All weeks are still open for registration and forms can be found on our web site at www.joekaaru.com.
Each week has a special theme that helps generate really cool activities:
Week 1: July 13-20 – Arts Week
Each day will focus on age-appropriate art activities to learn some new skills, experiment with different art media and be as creative as possible!
Let the Clay Lead the Way. Clay will be introduced early in the week to explore different methods of application including coil and slab work, art tiles to explore texturing and an introduction to some bisqueware glazes.
Drawing Fun includes art ideas to use pencils, chalk pastels, oil pastels, markers and watercolour crayons. Doodle art is a great way to practice any new media.
Painting with watercolour, tempra and acrylics offer artists different ways to work with colour combinations. Realism and abstract styles will be offered to suit each artist. A “Pollock Party ” will be a special project.
The Paper Parade includes a Matisse-inspired project, as well as collage assemblage with textured papers and photo images.
Simple prints include an introduction to relief, collagraph and monoprint methods. Nature is the inspiration!
Simulated stained glass done with colourful acrylic transparencies, as well as personal fabric totems, will be special projects for different age groups of campers.
This arts program will even make parents jealous! Come and enjoy the Timmas Art Studio as a hive of creative activity.
Week 2: July 20-27 – Estonian week
Jõekääru becomes a “mini Eesti” for this week, as everyone becomes completely immersed in the Estonian language and culture! The Estonian culture is so rich and unique and can be experienced through dance, theatre, singing, art, handicrafts, food, games, sports and whatever else our talented counsellors, staff and kids can think of – Eesti keeles, Eesti meeles!
Sunday, July 27th – Family day or “Perekonna Päev”
We will be channeling the spirit of the recent “Laulupidu” and “Tantsupidu”. Children will learn new songs and continue to sing and dance cherished classics.
We look forward to seeing everyone come visit, watch the show and enjoy being at JK! Put this day in your calendars.
Week 3: July 27-August 3 – Sports/Games Week
A great week of sports integrated with fun games. During this week, everyone becomes a winner! Our fabulous facilities include a full size track and field stadium, 4 grass and 4 beach volleyball courts, a baseball diamond, soccer field, basketball court (which can also be used for other activities, like road hockey), swimming pool, badminton, air rifle range and much more. We have games during the day and sometimes at night, games to test creativity, knowledge and wit. All lots of fun!
Week 4: August 3-9 –Final Smorgasborg week: Something for everyone – art, sports, dancing, singing, with the historical JK highlight, “Lõpuball” -the Prince and Princess competition for kids in their last camper years, and then the final Formal Dinner which we share with our team of volunteers who have helped make camp so successful. Of course, the final dance on the last night is one that should not be missed, especially if this is your last years as a camper! (if you miss it, you may regret it in years to come)
In addition to the above, there are dances and a fun outing planned for every week, crayfishing, hikes in the surrounding areas, meet and greet campwide games, saunas, raids, canoeing, and so much more … and don't forget the great food that will be served as Ülle and the kitchen team cook up a storm.
Joekaaru Suvekodu has been part of the Canadian Estonian community for the past 62 years, so lets all work together to keep it going for many more generations to come. It is run with the love of our JSS committee members, and with the help of countless volunteers, donations and dedicated parents, Camp JK is a thriving environment for our Estonian youth.
Anyone who has been to Camp JK knows our dynamic duo, Jaan Veenpere and Mihkel Salusoo, as long time favourites. Jaan is our brilliant leather arts teacher who also spins a great tale about our Estonian national hero, Kalevipoeg. You have not experienced Kalevipoeg until you see Jaan's first-class presentation! And who would think that this mild mannered, witty instructor can make camp so much fun for our youngsters by teaching them how to be great Estonians, including instruction in such cool activities like shooting at our air rifle range?
His partner in crime, Mihkel Salusoo, is the mastermind behind innovative technology, revolutionizing the art of weaving on small looms that are easy for our children to use. He has recorded (with the help of Jaan) over 450+ beautiful Estonian ethnic patterns that preserve the history from the various regions of our home country. In the short time space of a few hours a week, our campers are able to make beautiful bookmarks and gifts for loved ones, while they experience an inherent part of our Estonian culture – an art that helps define who we are and where we came from (keep your eyes open for the new, up-coming feature film “Keepers of the Loom” that stars our very own Mihkel and features the importance of this Estonian cultural craft). Our more ambitious camp counsellors have made beautiful belts to go with their “rahvariided”/folk costumes with relative ease on these looms. These same belts are very expensive to purchase anywhere else.
We are very lucky at Jõekääru to be able to offer these one-of-a-kind programs to our children! Parents–take advantage of this and enroll your children in camp today!
Jaan's and Mihkel's passion for sharing their unique skills and expertise with our campers is infectious. They are a great example to all of us, sharing their knowledge and our special history with our younger generations to get them excited about their unique Estonian identity and culture. We have a lot of very proud, young Estonians at Jõekääru Suvekodu. They really feel they are part of something very special.
Please join us July 13th to August 9th at Camp Joekaaru!
Our high-intensity JK-Kalev Volleyball camp follows from August 10th to 17th.
Once again, we have an outstanding line-up of talented camp counsellors who are looking forward to making your child's experience a memorable one! See you soon!
Jõekääru Suvekodu Selts
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This visual should have you looking forward to being at JK Camp. Just picture this…
Jõekääru hommik (morning) Go outside sometime between six and seven in the morning when the air is damp but warm, and the birds are singing, and there is a weight and a hush in the air. Walk through the damp grass with flip flops and I promise you will feel like you are walking to the saun for a shower before the camp day begins.
I remember being at Jõekääru when I was seven years old. I would get dressed and out the door first to try to catch the moment to sit on a triangular structure that perfectly faced the rising sun. Only, I'd climb to the top and face away from the sun to let it warm my back.
Instantly recognizable is the smell of the camp kitchen. I find myself in random places in the world when all of a sudden a memory is invoked of standing outside the kitchen, hearing the exhaust fans going, joking with the counsellors and playing with the other campers as the sun warmed up the air and it was time for breakfast.
The sounds of the sandy, shuffling feet as I walked through the screen door which squeaked and was sprung a little too tightly, so it had to be really held for the next person. The benches scraping on the wood floors as everyone slipped in to stand and wait for grace, played imperfectly on an out-of-tune piano.
The relative coolness of the space, waiting for announcements about how hot the day will be, to wear runners and sunscreen and a hat and be sure to drink lots of water.
This is what a Jõekääru morning is, and I am reminded of it when I get outside before seven on a warm humid morning, the sun warming my back.
Krista Spence
