Santa Monica Blog

Today was a great Monday at FBS! In the morning we played Pokemon Dodgeball, where the kids dressed as different Pokemon and tried to avoid getting caught! We also painted bird houses in arts and crafts and played Dare or Dare in the cabanas! Jacquelyn won the spirit stick for being so caring and helpful to other campers! FBS Got Talent performed their songs and dances after lunch. Our cabana competitions involved cabanas forming different objects and themes using only themselves. Weighed the day off with a lot of swimming and boogie boarding, as well as fun games such as Uno and Jenga! What a wonderful day!

Pirates and Ninjas Day was a blast! We spent the morning rallying between the two camps. Activities such as Walking the Plank, Pirate Glitter Tattoo Parlor, Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course, and a full Treasure Hunt filled our day! For the cabana competition, the teams built rafts with camp equipment and sailed out to sea! It was so fun. To beat the heat, we spent a lot of time having fun and playing games in the ocean. This Friday was one for the books!

We are in full swing preparing for Pirates v Ninjas day tomorrow! We spent the morning practicing our canons with dodgeball and creating treasure maps in our cabanas. Our cabana competition was a giant game of categories, and the Dolphins won with their awesome cheering! The heat made for fun times in the water, and Aya won the spirit stick! A day well spent is a day at FBS!

Today was a hot one! We spent the whole day doing activities to prepare for our Pirates vs Ninjas day on Friday, like walking the plank and doing a pirate themed puppet show. The water was calm and perfect for this sunny day! Loretta won the spirit stick for always cheering and being a great camper. We played “Get to Know Your Counselor” for our cabana competition. The Turtles won their first competition of the summer for doing the best on the quiz about their counselor! It was an amazing day overall.

What a nice day! We did a Pirate Duel to prepare for Pirates v Ninjas day, along with ninja dodgeball! Lisa won the spirit stick for being such a wonderful role model for our younger campers. So many of our kids learned how to skim board in the morning, and we did tug of war for our cabana competition! The Seal Cabana won with their spirit and loud cheering! We ended the day with a giant shaving cream fight and an epic game of freeze dance. It was a great Tuesday indeed!

It was such a wonderful Monday at FBS Santa Monica! Our generous camper Victoria took the spirit stick home for being such a great example! In the morning we did camp favorites such as long jump and giant prisoner on the volleyball net! We also did a rock excavation at the shore. Our cabana competition was a giant game of Rock Paper Scissors! The Sharks took home a win for their cheering!  The afternoon was full of boogie boarding, swimming, and a huge game of flag football. Can’t wait for Pirates vs Ninjas day on Friday!

If you’ve attended summer camp before, then you know that it’s the kind of experience that shapes your life in a number of ways. The numerous positive effects of summer camp are felt firsthand as a child goes through their summer. However, these positive effects linger into adulthood, helping children to become healthy, positive, and happy individuals.

But if you weren’t lucky enough to attend summer camp as a child, you might not understand what a positive impact it has on children throughout their lives.

Want proof? Here are some of the benefits of attending summer camp:

Kids are physically active
Did you know that only one in three children are physically active every day? This goes against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation that children experience at least an hour of physical activity per day. Through fun activities, games, and kids fitness programs, camp encourages kids to engage in physical activity in ways that are social, fun, and beneficial to their health.

Less screen time, more social time
In our digitally saturated world, screen time is practically all of the time. In fact, children spend more than seven and a half hours collectively in front of a screen, whether it be a television screen, video games, or a computer. This can often take away from real-time social activities that help them to build important skills and friendships. Camp enables kids to get out there and interact with others and learn crucial skills and gain friendships they will carry with them for life.

Camp builds confidence
Summer camp helps to build children’s self esteem and self confidence because it challenges them outside of an academic world and places them in a kid friendly, fun-centered environment. This encourages them to not take themselves as seriously, and to push their limits while having fun.

It might be winter, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your child’s summer plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was Ice Cream Day at Santa Monica!  What is the best way to beat the heat?  With ice cream of course!  Our campers enjoyed many activities to engage them like Fetch It in the Water, Treasure Hunts, FBS Got Talent and Soccer.  

 

 

 

Check out the pictures on our Facebook page to see the fun our campers had and the proposal Counselor Miles gave to Counselor Phoebe!  We can’t wait to see how the campers plan the wedding of the year tomorrow!

 

It’s a bird, no it’s a plane, no it’s Super Heroes Day!!! Santa Monica was awaken this morning my Iron Man’s (aka Counselor Daniel) rendition of the rules. He got the campers and counselors singing and cheering! The camp was split between the heroes and the villains! In the morning, campers got to get their face painted to represent a hero or villain, planned for an incredible puppet show and designed their stage, and made superhero gear to battle it out with a water balloon fight. After lunch, the puppeteers put on their show about Captain Insano (Santa Monica’s loveable super hero) and how he came to be a superhero. The campers were captivated by the story and our puppeteers were applauded for their hard work. The battle between Heroes and Villains continued into the afternoon and in the end the Villains won spirit bars, but the Heroes still cheered them on for their ability to work as a team! Our campers left today exhausted, which means it was a job well done by our Hero Counselors of Santa Monica!

To prepare for Super Hero Day tomorrow, campers got to battle with Pookie the Bulldog in a fantastic game of tag. They also worked on their Mr. Fantastic Stretches playing twister and got to work on their Butt Superpower in a game of Butt War. The kids were hyped and with the hot weather upon us, took their powers and strengths down to the water where they played catch, boogie boarded, swam, and dug for Sand Crab with their X-ray Vision. During our cabana competition, our cabanas created their own super hero and described how they are able to SAVE THE DAY! Kids really used their imagination to decorate a counselor to play the super hero and took initiative in making up a wonderful story of strength, courage, and of course fun! Super hero day will soon be here and we at Santa Monica have to ask…what super power will you have?

