This Week at Hannah and Friends:

Erika's view:

Splish Splash week has brought to a close a wonderful summer at Hannah and Friends. The campers thoroughly enjoyed getting themselves and others soaking wet! Each day brought new and exciting water themed activities.

Some activities included washing cars, splish splash hot seat, slip and slide, drip drip drop, and an inflatable pool! As interns we became a special target for our splash happy campers. It really was the perfect close to summer camp being able to revel in the warm weather while enjoying classic summer activities! I can say without a doubt that everyone involved had a complete blast and that wonderful memories were made!

Being an intern this summer has been such an amazing and uplifting experience! It has been a complete privilege dedicating my summer to such an amazing organization and knowing that each day brings new adventures and new experiences to our campers. I have made incredible friendships with so many of them so much so that work never did seem like work! I just can't believe it is over! I am so thankful for everyone who helped make this summer run so smoothly and for making camp the fun that it was!

Thank you all and have a wonderful rest of the summer!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp....

Erika's view:

When considering the schedule for the first time as an intern this summer, Time Traveler's Week seemed so far away. Yet, here we are! How time has flied when there is so much fun to be had! We began our travel through time appropriately at the beginning of time, the Jurassic period! Our campers were thrilled that we had our very own time machine! Each camper was so thrilled that they could take a turn climbing through the time machine! I love making wishes come true, and luckily enough for me, I was able to reply yes when one excited camper raced from his car begging at the top of his lungs to go back in time to the dinosaurs! For the rest of the day we created our own dinosaurs, became dinosaurs with the help of fun crafts, and acted like dinosaurs while playing both inside and outside.

Tomorrow campers will enjoy traveling to many different great civilizations. We will create art based off of the famous Egyptian hieroglyphics and burial tombs, exercise like the great Athenians, dance and celebrate like the Great Chinese dynasties, and dress like the great knights of the Medieval times. All in all, this week is going to be so much fun!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp…

Kaley’s view:

Our last day of Be a Star week was a huge hit! We went on our second limo ride and the campers loved getting this superstar treatment. After getting off the limo, the campers were delighted to see their special guest Tina from the Dental Center!

 Tina has come to Hannah and Friends in the past so the campers were excited to see a familiar face! Tina talked to the campers about the importance of living a healthy life in order to be a star. Tina is a dental hygienist at the Dental Center so she especially emphasized the proper ways to take care of your teeth in order to be superstars with beautiful smiles. We completed our day with an award ceremony. There were awards given to each camper and they enjoyed receiving their special awards! To name a few awards, we had two #1 Taylor Swift Fan awards, Cutest Smile, Most Artistic, Best Memory and many more! Another successful week in the books at summer camp at Hannah and Friends! 

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp....

Rita's View:


On Wednesday July 15th we began the day with playing Duck Duck Goose outside, the campers favorite game. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and not a single cloud in the sky! We rode in style,  took photos in the photo booth, rocked out with our microphone ice cream snack, and read Horton Hears a Hoo!

After getting the costume boxes out and we dressed up and than got ready to walk the red carpet for our Limo Ride! One camper said, "This is the best day ever" when they saw the big white limo all ready to pick them up.  In the Limo, while trying to choose the next song one camper suggested "Let it Go" from Frozen, since she knew another camper would like it! After jamming out to to some Taylor Swift, Frozen, High School Musical & The Wiggles in the Limo, we ventured on over to our friends from the barn who brought us on a Wagon ride!

Thanking the Limo driver for such a fun ride! 

Hanging out in a Limo! 

The generosity and thoughtfulness continued at summer cam as another camper, shared Joy, her doll from the movie Inside Out with Maggie  to another camper while on the wagon ride. We all enjoyed a ride around the neighborhood with such beautiful weather! Next we posed and smiled, like movie stars until we couldn't smile anymore. Taking a break from the outdoors, we read Horton Hears a Hoo, and than made elephants to go along with the story!

Sharpay and Elsa! 

Just a ride around the neighborhood! 

We had a fabulous day at Hannah and Friends, and it is one I will never forget seeing the campers excitement and joy, when the limo came and when they rode in it!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp...

