Skyline Dictionary

Over the years we have developed certain words that we all use at camp, but to a new camper or staff member, they warrant a definition. Some of these words describe places, some describe activities.

ACE: All Camp Event, this happens every night at overnight camp, between dinner and bedtime. It varies from camp to camp, but old favorites include Capture the Flag, Open Mic, Water Carnival and dance parties. 

BEEP: An activity campers can choose that counselors are trained to lead. It is an acronym. B stands for building shelters, fires, fairy houses and more. E stands for exploring trails, fields, animal homes, animal tracks, and trees. E stands for eating and learning to identify wild edible plants such as red clover, wood sorrel, raspberries, mulberries, sassafras leaves, and also identifying poison ivy and other plants to avoid. P stands for playing trail games like Camouflage, Flash Flood and Possum.

Chicken Bucket: For the sake of the earth, we reduce food waste by feeding our chickens any wasted food at the dining hall. Campers learn which foods can go in the chicken bucket and which must go into landfill. The Kitchen Team also has a Goat Bucket to use while peeling and cutting up fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Climbing Pines: These trees are situated between the pond and the bathhouse. As their name suggests, they are easy to climb with wide and low branches at the base, but allow for high climbing. Many campers climb their first ever tree in this grove. 

Counseleader: A counselor for our counselors and our campers. They are activity leaders, campfire leaders, energizers, and great listeners. They can jump in a group who needs extra support. They work closely with directors to ensure everyone has the support they need. 

Dishland:. To reduce our environmental footprint, we use real dishes at camp and make a lot of our meals from scratch which means our dishwashing kitchen team and dishwashing machine keep the water, soap and elbow grease flowing all day long. Our campers learn to scrape their plates and sort their dishes to help the kitchen team as much as possible. 

Gathering: Every morning between 9:45 and 10:15am, Monday through Friday Day camp and overnight camp gather at the Pavilion for songs, skits, stretches, stories, jokes, and Kudos. 

Group Choice: Whether it is a day camp group of 12-14 kids, or two cabins that form a group, each day your group will use this time to do an activity that they have chosen together through conversation and compromise. The planning of this activity is its own good challenge. Counselors give the group available options, campers discuss and come up with a plan. 

Hammock Hollow: Located between the pool and the Dining Hall in a grove of mulberry and sassafras trees, there are a dozen hammocks and a little lending library where campers and staff can hang out. Next to the shady hollow is an open field for those that want to throw a ball around and play games. 

High on a Rise: A campfire pit on a hill with a great view, next to an apple tree that campers love to climb. Overnight camp traditionally has its Sunday night campfire here, complete with S’mores, songs and skits. 

Hub: Just past the entrance into camp is the day camp hub. This is where day camp starts and finishes each day, where 40+ cars and a bus come and go between 8 and 9am, and 4 and 5pm. The cars stay down this end of camp to avoid any unnecessary risks to campers. 

K&D: We sometimes refer to our Dining Hall as the K&D, which stands for Kitchen and Dining. This is where the sustenance is made and served with love. Campers usually go inside to be served and carry their trays outside on the deck to be seated with their cabins/groups on picnic tables under canopies. 

Kudos: Every day our staff look for campers who go out of their way to be kind, brave and helpful. In addition to recognizing it in the moment, our Counseleaders announce some of these actions and give campers public Kudos at the Gathering.

Makerspace: Located between the pool and the Zone, an open-ended area full of tables and crafts supplies such as string, paper, fabric, wood, wire, beads, recycled materials, natural materials and the tools required to create. 

Open Mic: A highlight of Camp Joy and Sassafras, campers perform songs, dances, skits, jokes and more for a crowd of peers and counselors cheering them on. 

Scatters: An activity period that campers choose independent from their cabin or day camp group. Offerings vary from day to day and camp to camp: from soccer, theater games, archery, tree-climbing, and fishing to drumming, goat walking, boating, fire-building, friendship bracelets or garlic harvesting. 

Siesta: The hour after lunch when overnight campers spend relaxing, usually in their cabins, doing something to refuel themselves for the remainder of another day spent in community. It may be napping, reading, journaling, friendship bracelet making, drawing, or playing solitaire. 

Water bottles: There is nothing special about the definition of water bottle at Skyline, but they are a big part of our culture and necessary to fill and carry around at all times on the camp's 200 acres of land. Out of respect for the earth, we do not waste hundreds of paper cups each day to fuel our campers with water. We fill our bottles in a few central places, in addition to using Igloos to transport water to places like the pond, farm, archery and campfires. 

Wilderness: Decades ago this sugar maple covered campground on the Southwestern edge of Skyline was called “Camp Mosquito” and had platform tents. Now, it is not buggy and is home to an 8 bunk covered wagon and a large campfire pit. It is a popular cookout spot for day camp and also the campground for Nocturnal Camp. 

Wildflower Hill: Between the pond and the Climbing Pines is a hill that we leave wild every summer to grow wildflowers, milkweed and more. We encourage campers to watch the insects pollinating but also to pick and enjoy flowers. They learn to leave enough for seeds to spread. 

Zone: A patch of woods and a few sports courts with clearly communicated boundaries where campers have undirected playtime with the support and supervision of counselors. They have access to the mud kitchen, basketballs, jump ropes, hockey, tennis, balls of all sorts, hula hoops, sidewalk chalk, and slingshots (with extra supervision).