So many activities, so much fun, so little time! That’s how it felt today as campers got to play Fetch It in the water, practice their Synchronized Swimming routine, get Hair Braids, build their very own Club Marquee, and do Arts & Crafts while listening to amazing stories. After lunch, the kids couldn’t wait to get into the water, but first they were patient and attentive as their watched their fellow campers do their Synchronized Swimming performance. It was magical to see all of the kids dancing in the waves. As the cabana competition started, the campers went through three rounds of a Watermelon Eating Contest. Although the Seals were in the lead, the Sharks took the win as they had the cleanest watermelon, but also, had to eat the biggest slices! The Sharks Cabana cheered, “Sharks like to Eat” which not only was a true statement, but brought laughter throughout the whole camp. With Super hero day coming up, campers are debating if they are a Hero or a Villain. Because technically, a villain is a super hero, he’s just on the bad side. Hmm…will there be more Villains or Heroes on Friday? Stay tuned…

July has really brought out the sun and lucky for us the kids love it! We opened up our morning with some good old baseball, sand crab hunts, and stretches. In Arts and Crafts, kids got to design their own tie dye shirts and add some fashionable touches to really make it their own! Our campers showed off some impressive skills today. From being a contestant on FBS Idol to showing off their flexibility in our Stretch Contest, campers pushed themselves to the limits. These activities at Santa Monica are always a real treat because more and more campers open up and build the courage to come out of their shell. Campers are already talking about Friday, Super Hero Day! What super power will they begin to show off?

The week started bright and hot as a new set of campers stepped onto our Santa Monica site. Counselors engaged our campers with activities such as Work Out Gyms, Fencing, Nature Walks and Sand Castle buildings. Our campers always enjoying the various activities available from the sand to the ocean. With the sun’s rays hitting us hard, majority of our campers enjoyed boogie boarding and swimming and the occasional battles with the waves. After lunch, the cabana competition brought about turtle races. A relay race where campers would put bins over their body like a turtle shell and get through our obstacle. These campers would not let anything stop them from winning, even the sporadic bumps into one another. As the race came to an end, the Dolphins prevailed and were declared the champions! It really feels like summer now as we lather ourselves with sunscreen to protect us from the heat and the sun’s rays. Will the morning start as hot again tomorrow? Join us to find out

Campers are excited for tomorrow as they wonder if they will have another opportunity to trick Counselors or get tricked themselves.  Only the counselors know.  Til tomorrow!!!

 

The weather definitely wanted our kids out in the water today as the sky opened up in the afternoon and our camp was filled with many smiling faces. We opened up the Pelican cabana today and the competition was fierce. Campers played an epic game of World Cup Soccer that lasted the WHOLE day! Each camper still had energy to spare, however, as they moved to our gymnastics equipment to show us their flipping and jumping skills. Our synchronized swimmers practiced all morning and gave our campers a lovely performance after lunch. The swimmers were so in sync that campers and counselors were amazed. The cabana competition brought in a lot of creativity as we did our favorite activity, “See It Then Create It.” Cabanas had to coordinate to reproduce the image they were given. In the end, small but mighty won, as the Sharks cabana proved that sometimes less is more. Will the sun stay out tomorrow? We sure hope so

 

   

Today should be named Tricky Thursday as the campers converted many of the counselor activities into their own. We had a game of Canonball, aka Dodgeball, out at the shore; however, it seemed that the campers enjoyed throwing the balls at the waves as an excuse to dive into the water! We had a fun game of Sharks and Minnows, that the campers converted to Sharks and Minions due to campers love of these characters inspired by the yellow jerseys. And we had a fabulous puppet show put on by our campers and Counselor Danny as puppets walked the plank and spontaneously found a spy ninja on their ship. Our cabana competition was focused on a Pie Eating Contest that the Dolphins clearly won, however, the tricks didn’t end with the campers as the Assistant Director added his own spin to the Pie Eating Contest for the Counselors. The counselors were in for a surprise, but finished out the game strong. Tomorrow is Pirates and Ninjas Day…are you ready for it?

There was love in the air in Santa Monica as Counselor Hawkins built up the courage to propose to his love, Counselor Cydney! Unfortunately, Pirates Danny and Greg kidnapped her and a battle will commence for Hawkins to win her back on Friday! Yes campers, Friday is Pirates and Ninjas Day and we need your help to battle out and save our damsel. Campers geared up to prepare for Friday by participating in Counselors-in-Training activities to get their red marks as a sign of completion. We also had campers playing Meltdown Tag, Waterballoon Twister, and making hats and sun catchers in Arts and Crafts. The cabanas competed in a game of Limbo and High Jump where the Seals Cabana was victorious and took home the prize! With all of this preparation, the campers and counselors cannot wait for Friday, Pirates and Ninjas Day!

Our campers could not wait to get into the water today! With the sun shining bright and the water feeling cool, it was a perfect day for swimming and boogie boarding. To keep everyone entertained, counselors played Fetch It in the water, Skee ball on the shore, and splashed buckets of water on everyone. For the creative campers, Arts and Crafts showcased a lot of original and unique art pieces, the counselors were surprised by these kids talents! During our cabana competition, we had an amazing tug of war battle with the Sharks Cabana coming out victorious! It was so much fun, that MC Farber continued it in the afternoon to work on our campers core balance, strategic methods of winning, and of course, cheering contestants on. As another comes and goes, we await Wednesday as we gear up to prepare our campers for Pirates and Ninja’s Day on Friday!!!

