Camp Hantesa

Overnight: Outrageously Fun!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:06:55 +0000

The first Outrageous Overnight was a great event for middle school campers. We started the night with a pizza party and then a trip to Climb Iowa, an indoor rock climbing gym in Grimes. After our adventures scaling the walls, we returned to Camp Hantesa for a night of fun. Ice Cream sundaes, Pocket Hunt, Friendship Bracelets, Games, movies, and some intense games of hide and seek rounded out the night. Everyone was tired in the morning, but we still mustered the energy to have a delicious breakfast, play some games, and create tye dye.

We can’t wait for our next overnight experience, and we hope to see everyone back for summer resident camp this summer!

Check out pictures from the night!

Click to view slideshow.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Hantesa! Share your love!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:17:34 +0000

Show a little love today for Camp Hantesa! SHARE this photo to show everyone the camp that holds a special place in your heart!

The Good Fairy Eagerly Awaits Your Return to Magic Hill!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:31:42 +0000

On warm summer nights, resident campers hike up Magic Hill at dusk. We may read stories, sing songs, and take a deep breath as we look out over Hantesa, our second home. At Magic Hill, we also meet the Good Fairy, the ever-present fairy who watches over all of us here at Hantesa and works to make wishes come true.

As we each sit with a candle in front of us, and the sun sets, we make a wish to the Good Fairy and celebrate the beginning of a new week at camp.

: The Good Fairy stands in front of a fire sprinkled with fairy dust.

The Good Fairy is waiting, with her arms outstretched and her skirt billowing in the wind, to welcome you back to Camp Hantesa this summer. Register soon for the best summer yet!

Message of the Good Fairy
I spring from the spray on the tip of the crest
Of the billows from out of the blue,
I am bringing a message that says you are blest
By the love that your friends bear for you.
If my arms were as long as the wings of the wind
And I’d stretch them wide away,
I never could hold all the blessings I’m told
Your friends are wishing today.
As long as I stand with this smile on my face
And my arms outstretched so high,
If you’ll think of the friend that sent me to you,
You can never be blue if you try.
-L. Robinson

For more interesting facts about the Good Fairy, check out this article!

Day Camp or Resident Camp?

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:06:38 +0000

Do you find yourself debating over whether to send your child to day camp or resident camp? Are you afraid that overnight camp may just be too much for your little one? Perhaps day camp is easier. After all, your child gets to come home every afternoon, just like he/she does during the school year… Well, we ask you to challenge this thought.

One article may help you make your decision.

Find out why resident camp may lead to lifetime success. Read the article here!

Don’t Miss Out on the Fun!!!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:26:30 +0000

Sadie Experiences Winter for the First Time!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:03:21 +0000

Sadie, Ms. Tex’s new puppy, experienced her first winter at Hantesa. Both her and Ms.Tex were grateful for the mild weather!

What is this stuff?

Watching the snow fall

Puzzled by the winter weather

Check Out Our Upcoming Programs This Spring!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:50:29 +0000

Registration is now open for all of our spring programs!

In addition to our great spring break programs and family camps, we have added some great new options for springtime fun at Hantesa. Check out the flyer below for more details.

Don’t forget, we still have the “Outrageous Overnight” on February 17th and a School Day Off on February 20th!

See you at camp soon!

Don’t forget to sign up for summer camp too! Click here to view summer registration info!

Hantesa Candyland

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:04:47 +0000

The Camp Fire candy sale is in full swing. To kick off the sale, multiple groups came to our candy sculpture contest at Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines last weekend.

The Hantesa team built a replica of camp. How does it compare to your memories of camp?

Climbing Tower, Swinging Bridge, Pool, Horse Pasture, Campfire, GaGa... HANTESA!

GaGa Ball

Climbing tower

We can’t wait to see campers back at our facilities this spring and summer!

For more coverage of our candy sculpture event, check us out on channel 13!

http://www.whotv.com/videobeta/?watchId=0d87fa2c-6ea6-4972-8af7-60db724126d5

Need convincing on why Camp may be the best place for your child?

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:12:28 +0000

January is National Mentor month, a time to celebrate and encourage the positive relationships that are critical to the development of children and youth – the positive relationships that are developed and encouraged each year at camp. The idea of a mentor is an ancient one. In Greek mythology, when Odysseus, King of Ithaca, went to battle in the Trojan War, he placed his friend, Mentor, in charge of his son and his kingdom. Today, Mentor has become synonymous with someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less experienced person. Mentoring relationships are special and often life-changing. The camp experience is uniquely designed to foster these relationships.

International staff at Camp Hantesa are both mentors and inspirations for our campers

When counselors and camp staff engage with campers, they are not just teaching – they are using the core elements of positive mentoring relationships.

Camp counselors share and teach through stories and anecdotes. They impart wisdom from their own successes and failures, and offer the insight that comes from experience. Camp counselors model appropriate behaviors. They show campers how to play fairly, show empathy, and win and lose gracefully.

Camp counselors guide campers through the learning landscape of life. They teach the things that cannot be taught in school – how to live with others, how to build friendships, how to lead, and how to work as a team.

Mr. Sarge is a coach and mentor for our campers. Every day, counselors support and mentor our campers

Camp counselors support campers emotionally. They offer reassurance when situations become difficult or overwhelming.

Counselors are there to not only lend a hand but to help campers work through difficult moments and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from conquering obstacles. These relationships aren’t just a nice addition to childhood and young adult development – kids need them. They need nurturing mentors – people outside of their family that take an interest in who they are, root for their successes, and help them learn that failures are critical stepping stones on the path of success.

Each year for millions of children and youth, those relationships are developed at camp.

**This article was shared by the American Camp Association. All photos are those of Camp Hantesa.

Orange you glad you came to School Day Off?!

Camp Hantesa - Camp Fire USA — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:22:33 +0000

We had 30 campers in camp on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. As MLK Jr. was a pioneer in our world, we had fun being pioneers too. We used our imaginations and strengths to envision and build tall towers, play turn of the century games, and figuratively hike the “Oregon Trail.” Of course lots of other Hantesa fun ensued as well!

Oranges for snack!

Playing Blind Man's Buff

Working on a group task to build the tallest tower from just three supplies

Working hard to put together straws to build a portion of a tower.

Chilling in the Climbing Tree