Jefunira Camp

Why enrollment opens Feb 1

2009-02-19T01:01:00.000-08:00

One of the questions I hear most often at this time of year is "Why do you open enrollment on Feb 1?". Some people want us to begin enrollment earlier so that our enrollment begins when some other camps begin theirs. Other people want us to start enrollment later so that they don't have to plan their summer in January. I have resisted opening enrollment earlier because I think it puts too much pressure on parents to make summer plans in December. And I can't wait much past Feb 1 to open enrollment because we need to make plans based on enrollment and we need time to do that. I would love to hear back from parents about their thoughts on when we should open enrollment.

Jeff

2009-01-29T00:46:00.001-08:00

Jefunira: Behind the Scenes

2009-01-26T23:20:00.000-08:00

Directors Ben and Jamie: What REALLY happens in the office after campers leave...

Importance of play

2009-01-26T12:13:00.000-08:00

As you might imagine, given that I have chose to run camps as my career, I believe in the value of play. I think the discussion should probably be framed as "need for play" instead of "value of play". I see each summer how much kids enjoy coming to Jefunira Camp and playing. I can see how a child's self confidence and self esteem can grow in a really short amount of time when placed in a supportive environment where he or she can just play.

I recently came across this quote, "Play is to the child what thinking, planning, and blueprinting are to the adult, a trial universe in which conditions are simplified and methods exploratory, so that past failures can be thought through, expectations tested." Eric Erikson, 1902 - 1994

I see everyday how important play is to children, but I often wonder what others think. I am always asked by parents what kids get from Jefunira Camp. I would love to know what you think you children have taken away from their time at Jefunira Camp.

Jefunira Director Serenade 2008

2008-12-04T23:06:00.000-08:00

Directors Jamie and Ben serenade Jefunira campers with a Lion King classic...

2008 Counselor Lipsync

2008-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

The Jefunira counselors take things back to the 80's and rock the house with this rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart"!

Jefunira Campers in the news!

2008-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

We wanted to give a shout out and congratulate one of our very own Jefunira Junior counselors, Allie Coleman. Allie was recently awarded the Palo Alto Daily Athlete of the Week in recognition of her performance in two volleyball matches against Los Gatos and Homestead. We at Jefunira have seen Allie's setting skills firsthand during games of Prisonball and they are truly impressive! And to everyone out there reading this, remember- If you had fun, you won!

Welcome to WEB 2.0

2008-11-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

With much prodding and hand holding from Director Ben, I am finally entering the world of blogging. I want to thank Ben for creating our fantastic Jefunira Camp blog and getting me started at a blogger.

This weekend I was at the team party after my son's last soccer game. As is often the case, one of the parents asked me about Jefunira Camp. Their interest was piqued because every piece of clothing I wear has the Jefunira Camp name on it. After I explained a bit about camp and my role, another parent asked the inevitable question, "That sound like a great way to spend the summer, but what do you do during the year?" I said that running Jefunira Camp was my only job. That is what I do. People are always amazed when I say that. They ask what I do when it is not summer. My usual, tongue in cheek response, is "Relish my career choice!". But the truth is that running a top quality summer camp is a year round endeavor. The time between the end of summer and now is spend reviewing every aspect of Jefunira Camp and thinking about what worked and what we could do better. We are always thinking about how we can improve the quality of the experience for campers, counselors and parents. November 1 traditionally marks the point when we move from reflecting on the past summer to planning for the coming summer. So while finding ways to get rid of the last of the Halloween candy, planning for Thanksgiving and preparing for the holidays is probably more on your mind than summer camp, we are now spending our time getting ready for a fantastic Jefunira Camp 2009.

Another Successful Tip the Bucket!

2008-09-29T17:05:00.001-07:00

IMG_3611
Originally uploaded by jefuniracamp

Jeff and counselor Eric high five after Tip the Bucket. They may have been defeated by the campers, but they had fun so....they won!

I'll Make an Otter Pop out of you...

2008-06-10T15:00:00.001-07:00

Those unique and creative Jefunira counselors are at it again! To whet your appetite for the coming summer (and the amazing performances its sure to produce!) here is one final video from the summer of 2007...

Less than 2 weeks till Summer!

2008-06-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

The countdown has begun..13 days and counting till the first day of Jefunira Camp begins! We can't wait to kick off another summer full of wacky relays, good old fashioned fun and games, and don't forget the Otter Pops! We have assembled, yet again, a group of some of the most talented and accomplished counselors around and are thrilled at all of the unique talents, skills and experiences they bring to the Jefunira experience. What Jefunira game or activity are YOU most excited for...???