What a hot day to start off our week! Although kids were running to the water to cool down their feet, they still enjoyed playing games on the sand like dodgeball, football, sand glass hunts, and working on their cheerleading skills. The love story between a counselor at Santa Monica and a counselor at Jonathan Club still continues to unfold as campers help write love letters, plan out romantic dates and anticipate the day the counselors will meet. The cabana competition challenged our campers memory by seeing how well they could remember numbers as they ran through a tunnel of screaming campers. It truly was a sight to see. What adventures await these young campers? Find out on tomorrow’s blog!

Come one, Come all, to the greatest camp on earth! Santa Monica celebrated Circus Day with fun games, awesome prizes, entertainers like a jester, mimes, lion tamers and a Circus Dance Club. All of the campers enjoyed every minute of their day…and enjoyed the cool ocean water against the hot sun. For our cabana competition, cabanas hit the sand to showcase what they think the meaning of “the greatest show on earth” means. The cabanas were all impressive with their own renditions. The Dolphins cabana put on a show with a massive clown needing to be entertained by children, The Seals cabanagave a variety of acts with one camper being the ringmaster introducing a lady sawed in half, minion children, stretchy campers and a girl that lives in the sand. The Sharks cabana involved every camper in a game of Wack-A-Mole, a carnival favorite! A successful Circus day has come and gone…now we wait to see what the next week bring

What a wonderful Thursday in Santa Monica We celebrated two birthdays today, a camper’s and Counselor Shawnda’s! The camp danced around the birthday girls and made them birthday cakes in the sand. With the celebrations, we also had our “Santa Monica’s Got Talent.” Campers shared their talents and impressed not only our three judges, but also the audience. The winner of the show, hwever, was a camper that proved that you can make arm pit sounds under your arms AND knees! It was definitely something we had not seen or heard before! During the cabana competition, cabanas had to recreate images in history. The images can be seen on our Facebook page and can we say how accurate and impressive these campers are. As Circus day arrives tomorrow, our campers are using their imagination to predict how the counselors will create such a memorable spectacle  

Today, the Santa Monica campers really came together as a family to play a part in the epic battle between us and the Jonathan Club. Campers were ready with their cheers, screams, and of course, water balloons! Although the campers were out to win, the battle was very civilized and our campers showed how well they could follow rules and boundaries. After beating the Jonathan Club, our campers returned to their daily activities of boogie boarding and swimming in the ocean, playing some capture the flag and dodgeball, and of course building an amazing fort with traps (in case any troops for Jonathan club wanted to ambush us). Our cabana competition tested our campers energy and skill by having a long jump contest where the Dolphin cabana won with the help of their gymnast contestant! With all of the energy and excitement spent today, campers are still excited to see Circus Day on Friday!

Tilted Tuesdays has hit Santa Monica as the campers arrived to a new cabana set up. Adventure was all around the site as children played dodgeball, made wind chimes, and used their imagination to use props to design cars, chairs, and a spa. Campers also used their creative juices to make unique raps and beats to perform after lunch. The raps were filled with humor and skill. The beats performance entailed a lot of synchronized clapping and stomping that got the whole camp participating! As always, Santa Monica comes together as a family and as a team!

The sky was gloomy today over Santa Monica, but that didn’t stop our campers from smiling and chatting up a storm! Girls proved that they were just as good as boys on the kickball field, our samurai warriors proved that size didn’t matter, campers competed to find the biggest sand crabs, and some campers went on a search for the infamous Pier Deer. The cabana competition released the campers passion to win as they competed by eating donuts on a string and tactful ways of eating goldfish. In the end, the seals beat out their competition and won, thanks to Counselor Alex’s yoga moves! All of our campers and counselors asked where the time had gone because before they knew it is was time to go home. It really is true that time passes by so much faster when you’re having fun!

Today we celebrate our July 4th theme day. Unanimously, our camp decided to dedicate the spirit stick to America, for all of the great things she has done for us! With our celebratory cheers, we began our day with Cabana Olympics, to emphasize the team building skills of our Santa Monica site. It was the Sharks vs the Seals as they competed in games like, Cheering Anthems, Surfin’ USA, Olympic Gymnastics, Baseball Pitching Targets, and more. The campers really bonded today by working as one! Just like how America is one country filled with many cultures, languages, philosophies, and opinions, our Santa Monica campers prove that you can have kids with different backgrounds work as a team. In the end, both cabanas won and the counselors were amazed by how our camp truly came together as a family!

  The day was filled with sand castle contests, medallion creations in Arts and Craft, some gymnastics, and of course, a camp favorite, dodgeball! But with all of that fun, the cheers you could hear throughout the day were, “Vote for Roan! Vote for Roan!” It was Roan vs “Jerry” (the adult) in an epic battle during our FBS election. Both candidates set up their campaign, met with the people, and gave their speeches. Our camper even made “Roan Dollars” to pass out to win votes and gain popularity. But, it wasn’t until the speeches were presented that our camper blew everyone away. He had wit, he fought for the people, and above all was liked by ALL! In the end, Roan beat “Jerry” and the people got to cream Jerry with shaving cream! Are you ready for Friday, our themed Fourth of July day? At Santa Monica, we DEFINITELY are!!  

