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!