Our First Ceramics Master

One of our two ceramics instructors, Ali Mayer, is here today to share some exciting news about the Ceramics studio! Ali has a deep connection with the program, as she was an Assistant Counselor the summer we began Ceramics. She shares how the studio has not only shaped her story, but a glimpse into how it is impacting others.

"Hello! My name is Alison Mayer and I am one of the ceramics instructors this summer. 

Ceramics was added to the activity roster in 2010 in an effort to expand the arts at HoneyRock. When I was an Assistant Counselor, I had the opportunity to be in the studio. My experience working with the clay that summer shaped the path of my lif, giving me a vision for the direction that God was leading me. Creating art became passion which has continued to grow since that summer. In order to fulfill my calling, I am pursuing a degree of Fine Art at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. My desire is to become an art professor at a small college or art school.

I am very pleased to introduce the very first ceramics masters student at HoneyRock, Jacob Fisco! Jacob participated in Advance Camp this summer and has been coming to HoneyRock for several years. He has participated in the ceramics program since it’s beginning. As a Masters student, Jacob created a tea set including a teapot, saucers, and tea cups. He also created a series of five mugs, learned how to load and fire the kiln, made glazes and slips, plates, lidded jars, and the list goes on. Another important part of all Masters awards at HoneyRock is the service and assisting hours that the student completes, giving back to the activity area. Jacob served all areas of the studio for a total of six hours in order to receive his Masters. It was a great joy to work with Jacob and share in something we have both come to love so much at HoneyRock!"

The Ceramics studio serves more than our camper programs. During the spring, Professor Hooker runs a Woodfire class, where Wheaton students come to HoneyRock for two weeks to create pieces, firing them in our wood kiln. The studio will also play an incredible role in Vanguard year, coming September 2015.

Advance Camp is on their way!

Our Advance Campers come today! As of 9am this morning, they were leaving Rockford - you can look to our Facebook page to follow their drive up North. After a week of rest and reflection, their counselors are ready to spend the next three weeks pouring into these high school freshman asking questions like Who am I? What is true? What is my purpose? The answers to these questions have the potential to provide an incredible foundation as they begin their high school journey. We're pumped to welcome them to HoneyRock!

Res: The boys are all back from their trip - 7/8th grade girls leave this afternoon while 5/6th graders leave tomorrow. They will all return Wednesday afternoon just in time for OPA and Banquet.

2:22: Our 2:22ers begin their service trips today. They'll serve not only on camp, but make day trips to communities as far away as Green Bay.

Service Team: With less than half of their time left, Service Team is continuing to serve in and around camp. Friday morning we received a call from a local strawberry farm who needed some help - they were driving there that afternoon to lend a hand!

Assistant Counselors: ACs were off last night. After grabbing some groceries in town, they came back to camp to make dinner and hang out, taking some much deserved time off!

Family Day is coming up for Res Camp & 2:22 - we're looking forward to welcoming families on camp this Thursday! Need more info? Visit our Family Day page. Still haven't registered? Click here.

Res, Advance, 2:22 and more!

We have five different camper programs going now, and today we have an update for them all! 

Res: Res campers just arrived yesterday, and they're charging ahead at full steam! After a night filled with name games, icebreakers, swim tests, skits and cabin reflections, they woke up this morning to cabin impacts, camper worship, and activities. At this point, they're just finishing up their second activity period and heading into OPA (optional play activitiy) where they have some structured free time with their cabin before dinner. 

Advance Camp Girls, ready to go on trip!Advance: While the boys got back Saturday afternoon, the girls left on trip right after lunch today. They'll be out on trip for the next few days, enjoying the beautiful Northwoods. Meanwhile, the boys will work on their activities on camp. When Sarah asked the girls how they wanted to caption this picture, they said, "Bugspray is the new perfume!" This year, that may be the case!

2:22: 2:22 is in camp today but will be gone tomorrow as they all split up and leave on their trips. There are a few pictures up on SmugMug, including their cabin photos. Stick tight through their wildnerness and service trips - while we would love to get pictures during these times, there isn't an opportunity. Our photographer is working hard to get as many takes of them as she can before they leave!

