Hi Island Lake Families! This morning we woke up to some cloudy skies with temps in the mid 60’s. The temps then rose to the mid 70’s with the sun attempting to peek through here and there.  We had a little rain at the start of 1^stminor this morning but it only lasted about 5-10 minutes. Today wasn’t all that sunny but the clouds were actually a nice break after a few days of nothing but sunshine.

I’m happy to report that Island Lake 2019 is now officially in full swing.  Our campers are adjusting to their majors, trying out new activities for their minors, and are becoming great friends with their bunkmates.  I hope you can see all the joy on your children’s faces in our daily photos on Waldo.

Speaking of photos, we started to take bunk pictures.  Once they’re complete, we will post them on Waldo.  In addition to our daily photos, we have our 5-year jacket pics posted now for your viewing pleasure.  David Lobel also spent a couple of days here at camp taking photos.  Here’s a link to all of the pictures he posted.  You can download them and print them free of cost. https://davidlobel.smugmug.com/Island-Lake

Each morning at breakfast our campers have minor sheets on their table along with the “Morning News” for the day.  Oliver, our program director, creates the morning news each day with a weather update, what we’ll be cooking in the bistro, she lists all of our campers who have music lessons, campers who are on the waterski rotation for a minor, any inter-camp games we’ll be playing, who has to attend theater rehearsals, who has a birthday that day, a couple of photos, and a riddle of the day.  Last summer I posted the riddle each day on the blog and our parents seemed to enjoy it, so I’ll continue with the trend this summer.  Here is today’s riddle (I’ll post the answer tomorrow along with a new riddle of the day): A sundial is the timepiece with the fewest moving parts.  Which timepiece has the most moving parts?  Feel free to email me your guesses at wendy@islandlake.com.  I have no idea what the answer is.  I may have to cheat and ask Oliver for some hints.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS.  Boys Groups 1& 2- Candlloon Loonies (no error with the spelling. In a nutshell, it’s a trivia scavenger hunt that will end with a piñata filled with candy and toys for all of the children); Boys & Girls Group 3- Ugly Fashion Show (pretty much what it sounds like and it’s always a hoot);  Boys & Girls Group 4- Gaga Battle Royale;  Girls Group 1- Cupcake Wars (takes place in cooking. I should really look into being a judge for this!);  Girls Group 2- Great Imposters (each bunk can bring a laundry bag filled with random stuff and then names of famous people or Island Lakers are called out and they have to dress up like them and put on a skit).

Today’s special feature is ARTS & CRAFTS.  It’s amazing to see so much talent here at ILC.  Many of these projects are still in their beginning stages. Enjoy these pics and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Happy first day of majors and minors!  Show rehearsals have started, rock bands have been formed, and dances are being choreographed.  Kids are walking around doing magic tricks, making all sorts of arts & crafts projects, riding horses, waterskiing in the lake, swimming in the pool, and some campers are becoming little chefs at the bistro.  They’re flying in the air on the giant swing, as well as on the circus trapezes.  Kids are learning to use the half pipes in our skatepark, the low and high ropes courses in pioneering, and science experiments are being created by children of all ages.   Sports and tennis took place on the courts and on the fields and it was great to see so many kids participating.  Tons of kids were spotted playing volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball today.  We even hosted a girls 6th & 7th grade tennis tournament this afternoon.  We’re extremely pumped for all the action going on here at Island Lake!  The camp spirit is very high and our activities are all in full swing.

The day started off cool but by 1^stmajor it warmed up to the upper 60’s and after lunch the temps hit the mid to upper 70’s with nothing but blue skies.  Seriously, the sky could not be any bluer right now. Gotta love the country air!

Tonight’s evening activity is a big camp-wide game of To Tell The Truth.  For those of you who haven’t been watching the reboot of this game show on tv, it involves contestants on stage all telling the same personal story to the audience (our campers) and then they take questions from the kids.  The audience then has to decide who amongst the panel is telling the truth.  It’s light-hearted entertainment for kids of all ages.

After evening activity tonight our campers will head to the canteen for a snack or two.  There at the canteen, as well as the gym, they will have the opportunity to socialize.  Lots of kids will play 4-square as well as basketball (a big game of knock out).  We also opened our Teen Lounge for our campers who are entering 9^thgrade and older (boys and girls group 4 and CITs).  They’ll have access to a television and soda machine to hang out and socialize.  The teen lounge is a good alternative to hanging around in the gym and the canteen every night.  Our kids seem excited about it, too.  What will they watch tonight?  American Ninja Warrior or The Bachelorette?  Oh, such decisions!

To summarize the first few days here at Island Lake, I can honestly tell you that our campers are having so much fun and are forming everlasting friendships with one another while learning many skills in their activities.  We couldn’t be happier for all of them!

Today’s special photo feature is PIONEERING/ROPES COURSE.  Below are a bunch of pics from a variety of pioneering activities throughout the day.  I even hiked up to “tent city” and the quarry, all for the sake of a good blog photo of a group of kids up there.  Enjoy the pictures and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Hey Island Lake Parents! We’re baaaaaccckkkkk!  Time for another summer of Island Lake blogs!!!! Firstly, I’d like to wish you all a big congrats on your newfound freedom at home.  I hope you’re enjoying all this extra time without your children to go out, binge watch some good tv shows, and perhaps do some fun traveling around the globe.  And now secondly,….