What started out as a normal day at Santa Monica, quickly went south. Our campers were ambushed by the rebels of the Jonathan Club that tried to drench our campers with water balloons. In retaliation, we sent in a special platoon of campers to overthrow their leader, Evan, by tossing him into the ocean! After a successful plan of action, the campers proceeded with their daily activities. Contestants of FBS Idol showed off their singing talents and the highlight was when two of our youngest campers decided to do a group song with another older camper. The audience was amazed and brought to tears by their beautiful song and voices. As the day went on, campers enjoyed fencing, making ice cream, and of course, the ocean! With our FBS elections happening tomorrow, the campers plan out their campaigns to prove they have what it takes to lead FBS!  

 Today, campers got a chance to use their mind and body. Counselor Shawnda captivated the campers with her exciting stories and the mystery scavenger hunt got campers intrigued as they put together the puzzle map. Other campers chose to show off their physical skill by playing some good ole American Baseball and dug holes to trap the waves. During the cabana competition, the contestants needed to catch a ball in a cone. There were various battles from our tiniest contenders to our tallest. In the end, the Seals Cabana “sealed” the win in the final rounds. Cheers were heard and FBS is excited to have another round of campers having a choice, having many options, and showing off their skills and personalities!

As the sun shone over our camp, the majority of the campers could not wait to head to the water. Many first time swimmers attempted to boogie board and conquered many waves; nothing was going to stop these campers swimming in the cool ocean and feeling the hot sand as they got out. With the start of the new week, we prepare ourselves to celebrate for the 4th of July. The campers got into the independent spirit as they engaged in patriotic cheers, elected campers for President of FBS, and presented their campaign speeches. The counselors are looking forward to the insights these campers provide to run a successful camp

The animals escaped from their cages and arrived in Santa Monica as we celebrated Animal Planet Day! Campers really got into the spirit with activities like Stalking Seagulls, Running with the Bulls, Animal Face Paint, and our very own RIO Fashion Runway. The runway show was a hit in the afternoon as our campers showed off the latest fashion in animal wear. We had dogs, birds, snow leopards, and even unicorns attend. The campers really showed off their style and pizazz as they walked down the catwalk and impressed the crowd. Animal Planet day was a success and we look forward to next week when we begin the electoral process at camp and celebrate Independence Day!

Santa Monica was a pleasant place today with the sun shining bright, the waves crashing gracefully, and the campers gearing up for Animal Planet day on Friday. We had campers that enjoyed the cool sand as they relaxed on a sand couch, went searching for worms and crabs, and other that competed for the boxing championship that was showcased after lunch. In the afternoon, the cabana competition proved that no camper was too big or too small to help create a sculpture of their cabana animal. In the end, the Sharks took home the prize, proving that their cabana might be small and have some of our youngest campers, but that if you work hard together, you can accomplish ANYTHING! Sleep well campers because tomorrow will bring about a ROAR-ing good time as we get ready for Animal Planet! What animal will you be?!

The counselors got the campers riled up today by introducing “Awkward Wednesday” and providing activities that were animal related. The day started with awkward cheers from the cabanas, a musical lion king production with a live band, a cabana competition that required the campers to be creative and quick, and ended with otter pops! Campers are geared up for Friday and are already planning their costumes. As they continue to rehearse their roars and liven up their animal acting skills, the counselors look forward to the creativity their campers will bring  

MC Farber opened up our day with the rules through his storyline of a boy meeting a girl. Every camper was focused on the production and laughed their hearts out with the boy’s attempt to get the girl. The morning encouraged our campers to embark on sand car rides, mysterious rock excavations, and in the afternoon, a cabana competition to “get the bacon” in the water! As the day quickly came to an end, the campers were sad to leave the water, but they know the adventure is only starting as they gear up to meet some of the animals they will embark on Friday for Animal Planet Day!!  

The sun was shining bright over Santa Monica today and the campers could not wait to jump into the water! Some campers Boogie Boarded, some campers swam, and some campers built sand castle kingdoms. As lunch arrived, campers enjoyed the sun warming up their bodies from the water and were delighted to see a watermelon eating contest for the cabana competition. As the day ended, campers enjoyed finding shelter from the sun by creating a fortress where games, water bars, and great company could be seen. Until tomorrow sun…we look forward to seeing you again  

It was all about medieval adventures today at FBS. Our campers and counselors dressed up as medieval characters and put on some great cabana shows for everyone.

We had a potions class that allowed kids to create magic, builders that created a volcano (with the help of the potions students), and archery lessons on the big field.

Our campers were entertained by gypsy dances, jousting matches, and a medieval carnival.

All was good in the land of Santa Monica and the knights, princesses and dragons look forward to another theme day focused on animals!

 

Many adventures occurred today as campers went on a Pier Deer Hunt, ran through rigorous obstacle courses, played obstacle tag, and tried to reach the stars on our high jump.

These campers are creating those strong relationships we love witnessing in our childhood. A few campers teamed up to create love stories that secret admirers would send to counselors and read the stories dramatically which brought laughter throughout the crowd.

Another set of campers created a gamed called Fort where each crew had their own responsibilities, while other campers played a serious game of Uno in the cabana area.

Overall, the camp is pumped for Knights and Princesses Day as we’ve all trained hard this week. With a good night’s rest, another day will be conquered by our campers here in Santa Monica

After all of the sun dances, sun songs, and sun cheers, the sun finally decided to shine brightly over our camp.

Wednesdays always introduce FBS Idol where our campers get to share their talents with their fellow campers. We had singers, dancers, and rappers, but in the end, the beautiful voice of a camper that sang acapella received the loudest cheer.

