Homeschool camp- september 2011

Every year in September, many families around Australia make a trip to the Northern rivers Catholic homeschool camp. It’s in a little seaside village.

It is a really relaxed and enjoyable camp, and this year was no different.
Its quite a long drive from our home so we stay overnight along the way. This year we stayed with Erin and family.  It was a real treat. In the morning we were up with the sun, and I was informed that my Daughter had found the library.  I teasingly said, “I hope she remembers this is not the camp”.
So after taking two of her girls with us, we drove to our sunny location.
The week was filled with spiritual talks given to various age groups.
Every day there was fun activity that we did in a group, including kite flying at the beach on the day 1.
The exploring of the rockpools of a close by beach was quite a hit, with some of the kids walking along the beach with Fr Rizzo and others choosing to stay and continue exploring the rockpools.
Confirmations and 1^st Holy Communions were celebrated with the local Bishop, with a lovely Angelic choir singing the hymns of the day. It was lovely seeing other homeschooling families who were not attending the camp for a short time at the Mass.

Mackillop team

I think the hymns at our daily Masses really added to the serene and peaceful atmosphere in our little Chapel. Mass was of course, central to our week. Adoration & benediction was scheduled daily in the afternoons.
Most evening we had events that the children would play in their teams- Trivia and impromptu games organised by s local hunter young adult were really fun & exciting.

finishing the long distance event

Of course these type of camps would not be the same without spiritual talks. The children were broken into age groups and lead in many areas of church teaching. The mums and dads were not left out. The Mums took an hour in the afternoon to reflect on the liturgical year, while the Dads chatted there men’s business in the evenings. I was not privy to their talk topic.  
This year the sports carnival was changed to the area closer to the cabins as there were birds nesting in our usual spot and they were very protective of their young. It was a fun day and I was so proud of Brid. She ran really well and helped the little ones when they needed to.

The 4 real mums

There was a lovely mix of families this year and it was a very Blessed and happy camp, meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones. It was lovely to meet our 4real mums again.

Thanks Lynn and Erin for you enormous effort that you put into each camp every year.

some of the girls