Happy first full day of camp!  Yesterday’s Opening Day went extremely well with lots of happy campers coming off of the buses.  New and old friendships are blossoming already.  Campers are bonding with one another, as well as with their counselors, and they are settling into Summer 2019 here at Island Lake.   Be sure to check out our daily summer photos via the Waldo app.  It’s got facial recognition so pics of your child will automatically be sent to your phone via the app.  It’s very cool!  I’ve been following it today and I’m very impressed with the facial recognition feature. It will even spot your children in the background of some pictures.  In terms of communication, besides this daily blog we are tweeting and posting on Instagram and Facebook.  There’s SO MUCH to check out that’s going on here at ILC.

Today was a beautiful day in Starrucca, PA.  After a brief rainstorm last night that sent our campers back to their bunks a bit earlier for a good night’s rest, we woke up this morning to nothing but sunshine and crisp temps in the low 60’s.  We only reached close to 70 degrees today but it was absolutely perfect for our 4-minor day of activities.

Speaking of 4-minor day, our campers stayed busy trying out activities to see what they’d like to sign up for as their majors for the session.   Campers took deep-water tests, had sports orientation, pioneering, started art projects, and were tested for their tennis levels.  Auditions for the musicals went on all day today, as well. We’re excited to offer Matilda for our older campers and Frozen for our younger kiddies.

Lots of other activities also took place today, too.  Horseback riders and dancers were tested for levels, circus activities were in full effect, our magicians started to learn their skills, our skaters & rollerbladers tore up the skatepark, our chefs cooked pizza in the bistro, and lots of other activities were offered here at ILC:  video, rock shop, gymnastics, and more!

After our 4 minors and snack break, we held our favorite traditional camp extravaganza,…PANIC!  It’s a camp-wide game where I call things out over the PA system and our campers have to run into their bunks, find the items, and bring them as fast as possible to their group leaders in the middle of their campuses.  It can be something as basic as a red toothbrush or more involved like 5 campers wearing grey and blue summer 2018 ILC Color War t-shirts singing the camp alma mater.  I play music over the PA in between while the kids sing and dance with their bunks. Ok, I’m not gonna lie.  The boys don’t sing and dance as much as the girls, but I hear they were involved and had a lot of fun. Panic was a hit and the kids participated and cheered their bunks on as they ran around having a fun-filled fantabulous time.

After Panic our group leaders went around to their bunks to help their campers sign up for their majors for the session.  Our department heads were in the office to assist with any questions to be sure that our campers can take every and any activity their heart desires.

Directly after dinner we will give out many 5-year jackets and 10-year jackets to our loyal Island Lakers, both campers and staff.  We will show you photos of campers and staff in their ILC-wear on today’s daily photos. The hope is that our campers won’t have to wear these (rain) jackets quite so much over the course of the summer.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS, which means the group leaders take charge and run different activities for their bunks.  Here’s a list of what everyone is doing:  BOYS: Group 1- gaga;  Group 2- capture the flag;  Group 3- dodgeball;  Group 4- kong pong.  On the GIRLS side:  Group 1- field day (hoola hoop race, 3-legged race, bucket brigade, wheel barrel/barrow (???) race, etc.);  Group 2- crazy games (dance party, human knot, alphabet race, & memory plates); Group 3- search-a-thon (get-to-know-you scavenger hunt);  Group 4- selfie scavenger hunt (similar to group 3).  Who thinks the girls are going to have more fun???  (wink wink!)  After evening activity our canteen is officially open for our campers to enjoy some treats.  They will have free time at the gym and canteen until their curfews.  I sure hope we ran them rampant and they’ll all sleep very well tonight.

David Lobel returned to camp for opening day and 4-minor day to take some pictures of our campers. Here’s a link to his photos.  Feel free to print as many as you wish at no cost. https://davidlobel.smugmug.com/Island-Lake/2019-06-29-Opening-Day/

Below is an array of photos from out around camp today.  Not all activities are represented in these photos, but there is a nice variety for you to enjoy.  Please return to this blog each day as I, Wendy, will be posting ongoing events happening here at Island Lake.  I’ll hit different departments daily to show you action photos of your campers living it up here at camp.  Until tomorrow, our first day of majors and minors, ILC U THERE!

We’re BAAAACCCKKKK!!!!!  It was with heartfelt excitement that I drove down Island Lake Road and entered my home away from home last week.  Over the past several days we’ve had great weather (for the most part) with the green grass and blue skies radiating the ILC landscape.  34 summers here at my home away from home and it never gets old. The thrill and elation associated with pulling into camp feels the same as it did when I was a kid.

Our pre-camp staff are already working hard to make sure camp looks beautiful for this upcoming summer.  We are so incredibly pumped for a fantastic summer 2019!  The only thing missing,…our campers!!!

Now that we are here in Starrucca, the office is currently open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am-5:00pm with a lunch break from 12:00-12:45pm.  Once camp begins the office will be open daily from 9am-9pm, 7 days a week.

Our packing list, equipment list, handbooks, policies, and in general, all important summer information can be found right here on our website under “Families” and then “Forms & Mailings.”  Be sure to print them all out and read them to make sure you are well prepared for summer.

As always, if you have any questions about packing or anything else related to camp, feel free to call us here at camp at 570-798-2550.  As of today, only 18 more days until camp begins! ILC U HERE!!!

Winter has definitely set in at Island Lake.  Camp just had a huge snowstorm with a blanket of about 20 inches on the ground.  Temps have reached a high of negative digits; wind chills making it feel as cold as -35 degrees.  Wow!  Makes us all dream about the warm summer days at ILC that much more.  Enjoy the photos below of our snowy white camp. ILCUTHERE!