Tucked away at the end of Blonder’s Boulevard, a side road off Colonel Ledyard Highway, Colonel Ledyard Park is home to the largest of three summer camps run by Ledyard Parks and Recreation that have become a staple in the town.
One look around at the seemingly endless amount of children playing dodgeball, soccer, basketball, arts and crafts, or on the playground equipment and it’s immediately evident that the program, which runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is not only taken full advantage of by many working parents, but it is also immensely enjoyed by the kids who participate. And while roughly 30 staff members are employed to supervise the 250 children enrolled in the camps this year, the entire operation is overseen by two camp supervisors, Katie Ellis, 22, and Daniel Richard, 21.
Both are graduates of Ledyard High School. Ellis is working as supervisor for her second straight year, and Richard is supervising for his first. The two have worked as staff members for the program for seven and six years, respectively, and both agreed it is an ideal summer job.
“The hours, the kids, being outside, you can’t really find any other job like it,” Ellis said. “You get to play games and do all sorts of activities with the kids and go on field trips; it’s a lot of fun. Sure, you’ll have a rough day every once in a while but for the most part it’s very rewarding.”
Referred to as “The Blonder’s Camp,” Colonel Ledyard Park hosts the largest of the three camps with around 130 kids from ages 7 to 14, and 12 staff members to run the show. Gales Ferry School is also home to an additional 70 7- to 14-year-olds with nine camp leaders supervising, while Ledyard Center School hosts the preschool summer program, with 50 4- to 6-year-olds supervised by eight staff members. And while the numbers seem impressive for a relatively small town, Ellis and Richard said without
a doubt that the program is still growing.
“This is the first year that the preschool program has run all day long,” Richard explained. “Last year Kim [Lavigueur, assistant director of Ledyard Parks and Recreation] did a trial run for the last couple of weeks to see if parents were interested in having the program run the full day and she got a big response. So this year it runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. just like the other two. Next year we’re probably going to expand the amount of staff for that program too because we still have about 25 children on the waiting list to get in this year.”
In addition to expanding the preschool program, Ellis and Richard also noted that, due to parent requests, all three camps are running for seven weeks this year as opposed to the six weeks that they traditionally ran. Yet even with the ever-growing workload, Ellis and Richard said the majority of the staff members usually return from the year before, such as veteran camp leader Brian Martin, 24, who started with the program as a teen in high school and has worked his summers there ever since. Both supervisors agreed that one of the main reasons they have so many returning staff members is the great support they get from Lavigueur and Ledyard Parks and Recreation Director Don Grise, who regularly visit all three camp sites to check in with their camp leaders—and even occasionally join in on the many games.
“They do a great job of supplying us with the resources we need,” Richard said. “We put in purchase orders at the beginning of the year to stock up on all the equipment we need, but I’d say we still end up spending around $60 or $70 a week just getting supplies, arts and crafts stuff, ice packs, that kind of stuff.”
Aside from handling all the hiring, training, and scheduling for CPR and First Aid instruction, which all staff must undergo, Lavigueur and Grise also supply a large enough budget to not only buy all the balls, racquets, arts and crafts supplies, and other equipment, but also to have weekly field trips and special events. Ellis explained that having all that support and input allows them to be much more creative with the planning and makes for a much more diverse and enjoyable experience for the staff and the kids.
Each of the seven weeks of camp has a theme, such as Olympic Week, Game Show Week, Worldly Wise Week, and Fun Around Town Week, with activities, games, and events planned accordingly. Weekly field trips are to such places as Cows and Cones in Gales Ferry, ice-skating in Norwich, swimming at Highlands Lake, bowling, roller-skating, and a visit from Ollie’s Rock Gym’s climbing wall.
For the summer-ending finale, a carnival day is planned with waterslides, snacks, a moon bounce, and other special activities. And while all of these events and activities are highly anticipated by the kids, when it comes to everyday activities, there’s no underestimating the old standbys, as Richard said one of the everyday favorites for the majority of the kids is a classic game of knockout.
“Here at this camp, knockout definitely seems to be their favorite game,” Richard explained. “Over at the Gales Ferry School they’re more into dodgeball. As far as arts and crafts, gimp [weaving with rubber string] is probably their favorite activity. And of course everyone can’t wait for 1 p.m. every day because that’s when we get our daily visit from the ice cream truck.”
And while the kids will always appreciate the games, field trips, and sweet treats the most, Ellis was quick to point out why the camp leaders enjoy their days at camp.
“The kids are great,” Ellis said. “Not many of our friends can say they get to play with kids every day at work. In a way, we actually get paid to be big kids ourselves.”
Judging from the high level of involvement of all the kids and camp leaders, it’s evident that Ellis’ words ring true for all the staff, something that surely will help this program in its continued growth and success.