a large plastic trash bag, ten feet of twine, some twist ties, a knife, a piece of fabric and about 12" of duct tape. With these supplies they had make a flag on a 6' long pole, make a shelter and sharpen a stick in order to spear a 'potato fish' in the 'bucket lagoon'. I was the observer to make sure the kids were using the knives properly and followed the rules.

It rained most of the afternoon so we played poker for hours. I gave a lecture on the evils of gambling but the kids loved it anyway, especially playing with real poker chips. In order to feel like the afternoon was a little productive, we tie-dyed shirts. I bought both the dye (in smaller packages, enough for two shirts) and white t-shirts at Michaels. (Can't forget the fun the kids had filling water balloons - then filling their shirts)

Day 3 - Halfway through

Thunderstorms have threatened for most of the day so I nixed the afternoon expedition to the creek. Because of this, I put off SURVIVOR until tomorrow. Instead we caught up with lots of little projects...like learning how to play marbles. All kids have marbles - but how many actually know what to do with them? Well now - my grandkids do.

This morning we went letterboxing and found one hidden on a public trail. Eva stamped her journal with the stamp in the letterbox then added her stamp, name and date to the letterbox's journal. There's a public trail just a short walk from my house, so tomorrow we'll hike the trail and hide our own letterbox then will post the directions online for others to find.

Back at the house, the grandkids learned how to play knucklebones! I grew up in New Zealand where kids played knucklebones, similar to jacks but not quite. Onesies, twosies, threesies, foursies, scatters ones through scatters fours, eggs in the basket, horse in the stable etc. We googled "knucklebones" and found something on youtube called 'five stones' that is similar. The kids have been practicing all afternoon and are getting pretty good at it.

Before camp, I picked up a load of flattened cardboard boxes at the recycle center. This morning - I gave them the boxes and a roll of duct tape with the idea that they make a fort - but they had other things in mind to do today...so the fort is on the back burner....as are all those cardboard boxes that have to go back to the recycle center. Perhaps they're getting too old for forts!

It's the end of day three and we're still going strong! Two more days to go - then I start thinking about Camp Sweetie Pie 2011. This year has given me some good ideas....

Day 2 - Camp Sweetie-Pie 2010

I'm sure I added at least five years to my life today by riding down the rapids (on the creek near my house) in a little blow-up canoe. The kids were taking turns - so it seemed only fair that I got a turn too. We're lucky to have the creek so close to the house...but it takes twice as long to get there and back as the blackberries are ripe. Today we had intentions of picking enough for a pie, but only a few dozen ended up in the bag...but they'll be good on ice cream tonight!

The creek is fun for exploring and catching crawdads - and it's deep enough to swim in, but this year I bought an Easy-Set pool. It's only takes an hour or two to set up - but you do need level ground. As I have only one small spot in my yard that is reasonably level, I bought the smallest pool - only 8' across and 30" deep, but it includes a filter and pump (on sale at Big 5 Sporting Goods for $50. Walmart and Target stock them and you can buy them online). I found a pool test kit at Home Depot for $6. I check the chlorine level nightly and add chlorine bleach if needed. It's small but the kids are in it at least four hours a day. It's small enough to easily empty and pack away at the end of camp.

This morning we did letterboxing - which went over well with ten year old Eva - but 8-year old Ethan thought it was boring and the grass made him itch (he's got allergies). We'll be hiding a letterbox on a public trail near the house that the kids can check when they come to visit.

I had planned for the kids to learn how to play chess this year - but so far, there have been too many other fun things to do...so they have yet to play a game. Perhaps tonight we'll learn how to play poker! (I even bought poker chips). Is this leading my grandchildren astray? And as the mother-of-all-crawdads didn't take Eva's bait, we'll be eating hamburgers for dinner, followed by s'mores. If the sky is clear we'll count shooting stars and the kids can run around in the dark with their light sticks. The only thing missing to add to the fun are lightening bugs - which aren't found in this part of the country!

Tomorrow (the kids don't know about it yet) we're playing SURVIVOR! They will be told that their pirate ship has sunk and all they could save was a bucket each - which happens to contain 2 trash bags, 6' of rope, a dish towel - and a few more things. They have to do a variety of tasks including making a signal flag and a shelter. I think it'll be a hit as they love to watch Survivor and Man vs Wild.

The Great White Monsters!

I put 'The Great White Monsters' on the schedule for today. The kids made a lot of guesses as to what this could possibly be, especially when I told them to wear their bathing suits for the event.

Ingredients for Great White White Monsters? Two cans of whipped cream and sprinkles.

I started the fun with a dollop of whipped cream on their heads....then the kiddos took turns decorating each other.

This year I've added ATTITUDE AWARDS! Camp SP guidelines (they get a copy at the beginning of camp) reads: "Attitude Awards will be given daily for enthusiasm, kindness and for laughing so hard that your sides hurt. If you tattle on your brother or sister you have to put an attitude award back in the box." The Attitude Awards are in a big basket, which in turn is in a pillow case - so the kids can put a hand in the basket without seeing the contents. They have until I count to five to grab something. The dollar store and Michaels are good sources for inexpensive prizes but I also added cards that read, 'you get to choose tonight's movie' or 'Camp Staff will make your bed for you this morning'. Some of the items are small crafts projects that they're having fun completing. There are no food prizes though as I don't believe in rewarding with food. The first day, they were allowed to dip into the attitude award box three times....just enough to be fun.

