Hello friends and family of camp! Great news: your campers made it through their first full day of Camp 2026! My name is Molly O’Connor, and I will be your blogger for Earth Day! This is my first year on staff (woohoo!) but my sixth at camp as a whole. I started coming to camp in the first post-COVID year with a very small crew, and I’m so happy to see us thriving at the highest number of campers I’ve ever seen! Without further ado, let’s get into our fabulous Monday!

Bob and his lovely assistant Brett woke us up with a harmonica and a camp fact at 7:30, and we all headed down to the dining hall for breakfast at 8am sharp. The Robindel staff spoiled us this morning with bacon, eggs, a plethora of fruits, and some delicious french toast topped with whipped cream and maple syrup.

At the end of breakfast, Steve shared a little bit about Morning Watch, which is our time to sit outside quietly for around 10 minutes and prepare ourselves for the day with a handout that introduces the day’s theme through stories, quotes, questions, and scripture. Today we read about techniques for grounding ourselves while managing the chaos of life.

Campers headed back to their cabin after Morning Watch and a quick morning meeting explaining the day to tidy up and get ready to meet with their small groups. Our Camp theme for the week is “Camp: Elemental.” Each day of camp will explore a different element and how it relates to us. Like I previously mentioned, today’s theme is Earth! Small groups discussed trust, community, and what makes us feel grounded. Human knots were untangled, and puzzle pieces were decorated to make a collage representing the whole group.

We’re doing something a little different this year with our youngest campers to help break up their small group time. Sixth/seventh grade small groups are taking the first 45 minutes of small groups to gather together and play some fun games. Today’s agenda was getting to know each other, and what better way to do it than Human Bingo!

A few lucky small groups (including mine!) skipped out on the large group games for the day to use Camp Robindel’s awesome swing! If I’m honest, I was a little too scared to try it, but my campers, and a few counselors, most certainly were not! All of the sixth/seventh grade small groups will get a chance to swing this week, and I’m sure many of their counselors will jump in if given the chance.

Lunch consisted of chicken caesar wraps, waffle fries, watermelon, and a salad bar. Counselors Bridget Dilworth, Brian Hickox, and Timmy Noll gave the breakdown for Spree Time, a fun block of free time with only one rule: don’t go in your cabin! Campers played soccer, practiced for tomorrow’s volleyball tournament, took advantage of the beautiful Lake Winnipesauke at our swim and boat piers, and more.

The afternoon program was called Waterworld 3.0, and believe me, the name does not exaggerate. Campers played with their small groups in several splashy stations, tossing waterballoons, shooting water guns, and dumping cups of water on their heads. There wasn’t a dry camper in sight by the time we reached the final relay with the top six highest scoring teams, but I can’t say anyone was too upset given the beating hot sun shining down on us. After a relay featuring shaving cream pies, bobbing for clementines, bottle-flipping Propels, and a human pyramid, Katherine Kelly and Dennis Brooks’ eight/ninth grade group took home the win, with a great prize of a case of water and some extra socks.

Next, we headed over to the Council Ring for chapel, lead by some of our wonderful senior class. John Fiander played some high energy classics, “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” and “Rise and Shine,” before closing it out with “This Little Light of Mine.” Counselor Candace Crocker gave our message today, starting off with a grounding meditation, and telling a story about leaning on our support systems in times of need. Dinner quickly followed, including General Gao’s chicken, white rice, sautéed peppers, and fantastic, albeit melty, ice cream sandwiches.

Tonight’s evening program was our first dance: Into the Wild! Campers and staff showed out with some truly wild costumes, ranging from inflatable giraffes to UNO wild cards. Our resident DJ Abby Golden pumped up the crowd with some Pitbull, Kesha, and all the camp classics. Here at Camp we take our dances very seriously, so we all worked up a good sweat busting out our best moves.

Finally we moved back over to the Council Ring for Vespers, where John Fiander set the mood with a fan favorite camp song, “Brother.” Adam Martignetti shared the message tonight, telling his story about adapting to life’s changes and learning who we are as we go.

Campers are (hopefully) tucked in and fast asleep right now, ready for another great day tomorrow! Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you tomorrow night!