MILESTONE: The Boy Goes To Sleepaway camp

Well, he's off for 14 days of non-stop adventure at Jewish sleepaway camp.  He's going to Camp Ramah in upstate Wisconsin, about 6 and a half hours north of here. We just dropped him off at the bus in Skokie, and the adventure has begun (for all of us!)

When I was a kid I went to a Jewish sleepaway camp as well, Camp Avoda, and had a great time.  I think I went right around his age-- and the first time my brother and I went for a month, and then after that I went for 2 months for a couple of more years before I wanted to go to basketball camp with my friends, and so didn't go to the Jewish camp anymore.  (Wow, just looked at the prices for Camp Avoda, and they are about1.3 times what we are paying for Ramah.  And I blanched when I saw OUR prices.  Don't let anyone fool you--Camp is expensive!)

Avoda is an all boys camp, and Ramah is mixed gender camp.  Wonder if that plays into the pricing?  Or just midwest vs. east coast kind of thing?


Here's the promo for Camp Ramah.

At Camp Avoda, kids pray in an outdoor chapel.  

This camp is far more religious than we are, and I think praying before and after every meal, eating kosher, discussing holiness, celebrating Shabbat, and learning about Judaism will be good for him.  I know it was for me.  It's where I learned a lot of the Jewish prayers (you sing them before and after every meal) and also got a sense of Jewish identity.  And really, it's where I started grappling with some philosophical issues as well about meaning and purpose.  And it was the first time I had hung out with a bunch of kids just like me.

While I am all about diversity and knowing about other cultures and ideas, I also think that knowing who you are and where you come from are important.  And bonding with kids just like you (especially when you are in a decided minority in your school) is also important.  When I grew up, I think I was one of only a handful of Jewish kids in my school- and even in high school- out of a class of 500, I doubt more than 10 of us were Jewish.  My son's elementary school has numbers that might be a little higher, but not much.

As I recall, I learned a lot more than just the prayers in sleepaway camp, including the joys of volleyball (newcome, the first year, where you got to catch the ball instead of hit it); tetherball, tennis, and what leeches were (we were on a freshwater lake in MA, and if you went swimming too far, you'd end up covered in leeches!)  And gimp bracelets, color war, and handmade wallets, and bug juice, and the joy of catching a frog for the first time (I was a sheltered city kid!) I also went to one of my first plays on a field trip there, and I think I acted in a play as well.  It's a time for growing up - a "Growth experience"  and I am so looking forward to finding out how it went for him!

My son (2nd from left) and his two friends and the bus director.
Getting ready to go on a giant camp adventure!

We packed and packed and packed and labeled every piece of clothing he owns (and several that he doesn't) and bought batteries for the flashlight and batteries for the other thing and batteries for the batteries.  His stuff fit into two large duffel bags. I also packed an old ipod (music players are allowed, but not ones with screens or connectivity) and some audio books and some regular books.  He will not be hurting for things to do this summer!

The bigger question is:  what are my wife and I going to do with our free time?  (Other than fret about the boy?) This is sort of an empty nest preview, and I'm not sure what we are going to do.  Go on dates?  Sleep in?  Have sex all day?  (Let's not go crazy!)

My guess is not much will change, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or just sad.

 It's a little concerning-- I no longer have a ready-made excuse about why I was less than productive today!

What about you?  What happened when your kids went to camp?  Funny war stories encouraged in the comments below.

Ravinia Schedule for 2017!

Ravinia just released its schedule for 2017, and as always there's a ton of great music to be heard.

In case you were unaware, Ravinia is an outdoor park in the Northern suburbs of Chicago, easily accessible by car or by Metra (there is a Metra station right out front!) During the summer, they present world-class musicians in a pastoral and beautiful setting.  You can bring a picnic, make a day of it, and listen to some amazing music.  They focus on classical, but have a fair amount of classic rock and jazz, and occasionally even some more alternative music (Blondie and Garbage are making appearances this year.)

One of the most amazing things about Ravinia (other than the music of course) is the picnicking! You can see all kinds of elaborate picnic setups.  I'm hoping to go a couple of times this summer just to take photos of some of the best picnic solutions!  Or you can just go look at this Pinterest board.

Click image to see larger, or view the Ravinia calendar on their site.

I've included a screen captured shot of their full schedule to the right.  You can click here to see the schedule in all of its fabulous glory.

Tickets are various prices, and they do have deals for kids, seniors, and those who buy tickets in bulk.

If you are a textual person, you can look below to see their schedule in list format or download  from this link.

Here are some of the highlights, with special attention to stuff that is kid and family friendly.  I'm not even including all of the many CSO concerts, or some of the special events like Aretha Franklin or Joshua Bell.