Erika's view:

Our participants thoroughly enjoyed meeting local stars in our Be a Star week! Tuesday was a particularly busy and exciting day since we had three special guests come and visit! If there is one thing that our campers enjoy, it is visits from special guess!

We began the day by a visit by Brandon Thorpe a triathlete. The campers enjoyed hearing about his recent race in Sweden where he represented team USA in the World Championships! Brandon also brought stars for the campers to sign, and told them to write down their favorite activity that they wanted to work hard at and become the best at! The campers enjoyed his engaging personality, and he was always surrounded by at least five campers who vied for his attention. Brandon stayed for most of the day at summer camp encouraging the campers and running races with many of our male participants!

Brandon Thorpe telling our campers about competing in triathlons! 

Later in the day Miss North West came to camp to inspire participants. The campers were amazed by the "beautiful princess" and thoroughly enjoyed making sashes and crowns.

To end the day our very own Maura and Charlie Weis came in to talk to our campers! Maura and Charlie told the campers stories about how they founded Hannah and Friends, and told them of their hopes and dreams for this wonderful organization. The campers then decorated gingerbread Hannah and Friend's houses with the help of Maura and Charlie.

This entire week has been a blast with special thanks to our guest speakers. Our campers have thoroughly enjoyed seeing our local stars and getting to talk and play with them. It has to be noted, that these children flourished through the direct interaction with our guests. One of our campers was so amazed that he was meeting Charlie Weis, especially when he saw him so often on the TV. When I told him that Charlie was also the man on the mower that he waved to on an almost daily basis his shock and excitement were incomparable!

Thank you again to all our guest speakers for making our camp so much fun!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp…

Kaley’s view:

Science Alive week flew by with all of the fun activities and guests! The last day of Science Alive week was our Earth Day. The campers were elated to have our special guest Mike Hoffman, meteorologist from WNDU news station, come to visit Hannah and Friends! Mike talked about his beginnings as a meteorologist and he was even able to get the campers engaged and excited about the weather! Mike’s presentation ended with a picture with all of the campers and Mike shared that picture on the evening news! 

The campers were able to make homemade volcanoes! We used dish soap, vinegar, baking soda, water, glitter and food coloring! They were a lot of fun to decorate and it was exciting to see them explode! 

The campers were able to visit the Scott, Mandy and Megan in the barn. The campers were able to learn about the horses and Scott was able to talk about his horse, Cosmo! Scott works in the barn but also comes to camp! The campers loved seeing the horses in the barn and were even able to pet Cosmo! 

The campers visited so many different places at Hannah and Friends! The campers last visit of the day was in the green house. Matt, Chris, Christin and Jan showed the campers all of the plants in the greenhouse and even the plants growing in the garden. The campers were able to harvest beans, cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes. This was particularly rewarding for a particular camper. He was thrilled to see that harvesting the vegetables resulted in taking food home to his family! He was do enthusiastic about his work and even took on a leadership role during the process by helping other campers harvest in the garden. Another great week at Hannah and Friends summer camp! 

Science Alive Week!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp…

Madeline’s View:

Science Alive week has already been a great success! The highpoint of the campers’ day on Tuesday was having the Zoo To You program, facilitated by Potawatomi Zoo, present a few of their special animals. The speakers were very engaging, teaching the campers about reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. The most captivating animal they brought was a barn owl. Immediately after being brought out of its cage, the owl screeched, receiving a rousing reaction from the entire audience. The campers were able to pet both a Milk Snake (they had no fear!!) and an Australian Hedgehog. The campers also learned about metamorphosis, and each camper created a section of a caterpillar. Collaboratively, they produced a large caterpillar displayed up on the wall, along side their paper mosaic butterflies.

        
Although Wednesday was a chilly day, we brought blankets and sweatshirts on the highly anticipated wagon ride. At the end of the ride our driver, Wes, made the wagon ride extra exciting by doing a speedy lap around the property! A highlight of the day was doing an experiment, making color explosions in milk. Watching all the colors in the milk blend and move when adding a drop of soap fascinated the campers. It’s always both gratifying and heartwarming when each camper is truly enthralled by an activity we do, and this was definitely one of those moments.
           

