Fun in the sun at Si View summer camps
May 28, 2008
By Laura Geggel
Ever since Si View Metropolitan Park District’s founding five years ago, multitudes of children have swum, roller-skated and hiked along with their counselors at the summer sessions of Si View Camp.
“I love it when we go outside,” said 10-year-old Chayla Brewster. “I love playing dodge ball. When we have story time, I like to write in my journal.”
Si View has four summer camps: Camp Little Si, Camp Si View, Teen Recreation Adventure Camp (TRAC) and X’treme Teen Trips at the end of the summer. The camps meet five days a week, except for Camp Little Si, which meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Many children sign up for multiple weeks, taking the camp all summer when they’re not vacationing elsewhere.
Ryan Daly, youth and athletic coordinator, organizes the camps. Daly said about 50 percent of campers return for multiple sessions, giving counselors and children ample time to make lasting friendships.
“It’s more of a personal thing with the counselors at Si View,” said Brian Keller, whose 9-year-old son Ben attends Camp Si View. “When we run into people in the community, Ben knows them and they chat with him. They see him everywhere.
“I’m not known as Brian, I’m known as Ben’s dad,” Keller joked.
Each camp caters to different age groups. Camp Little Si, for ages 3-5, runs every other week from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and introduces a new guest every session to teach the campers with the staff.
Camp Si View, for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, runs nine weeks beginning June 23 and ending Aug. 22.
Campers go on field trips every Wednesday, including trips to the zoo, Seattle Storm basketball games and water parks. In addition to cooking, arts and crafts, and daily swimming, the camp features several championships like the Toilet Paper Fashion Show and the Si View Olympics.
TRACs Camp is geared toward middle school students. Four out of the five days a week, campers are out on field trips visiting beaches, hiking, doing trail maintenance and exploring Seattle events.
The last week of summer is open to teenagers ages 12-18 looking for adventure in X’treme Teen Trips. The three trips include whitewater rafting, rock climbing and paintball.
Going to camp is also the perfect summer activity for Daly.
“I was going to be a teacher,” Daly said, until he “decided I wanted to hang out with kids and not teach kids, so I ended up in recreation.”
Daly said he is open to suggestions about camp operation. For example, when parents of TRAC campers explained how hard it was to pick up their children at 4 p.m., Daly extended the camp an extra hour, allowing it to run from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The camps have 13 full-time staff ranging from college students to teachers. Camp Director Lauren Baughman is a 22-year-old Mount Si High School graduate now at Central Washington University. Baughman said her elementary education major complements her work at Si View. She helps train new counselors how to lead campers through thick and thin.
“I like the youngest group,” she said. “I want to be a kindergarten teacher.”
Each staff member is first aid and CPR certified.
Max Nelson, who is graduating from Mount Si High School this June, said he likes playing with children and teaching them games.
“It’s a little like school without all of the work,” Nelson said.
Campers bring their own lunch except during the weekly pizza party. The fees, which increased $5 from last year, are now $50 for camp Little Si, $130 for Camp Si View and $150 for TRAC.
As of now, Daly said Camp Little Si has a large handful of openings, Camp Si view has room for four more campers, and TRAC has about 10 spots left in each week. Daly encourages every child to sign up for the opportunity to make new friends and have fun.
“Our favorite field trip with the staff and kids is Laser Quest,” Daly said. “I always win the first game, without fail. But then the kids get a little smarter and they gang up on me. I hear about it for weeks.”
Reporter Laura Geggel can be reached at 392-6434 x221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com
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