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A Day in the Life

A camper watering the garden

Wake Up Call

The bell rings out across the morning fog: it’s time to wake up at Camp Glen Brook. In the A-Frame, James and the other Eagle campers stir from a sound sleep. Henry, their counselor, sings, “Top of the mornin’ everyone!” In that wonderful margin between dreams and consciousness, James has time to register that it is Friday. After a full week of Summer Camp, the schedule begins to become comfortable for him, and before he can even sit up in his bunk, James cracks a smile at the thought of what’s next: Breakfast!

A view of the camp in the early morning

Breakfast

Fresh Glen Brook scrambled eggs still warm James’s tummy as he gets ready for morning chores. Although he wouldn’t say he looks forward to it, chore time has morphed into a kind of satisfaction for James. Listening to Henry sing clean-up songs in silly melodies as everybody works together makes cleaning its own kind of fun. And for the first time in his life, James has to admit he likes the feeling of a space with made beds, folded clothes, and swept floors.

A bouquet of flowers sitting on a table

Art Class

In Art class, James is working on a self-portrait that he’s been working on for over two weeks. Not a practiced artist, he is proud of what he’s learned, and is inspired by the creativity of his fellow Eagle campers. And he can’t wait to give it to his Mom when she picks him up.

Campers working on friendship bracelets

Hands On Classes

In the woods, by the small waterfall of the babbling Glen Brook, James is practicing chopping into a felled Hemlock. Straight back, strong legs, smooth swings – James is starting to come into his own in TimberCraft class. It’s nothing he has ever done before, but after choosing it for his elective, there’s nothing he looks forward to more than swinging an axe on a warm summer’s morning. His friends Alex and Emily are there everyday too. In the process, they’ve all learned about making fire-side seats, sustainably managing a forest, and storing wood for winter, but what James likes best is the fresh air and the humming of his whole body after the exhaustion of a good morning’s chopping.

A camper learning how to chop wood

Lunchtime

It’s a stir-fry of Glen Brook vegetables and chicken over rice for lunch. At meals, James gets to meet campers from different ages and hear their stories about what they’ve done today. Lily, a Fox (3rd grade), is excited about building Fairy Houses in Nature class; Emmanuel, a Lynx (8th grade), tells the table about his progress with archery; even Sara, a Falcon (10th grade) is eating at the table today and she laughs as she recalls her trying backpacking trip in White Mountains. Just about as the plates start clearing, James gets that sleepy post-meal feeling and is glad to be able to lie down and take a well-deserved nap during the upcoming rest period.

Campers lining up to eat food

Free Time

In the afternoon, James lies in the grass reading a book during General Swim. This might just be my favorite part of the day, he thinks. He just slid down the water slide, jumped on the water-trampoline, played a game of tennis, and now gets to relax and read. But before he can finish a chapter, James is off to challenge his friend Mike in tetherball, again.

Campers lounging on the grass

Dinner & Singing

After a Supper of handmade, wood-fired pizza, the whole camp gathers in the barn for Evening Singing. Led by a trio of counselors playing guitars and drums, James sings along to songs he already knew like “Lean on Me,” but some new ones too, like “Passing Through.” After singing wraps up, the counselors announce the evening activity to the whole camp: Capture the Flag! James races past trees, over rocks, and around streams with his team. It’s a blast: a new way James loves being in the woods.

Pizza being baked in a wood oven.

Cabin Time

In his cabin, Henry helps his Eagle campers get ready for bed. Before they fall asleep, each camper gets a chance to tell about his favorite time of the day. James has to think hard to pick his favorite memory of such a packed day at Glen Brook. And as he starts to drift towards a deep slumber, while Henry reads the bunk a story, James can’t help but crack a smile as he thinks that tomorrow he’ll get to do it all over again.

A view of the stars at night.

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