Kung Fu Panda?

2008-06-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen Kung Fu Panda? Jefunira took a trip to the movies this past weekend, in which an unfortunate coin toss resulted in the viewing of "Don't Mess with the Zohan" instead of Kung Fu Panda...We'd love to hear reviews and thoughts from anyone who made a wiser movie viewing choice...

Family Movie: A Blast from the Past!

2008-03-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

During the offseason, we love watching movies. Of course, Meatballs and Wet Hot American Summer are tops on our list, but our tastes run to the non-camp genre too. Today we thought we'd recommend a blast from the past that would make for a great family movie night- "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson. Mixing animation with live action, Angela Lansbury plays an amateur witch who takes 3 British children into her care during the Blitz of London. Looking for a long lost magic spell, these wannabe magicians travel with the aid of an enchanted bedknob.

With some classic songs in the vein of Mary Poppins and other British musicals, and a good mix of adventure and comedy, this would be a very fun movie for kids aged about 8 and up. There is a battle scene in the end in which bewitched armor defends a village against a Nazi approach, which could be a little intense for younger or more sensitive kids.

Jefunira Rating: Red group and up!

Games for the Spring

2008-03-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Aww- the balmy evenings, later sunsets of Daylight savings and sunny afternoons- spring is nearing! And with the extra hours of daylight, we thought we'd throw out a couple ideas of games for kids (and grownups too!) to play at home.

Shadow Tag- This game is actually best played after sunset. A "home base" is chosen, typically the front drive or front steps of your house. One person is assigned to be the 'seeker' and counts down while the other players hide in the surrounding bushes/backyard. Once the countdown is finished, the seeker begins to look for the players in hiding. If they spot someone, the seeker must run back to the base and call out "1,2,3 on Joey (or whomever has been spotted)" before Joey runs and steps on the base. The players who are hiding must try to sneak their way back to base without being spotted- growing up, my friends and I would come prepared by dressing in dark cloths and covering our shoes with dark cloth! Once all players have either made it back to base without being called out, or have been caught by the seeker, the next round begins.. For variety, the seeker might be given a flashlight and the boundaries for hiding expanded.

Backyard Treasure Hunts- All you need for this game is a few sheets of different colored label stickers and some enthusiastic treasure hunters! Hide the stickers in various spots around your yard or neighborhood (with the sneakiness level of the spots depending on the ages of the participants), then give each kid or team a sample sticker on a notecard and challenge them to find as many others as they can! If your treasure hunters claim your hiding spots are too easy, challenge them to reverse the hunt and re hide the stickers for you to find! (But be warned, you may be finding stickers hidden on the bottom of your patio furniture for months to come...)

The Importance of Play

2008-03-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

The Feb 17 issue of the NY Times Magazine contained an article, "Taking Play Seriously" which examined the developmental importance of play for children.
Examining both the potential dangers and rewards of play during the developmental years, several theories relating to the value of play are thrown out and discussed. I was particularly intrigued by experiments that hypothesize that rats neurological development in certain parts of the brain is affected by lack of play, and a project in which rats exhibiting behaviors similar to ADHD seemed to benefit from extra play time.

The article also opened up a discussion on whether play is as important to development as many adults claim, or if our nostalgia for the good old days of Shadow Tag and Kick the Can is causing us to assume kids are missing out on the unstructured play of past decades. Certainly, we at Jefunira firmly believe in the value of creative, unstructured play for kids and have noticed similar dialogues in this area- Playborhood, a local site was recently featured in the Palo Alto weekly, and local author Denise Pope has been sharing her "Stressed out Students" message through local lecture events.

We would love to know what other parents/educators/community members think about this issue- comment away!

Where are our counselors now?? Part 2

2008-02-27T18:31:00.003-08:00

While Counselor Sheeftah was off on the beach in Mexico, Counselor Orlie has been busy training for the UC Davis Triathlon- Notice how she's wearing her Jefunira hat for good luck!

Where are our counselors now??

2008-02-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

For those of you wondering what our talented and accomplished counselors are doing in the off-season, we have some updates! Counselor Sheeftah sent us the above picture of her proudly showing off her Jefunira Tie-dye in Mexico!

New Jefunira site Opening!

