The Daily Schedule
Each day is divided into eight scheduled activity periods. This includes six elected instructional activities, one “Daily Choice” period, and one “Evening Activity” period. Daily Choice provides the opportunity for campers to gain additional exposure to an area of special interest or to try something new and unique for one day. Evening Activity allows each bunk group to participate in an activity together and explore new areas of camp.
Daily instructional activities are individually scheduled, enabling us to group children according to their skill, interest and age levels. An elective schedule promotes enthusiastic participation, interest-based friendships and careful attention to skill progression. Campers are not bound by their cabin group or social cliques during the six activity lessons and still make close bunk friendships, learn social skills and have fun during Evening Activity and general bunk time. Boys and girls have the same activity opportunities, but are instructed in gender groups.
Initial activity selection is done at home with parental guidance. Campers choose a new activity schedule each week as camp progresses, with the help of a designated counselor who is informed of any parental requests. We go out of our way to schedule campers with their top choices and all classes maintain excellent supervisory ratios, including a number of classes with one on one instruction. Campers are welcome to repeat activities from week to week and continue skills progression, but they are also encouraged to explore new choices each week.
Typical Day
Kamp Kohut operates on a seven-day rotation schedule. Out of every seven days, we have one Blue & White Day, one Trip Day, and five regular Activity days.
On a typical activity day, the bugle blows at 7:30am. Counselors (with the help of Lisa and Carly on the girls’ side and Joe and Rory on the boys’ side) will help wake campers and share what’s being served for breakfast, the weather forecast, sports scores, etc. This is also a time when campers may choose to participate in a quick dip in the Lake to join our “Flippers” club. It’s lots of fun — and totally optional! At 7:45am everyone meets at the Flagpole for morning announcements before heading into the Dining Hall to eat.
After breakfast, everyone returns to his or her cabin for “Clean-up.” Campers share assigned chores (assisted by counselors), to help keep the cabins clean and tidy. Each day cabins are inspected for cleanliness and the cabin with the highest score at the end of the week gets to go off camp for ice cream!
Activities begin at 9:00am. Schedules are handed out ahead of time to allow plenty of time for figuring out where to go and which counselor is teaching the class. A tour of Kohut on Arrival Day helps everyone get familiar with the layout of camp. Lisa, Carly, Rory, Joe, Anthony and our Area Director team remain visible throughout the day to help campers get to where they need to be. We have a bell that signals the end of each period.
Classes last 50 minutes and there is a 10 minute change-over before the next one starts. Because it’s really easy to get around Kamp Kohut, this is plenty of time to get to the next activity. There are a total of four periods in the morning, with a tasty fruit snack available mid-morning on the Dining Hall porch.
At 1:00pm everyone meets at the Flagpole once again for announcements before going into the Dining Hall for lunch. We also use this time to recognize the many achievements campers experience in their activities and to do the “Secret Word” riddle, a popular Kohut tradition.
Rest Period begins after lunch and ends at 2:30pm. Rest Period is a quiet bunk-oriented time, when campers read, write letters, listen to music, play board or card games with bunkmates and counselors, and even take a nap! Twice a week letters to parents can be exchanged for a piece of candy at the “Canteen!”
At 2:30pm, the afternoon activities begin. Again, each period is 50 minutes long with a 10 minute changeover. There are three periods after lunch, including Daily Choice. On especially warm afternoons, there is an opportunity to take a quick dip in the lake before dinner. It’s a nice way to cool off after a busy afternoon under the sun!
Dinner is at 6:00pm, after meeting at the Flagpole for evening announcements and more camper recognition. After dinner, counselors collect the mail at the office and then deliver it to the campers before Evening Activity.
Evening Activity is a time to be with bunkmates doing all sorts of fun things, from campfires to treasure hunts, sunset sails to radio shows, theatre performances to group games and lots more. After Evening Activity, we enjoy half an hour or so of down time where kids can catch up with friends on the bunk line and start to unwind after a full day of fun and activity.
Call to Quarters is usually around 8:30pm, as the sun is setting. The bugle will blow to signal everyone must return to his or her cabin to get ready for bed. Counselors ensure everyone is showered and teeth are brushed, while spending some quiet time chatting or reading with the campers before “Lights Out.” The bugle will blow one final time to signal “Lights Out” around 9:00pm, but each cabin has flashlight privileges (according to age). This gives campers the opportunity to read or chat quietly with bunk friends for just a few more minutes before flashlights are switched off. After such an exciting day, most campers are sound asleep before their head hits the pillow!
Please note hat the regular schedule is sometimes interrupted. This happens for the SURPRISE break of Olympics (First Session) and Kollege Days (Second Session), both eagerly awaited and highly anticipated events at Kohut. Don’t forget, we also have Trip Day and Blue & White Day once a week.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Daily Choice
Campers choose different activities for “Daily Choice” to practice team games, rehearse for the theatre, prepare for Trip Day, focus on a particular skill, “taste test” something new, or simply to have fun in an activity of interest. Options include the activities included on our daily schedule, as well as things like Juggling, Calligraphy, Cricket, Aqua Fit, Magic, Sign Language and much more.
Horseback Riding
We offer horseback riding lessons to campers 1 or 2 times weekly off-site at a local, private riding stable. Fully certified and registered, the riding stable offers quality instruction in both Western and English style riding and is for beginner to advanced riders.