Thanks to my neighbors, Mike and Milena, for giving me lots of little prizes for the attitude box!

Day 1 - Camp Sweetie-Pie 2010

Let the fun begin! Eva & Ethan arrived around 10 this morning. The swimming pool and inflatable pirate ship are a big hit, as is the badminton/volleyball court set up on the Garcia's front lawn. I'll post more photos later today.

More ideas to keep them busy

Camp can't function without a schedule. Every hour of every day is planned out from the the time the camp flag goes up in the morning until it comes down at night. People ask, how do you handle two kids for FIVE days? I've got more than my share of adrenalin but having a schedule really helps me. Camp SP plans are top-secret...the kids don't know until I post the camp schedule each morning exactly what they'll be doing that day. Better to keep fun things a secret until the day of..... otherwise I'll be hounded with, 'are-we-there-yet?'

Every day has a major activity that I usually schedule in the morning before the heat of the day. As my area also gets afternoon thundershowers, I can change the schedule if need be. This year, free time has been added to the late afternoon schedule. The kids are avid readers - so this gives them quiet time to read - and time for me to recuperate.

As the kids grow, I can include activities they wouldn't have been ready for the year before. This year, we're doing LETTERBOXING. The following is taken from www.letterboxing.org. www.AtlasQuest.com also has information on letterboxing and locations of letterboxes.

"Letterboxing is an intriguing “treasure hunt” style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the box online on one of several Web sites. However, clues to finding some of the most highly-sought boxes are passed around by word of mouth. There are about 20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America alone. Individual letterboxes usually contain a log book, an often hand-carved rubber stamp and may contain an ink pad. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp on their personal log book, and leave an imprint of their personal stamp on the letterbox's logbook .

Letterboxing is said to have started in England in 1854 when a Dartmoor National Park guide, James Perrott of Chagford, left a bottle by Cranmere Pool with his calling card in it an an invitation to those who found the bottle to add theirs. Eventually, visitors began leaving a self-addressed post card or note in the jar, hoping for them to be returned by mail by the next visitor (thus the origin of the term “letterboxing;” “letterbox” is a British term for a mailbox). This practice ended in time, however, and the current custom of using rubber stamps and visitor’s log books came into use. It caught on in the US in 1998 after an article in Smithsonian magazine.

To get started, you’ll need a “trail name,” rubber stamp, pencil or pen, small sketch book, one or more ink pads or brush markers, a simple compass, and clues."

Note to self: add compass to shopping list!

To get the kids started, I'm going to hide four letterboxes in my neighborhood - so they can get the hang of it. Then we'll go out looking for a real letterbox that is hidden a few miles from here. Finally, the kids will make their own official letterbox that they'll hide in a public place for others to find. (letterbox location are found online)

I found a variety of rubber stamps at Michael's for $1 each along with inexpensive little notebooks. Letterboxes are often found on public trails - and as my son and family enjoy hiking, perhaps they'll continue letterboxing after Camp Sweetie-Pie.

When all else fails and boredom sets in, the kids have more fun looking at their funny reflections in my stainless steel Berkey water filter, which sits on the kitchen counter. (see photo above)

So how do you keep two kids busy for five days?

So how do you keep two kids busy for five days? Lots of rope and duct tape....

I keep the activities a surprise and try not to repeat anything unless it was such a big hit that they ask for it every year. The treasure hunt was a huge hit so it's now an annual event. The first year I spent hours writing clues (in verse....why not go all out?) and hid them around the house, inside and out. I made the clues difficult so it would take them a while to find the treasure.....and had lots of them; maybe 20 or more clues.

When they finally got to the last clue 'X marks the spot', there was a big 'X' scratched into the dirt and a few digging tools. I buried the treasure deep, so they had to work to get it - but finally they found two tins - full of gold coins. Most were chocolate but some were Susan B. Anthony dollars.

Another activity we'll repeat this year is Bombs Away.....a water balloon fight. The kids and I spend a long time filling water balloons that we put into three buckets. Once the buckets are full, I space three lawn chairs in a triangle - about 20' apart (or the distance that the kids can throw a water balloon) and we each get a bucket full of water balloons! Then it's all out war!

I have a schedule for each day that is flexible. If the planned activity doesn't go over well - there are always the old standbys - bow & arrows, swinging, and board games. This year, my father made stilts for the kids - so this will keep them busy too.

Camp T-shirts

You can't have a camp without official t-shirts. I've used the same on-line company (www.customink.com) every year and have been very happy with the quality and printing - though buying t-shirts for only three people can be a tad expensive! But wearing the shirts make us feel more like a camp - and the kids get a lot of wear out of them for the rest of the year, so it is money well spent. This year, I paid about $65 this year for two large youth shirts and 1 adult shirt, all printed with the same design. The first year, I bought two shirts each and paid about $120 - but as I do a load of laundry every night, I realized that one shirt each works well. I consult my daughter-in-law on sizes rather than go by the measurements on customink. Last year I ordered shirts going by their measurements - and the shirts weren't as big as the kids like to wear them.