Throughout the day our counselors worked hard to prepare our campers for Knights and Princesses day by having joisting practices, castle interior designs, reciting “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall”, and doing horse jumps. The campers were so engaged, they didn’t want the activities to end.

We can gladly say that our campers are excited and prepared for Knights and Princesses day this Friday

With an overcast sky hanging over the beach, our campers did not let that stop them from having fun, being creative, and frolicking in the ocean. As the counselors provided a large array of activities, the highlights for today included: boxing, digging to China, and our unique, “Hey, You There” game.

After lunch, the cabana competition was a donut-on-a-stick eating contest where our Sharks won with a record breaking time! But that wasn’t the only competition taking place. Campers witnessed boxing matches, with the main event being between our Spirit Stick winner and the Heavyweight Champion Hawkins. In the end, our young Spirit Stick winner took the belt and was named the New Heavyweight Champion!

As the day came to an end, the campers began to inquire about the future activities in store at Santa Monica – but the mystery continues as the campers await a brand new day!

   

Wham! Bam! Zoom! That’s how our Cartoon Theme Day started as our campers ventured in a Looney Obstacle Course and tested their cartoon knowledge.

They received training from Monster University to develop their scare tactics and took on the challenge of training their own dragon to show the power of man over beast.

The campers expressed their creativity in cartoon designs seen on shirts, rash guards, and even in the sand…while others found a thrill in digging traps to catch those “wascally wabbits” with Elmer Fudd.

But the greatest thrill was when the campers turned into superheroes to fight off the evil counselors in our Shaving Cream Fight. With an epic battle completed, the campers celebrated their victory in the ocean.

With a successful Cartoon Day complete, Porky Pig signs us out with, “Th-th-th-that’s all folks

 

Our campers continued their performing streak today! Our morning sessions of music-making and poetry-writing led to phenomenal presentations by campers after lunch.

Other campers dug a giant hole in order to trap counselors – they even caught a couple!

Later in the day, the sun came out so that boogie boarding and swimming had never been more popular.

The arts and crafts cabana was rocking all day long as campers tie-dyed shirts and made their very own ice cream.

We wrapped up the day with a presentation by our very own beat boxing campers, led by counselor Brandon.

Here’s to another great day on the beach

 

Today was full of song and dance! From FBS Has Got Talent, to the no-smiling dance-off, to random lip-syncing throughout the afternoon, this troupe of campers is a bunch of performers.

We saw talents like gymnastics, singing, and dancing to favorites like “Shake It Off,” “Let It Go,” and “The Cup Song.”

Other activities included hunting with counselor Greg for mysterious fossils in the sand, while others rocked the arts & crafts tent with counselor Dominique or lanyards with counselor Danny.

The water even saw some action despite the wind. Nothing can stop these campers

It was grey and rainy when campers arrived this morning, so we began the day with a series of entreaties to the sun – sun dances, reenactments of the sun’s first encounter with humans, and more. Our efforts were successful and the sun reappeared by the afternoon! Not that our campers were especially deterred by the lack of sun in the morning – when the water opened up, nearly everyone hightailed it down to the shore. Camper Elise’s portrayal of the sun in her cabana’s dance earned her the opportunity to ‘Spin the Wheel’ for camp-wide treats at the end of the day!

What an incredible first day at the Santa Monica FBS camp! Our campers were running all over between the different activities: from Army and Navy, Dragon Tails, and zombie tag on land, to sand castles and boogie boards at the water.

Although the waves weren’t big enough to knock our kids over, it made for its own exciting obstacle course. We were treated to a puppet show by counselor Alex and her team of puppeteers, and the Dolphins won the cabana competition!

All in all, it was a great Monday and we can’t wait to head back to the beach with our campers tomorrow!

We were tye dying shirts and making ice cream while we anxiously awaited for the sun to break the crowd cover, the campers didn’t mind the wait since rarely do they eat ice cream or breakfast. Once the sun broke so did another FBS camp record as 13 campers banded together and skillfully boogie boarded a huge wave… At the same time! We celebrated the record with a new cabana competition called “Slim Ball” before a massive and fun filled creme em fight erupted that left very little without ahint of shaving cream on it.

Today was the day we were to finally catch or at least spot the infamous “Pier Deer.” The entire camp banded together on the track as we checked in at the lifeguard stations for updates in its whereabouts but alas it got away again. During our trek we did however brainstorm a new boogie board contraption we dubbed “Surf Glider.” With a long rope attached to a boogie board the campers ran down the beach to make a path as counselors raced close behind while pulling a lucky camper zooming across the ocean water right as the waves touched the shore.

The sun was shining bright and so were the spirits of all the campers at Samo FBS today. We had back and forth game of soccer, tried but yet again couldn’t catch the elusive “Pier Deer” and discovered a new water creature called a “Seaboat Fish.” The Karp sibling trio along with Alixa put together a fantastic song and dance they came up with all on their own for the entire camp. After lunch almost half the camp formed “The Boogie Crew” and raced off to ride the waves with together on their boards.

Our camper Jonah started off his 8th birthday by winning the spirit stick then being hoisted in the bday bucket while everyone danced around him singing Happy Birthday. We had water balloon Olympics and. Spy mission take off in the morning while some campers built sand caves for the sand crabs we found. After an interpretive dance lead by Red, the campers competed in an awesome game of “Boogie Board Plank Walk.” It was an amazing display of teamwork as all the campers helped each other to win the heated race.

