As the campers were arriving on the bus to 4-H camp in South Haven, the bus came to a halt BEFORE the entrance of the camp. Six Head Camp Counselors boarded the bus dressed with jungle animal ears and costumes, armed with squirt guns and silly string.
The campers began to scream, smile, laugh and yell as the Head Counselors rode the rest of the way into the camp to their cabins. This has been a tradition of how campers are welcomed 4-H Camp Benton for generations.
Camp Benton 2019’s theme was “4-H the Mighty Jungle!” The campground was very wooded and appeared much like a jungle when you went deep into the woods. Twenty-three camp counselors put on a fun and exciting 4-H camp for nearly 100 kids. Kids ages 2nd grade through 8th grade from Benton, Stearns, Sherburne and Wright Counties.
The kids learned about jungle animals, facts about jungles, tracking, self-reflection, canoeing, team work and much more! They enjoyed fun skits, creative games, crazy songs, outdoor cooking, creating slime, making volcanoes, learning more about 4-H and all of the opportunities it offers.
They even had a fun dance on the second night of their camp out on the large deck of the camp. The week was full of memory making moments.
Camp Benton is open to kids that have completed 2nd grade through 8th grade. Youth that have completed grades 2nd-4th come to camp Monday at 11am and stay until 12:30 Wednesday. Youth that have completed 5th – 8th grade come Wednesday at 11am and stay until Friday at 12:30.
Thank you to our chaperones that made this week possible: Jen Pozorski, Scott Morris, Joyce Belanger, Jeannie Boyle and Russ Beauchamp. We will also miss our eight seniors that graduated this year: Christian Halverson, Nicole Ackerman, Brookelyn Schyma, Isabel Rudnitski, Alex Lewandowski, Jackson Rasmussen, William Schnieder, and Kaylee Ratka.