GREAT KIDS SHOWS
AT RAVINIA 2017

June 3 at 11 am, 2 pm, and 5 pm Catskill Puppet Theatre performs Sister Rain and Brother Sun.

June 17 at 11 am
Ko-Thi Dance Company performs

June 18 at 8 pm
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performs live accompaniment to the movie La La Land

June 29 at 7 pm Stars of the Peking Acrobats

July 15 at 12 noon Laurie Berkner performs a solo concert.

July 29 at 11 am
The Joyous String Ensemble

August 18-20 at 7 pm
The CSO, the Chicago Children's Choir, the Chicago Chorale, and the Lakeside Singers provide live musical accompaniment to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Each night, one movie plays.

August 29 at 11 am 
Opera For the Young’s The Elixir of Love 

September 16 & 17 
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a performance by the Performer’s School has 5 performances spread out over the two days.

Click image to see larger, or click here for PDF version

Camp Options: Too Many Interests, Not Enough Time.

Summer is fast approaching.  Even the snow is starting to melt.  And that means that camp season is in full swing.  Just about every organization on the face of the planet is trying to entice you and your child into their camp.  There are so many to choose from!  And some are already sold out!  What are we going to do? How are we going to decide?  And how are we going to afford it?

WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE

Some artwork and gears from the camp
Robot City Workshop, where kids build robots.

In the past we've done a variety of things. Here's a run-down.

The first year he could, he went to camp at the same place he went to pre-K.  He had a good time, he knew most of the kids, they played sports, and he swam every day.

Then the next year he went to camp dad.  (It was a lot of fun, and we did fun stuff, and swam nearly everyday, but 14 hours a day of the bear is tough for an old guy like me!  And I'm probably much stricter than his camp councilors, because I'm paying close attention to my one charge, and I really care.)

The next year, he attended this pretty pricey Jewish camp in Rockland county.  He loved it (swam twice a day, adored his councilors, got to ride on a bus there and back and sing songs)-- in fact for a year afterwards he'd sing the Tap Tap Tappanzee song whenever we crossed a bridge, even if it wasn't the Tappanzee!  I loved that he loved it, but our bank account, less so.

Last year (the summer that we moved to Chicago) we did a city of Yonkers run day camp.  It had almost all the same activities as the shmancy Jewish camp, except it wasn't Jewish and you swam once a day.  Oh, and he only rode a bus once a week, when they went on a field trip.   He enjoyed that a fair amount.


WHAT WE ARE DOING THIS YEAR

This year we are doing D) All of the Above.  

We'll be travelling a little.  We'll have some dad camp time.  He'll spend a week going to a local robotics camp.  He'll spend a week going to his pick- a Scratch programming camp (Yes, his parents are geeks, and so is he!  "Say it Aloud- We're Smart and Proud!" )  He's eschewed the Mandarin camp, and (at least this year) we are going along with that.

But most importantly, we've found a "Backstop camp"  Steve and Kate's, a camp that started in the San Francisco bay area and has slowly picked up steam on a national level.  They've got them in Boston, New York, NJ, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, LA, and all over the Bay area..

 Unlike most camps, it's got a ticketing/voucher system. You buy a number of days, and then use them as you see fit.  Kind of like a yoga punch card, but for camp.  Yes, Drop in camp!

Steve & Kate's Music Studio
(photo courtesy of the camp)

The camp itself is student led-- meaning they have a lot of options/stations, and your kid gets to do what he is passionate about. It's not that there is no structure.  They have staffed studios where kids can make music videos, practice coding, bake bread, style jeans, or just hang out.  There's sports, games, reading, shows, and lots more. (They don't have swimming, but they do have a plastic water slide at each location!)  Three times a day, the kids huddle with their peers/counselor, and there are camp wide shows and specials, including a game show.  They advertise that for every block the campers can choose from at least 12 activities.

 I'm not sure how they manage the staffing and lunch issues, considering the drop in nature.  But they apparently have  got it figured out.  AA has a couple of friends who were at the camp last year and they LOVED it!

The great thing is that they are refundable/upgradable. Camp is $89 a day. If you buy 5 or more it's $79, If you buy 20 or more, it's $69. If I upgrade later, they retroactively make the whole package less, and I pay the difference. And if I don't use them all up, we get refunded at the end of the season. And they have camps all over the country, and your voucher is good AT ANY CAMP! We could travel to San Francisco, and he can go to the camp there!

What I love is their transparency and their business model. It's giving flexibility when I need it. If Camp Dad gets too tough, or I need a breather (or he needs a breather) we have it.  And as mentioned above he'll have a couple of good pals that are already there, and he'll make new pals as well I am sure.

Find out more about Steve & Kate's

So, I think we are mostly covered for the summer.  How about you?  What are your plans for your kids' summer?