Monday, Monday, Monday! Campers start your engines and get ready to race around the beach during another fun filled week at FBS! We had a three-way hula-hoop car race today at FBS Samo. Teams of four campers had to fit inside of a single hula hoop than work together to race through the “cone valley” jump over the many walls of “boogie board alley” then race across the red mat “slip ‘n slide” duck under the volleyball “web of defeat” and then finally running to the “wet zone” to drench each other in water before crossing the finish line. But of course we didn’t just run forwards, we ran backwards, blindfolded and then the campers voted the counselors try the course… but while spinning in a circle! To top it off the fun filled race was only part of all the fun we had at the beach today.

Wild Wild West Day took over FBS Samo as campers divided into Cowboys and Indian cabanas for a wild day of camp. A group of Indian trackers went looking for the mysterious Pier Deer, Cowboys and Cowgirls went running with the bulls and Sheriff Hayden had a water gun showdown with Kali and the Tarp Trio. Emily lead a country line dance after lunch before a rousing cabana competition… bull riding. Will, Max, Jack and Tia were brave enough to ride the rowdy bull for their cabana’s with Jack being the only one to hang on for a full 5 seconds. A water balloon showdown came right after high noon and followed with a high five showdown with all the campers before we raced into the water where skim boarding was the hit of the day.

Today was “Camper-Counselor Flip Flop” day in which each counselor picked a camper to switch places with during our morning run through. Jesse was chosen to be our MC as he has shown great pride and memory of knowing all the words to every cheer as well as the order in which we start our day. Izzy put on a hilarious presentation of the FBS rules that she came up with all on her own. Spirit stick winner Rio has been a leader all summer and was chosen after leading the camp in the FBS clap and cheer. We had a water balloon launching competition and a beauty saloon prepared just for Counselor Cannan who the girls thought needed yet another makeover. The Davis brothers brought the house down as “The Sassy Short Short Sisters” while acting as judges for the cabana competition.

Operation Seagull took place at SAMO FBS today. After last Wednesday water balloon battle with another FBS camp we were on high alert for a sneak attack. The entire camp was thrown into an emergency water balloon defensive exercise in case of a surprise attack. Mylan lead a group of campers to build a medic tent complete with cots and supplies, Jackson. David and the Allen brothers lead a spy mission to keep an eye on the possible incoming attack. Theo lead a brave group of campers put together a mock soccer game in which they were actually staking the front line of defense, while many campers like Declan were building the boogie board wall barrier and prepping hundreds of water balloons. The spy mission reported the enemy had retreated, so the counselors took on their roles and a massive water balloon battle ensued. The counselors were greatly outnumbered so the broke out their secret weapon… Shaving Cream! By the end the counselors and campers formed a truce and we all raced into the ocean to clean up and have some more fun.

The campers were in a dancing and partying mode from the get go today so we thought why not have our own music festival! Counselor Gracie put together our own version of “Outside lands” where we had several different camper DJ’s spinning funky beats while breakdancing campers showed us so new moves. Several campers performed solo and duet songs and we even had an acrobatic-hula hoop performance. The crowd loved the show so much that we all chanted “One more song, One more song” and the performers didn’t disappoint by bringing the whole camp into the sand stage for a full camp dance party that rocked the beach!

Monday Funday! For most a Monday is the start of the work week, at SAMO FBS Monday is the start of another FUN WEEK! With our Wild West Theme week coming on Friday we had a wild shaving crème-dodge ball game to start the day. Counselor Emily and camper River put together an amazing dance medley with a special appearance from Max singing “Let it Go” from Frozen in which the entire camp joined in for the whole beach to hear (the lifeguard gave us a standing ovation!). While many campers like Maxine were riding the waves a few decided it would be fun to completely bury someone in the sand and dress them like a dummy… Director Hayden seemed like the best choice and made a great sand dummy. Our cabana competition had a Wild West theme with a twist. Each cabana had to dress up the tallest girl as a horse and the smallest boy as a cowgirl and have them tell a story about how they came to be friends, the laughter the stories brought about lasted the entire afternoon

How do you have a great start to a great week? You come to FBS Samo! We had artist galore painting ceramic animals and creating personal hats. A huge game of soccer became the big hit of the day that was reminiscent of World Cup fever. We even had our very own “Lil Pet and Me” pet show with campers acting out various dog tricks never seen before! A hilarious highlight of the day was our cabana completion which was “Take the baby to bed,” where campers had to carry a teammate in a towel from their cabana to a “baby bed” all in preparation for our Pajama Theme day on Friday. No day at FBS would be complete without hitting the water, which the entire camp and staff joined in doing together much of the afternoon.

Campers arrived as Batman, Superman, Wonder woman and many more heroes for today’s super hero theme day. We had a superhero creation station where campers invented their superhero alter-egos, and turned into them. They then ventured to arts and crafts to make capes and masks before flying over to the Villain’s layers obstacle course. The superhero campers had to sprint, dodge and hurdle around the villains, even having to carefully crawl through the spiders web trap where “shaving cream” webs were spraying all over! The super heroes ended the course by leaping over a tall building before racing to their “secret sand layers” built near the oceans edge.

We had a wedding!!!

The day started off with a joyful surprise when counselor David proposed to counselor Gracie with a beautiful ring pop… and she said yes! The wedding planning and dance committee full of campers got busy preparing everything for the big wedding. A huge sand wedding cake was built while the groom went out hunting with his groomsmen for the mysterious, “pier deer.”  Two new games were also in action; “running with the bulls” got really wild, and “minefield” was a big hit! After lunch we had a beautiful ceremony with many flower girls and puppies who lead the bride whom they gave a “wedding makeover” complete with a beach theme gown. After the sunscreen vows, the couple had their first dance and then the whole camp joined in the celebration before we all raced toward the water to keep the party going while riding the waves.

