Camping Trip Reflections

Graduating Family

It’s hard to believe that our family has been attending the Village camping trip for ten years, whether it has been for the full weekend experience or just one day of the weekend each year! In 2008, our daughter was a Kinder Kitty, our son was in preschool and our now 5th grader was only 11 months old! I enjoyed looking around during the six hours my youngest and I were there this month at the KOA, seeing all the new families who are where we were 10 years ago, with little ones in tow! It just made me realize that “way back then” really does not feel that long ago at all! I can appreciate when our whole family was able to travel together on these trips, even with how much work it felt like to get ready for a weekend of camping with three little ones, whereas now there are so many commitments that a middle schooler and high schooler have that there are times we can’t all travel together.

I asked the kids for their memories of the camping trips over the years. Some highlights include 3-day weekends at Thousand Trails campground, campfires, skit night, alum dad Steve Rappa playing guitar and singing with kids singing along and dancing, swimming in the freezing cold, huge pool, friends who “adopted” a feral kitten found at the campground, and hiking the trail above the playground that seemed so scary for parents to watch the kids climb, but kids having a blast!

Then at the KOA campground, being near the beach was a highlight for sure with picnics on the beach and boogie boarding Saturday afternoons, the bouncy pillow, banana bikes, potluck dinners, the independence our kids felt as they got older and played with friends at other campsites, but especially time with other families, making new friends and building on established friendships.

I love that this is an annual tradition, allowing people to connect early in the school year. I love that many teachers come — even when they have been with our kids all week! The camping committee should feel so proud of their hard work to make this community event happen, as well as the effort and energy it takes every family to make it “over the hill” on a Friday to keep this tradition alive!

For our family, remembering our years of Village camping trips is only the beginning of many reflections to come this year, our last year with this awesome Village community.

New Family

When we first found out about Village, we knew this could be a great place for our son. Village’s philosophy, school grounds, monthly field trips, and the idea behind centers appealed to us. Parent participation was also a huge plus. Positive Discipline and No Bully training provided to the parents are not really heard of in most schools so it was amazing to have this. Those that spoke during the open house and orientation were so passionate about Village — their openness, smiles and welcoming demeanor made us feel right at home.

During Kinder Roundup, our son immediately felt comfortable meeting both kindergarten teachers and exploring the school grounds. We were excited for him to start kindergarten, play, learn, and make new friends. I was also excited to meet new families and join in on events.

Camping was amazing. If you knew me from Gretchen’s class, I was the one that was all pumped up and so excited for camping — I was packed and ready to go a few days early. The KOA was absolutely perfect for a school camping trip, especially our very first. The choice of lodgings, along with the overall site made it within reach for anyone that may want to join. It was certainly a time to bond with other families and hang out more with those we already knew. Our camp neighbors were so nice to invite us over several times which made it even more wonderful. Families welcomed us and our son. We loved seeing him having such a wonderful time. It was great to see him hanging out with several of his classmates, having so much fun and also seeing the older kids happy to take him places and watch out for him. He felt so comfortable with other families and would just go from place to place with his friends.

Since school started we just love it more and more. I know he’s learning so much in so many ways. Staff, kids and parents are all so warm, friendly and kind. I’ve never seen anything other than smiles and people eager to help others.

Village is such a sweet school — we ask our son every day if he had a good day at school, and it’s always a, “Yes!” We couldn’t ask for a better start to his elementary years.

New Family

Our family loves to camp and we were looking forward to the Village Camping Trip. We had been pretty busy so we didn’t spend any time researching the campsite and because we have never camped at a KOA before, we didn’t really know what to expect. When we arrived at Watsonville KOA we were surprised to see all of the kid-friendly amenities. We are tent campers and to be honest I was not impressed with the tent sites because there was not much space on the sites and they are very close to the neighboring sites. However, that quickly didn’t matter because our neighbors were other kindergarten families and we spent most of our time at other campsites, cabins, the playground and the bouncy pillow.

Our daughters loved the freedom to roam with other friends, playing on the playground, bouncy pillow, riding the train and just checking out friends’ cabins/ campsites. Thankfully we followed the tip to bring walkie-talkies. I loved to see the older kids reaching out to my daughters and playing with them. My girls felt loved and special because the older girls included them. This has been an extra bonus to being a part of the Village community.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know other kindergarten parents, especially around the shared meals and campfires. Our experience on the Village Camping Trip only solidified what we have come to know already in our quick time as new Villagers… Village is a community that loves to have fun, looks out for each other, and is welcoming to all. We are so happy to be a part of the Village community and look forward to next year’s camping trip. We were so busy having fun, we only got one picture: a silly camping selfie.