Country Camp: 2010 Featured Summer Camp

By Phil Buatti
Opinion Editor

Wizards, mobsters, animals, goblins, and vagabonds always make sure to stop by the Schlapkohl farm to visit imaginative young campers.
Established in 1999, The Country Camp has been an excellent summer location to encourage imaginative thinking in children from age four to fourteen.
The farm, home to chickens, geese, goats, sheep, a few cows, rabbits, two dogs, and a pony, houses a pirate ship, a bustling street, a gazebo, and a secluded forest village.
Every day at camp, campers and counselors alike immerse themselves in a fantasy world for “imagination time”. The camp works in two week thematic sessions with a film camp at the end, consisting of imaginative plots where campers engage themselves through teamwork and play.
Counselors, many of which attend City High, support the children through interaction, providing necessary materials, giving physical help, and, most importantly, playing characters to move the plot for each session.
“Our counselors do such a wonderful job of helping the campers use their imaginations and to enjoy being outside on a farm for the summer,” said Laura Johnson, a co-director and co-founder of Country Camp. “My favorite part of the day is always imagination time, as I am amazed every summer by our campers and the stories and worlds they create at camp.”
Most counselors are thespians, singers, dancers, and musicians. Pooling their talents, they fabricate fun in the sun for campers.
“I think that it gives students a chance to take on a tremendous amount of responsibility in a fun and supportive environment,” said Johnson, “Our counselors do such a wonderful job of helping the campers use their imaginations and to enjoy being outside on a farm for the summer. It’s great for students to work as counselors as it’s an opportunity to develop their skills working as leaders and teachers. Our counselors also get to learn about farm/garden work and animal care, and of course get to exercise their theatrical skills during imagination time and in the movie that we make during Film Camp.”
“We get to hang out with awesome kids and the other great staff,” said Cole Hotek ’11, a camper for five years and a counselor for three, “No one else can say they get to make up characters and fight little kids in epic (play) battles for their jobs!”