We hit a triple digits number of campers today for the first time in a week so we had to celebrate with a full on dance party to start the day! We had many artists painting away in arts and crafts, a massive game of capture the flag, water hurdles down to the ocean and for the first time, “Get yo trash off my yard” was brought with great joy to Samo. Some of the girls turned the Dolphin cabana into a “counselor salon” and gave Gracie and Cannan full makeovers complete with seaweed wraps and nail painting. The campers tore up the waves on the boogie boards, once five campers at a time rode a wave in together!

What could have been a sad day turned into a day of crazy celebration with everything geared toward saying, ‘goodbye’ to counselor, Gibran. A surprise going away party was planned by the campers complete with a whip creme pie, and a country line dance routine. The legendary camp game, “Fort Ball,” was brought back in his honor and it lived up to its status as half the camp got in on the action. The campers acted our their favorite stories of Gibran for the cabana competition before heading into the water where nearly every camper took turns high fiving each other as they boogie boarded back to shore.  

New Week, new Campers and same awesome waves. Scarlett has been a phenomenal counselor over the past few weeks and was rewarded with the spirit stick. Sand Crab farms were being built all over the waters edge for the hundreds of catches the campers made. The Dolphins made a sweet ice cream parlor to win the golden broom, then continued their great teamwork to create “Bird Man” to win the make a super hero cabana competition. The waves were also super today, and Evan looked like Superman as he body surfed, boogie boarded and skim boarded any wave that came his way!

Happy Halloween? We called the bright sun our pumpkin and we carved out another amazing day.

Campers and counselors were dressed up in a variety of costumes that brought added fun to camp today. We had a soaring game of Quidditch, made trick or treat bags at arts and crafts and, if you dared, took a blindfolded stroll down the Haunted Maze! The campers turned their counselors into mummies as the sun rose and some painted little oranges like pumpkins. Today really felt like Halloween, though our main treat was the wet ‘n wild obstacle course we raced through before hitting the ocean!

Happy Halloween from the Samo crew!

It was a wet and wild Thursday over in Santa Monica today! We had everything going on from a crazy cool session of splatter painting in arts and crafts, to a tattoo parlor, ultimate frisbee session and not to mention but we built our very own water slide!!! The entire camp headed to the waters edge after lunch for a wild and crazy water bucket race. Campers used their hands, rash guards and even hair to soak up water to fill up their teams bucket. The Seals barely edged out the other cabanas and everyone congratulated each other with a high five before hanging ten in the waves.

Our puppet show introduced today’s activities including: the wildly popular Super Hero Training Course which showcased Batman’s amazing powers, led by DJ Josh. The water was a huge hit too; campers were able to paddle, knee board and boogie board throughout the day! Campers also spent time in the shade with their favorite counselors- telling stories, playing games, answering trivia, and getting ready for Super Hero Day! The entire camp also had the opportunity to karaoke to one of our favorites of this summer- the theme from Frozen! Speaking of singing, we all got to sing along to the doughnut song during our cabana competition with the Eels taking the win, led by camper Carolyn! Arts & Crafts decorate your own stuffed animal was so much fun too. Zip Zap Zoom- Super Hero Day is coming soon!!!

The arrival of several new campers added to our ever growing list of new friendships being formed here at Santa Monica FBS this summer. Cannan the “Caveman” stumbled upon our camp and asked for the campers to help him build a new cave, while others joined in a new game called “Fox and Mice.” The girls were getting all dolled up with face painting, nail polish and some beautiful beaded jewelry they hand crafted at arts and crafts. The cabana competition was super scary as the camp prepared for our “Halloween” theme day by turning one of their counselors into a monster. The Seals came out victorious by bringing “Freddy hand puppet” to life.

Sand crab mania: The wind was gusting today bringing with it glorious sunshine, rad waves and TONS of sand crabs some of which were nearly half a foot big! Mr. Huck had blown away his counselors with his enthusiastic attitude the past week and was awarded the spirit stick. The wind settled after lunch as if it knew it was time for “Goldfish Creme Toss” where the campers had a blast covering their counselors entire head in shaving creme then trying toss the most goldfish to stick on. The Squid cabana won by 1 goldfish! Ninja ball snuck up and made another appearance to the roar of the campers as the game is quickly become one of the funniest this summer.

Another Monday, and another great start to our week at FBS SaMo.  The morning was full of supportive and energetic cheers, funny skits, and impromptu dance parties.  Katy for the Dolphins won the Spirit Stick for her infectious good natures, willingness to help other campers, and awesome costumes on Theme Days.  The morning held original activities only found at FBS such as “Jaws” and “The Great Shoe Pile” as well as an original play produced and performed by campers.  The ocean was calm but still good for boogie boarding and swimming, and we look forward to a great Tuesday tomorrow.  Don’t let your camper miss out on the fun and remember that FBS is sign up by the day!

Tuesday, you were a legend!  The day started off with MC Alex getting camp stoked for the big water, big games, and special activities only found at an FBS Beach Camp.  Today marked the arrival of a new game, Ultimate Ball (a combination of dodge ball and basketball), a whacky and close cutting puppet show about Director Evan’s life working for FBS, and a hunt for Alien Evidence along the beaches of Santa Monica.  Arts and Crafts was a treat with Color Me Mine porcelain figurines!  The large surf is finally starting to back off and campers filled their mornings with boogie boarding, skim boarding, and swimming.  Summer is in full swing and the days keep getting better, join us for the best summer camp in California!