You can design your own shirt on-line. It's easy to do with a large variety of clip art to choose from. I select a design based on the theme. This year, it's pirates!

Choose a Theme

It makes it easier to plan activities if camp has a theme. We didn't really have a theme the first year - but the second year was NATIVE AMERICAN and this year it's PIRATES.

My grandchildren have Native-American ancestors on both sides of the family so I chose a Native-American theme. With the help of friends, I set up a kid-size tepee in the front yard using burgundy king-size sheets that I asked for on freecycle. Using white latex paint, the kids painted Indian motifs on the tepee walls; handprints, arrows and the sun (followed by a hosing-off ceremony!) This is where we had camp meetings, chose our Native-American names and had a naming ceremony. They made leather medicine pouches (kits from Michael's), hiking sticks which they decorated with leather thongs and feathers. They spent a lot of time removing the bark from the hiking-sticks as this year, they were allowed to use knives, with supervision.

On the last evening of camp, my son and daughter-in-law arrived early for the parents program which was held at the tepee. The kids did dances imitating birds; the flight of a hummingbird and the way a robin hops - looking for worms, while the Camp Staff (that's me) drummed on an overturned bucket. They also had a naming ceremony for their baby sister.

The first year of Camp SP, we went on a bear hunt. Imagine two little kids with flashlights, following me in the dark. 'Sweetie-Pie - what was that noise? Let's go home'.

Camp is Unplugged!

Once the kids arrive at camp, we stay here for the duration. Camp is at my house but I live in a vacation area where people come to camp, so the setting is perfect. My house is surrounded by national forest, there's a creek close to the house and plenty of wildlife in the area including deer, mountain lion and bear (which is why the kids sleep inside at night). Camp is where we learn about nature and spend the days playing outside...so there are no trips to the store or activities elsewhere. Camp SP is also 'unplugged'. No video games, no television and no computer (except after the kids are asleep when I sneak a look at my email), but this year, I've added after-dinner-movie-and-popcorn to the schedule so that I can rest up a bit for the next day. I need the down-time...I'm not getting any younger.....

Bows & Arrows

This photo was taken the first year of Camp SP. Making the bows and arrows was one of the craft's projects and a BIG hit. We used apple branches, weed-eater line and duct tape. I found branches that were slightly curved then drilled a hole into each end of the branch. I threaded the weed eater line through the hole then wrapped the line 6 or 7 time around the branch, securing it with duct tape. When I attached the line to the other end, I pulled it really tight, curving the bow even more. I was shocked to see they really worked and the kids were hitting a bulls eye at 20 feet! Last year, they were allowed to use knives with supervision, so they spent hours shaving the bark off the bows. The kiddos are still playing with them, three years later.

I'm not sure if my son and daughter-in-law are OK with showing their children's faces online, so until I get their permission, they're masked out.

You've got to have a camp flag!

If you're planning a camp for your grandkids, you must have a camp flag! I tore a piece of white fabric from an old sheet and drew the design with permanent markers, copying the t-shirt design for the first year. Camp doesn't officially start until the flag has been hoisted (to the highest point of the eaves on my house). The kids stand solemnly, hand over heart, while I play 'Reveille' on the kazoo. After dinner, the flag is lowered for the evening accompanied by Taps. At the end of camp, the flag is lowered for the last time (a very serious moment) and the kids trace their hand prints on the flag, adding a note or two and the date. The first year, my granddaughter wrote, 'Eva was hear - 2008' and last year's note was 'WE LOVE CAMP SWEETIE-PIE'!

The flag was a last minute thought the first year. If I'd thought of it sooner, I could have come up with a better looking flag - perhaps one sewn of brightly-colored nylon fabrics, but this one is a little home-grown looking - like the camp. Maybe my son will continue the tradition with his grandkids and the flag will fly over their camp, crammed with the hand-prints and signatures of lots of little kids over the years.

Camp Sweetie-Pie ©

When my now ten-year old granddaughter was learning to talk, she named me "Sweetie-Pie", probably because that's what I called her. The name stuck and I've been Sweetie-Pie ever since. What an honor!

Camp Sweetie-Pie started three years ago when my two grandchildren were five and seven. They live nearby so I see them often, but Camp SP is an opportunity for the kids and I to spend fun time together doing planned activities, much as they would at a real camp. I'm 60 - so they've got ten times my energy - but I'm the third kid at camp.

My friends who are also grandparents have asked me about Camp Sweetie-Pie and a few are planning their own camps - so this blog is a way to share ideas with other grandparents who would like to spend quality time with their grandchildren.

Recently I heard my granddaughter's friend ask, 'what is Camp Sweetie-Pie?'. Ten year old granddaughter replied, 'IT'S AWESOME'!

Now I have a third grandchild - but at 18 months, she's too young to participate. The older two have pledged to keep coming to Camp SP - even when they're "all grown up" so that their little sister can experience it too.

I'm going to hold them to their pledge!