Letter Writing Day

Howdy Circle F Family,

Wednesday is letter writing day at Circle F Dude Ranch so you can expect at least one letter from camp (lol). Letter writing is a skill that is being lost quickly as texting, facebook, email, and cell phones all give us 24/7 instant connection. Why would anyone write a letter anymore? By the time it gets there it is already old news. Camp may be one of the last times that your camper is disconnected from their cell phone/computer for the rest of their lives. Treasure this time and use it grow your relationship with you camper through writing. Writing makes us sit down and really think about what we want to say. Sure we could srcibble off a quick "I miss you and the dog is good" message. Or we could also use this time to write some meaningful messages to our campers about what our hopes and dreams our for them. What we want them to get out of camp. What you are learning about yourself from being away from them. Write them a story about when you went to camp or when you had an adventure. Here are some letter writing tips that I stole from a website and updated:

1.) When writing to children under 12 years of age, print (not cursive writing)
2.) Writing letters takes time.
3.) Form a mental picture of your camper, and the things that you enjoy or appreciate about them.
4.) Be specific and be descriptive. Try being funny.
5.) Don't spend a lot of time describing the current weather. Exceptions would be abnormal weather conditions for the day.
6.) Highlight information you don't want your reader to miss.
7.) Attach stickers to emphasis a point or just to add fun.
8.) What you share should be fun and interesting, but, most importantly, a part of you. Your interests and experience matter.
9.) Include a photograph, draw a picture, be creative.
10.) Find time to write another letter. Make it a habit.

I have found that the more your write the easier it becomes. It's like when you talk to a friend you haven't seen in some time you can run out of things to talk about. But when you see the person everyday, you never run out of things to talk about. Be as specific about your day as possible and your letters will start to come alive.

You can send your letters to:
Circle F Dude Ranch Camp
Attn: Camper Name (Cabin #)
PO Box 888
Lake Wales, FL 33859

If you do not have your cabin # it is ok. It just helps us disperse the mail faster.

Today I am writing to you during Siesta. Siesta is a time after Lunch where we take a break. All the campers go to their cabins and either take a nap, read, listen to music or write a letter. During siesta today we had a monsterous lightening storm. It rained over an inch in an hour. Campers and Counselors love it when it rains during Siesta. It is perfect napping weather. I just had a camper come in and complain of being cold. Luckily, right at 2:15, when Siesta is over, the storm cleared and now the campers are at Cantina.

Last night was a ton of fun. Our program director Murray came up with a new program called game show night. We had the dating game where counselors played funny characters on the classic question and answer game. Some of the characters included a robot, a pirate, Mary Catherine Gallagher (super star), and a Polk County country girl. The second game was "are you smarter than a co-buck." I variation of the Jeff Foxworthy game "are you smarter than a 5th grader." We had an incoming high-school junior try to make it through elementary school questions, with some help from some of our younger campers. I had a lot of fun as the sound effects guy. I had the sounds from some of your favorite game shows, canned laughter, canned cheering, and other funny sounds and songs to play during the event. The game show night was a huge success and will be a crowd favorite for a long time.

Fantastic Wishes,
Roger and the Gang