This year’s summer day camp program at Bernice’s Place was filled with fun, excitement and great learning experiences.  The camp provided thirty-seven children with the opportunity to make new friends, broaden their knowledge, and learn while enjoying the summer.  The summer day camp was divided into two 3-week sessions, ages 5-9 (session one) and ages 10-12 (session two).

The camp had structured daily activities to keep the children entertained and always wanting to return.  On Mondays, we had various arts and crafts activities, such as building pinatas and creating and decorating masks from plaster.  The older campers also participated in a journal-writing project thanks to volunteers from Cranford, and their writing was compiled in a Camp Journal for them to take home.  Tuesdays and Thursdays were swimming days.  These were highly anticipated days and the children were always very excited to learn how to swim and play safely in the water.  Wednesdays we embarked on journeys to different locations throughout New Jersey.  Finally, on Fridays the children had the opportunity to learn about science in a fun, hands-on way, and also to learn about conflict resolution in a weekly workshop.

Our field trips provided the campers with unforgettable experiences.  For some it was and exciting trip to the beach or their first time on a nature trial.  Others enjoyed their first experience on a college campus.  the children also had magical journeys viewing sea creatures at the aquarium, and finding fossils from millions of years ago.

Through our “Bernice Dollars” reward system, the children learned how to work hard and manage their money in order to “buy” items at our Bernice Store.  They obtained Bernice Dollars by working on age-appropriate workbooks which included math, science, social studies and grammar sheets.  The children were more than willing to learn more and work harder in order to obtain the “dollars!”

All of these wonderful activities would not have been a success without the help of our dedicated volunteers.  Students from the Westfield High School swimming team dedicated over 150 combined hours teaching the children how to swim.  In addition, several other high school students from Cranford, Clark, Westfield and surrounding communities volunteered their time throughout the summer.  Also, college students from Union County College and Rutgers University were a valuable asset to our program and provided much joy to the children.  Thank you, volunteers!