Day in the Life of a Camper

A typical day at Joekaaru consists of an early start, with morning exercises run by one of the counselors, a time for tidying the cabin (shared by all children by schedule), while the other counselors are in a morning meeting with staff. The whole camp then lines up and comes together for a flag-raising ceremony. Next is a healthy breakfast, served in the main hall. Some camp announcements follow, and everyone heads off to prepare for the morning activities.

These activities can include: levelled swimming, sports, non-competitive games, music, art, drama, language instruction, leatherwork and woodwork. The children choose their activities with their parents upon arriving at camp. They rotate through their stations, which last about 45 minutes each, and then gather at the cabin for free time at the end. Sometimes whole-camp singing is done just before lunch in the hall. Lunch is often served in apple orchard, and includes fresh vegetables, and often fruit dessert.

After lunch is a time for rest, most children gather under a tree with a book or a notepad and have some quiet time to recharge for the rest of the day. Younger children can spend time indoors to rest as well.

After rest time, there is a time for each age group to go for a swim in the pool. A snack follows, as well as some instructional, leveled language-focused activities.

From about 4pm-6pm, the children are engaged in activities with their cabin groups, that are planned by their counselors. These activities can include: canoeing, hiking, exploring nature, playing sports and games, doing crafts, cooking, as well as community-building exercises. There are also whole-camp games done on the first day of each week, which help to build relationships between the different age-groups. A gathering to lower the flags precedes dinner. After dinner, evening activities include campfires, saunas, dances, telling of traditional stories, and folkdancing.