Family Almanac: Cool Kids Camp lives up to its name Family Almanac: Cool Kids Camp lives up to its name (August 17, 2005)

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Four Corte Madera girls -- too young to get summer jobs but wanting to make some money -- came up with an idea.

Friends Madeleine Traver, Adriana Kwicinski, Sophia Cornew and Chloe Peters invented "Cool Kids Camp" -- a weeklong day camp where kids can be kids and have fun outdoors close to home in Portola Valley.

"We love playing with kids," says Adrianna.

The four, all going into eighth grade at Corte Madera, started the camp three summers ago with eight kids.

This summer 17 kids -- girls and boys, ages 4-7, mostly going into first through third grades -- took part in the week of activities July 11-15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

The back yard of one of the girl's homes offers a perfect setting: an expansive grassy lawn, a paved surface for games, plus swings, a trampoline, a slide, a tree house, and a creek running through it.

Each year the camp gets better, say the founders, who fine-tune the activities.

"Basically, we listen to the kids and play close attention to what they like," says Madeleine.

The kids enjoy playing versions of those old-fashioned games, such as "Sardines" and "musical chairs," that kids have played for ages.

And there's no television, videos or electronic games.

"We know what kids want because we're kids, too," adds Adriana.

When campers arrive each morning, they have time for "free play" -- a chance to do some of the things they want to do before the main activities begin.

Each day there's a different theme, and the activities, art projects, lunch and snacks are all built around it.

On "Animal Safari Day," campers bring a favorite stuffed animal -- dolphins, bears and tigers -- and take off on a safari along the creek. They made animal masks.

Campers on Vacation Day have passports and travel to "Hawaii," where they learn the hula and make and eat "shaved ice" cones. They go south of the border to "Mexico" and work with clay. They explore "Africa," where counselors paint campers' faces.

On "Pirate Day," the tree house becomes a pirate ship. The pirates make their own flags and fish for snacks. They hunt for treasures.

Water activities are favorites, and they happen every day. The kids play water balloon baseball and "splish, splash, sploosh," a version of the familiar "duck, duck, goose," but played with a very wet sponge. There's time for slip-and-slide play and running through the sprinklers, too.

Campers say it's really fun to wade and play in the creek that borders the property, and discover water beetles and other creatures. A big hit is the daily dunking of the counselors.

"I like this camp more than any camp, even more than the Stanford Sierra Camp," says Sadie Bronk, a third-grader at Ormondale. She and her brother Teshie have gone to the camp for all three summers.

Visiting the camp, one is impressed with how much fun everyone is having and how sensitively the older girls relate to the younger children. Three of the girls had training in Girl Scouts, where they earned child-care badges and learned CPR and first aid.

There's no doubt the four girls are in charge. They do all the planning, buy materials for art projects and games, and prepare snacks and a different lunch each day. After the kids go home, the girls clean up and go over the day, talking about what went well and what didn't.

Loans from their parents are used as "seed money" and then repaid from the camper fees of $125 for the week. A parent of one of the girls is in residence each day in case of an emergency, but there never has been one, say the girls.

"We really have fun," says Sophia. "The kids look up to you."

"I don't think any of the counselors expected the camp to be as successful as it's been," said Chloe. "We have a great time with each other and the kids."

"It's been such a joy as a parent to see these kids put on such a successful camp year after year," said Kelly Traver. "Their confidences soar, and they feel so empowered to be able to manage a business or project in the future."

"The whole experience for the girls of having a vision and turning it into reality is a foundation for life," summed up parent Lenora Yuen.
E-mail Marjorie Mader at mmader@AlmanacNews.com

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