A Day in the Life of a DMC Camper by Thor

All the campers are happily sleeping in their bunks in the morning, when we either get woken up by a counselor or fellow cabin mate. Next, we get up, clean our rooms, and make our beds. Then, we have about twenty or thirty minutes to hang out in the cabin and talk. Typically, we talk to our counselors or peers about what has been going on during Outdoor Pursuits or we just chat and joke around. After that, I usually hop on my bike and head down to breakfast. This week our cabin, The Surf Ninjas, are serving breakfast, so we have to be down there a little bit early. During breakfast the whole camp eats together, and we get announcements from Pete and sometimes MJ. Also, during this time campers offer jokes and counselors sometimes deliver some news. Overall, it is awesome.

After breakfast academics begin, and everyone's experience is a little different. Some campers might start off with tutoring or art, others might begin with study hall or writing.  Personally, my first class is art. Thus far, we have made boxes, and this week we are working on water colors. Tutoring is my second class. Most of time in tutoring I work on cursive writing, sounds, spelling, and reading fluency. I also arrange alphachips in alphabetical order, and each day I try to beat my record. After the second period we have a break for snack. After break I go to study hall, and I get the work done that my tutor assigns me. If I have time, I get to read during study hall if I have gotten all my work done. Logan and Max, two former campers turned study hall proctors, check the work in study hall to make sure that it is complete. Also, they give each camper's tutor a brief note describing how well we did. Fourth period I have writing class. During writing class we work on word use and sentence use. Also, we work on getting our ideas out on paper because that could be hard. It is a serious class. Finally, when fourth period ends we head to lunch. Lunch is fun because we get to joke and talk. After we have finished eating, Pete makes some announcements. Also, he asks each counselor to explain what campers need to bring to each Outdoor Pursuit. 

After a rest period for overnight campers and reading for day campers, we head off to Outdoor Pursuits. At DMC you can learn how to S.C.U.B.A., climb, ride horses, kayak, mountain bike, and explore and survive in wild Colorado. For the first two weeks I did mountain biking and wild Colorado. They are both very fun. In mountain biking we ride on trails and Pete helps everyone get better at riding and working their bikes. In wild Colorado we learn shelter and fire building. Sometimes, it is frustrating because it does not go as planned. We also learned about what plants are edible and what plants are toxic. After outdoor pursuits are over for the day, we head back to camp and rest up before dinner. Some nights we call our parents or go to the camper bank.

The evenings at DMC are pretty entertaining. At 6:00 PM we have dinner. At dinner we get to chat with each other and have a really great meal. We have an awesome chef named Tad who is very cool and very nice. After dinner Pete makes some announcements and counselors and campers discuss what happened during outdoor pursuits. Also, at this time, we are able to give out buddy beads. Buddy beads are a little gift that you give someone because they have gone out of their way to be extraordinary. For example, you could get a buddy bead because someone was really scared while rock climbing or jumping off a waterfall, and you gave the encouragement that they needed. After dinner every night we have an activity, such as capture the flag, soccer, buddy bead making, etc. We have a blast for an hour, and then come inside for dessert and nightly reading. Nightly reading is fun because you and your tutor can get really into your book. However, sometimes you can get a little sidetracked with an intense conversation about the book. Overall, night reading is actually pretty fun.

In general, this is a day in the life of a DMC camper. However, no two days are alike. The academic schedule might stay the same, but there are always different things to learn. Sometimes things can stressful and tough, especially academics, but a lot of campers know it is best that they try hard because education is important. In conclusion, that is an outline of what a day at DMC could look like.

By Thor