Service Team: Service Teamers are busy busy busy! They're split up all around camp as well as in town. Job rotations include housekeeping, Operations, Construction, town service, etc... If you were able to pop over to our photo site, you might notice some silly pictures in their gallery. We handed off the camera for them to take some pictures of their time setting up DTP tents, banquet, and their overnight trip - they had some fun with it!

AC's: This is a fun group to watch. They're all doing so well with their campers - leading them through bible studies, camper worship, activities...it's incredible to see the growth from Service Team to Assistant Counselor. The guys will soon be leading their Res campers on their overnights, while girls are prepping for Girls Night on camp. 

All SmugMug galleries were updated today, even Res Camp! The password was given out early this afternoon in a message sent to the email parents provided. If you can't find it, check your junk mail - somtimes it likes to sneak in there. If you're still having problems, let us know at media@honeyrockcamp.org. Thanks!

Intro Camp Banquet

Yesterday Intro Campers had a busy morning: breakfast, Cabin Impacts, worship, and activities. After lunch, their day continued in a not so normal way: Adventure Fest! Instead of our typical activities, Activity Staff and Service Team put on a sort of "Field Day"...HoneyRock style. 

Besides helping out with Adventure Fest, some of our Service Team (ST) put up the 2:22 tents while others went into town to serve at a local community center. We've got a lot of long-time HoneyRockers in this ST bunch. Earlier at the Fest, one remarked how cool it was to be on the other side of Intro/Res Camp and more into the "behind the scenes" of making camp work. We love our Service Team group - tonight, they set up for BANQUET - a crazy fun night for all in the dining hall.

Advance Camp boys are still out on trip and doing well as the Advance Camp girls are here in camp. Remember, we can't take pictures of them out on trip, but when they get back we'll be sure to update the SmugMug page! 

Tomorrow is Family Day for our Intro Campers! Can you believe their first week of camp is almost over? It has absolutely flown by for us. If you're visiting camp (and we hope you are!), please be mindful of the following things:

• No dogs! It's a camp policy - even if they're cute, we can't have them on camp.
• A Place Apart: We ask that cell phones are put away while at HoneyRock - please take advantage of the opportunity to fully unplug and engage in the HoneyRock experience!
• Look for the Check-In table right by the entrance to the barn area - we'll let you know about the day's schedule then.
• Don't forget to check the lost & found area as well as picking up any medication your camper brought to camp. Check your schedule (given at Check-In) for more information.
• Campers stay on the final night. The last night as a cabin is so important to wrapping up their time at HoneyRock. You'll see them bright and early Saturday morning! 

Thanks for working with us to make it a great family day. Safe travels!

All About SmugMug

It's Sarah here, the girl behind the camera this summer. I'm going to tell y'all how to see pictures of your kids while they're at HoneyRock by way of FAQ. Here we go!

First things first: what's the link to SmugMug?
www.honeyrock.smugmug.com/Summer-2014 

How many times is it updated?
I do my best to update Intro & Res Camp every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. High School programs (Advance Camp, 2:22, Service Team) are updated every Tuesday/Thursday. However, keep in mind that Advance Camp and 2:22 go on relatively long wilderness trips, so there won't be quite as many updates during those times. In Advance Camp, guys leave the first week and girls towards the middle/end of camp.
Assistant Counselors (ACs) also have their own gallery, so I try to pick out all of the pictures they're in to duplicate from the Intro/Res sessions into their gallery.

How is HoneyRock's SmugMug page organized? 
If you follow the link above, it will take you directly to our "Summer 2014" folder. Find your camper program by rolling your mouse over the boxes to see their titles, and click!
If you have to search for HoneyRock's page at smugmug.com, simply look to the upper right hand corner of the screen, and type "HoneyRock". Click "People" under the new search bar, and HoneyRock's profile will pop up. 

Where do I find the password? Why do we have one this year?
If you remember past summers, we didn't protect our images with a password. We introduced this safety measure so only the loved ones of campers can see our photos. If you check the email you provided HoneyRock, the password should be included in an email that was sent at the beginning of your camper's session.