2008-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

It is our pleasure to announce the opening of a new Jefunira Camp site this summer (drumroll please...)! In addition to our Palo Alto site, we will be offering the original, old fashioned summer fun Jefunira experience in Mt. View! We'll be located at Huff Elementary school, which has a giant, jumbo-sized, fantastic field. We're already looking forward to the Capture the Flag games... We are very excited to expand, and to be able to offer the Jefunira experience to even more families this summer. Whether you're at Palo Alto or Mt. View, we can't wait to see all our campers this summer!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years from all of us at Jefunira Camp! We hope everyone had a safe, restful and fun holiday season and that the new year is off to a great start! With the New Year of course comes....registration for Jefunira 2008!!!!! Thats right folks, our applications will be going live on the website as of February 1- you can download them, fill 'em out and mail them back to us. Some of the sessions filled up very quickly last year, so we encourage you to mail your application in early for another amazingly fun-filled summer! Starting Jan 15, the application forms can be found on our website here and registration opens Feb 1!

2007 Session 4 Lipsync

2008-01-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

As we enter 2008 and begin counting down the days until Jefunira Camp begins, we thought we'd get the memories rolling with this clip of the final counselor lipsync of last summer...Feel free to comment and leave your own favorite memories and what you're looking forward to most about this summer!

(And for those wondering- yes, that is water the counselors are spraying at each other!)

2007 Director Lipsync

2007-10-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

Will Jeffumina join Ben for the big cheerleading competition? Watch to find out..

Parent Education Event announcement!

2007-10-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Next Wednesday, October 17, the Common Ground Speaker series is hosting a panel discussion featuring several well known academics in the education field. Entitled "GETTING SCHOOL RIGHT: Helping Kids Stay Healthy, Happy & Engaged" the panel will feature David Elkind, Ph.D., Madeline Levine, Ph.D., Denise Pope, Ph.D. and Brad Sachs, Ph.D. As stated on their website,

Common Ground is a coalition of Bay Area schools that have joined together to enhance parent education. The goal of the coalition is to provide opportunities for parents and educators to learn from experts in a variety of fields, to share ideas with others, and to support each other's efforts to enrich our local communities

Wednesday, October 17, 7:00PM
Woodside High School
Performing Arts Center
199 Churchill Avenue
Woodside, CA 94062
(650) 367-9750

What is Love? Ask the Jefunira Counselors...

2007-09-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Jefunira counselors ask that eternal question.."What is Love"? While we maintain that love is a giant box of otter pops, check out this clip to see what their answer is....

Jefunira goes Global!

2007-09-25T17:37:00.001-07:00

Jefunira Camp is popping up around the world! We received a sighting report of counselors Jamie and Justin in China and Tibet, and just discovered photographic proof that they made their way to the Jokhang in Tibet. Counselor Jamie told us they played a thrilling game of Star Wars in the plaza behind them, and that they left their newfound friends chanting "If you had fun, you won!" Check out other Jefunira sightings around the globe at our website. You can even send in your own photos of your family wearing their Jefunira gear at other famous or exotic locations and help us start filling up our map!

Studies show..Recess is important!

2007-09-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists has put out a position paper that reiterates the importance and value of unstructured play time for children on a regular basis. As both current and former teachers and educators ourselves, the Jefunira director corps couldn't agree more with the sentiments of the paper. Allowing children the opportunity for free play time on a daily basis not only provides them with an opportunity for exercise and physical activity, but encourages them to be creative in coming up with their own games to play, rather than waiting to be provided with structured play by an adult. We at Jefunira Camp encourage families to find time each day to go to the playground or park- And rather than telling your children what games to play, let them teach you a favorite game, or even invent their own game for the family to play!

Transition Tips for the New School Year

2007-09-09T17:46:00.001-07:00

We know making the transition from the summer to a new school year can be a difficult one for many parents. Figuring out new schedules, homework expectations and helping children adapt to new environments is a big task for parents and we here at Jefunira Camp want to help! Here is a list of tips suggested by the National Association of School Psychologists on their web site

* Re-establish bedtime and mealtime routines early in the year to help remind your child(ren) of their school year schedules.

* Turn off the TV. The NASP suggests keeping television off limits during all school weeks, but if thats not reasonable for your family, limiting TV time during the first month of school will help your child focus on getting into a good homework routine. Which leads us to...

* Designate a space to do homework that is consistently quiet and free of distractions. For older children, studying in their own rooms may be the best bet, while younger children should work in a common family space to help facilitate check ins and help.