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp...

Clare's View;

Today begins Science Alive week at Hannah and Friends, and we started off with a very special guest... my mom!

She started off this action packed day by performing an experiment called Elephant Toothpaste, which involved lots of exploding bubbles. The campers then had an opportunity to practice their knowledge on chemical reactions by making their own bouncy balls. 

We finished off the trio of reaction experiments by making our own ice cream for snack! 

The campers were ready to tackle anything in their protective goggles, perfect for any scientist! 

I had so much fun showing my mom around Hannah and Friends! She knows how much I enjoy being an intern here so I was thrilled to finally show her this amazing place. She had so much fun meeting and hanging out with all of the campers. She even got around to telling them some stories about me as her student (she was my chemistry teacher in high school!). The campers loved hearing about the time she gave me a detention for not wearing socks! I have a feeling I will be hearing about this one for a long time :)

 

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp…

Rita’s View

With the Fourth of July coming up, we are Partying in the USA all week, with popsicles, picnics and a couple special guests! 

On Monday, the Notre Dame ROTC came in and talked to us about the submarines they live in, and the campers asked many questions including, “do you just eat fish for your meals”. Later on, we created fireworks with paint that would light up the sky. Campers learned about the flag, and created ones of their own on paper, some campers didn’t quite get 50 stars on their flag. 

On Tuesday the Clay Fire Department camp and taught us about fire safety, they let us try on their gear and spray the hose. The campers loved trying on the firefighter suits. When spraying the hose, it was very tempting to go under the water, but not a single camper did!  Campers learned about Uncle Sam, played Pin the Beard on Uncle Sam, and even made their own Uncle Sam.             

Wednesday, was the day of the Fourth of July picnic, with our friends from day program, we grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, ate watermelon and enjoyed each others company.  Corn-hole was played, along with badminton! Weis took us on a wagon ride and we counted every single flag we saw.. I think we got up to 20! 

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp...

Clare's View, 

The morning of the long awaited 5K was finally here, bringing with it storm showers lasting the entire morning! The day began in a whirlwind with tables and tents being put up in record timing in a desperate attempt to stay dry. Before we knew it, runners and walkers started arriving with enthusiasm despite the less than ideal weather. While the entire morning appeared to fly by, there were multiple moments that stuck out to me with great clarity;

Tiff starting off the race on the right foot by singing the National Anthem beautifully.

Tiff continuing her many accomplishes of the day by proving everyone wrong and running the 5K with her friend, and day program member.

Hanging out with , a frequent participant at summer camp, underneath the food tent and working together with  another day program member, to keep the bagels and water fully stocked for the runners. One of the campers worked hard to make the day of every runner/walker passing the tent by greeting them with a "Hi runner how are you?" I know these little greetings definitely helped to make my day!

While we were keeping busy underneath the food tent, I was frequently stopped by many of my new friends from summer camp and day program proudly introducing me to their friends and family members. It was so fun to meet all of these important people!

Overall, despite the bad weather and the early morning (6:30 arrival time!) the day went off flawlessly and a lot of fun was had by the runners, walkers, volunteers, and workers!

This week at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp…

Kaley’s View

Art-Rageous Week! 

I am so excited to have spent another week with such awesome campers. Here’s a little recap of our week:

Monday the campers enjoyed designing their own personal paper bags to collect all of their beautiful art throughout the week! The paper bags were a huge hit for the campers with decorating with stickers, glitter and doodles! The campers enjoyed using ink stamps to create fun bookmarkers. The campers were able to tap into their inner Picasso with free draw with chalk on the sidewalks around Hannah and Friends!

Tuesday the campers enjoyed the weekly wagon ride. Campers had fun with searching around the property finding their own pet rock! They were able to decorate their pet rocks and make them their own using paint and googly eyes!

Wednesday the campers were able to make fun key chains with beads and neon colored string. The campers loved making key chains for their friends and family! The campers got a taste of some art under the sea with a mosaic ocean with handprint crabs! They had fun painting their hands red to make hand-made-crabs on top of their mosaic ocean. The campers were able to take fun pictures with the farm animals around the barn. They are going to decorate photo albums with the fun pictures taken with farm animals.