Can I order pictures off of SmugMug?
Yes! That's the beauty of this site - not only can you view pictures, but you can also order prints directly to be shipped to your home. Easy! 

Update, June 25: 
You're talking about some email with the password - I can't find it!
We've been having some difficulty with our emails going directly to Junk mail - check your spam box to see if it accidentally got lumped in with those pesky subscription emails.

Why aren't there as many high school photos as Intro or Res Camp?
There are a couple reasons for this. First, Intro Camp is three times as big as Advance Camp. With about 165 little ones running around, it seems like everywhere I turn there's a new face to capture. Advance Camp has 51 campers - which means they are more spread out doing different activities around camp.
Second, Intro Campers are so much more inviting for me to snap their picture. Like the little boy in the picture below, they'll literally run by yelling "take my picture!!" which is AWESOME. However, there aren't many, if any, high schoolers that would do that. It's incredible to see how this changes from Intro up to High School - how the younger ones are so much more free, while the older kids are a lot more self-conscious. I could talk a lot more about that, but maybe in another post.
Third, Advance Camp & 2:22 go on longer wilderness trips where, unfortunately, I can't follow. However, your camper will have so many stories to tell from this time!
Fourth, Service Team & Assistant Counselors are so spread out on camp. Sometimes, Service Team even goes off camp to help out around town. I do my best to enable their counselors to get good shots during these times. Also, as I mentioned yesterday, Assistant Counselor pictures may accidentally get lumped into the Intro/Res folders.  

I don't see many pictures of my camper in worship or bible study or quiet time - why not?
In my mind, this is always a balance. Since HoneyRock is a place apart, and I firmly believe in keeping it that way, I don't always want a camera up in their face - especially when they're in the middle of worshiping or bible study. That's an incredible time of learning and growing in faith...the last thing I want is for kids to be distracted by me fumbling around with a camera and the "click" as the photo takes. At the same time, I want to show all parts of camp, allowing parents to get a glimpse of a "day in the life". I'm still working on finding that balance!

Anyways, while snappin' photos isn't my only job, it's definitely my favorite part of serving at camp. Getting out of the office, running around, seeing all of the smiling faces is the best part of my day! Here are a couple of my favorites from the past 24 hours.  

Cabin of Advance Camp guys, about to leave on trip!

Intro Camper, as he was running by "Hey! Take my picture!"

Intro Campers, about to play "Ninja"

Intro Camper: ""YEAHHHHH!"

Some of our cute little Daisy Chains.

Women ACs '14

If you have any other questions, thoughts or concerns, please leave a comment or email media@honeyrockcamp.org - thanks!

Campers are Coming!

There's a different feel around camp today - breakfast was a little louder, Devo circle announcements took a little longer, and last minute preparations continue. Some returning staff loosely compare today to Christmas morning - so much preparation and training and waiting and anticipation for this day. Most of the staff has been up here for the past month: exploring the Northwoods on wilderness trips, learning about preparing and giving cabin impacts (among other things!), and serving one another day in and day out. With that training month in the books, we can confidently say that we're ready for campers. 

Abby & Hannah welcoming campers, 2013When the busses pull up this afternoon, rest assured that your camper is excitedly welcomed and guided to their cabin. They play icebreaker games and name games. The swim test is given, and directly following they eat a hearty dinner with fresh HoneyRock bread. After dinner, campers are introduced to the different parts of camp with various skits led by the Unit Leaders and Activity Staff. Finally, at 9:00 or so, the campers start to wind down the day with Cabin Reflection. It's a busy first day, but ensures that campers are safe and know their way around camp. Want to know more about the first day schedule? See this post.

We'll post updates of the busses here and to our Facebook page. Stay tuned this week as we continue to share Intro & Advance Camp, as well as Service Team's journey!

8:50am: Bus has left Shaumburg, on its way to Rockford.
1:15pm: Bus is traveling north of Madison...next stop HoneyRock! 
3:50pm: Bus passing through Rhinelander. 
4:45pm: Here safe & sound!