* Remain calm and positive. We know its hard not to panic when you see that your child is in a class with someone who they have had trouble with in the past, but before you send your child into high anxiety, there a several steps you can take to set them up for a more successful year. 1) Let your childs teacher know of the past issues, and what was done to address them. 2) Reassure your that their teachers are aware of the issues and are working to create a positive experience this year. 3)Reinforce your childs ability to cope by giving them some strategies to use should minor issues arise. Make sure they know to tell a teacher if the problem persists or become more severe.

* For older children, find out from their teachers which days will be homework or study intensive, and plan extracurricular activities accordingly around that schedule

* And finally, remind your children that just because summer vacation is over, their enjoyment of the year doesn't have to end! Look over their upcoming curriculum together and find items that they are excited about, or projects you can work on as a family.

Another Summer in the Books!

2007-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who helped to make summer 2007 a fantastically fun and memorable experience. From the now legendary counselor 'Pachelbel lipsync' (video to follow!) to the epic games of Capture the Flag and Prisonball, we hope everyone made enough memories to last through the coming year! From all of us at Jefunira Camp, we wish everyone a wonderful start to the school year and hope to see everyone again next year!

Chariots of Chlorine

2007-05-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to former Jefunira campers Tara and Tera Levens! These two Jefunira alums took third place in the CCS swimming finals last weekend, breaking a 27 year old school record in the 200 medley relay event. Way to go! Congrats also to all the other Jefunira alums who participated! Remember- If you had fun, you won...

Businesses with Values

2007-05-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I were fortunate enough to attend a class and discussion at the Stanford Business school this morning. The class was engaged in a case study of Wild Planet Toys, a SF based toy company founded by Danny Grossman. During the class, one of the recurring ideas raised revolved around Wild Planet's core values of respecting kids and adults, and producing toys and games that promote non-violent play and encourage exploration. Many of the students in the class were curious/impressed with how Wild Planet has retained its core values through significant growth and how it has remained true to its vision in all of the toys it has produced.

Like Wild Planet, Jefunira Camp was founded on a very clear set of values, and continues to promote non-competitive, inclusive activities that encourage social and emotional growth in children. As we begin to grow and expand, we're looking to companies such as Wild Planet for guidance on how to expand a business without compromising the values it was founded on. As always, we welcome thoughts from the community on how to do this!

Counselor Serenade 2006

2007-05-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

As the summer grows closer, we thought we'd share a song written by last years counselors for our campers!

Summer Camps: A fun way to get fit!

2007-05-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Among the many enriching experiences and opportunities that outdoor summer camps offer, perhaps one of the most valuable today is the chance for children to be physically active. With more and more studies being released that document that rapid growth of obesity and other weight related diseases in children, some scientists are predicting that close to half of the children in North and South America could be overweight by 2010. With all of the forms of media entertainment available to todays children and the glut of advertisements being put out by fast food companies, lack of physical exercise combined with unhealthy eating habits is becoming a serious issue.

At Jefunira Camp, we develop programming that is welcoming and fun to all children, regardless of their skill level or athletic experience. By creating non-traditional games that create excitement for our campers and offer multiple ways to engage within the activities, our programming is designed to be accessible to all kids. Our advice for parents struggling to get their kids outdoors is to create activities that generate excitement and teach athletic skills in fun, innovative ways. For example, when working on throwing and catching skills, rather than simply tossing a ball back and forth endlessly, create a game such as the "Catching Olympics" in which kids get points every time they make a catch, or create a 'landing zone' out of cones and challenge your child to try to throw objects into the zone, awarding points for every successful throw. Keep track of the running 'Grand Champion Score' and challenge them in successive rounds to beat the score!

For more information on this topic and some ideas on how to help your children stay healthy, we reccomend the American Obesity Association website.

It Takes a Village..

2007-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

As a small business, Jefunira Camp has relied on a lot of support from our community and local businesses over the years. Although we don't currently offer the buying power or budget of a larger company, we've been able to continue to grow and flourish in no small part thanks to the hard work and diligence of our supporting businesses. For today's post, we wanted take the time to give a thank you to all of the people and busineses that have supported us over the years, and continue to support us! Thanks to you, we continue to be able to offer a premier summer camp experience to our communities and campers. Although there are too many to name each individual, we did want to give an extra big thank you to those listed below:

Jennifer Allen and Mike Maystead of Pip Printing

David Wright of InterWest Insurance

Heidi Faith of Phoenix Designs

Maureen Velasquez and Barbara Welsh, principals of St. Cyprian and Nixon Elementary schools

Ilene Sotnick and her amazing T-shirt design company, Meridian ID!

