Fun Doesn't Need to Be Fancy at South Brunswick Camp

Times are changing and so is the concept of fun for children. But the Kinder Parks and Summer Parks programs at Woodlot Park keeps kids entertained in the summer – without any bells, whistles, or power outlets.

The member fee and township-funded traditional recreational program features classic activities for kids in kindergarten to first grade, such as ball games, crafts, talent shows, water games, and color wars. Both Kinder Parks and Summer Parks, open to all township residents, are both at maximum enrollment for all three of the two-week sessions, with about 130 campers per session.

“We’ve evolved with our enrollment and our program has grown immensely,” said camp director Marybeth Miele. “But the main struggle was adding all the staff and campers without changing the program from what it always has been -- having fun outdoors and kids playing with counselors.”

But the camp carries on with its traditional roots, thanks to the combined effort of all the staff members. According to Miele, all staff members, including the younger counselors, work hard all summer to come up with fun, old time activities, old-fashioned games.

“It’s a real family camp. Everyone here loves each other – counselors and campers,” said high school junior Mark Scoff, who attended the camp from kindergarten to sixth grade and is now in his third summer as a counselor. “It’s a lot of fun and we make something out of the nothing.”

Counselors and supervisors work all summer to plan daily activities -- from the daily schedule of sports, art, and nature to the theme activity of the day. Some of the theme activities this summer included Wild, Wild West Day, Super Mario Day, a water-themed Spongebob Squarepants Day, a Harry Potter-themed color wars, and a carnival day.

Throughout the sessions, counselors interact with the campers to make sure the environment is always positive and fun, according to Miele.

“The counselors are always nice,” said Damali Simon-Ponte, who is in her last of her seven years with the program. “Whenever you’re sad, they make you happy.”

Miele, who has been with the program for about 18 years, started with the camp at age 13 as a volunteer after her mother encouraged her to participate.

“At first I wasn’t really psyched about it, but I was hooked after volunteering for a summer,” said Miele, an elementary school teacher for the Hillsborough school district.  “I thought being with the kids and the counselors at the camp was just something I liked to do, but then I made a career out of education. The camp really helped inspire my career.”

Other staff members, like senior counselor Daria Gonzales, also claim that Summer Parks has influenced their career path.

“I actually want to be a teacher so working with kids at the camp for 6 years is a good start,” Gonzales said.

The staff, made up of five supervisors – all elementary school teachers in the South Brunswick districts and others, senior counselors who lead the camper groups, junior counselors who assist the senior counselors, and 16 counselor-in-training (CIT) volunteers, continues to be a main positive feature of the camp.

“I think the reason it works so well and we’re so popular -- even though the hours aren’t the longest and the facility isn’t the most up to date as far as going on trips or having a pool and tennis courts—is the staff,” Miele said. “We put a lot of time and energy into this program and I think that’s why parents and kids like it."