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Every summer, we ask our staff to write down their favorite part of camp. One answer has been written on a poster in the craft lodge all season: Camp is all the best parts of life. Community, Nature, Fun, Friendship, Growth, Creativity, Kindness, Inspiration, Joy, and Adventure. I’d add that if you mix all that together with a bit of Awe and Wonder, that's why life at camp is better! KMK in the summer has a feeling all its own. The days fly by, yet each one feels like a whole week. We build a unique little community of 40 to 70 people and live life on our own terms. We write cabin contracts for how we'll treat each other, we rotate through morning activities as a cabin, come together in the afternoons as a whole camp for all camp games, and then get to choose our own adventures and form new small groups for our camper choice programs. Then there are the moments of Camp Magic that have popped-up this summer: the choose-your-own-adventure program known as "Digging a Hole with Merlin" (which is pretty self explanatory). Cabin connections and nine-square… so much nine-square. Egg drop challenges off the tallest ladder at camp. The afternoon the tuck shop's candy went missing, sparking an all-camp game of Clue, complete with a jury trial and camp directors thrown in the pool by the counselors, while campers cheered. A campout in the sports field sleeping in tents. Tuck time in the quad, debating favorite candy combos. Breakfast skits like "Jar of Questions," "Science with Squirrel," and a fashion show to reunite campers with their lost-and-found treasures. All these little moments, and so many more, are what make camp magical. It's a place unlike the outside world, one where joy comes easier and fun is nearly constant. Bringing all our campers together in one place for a week creates a rare third community for everyone where growth, silliness, and connection happen all at once. I’m excited for a great second half to our summer because life really is better at camp! Carter Mahoney Executive Director
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