5 Ways to Beat the Heat!

2007-05-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

With temperatures skyrocketing in the area, the Jefunira Camp directors sat down and compiled a list of activities for parents to entertain their kids on hot afternoons...We'd also love to hear your ideas!

#1. Make your own Water Park in the back/front yard. Let your kids imaginations run wild by giving them some sprinklers, buckets, squirt bottles and a hose and ask them to set up a water amusement park ride, relay race or game!

#2. Play Squirt Bottle Tag! This one's a lot of fun and easy to set-up. Just fill a few squirt bottles with water, give the kids a boundary, and tell them that anyone inside the boundaries can be squirted! If any participants don't feel like getting wet, or want to take a break, they can step outside the boundary into the 'safe zone'. For a twist, put a couple objects (bean bags, toys, water balloons) in the middle of a circle and break the kids into teams. One team trys to run in and grab the objects, while the defenders in the middle are armed with squirt bottles. If you are squirted while trying to grab an object, you have been 'tagged' and must exit the circle!

#3. Visit the Baylands or Shoreline. Both of these parks are on the water and offer a cooler environment than anywhere in town. Baylands offers some great nature walks and is located next to Twisters Gym, if your kids are in the mood for some rock climbing! Shoreline Park offers paddleboats, sailing, and some great walks as well!

#4. The always popular option...go to the movies! While the summer blockbusters (Shrek 3, Pirates 3) are still a few weeks away from opening, theaters in the area are currently playing Disneys "Meet the Robinsons" (in 3-D no less!) for the younger crowd, while Spider Man 3 just opened last week for the 5th grade and up audience. Check out the Jefunira Review of Spider Man below, and keep your eyes peeled for more Jefunira "Kid-Friendly" reviews coming soon!

#5. When in doubt on a hot day...go to Ricks Rather Rich Ice Cream on Middlefield and Charleston or the Creamery downtown! Ricks (now run by Gary Schoen) uses a higher percentage of butterfat than many other places, resulting in smooth, creamy flavors! We recommend the Computer Chip and Chocolate Ginger. And for those interested in the Jefunira Directors Ice Cream Picks..

Jeff says, "Baskin Robbins 2 scoop hot fudge sundae w/ vanilla ice cream, extra nuts and no cherry."

Ben says, "Palo Alto Creamery Oreo cookie mint milkshake with extra fudge mixed in"

Stanford event on Academic Stress

2007-05-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

In light of our recent post on the benefits of play for children, we thought the following event might be of interest to our readers!

On May 11 at 7:30, the Stanford school of Education will be hosting a free plenary session open to the public featuring two nationally acclaimed speakers, Dr. Madeline Levine and Dr. Wendy Mogel. The topic of discussion is SOS, or Stressed out Students, and the session is a part of a research and intervention project working towards creating healthier students and educational environments. The event website lists the following reasons for hosting this event,

With a rise in recent years in the number of students seeking mental health services, an increase in cheating behavior in school, and students' consistent worry about academic achievement, we feel it is time to bring the community together to address and counter problems associated with academic stress

.We encourage parents, educators and members of the community to check out this event, and continue to strive to create a healthy, fun and low-stress childhood for our children! You can find the details at the SOS website.

Spider Man 3: Campy but fun!

2007-05-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

As professional camp directors, we consider it our duty to stay on top of the latest news, studies, and media that relate to our fields of interest. Thus, in the interest of research, Jefunira took a field trip to the movies today to see the new Spider Man movie!

After reading some pretty negative reviews describing the film as overly long, muddled and lacking in a single grounded storyline, our expectations were somewhat lowered. But 2 hours and 20 minutes later (definitely about 20 minutes too long) we left the theater entertained and happy! Yes, the characters strayed from the core personalities that have been established for them over the last two movies; Yes, the multiple villains and their corresponding plotlines were lacking in both menace and cohesiveness, but the movie harkened to the campy, irreverent comic books of old. With larger than life explosions and fight scenes, and overly melodramatic dialogue that was dripping with corny but wise-sounding pieces of advice ("We choose who we are" and "The hardest thing to do is forgive yourself"), Spider Man 3 was a fun kick-off to the coming onslaught of Summer blockbusters. We give it 3.5 Otter Pops out of 5.

This movie is appropriate for: Purple Groupers

To find a showing of Spider Man 3 near you, click here!

