Halloween

We absolutely love Halloween at Stonybrook Day Camp! The day is all about dressing up, having fun and trick or treating! And we hope you collect many a treat…. especially snickers and M&Ms. Regardless of what kind of candy you prefer, we wish you a nice evening with family and friends. And remember you can always swap your candy!

We wanted to share some fun Halloween activities. The Swamp Juice most likely requires a trip to the supermarket but the printables and games can be accessed right on the computer. And the face paint recipes just may save you another trip to the costume store!

QUICK AND EASY HOMEMADE FACE PAINT
Need to get some face paint to complete your costume…. try making it after a quick trip to the kitchen.

Make your own by mixing a tablespoon-and-a-half of shortening with three tablespoons of cornstarch and the food coloring of your choice.
This is best for large applications.

For more detailed face painting, try:
1 Tbsp. cold cream
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. water
food coloring
Mix together cornstarch and cold cream until well blended. Add water and stir. Add food coloring one drop at a time until you get the desired color.


HALLOWEEN COLORING PAGES AND PRINTABLE GAMES
Need some last minute coloring pages or printable games to keep your ghosts, princesses and superheros occupies…. Go to http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-printables/

HALLOWEEN SWAMP JUICE DRINK
FamilyFun Magazine wowed us with their SWAMP JUICE! Drink up for a spooky time! Filled with gummy creatures and fish eggs made from tapioca pearls, this sweet, bubbly drink looks like something scooped up from a deep, dark bog.

Ingredients (8 servings)
• 1/2 cup small tapioca pearls (found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores)
• Food coloring
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 8 gummy fish
• Seltzer water
• Lemonade
• 8 gummy worms

Instructions
MAKE THE EGGS: Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add the tapioca pearls. Reduce the heat slightly and boil the pearls, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes.

COLOR THE EGGS: Divide the pearls, with the remaining water, between two bowls. Add 4 drops of food coloring (we used 3 drops of yellow and 1 drop of green in one bowl, and 4 drops of blue in the other) and 2 tablespoons of sugar to each bowl. Stir the mixtures, then allow them to sit uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and rinse the pearls with cold water.

ASSEMBLE THE DRINK: Spoon 2 tablespoons of pearls into each glass and drop in a gummy fish. Fill the glasses with seltzer water, then add a splash of lemonade. Place a gummy worm around a spoon as shown.

Go to http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/swamp-juice-784944/ to see a picture of this spooky creation!

WISHING YOU A FABULOUSLY SPOOKY AND FUN HALLOWEEN!


Don't forget to check out http://www.stonybrookdaycamp.blogspot.com to see all of the pictures from camp!

Stonybrook Welcomes Morristown Memorial Hospital

Stonybrook Day Camp in Randolph NJ welcomed guests attending Morristown Memorial’s 27th Annual Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Alumni Picnic on September 25th. The event, which has been held at the camp for the last three years, provides an opportunity for NICU children and their families to celebrate their accomplishments and their strength. It also gives families a chance to see their NICU friends and the doctors and nurses who may have cared for them.

Children attending ranged in age from only a few months old (so many adorable babies) to teens, and there were many triplet and twin strollers on camp grounds. Attendees enjoyed face painting, pony rides, ambulance tours, arts n’ crafts, jumpy pillow and the Circle Time Live Band. The theme of the day was pirates and princesses and some attendees came dressed to impress, including a set of coordinating triplet princesses and a set of twin babies in princess and pirate onesies.

While this event requires a great deal of coordination and planning, Stonybrook is thrilled to be involved because many of us at camp have seen first hand how hard NICU babies fight to thrive during their early days and how challenging the experience can be on a family. While Morristown’s Neonatal group, Mid Atlantic Neonatology Associates, sponsors the event, the camp is donated for the day in honor of Roger Black’s niece and nephew, Alexis and Andrew Rubinstein.

The twins, who attended Stonybrook this past summer, were born 3 months premature and spent their first 2 months in Morristown’s NICU. The hospital provided high quality care and a family-centered approach that guided and welcomed family involvement. The Rubinstein family felt lucky to have the support and guidance of many caring professionals while their babies were dealing with issues related to prematurity. In fact, seeing the twins confidently board the bus to go to camp this past summer made it seem like the NICU experience had been a lifetime away. But it wasn’t….. it was about 4 years ago that two early arrivals connected a hospital and a camp together. Having Uncle Roger involved in the picnic planning is only a small way to say thank you for two incredibly happy campers, who couldn’t get enough of the Teddy Bear group this past summer. They specifically miss the zip line (Alexis), swimming/sports (Andrew) and their many, many, many camp friends.

And Andrew and Alexis were not the only Stonybrook campers at this event. Our camp is connected to the NICU through multiple families and that makes it even more special for us.

One additional observation to share….. many attendees do not yet go to summer camp and it was the first time they were experiencing the joy of Stonybrook…. But there was something familiar…... The pure happiness and exhilaration…. The smiles and the laughter….. it truly felt like how a camp day should be.


Don't forget to check out http://www.smugmug.com/to see all of the pictures from camp!

Octoberfest 2010 !

Thank you to families and staff for a wonderful Octoberfest 2010. The weather was perfect, the cider was cold and we had a BLAST today! Kids enjoyed sand art, pumpkin painting, boating, horse drawn carriage rides and a farm petting zoo. We also had lots of smiles on the jumping pillow and some thrills at the challenge course. We were very happy to bring a little bit of summer to all on this fabulous fall day.









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