Monday started off with some serious on the sand fun, campers hardly new what to do when choosing between Gracie and Davids play, Caitlin’s sand candles, Will’s World Cup Soccer, and Alex and Gibrans American Gladiators.  Then we headed to the water to find that the surf was definitely up.  We squeezed in boogie boarder before the tide got to low, but swam all morning.  The days cabana competition had each cabana choose a favorite song and create a music video using all of their campers.  Highlights include Max from the Seals getting down with a wicked dance solo, the Dolphins epic Lion King inspired dance, and the Eels chaotic, and hilarious, dance.  The Seals moves could not be beat in the end, and they were the days competition winners!  The afternoon brought much larger surf which limited us to swimming shallow only, but we anticipate the surf to calm dramatically over the next 12 hours.  See you at the beach at FBS Santa Monica!

Everyone came out decked in their Red, White, and Blue to make this 3rd feel like the 4th.  The day started off with the news that the cabana competition, usually only right after lunch, was happening all day long with mini challenges throughout the day.  The Eels, Seals, and Dolphins each had hilarious 4th of July chants that came into play all day, and even though the competition was fierce at times, we could not be more proud of how the cabanas supported and cheered each other on.  Thats what camp is all about!  Gracie and Jamie led a great puppet show on the history of FBS, Emily judged a 4th of July sand sculpture contest, and Canaan and Alex played a huge game of flag football.  Campers Jackson and Sam were the respective MVPs, or should I say MVCs.  Alex aka the Farbarian won this weeks counselor of the week award for his hard work, enthusiasm, and commitment to making summer camp special for every camper that attends.  The cabana competition ended in a three way tie for the first time in FBS history, and everyone left a winner!  Happy 4th of July to all, and see you on Monday!

Monday started shrouded in June Gloom but that did not bring our campers down!  The morning cheers got us rolling, each cabana chose an iconic place in America to represent in honor of both the World Cup and the upcoming 4th of July, and hilarity insued.  The days Spirit Stick winner was Sam from the Dolphin Cabana, continuing the tradition of older campers helping out and setting great examples, and doing it naturally.  The fog burned off just in time for camp to enjoy swimming, boogie boarding, and skim boarding, and stayed hot and bright for the rest of the day.  The Eels won the cabana competition, on old favorite the goldfish toss.  In the morning meeting the staff set the intention of not only creating memorable and fun experiences for our campers but also to reflect and have gratitude for the wonderful opportunity given to work with such great kids in such a beautiful place!  Seriously lucky people!

We had another incredible day at FBS Santa Monica!  The day started off with a favorite morning cheer, the Roll Call, and the Eels, Dolphins, and Seals all represented their FBS Spirit.  We had our first hilarious puppet show of the summer and our first “Strongest Camper” competition that would make Arnold proud.  Maddy from the Eels won the Spirit Stick, and the Dolphins won the days cabana competition.  The surf started off big but backed off during the day, we had another great day of boogie boarding and swimming.  The LA County Lifeguards got into the action and sprayed our swimmers with their water cannon from their boat…what a great day.  See you soon on the beach!

I’m not sure if you know, but a lot of our campers have amazing talents.  Today they got the chance to showcase them as we held the summer’s first FBS Has Talent! Campers met with Gracie for the AM morning activity to get help honing their skills to present to the camp at lunch time.  Gracie and a number of the girls performed an original group song that everyone loved, getting them on their feet.  This was just the lead up however to camper River getting up to sing an original song all by herself.  It took so much courage and we were really proud of her.  The day wrapped up with a huge afternoon game of In ‘N Out that was dominated by camper Ian.

Happy Monday everyone!  We don’t know about you, but we are so excited for another week at FBS Santa Monica! Today camper Norah Mead won the spirit stick.  She has been a model camper, supporting others and always being positive.  The spirit stick was well deserved.  As lunch time was wrapping up, a dance party came out of nowhere.  This wasn’t any dance party however, this was a selfie dance party.  This brought the energy way up for the cabana competition that followed.  All the campers got together for an epic game of Beasties!  Though all did well, counselor Canaan and his crew came out on top.

Cole won the spirit and it was also his birthday!!

Frankie learned how to do a split with JK in gymnastics.

Angelique was part of beach Blanket Theatre as Petrucio in Shakespeare taming of the shrew. All the kids had a laugh at their performance.

 

Cole won the spirit and it was also his birthday!!

Frankie learned how to do a split with JK in gymnastics.

Angelique was part of beach Blanket Theatre as Petrucio in Shakespeare taming of the shrew. All the kids had a laugh at their performance.

 

Today’s spirit stick winner was River. She won for having great spirit and a positive attitude.

The Rock Banders put on a stellar air guitar performance where Henry got to rock on drums!

Hoola-Olympics also out on a great gymnastics Hoola show.

 

Today at SAMO we had a great water balloon fight!

The ninjas swam out deep in the ocean for their morning paddling activity.

Levi and EJ learned stage combat with Nathaniel. They performed an awesome pirate battle at lunch!

 

Today we had FBS wrestling! Anthony took on Collin in an epic battle. The ocean was so calm Alex and Maxine were out past the breakers with GMo and Zues!

Little Mack won the spirit stick for the being the cutest camper! We had an amazing cheer leading performance in the pm.

 

This morning we had beach side. They finally saw the jumping dolphins.

Sienna won the spirit stick for being a great leader.

We had FBS wrestling and Anthony won the title.

Milla did a funny skit called counselors go wee! It was funny.