A Shift in Global Educational values

2007-05-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

The NY Times Magazine recently published a fairly extensive piece examining China's education system, and the growing movement towards developing a more creative, flexible and individualistic workforce in this era of global markets. Towards this end, many of the private elementary and middle schools are attempting to develop curriculum that steers away from the traditional rote memorization exercises and introduces classroom projects and activities that may develop creativity and foster social emotional growth.

This trend is one that we've observed locally as well, as parents recognize the value of social development, opportunities for creativity, and chances for their children to engage in play based settings that aren't high stress/high pressure. These skills are all core to the programming philosophy at Jefunira, and were at the forefront during our recent re-examination of the camp's mission statement. Our final result,

"Jefunira Camp is committed to providing a premier summer camp experience by creating a safe and inclusive community where campers can develop self-esteem, self- confidence and have fun through inclusive, play based activity".

reflects our commitment to fostering the social skills and play based learning that is becoming harder and harder to find! If we can pass on some of the same kind of summer memories that we look back on so fondly from our youth, our mission will be well served.

We're also curious as to others thoughts on the matter- are the academic pressures placed on children around the globe in todays high-pressure society negatively impacting their development? Or are summer tutors and enrichment math classes necessary to achieve success? Is there a better way to balance out these dual needs?
These questions have been on our minds frequently, and we look forward to continuing to engage the community in dialogues that better help us create fun, enriching and memorable experiences for all children!

Summer is almost upon us!

2007-04-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

The countdown has begun...45 days till training for Jefunira Camp begins! Jeff, Terri and I have been getting very excited for the summer to begin- as much fun as we have playing 1 on 1 Ga-Ga, nothing compares to the excitement of having all of our campers and counselors around to play with. We've also been busy in the off-season inventing some new games and activities- keep your eyes peeled for "Dragonslayer" "Bean Bag Olympics" and some even wackier relay events!

We've nearly completed our hiring for the summer, and are very excited about the caliber of our counselors this summer- we have some amazingly talented people working with us, including a large number of returning counselors from last year! This years counseling staff includes singers, ice hockey players, ultimate frisbee stars, martial artists, global volunteers and more...We're still looking for those last few all-stars to round out the counseling staff- if you know of anyone you think would make a great camp counselor, please send them our way!

-Director Ben

Jefunira in the News!

2007-04-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Jefunira Camp was mentioned as one of the most popular camps in Palo Alto in a San Jose Mercury article about summer camp registration- look for us about 2/3 of the way down. The article discusses the early deadlines for parents trying to register their kids for summer programming and brings up some good issues regarding the at times competitive and extreme nature of camp registration. Jefunira saw this first hand this year, with over 500 applications arriving on the first day- a little overwhelming even for us! For those parents still trying to choose the right camp for their kids, our best advice is to consult other parents! Nothing substitutes for first hand knowledge of a program, and past attendees can tell you about issues such as quality of staff, programming, and other topics that might not be addressed by a website or brochure. Some good questions to ask:

1) Does the camp feel like a safe place to leave your kids?
2) What is the diversity of the camp's programming? (i.e. Is it all sports, all crafts, a mix of both, etc..)
3)What kind of staff-camper ratio does the camp have?
4) Do the counselors engage campers in activities when they arrive?
5) Is the camp ACA (American Camping Assocation) certified?

Regarding #5- Jefunira Camp is one of the only day camps on the peninsula to voluntarily submit ourselves to the ACA certification process. While optional, we feel that the guidelines and demonstration that we're following industry best practices required for ACA accredidation helps us to provide the safest, highest quality summer experience for our campers!

Director Lip Sync 2006

2007-04-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Once again, Ben and Jeff spent countless hours rehearsing choreography, picking out costumes, perfecting their hair, and memorizing lyrics for the much anticipated directors lip sync! Did all their hard work pay off? You be the judge...

The 1st Jefunira Podcast!

2007-04-05T18:02:00.001-07:00

Jefunira is pleased to bring you the first of what will soon be many fun podcasts!

Counselor Lip Sync 2006

2007-04-05T11:26:00.001-07:00

The Jefunira Counselors encounter a 7 foot tall Otter Pop...

Jefunira camp goes high-tech!

2007-04-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Welcome everyone!

We at Jefunira Camp are very excited to announce our new blog. We hope to start posting some exciting new content to fulfill your Jefunira needs year-round- keep your eyes peeled for podcast interviews with the Gladiators, downloadable stories told by Directors "Jeff" and "Ben", and videos offering a behind the scenes view of Jefunira camp! We'll also be using this site to post reviews of books, movies, and fun places that we think campers would enjoy!