Thursday the campers were able to make photo albums with the pictures they took the day before. The campers were able to make fun crayon activities with blow-dryers! The camper really enjoyed this activity. One camper in particular was so excited about seeing the pictures she took the prior day. She was so excited to see her hard work pay off from the day before. She especially loved the pictures others took of her. This camper was so proud of her pictures and of her photo album, she showed all of the interns and as many staff members as she could! 

Birthdays at Hannah and Friends

This past Tuesday I celebrated my 21st birthday at Hannah and Friends. Normally working on a birthday would be a bummer, but at a place as special as this, that was definitely not the case. Before camp began, the other interns surprised me with strawberry shortcake, my favorite dessert! Once the campers started coming I was bombarded with hugs, happy birthday wishes, and guesses on what my age was (the general consensus was twenty so I was feeling pretty good!). At snack time I was surprised with fun pink and green cupcakes! I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the campers sing happy birthday to me, which was followed by, you guessed it, even more hugs. I can honestly say that I have never felt this much love on any other birthday. All day I was constantly receiving hugs, given pictures colored especially for me, and being asked by campers if they could pose for a picture with "the birthday girl". One camper even insisted that I take a turn pinning the nose on Olaf as a special birthday treat. I truly was spoiled on this day by the campers, my fellow interns, and the entire Hannah and Friends staff. This special day was just another instance where I felt completely overjoyed to be given this amazing opportunity and I am reminded of how wonderful all of the friendships I am making this summer are.  I mean it with complete sincerity when I say that there really is no better way to spend a birthday than at Hannah and Friends Summer Camp!

-Clare

WELCOME!! 

Welcome to the Hannah and Friends Intern Blog!! The five of us, Rita, Madeline, Clare, Kaley and myself are more than thrilled to be part of such an amazing community! We have seen first hand how charming the property of Hannah and Friends is, and we have been welcomed with open arms by the participants of Hannah and Friend's Day program and camp members.

This week was our very first summer camp!!! Our theme was Fun&Fitness. The campers entered into a fast paced week of healthy themed activities. For our first day activities included basketball and soccer drills, stretching and aerobic activities. We then went inside to learn all about how to eat healthy, and by the end each of the participants were able to correctly categorize different foods in their correct category. The participants then enjoyed playing on the playground and an assortment of different relays!

Our camp participants enjoyed the beautiful Hannah and Friends property as they played games. 

Our theme for the second day was Karate! Our camp welcomed a very skilled Karate instructor and his children. He told us all about the history of Karate, and taught everyone basic Karate skills.

The campers participate in Karate session!

Hannah and Friend's volunteers are always ready and willing to jump in and make the activities more fun! 

On the third day participants reversed the role with the camp interns! They learned just how hard it is to lead another as they instructed a blindfolded intern through an obstetrical course. The campers enjoyed the wonderful weather as they played kickball, visited the horses, and played on one of the Hannah and Friends playground. To cool off everyone came inside to play sports bingo and to paint their own unique helmets. As a special treat probiker John Pratt came in to teach the campers all about bike safety and his own personal passion for the sport. Inspired by what John had to say the campers went outside to bike on the Hannah and Friends bikes. As a special reward for a long day of fun and fitness the campers were given a pinata!

Campers act as guides through obstacle courses. 

Campers enjoy biking with a pro-biker! 

A camper helps with a hands on demonstration.

On the final day of camp for this week our theme was the Olympics! Campers enjoyed Olympic activities such as a javelin throwing, medal making, Anthem singing, and carrying the Olympic torch around Hannah and Friends property. Our campers especially enjoyed getting their face painted for the festive Torch walk and award podium.

Participants enjoy the Olympic torch walk!

Fun and Fitness Summer Camp 2015

We had a complete blast at our first week of summer camps! Next week is Movin' & Groovin' and we have so many fun activities planned!

Also, don't forget to sign up for our 5k and fun walk! --Erika