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Growing up, my dad (Dr. Schott, always Dr. Schott) had one cure for everything.
Didn’t matter what was wrong. Bored, restless, cranky, too much energy, not enough energy. whatever. The prescription was always the same.
“Get outside and blow the stink off.”
That was after school on Seneca Parkway where I grew up. Streets, neighbors, wherever. Or up at the cottage in Canada, it was chores in the morning and then just go. Nobody really checking in until dinner.
I’m sure at the time, those days were the weird mix of energy and movement, maybe some boredom, and yeah, probably being a little annoyed being told to “Get outside and blow the stink off.”
But in this case, Dr. Schott was definitely right. It really was a cure for something.
I was looking at the schedule with Violet the other day and had one of those moments where you just think, yup, this is what summer should look like.
There’s an element to going outside and, well, you already know what Dr. Schott would say next because the thing is, stillness isn’t really an option here. Well, it’s an option. But it’s rarely the prevailing choice.
By 9:15 on any given morning, pick any morning, the whole place is already in motion.
The morning
In the Hollow, the Kenwood Freshmen are playing soccer. In the gym, Sophomores are running hoops. On the volleyball court, the Inters are in a Newcomb game that is about to get weirdly competitive in approximately eight minutes.
Down at the Junior Ball Field, the Juniors are fielding grounders. That’s every Kenwood Junior kid, on a team, playing a sport, before 10 AM. Every day of the week. Built in.
Across at Evergreen, it looks different, but it’s just as full. Julia’s running Dance in Cypress. Tie Dye is happening at the Studio. There’s a Gaga game going on in the Gaga pit, and Slacklines set up in the Woods.
At 10:15, the whole grid flips. Evergreen Junior swaps into Unit Sports. Kenwood Junior heads to options. Every unit, every day, gets at least one organized team sport block before lunch.
That part isn’t optional. And honestly, I love that it isn’t. Getting out there and competing, even just for competition’s sake, has its summertime merit.
The rest of the day
At 11:15, both Junior Camps are at their waterfront. General swim, instructional swim, inflatables, tubing.
Meanwhile, Senior Camp is in the Woods or the Studio. That’s Ceramics, Woodshop, Climbing. (Every summer, at least one Senior kid’s trunk goes home with enough woodshop in it to furnish a small cabin.)
After lunch, Rest Hour. Which at K&E means you’re rocking some milk and cookies. No camper has ever complained about this, and I doubt they ever will.
Options run at 2:15 and 3:15. By then, the grid looks like a small town in full motion. Jordan is running pickup on the Hill. Violet has Poetry tucked somewhere quiet.
Rob is leading Mt Biking on the camp road. A Junior Kenwood kid is at the driving range hitting golf balls (yes, actual golf, though not with Greg Golf). And there’s always a boat on the lake with three kids behind it screaming.
Oh, and did I mention Pickleball? Yeah, we’ve got Pickleball.
If it feels like we just went through this is one breath, crazy rapid-fire style, then I agree. But it’s just what summer days look like.
Free Play in the Hollow
5:30, everyone’s back at their bunk. Assembly at 5:50. Dinner at 6.
And then comes some of the best 45 minutes of the entire camp day.
Free Play in the Hollow.
240 kids on a wide green field. A few frisbees in the air. A Gaga game that’s always somehow happening. The entire camp visible to itself. Eight-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds in the same space, nothing programmed, nobody telling them what to do next. There’s been a day of that kind of activity.
I’m telling you without hesitation, and with zero doubt, this is the part your kid will remember in ten years. Because it just belongs to them.
When I look back at summer days growing up, I think about activity. Moving. Playing. Keeping score on something even if we’d throw the scores out that night and start a whole new scoring system up the next day.
The movement was the medicine. It still is.
We’re waking up every morning here, going outside, and blowing the stink off.
Dr. Schott would approve.
You got this,
Jack
P.S. There's so much more that goes into summers at camp. I'd love to tell you all about it. Schedule a quick call here
P.P.S. I'm posting almost daily from camp. See the dining hall, the EBF, an Evergreen Lodge and more
