Following the summer camp, Camp Ship Academy held its toddler camp again!
This time, we took 18 children to Karuizawa to enjoy playing in the snow!
At 8:00 AM, children started gathering at the group meeting point at Tokyo Station, some nervous and shy, others brimming with excitement. After checking in and greeting their buddies, they learned the names of their group leaders.
After check-in was complete and the director gave a greeting to the parents, it was finally time to depart! In the summer, some children cried, but this time, they easily picked up their luggage and, with some help from the leaders, headed to the Shinkansen platform.
At Camp Ship Academy's camp for toddlers, children move in pairs as buddies, holding hands. We believe this small system fosters independence, as walking together encourages them to walk steadily with a sense of responsibility without wandering, and one child may proactively draw the other's attention.
Safely aboard the Hokuriku Shinkansen Hakutaka, the children were in high spirits. They exchanged snacks and chatted. When snow started appearing outside the window, the children became incredibly excited! Some children were seeing snow for the first time, which was heartwarming. After an hour on the Shinkansen, we quickly arrived at Karuizawa Station.
They finished packing their luggage and preparing to disembark from the Shinkansen, posing with magazines from the seat pockets 😊
After getting off the Shinkansen, we played a maze game prepared by Camp Ship during a bathroom break at the station.
Once everything was ready, we took a five-minute bus ride from Karuizawa Station to Snowman Park. Snowman Park is a snow play area at Karuizawa Prince Hotel Ski Resort where you can enjoy sledding and tubing!
After changing into ski wear in separate changing rooms with the help of male and female leaders, it was time to play in the snow!
Of course, sledding,
making snowmen,
and making snow ducks in addition to snowballs, the children were engrossed.
They enjoyed freely going back and forth between sledding and playing in the snow!
After some play, we had rice balls and fried chicken for lunch, and as soon as they finished eating, everyone was full of energy, eager to play in the snow again!
We continued to enjoy the afternoon!
Tubing,
and making igloos out of snow!
We also had a snow fight and it was a huge hit!
After playing in the snow, we took a bus to the accommodation. Both the children and leaders were fast asleep on the bus. After a short rest, we'll enjoy ourselves to the fullest at the accommodation!
After arriving at the accommodation, we put our luggage in our rooms and had free time! Our accommodation this time was Verde Karuizawa, Nerima City's Children's Nature House. We were excited by the spacious, clean, and impressive building!
At the shoe racks by the entrance, the children called out to each other, followed the example of the older children, and neatly put away their boots.
After putting our luggage in the rooms, we went to get the sheets for making our futons ourselves. The staff had prepared a bag of sweets for each child, and we were very happy to feel so welcomed.
During the free time before dinner, we played endlessly, chasing each other in the central plaza of the accommodation, chatting indoors, reading picture books, making a bonfire and roasting marshmallows, doing craft activities to create original wonderful works, and also had some time to relax in our rooms!
We started the bonfire by lighting the fire ourselves! We gathered dry branches and first lit crumpled newspapers. Those who wanted to also got to experience lighting a match. As the fire grew, we gradually added larger branches.
Once the fire was large and stable, we all gathered around to listen to its sounds.
After that, we roasted and ate the marshmallows we had been looking forward to! They were gooey and delicious!
Here, they are making woodworking crafts using natural fragments. They are painting and combining pinecones, acorns, and other items as they like to create their own unique works.
When parts needed to be attached, the leader used a hot glue gun to adhere them. The children watched with great interest, making the leader secretly thrilled!
Children showing their completed works
After an eventful time back at the accommodation, it was dinner time!
After dinner, we enjoyed a piano concert at the accommodation. The pianist encouraged us to sing along, so the children either hummed along, listened intently, or were captivated by the performance.
After the piano concert, we had planned to observe the starry sky, but the sky was cloudy. Even though no stars were visible, the children who wanted to go outside went out, touched the snow, and played "Daruma-san ga Koronda." I was so happy to enjoy it with them, and they seemed to really like it. Indoors, they also had fun chatting with leaders, looking outside, and reading picture books.
After taking a bath and brushing our teeth, it was time for bed. The large shared rooms for boys and girls were lively, but the children soon fell sound asleep after hearing a bedtime story.
For children who missed home and felt lonely, leaders talked to them and read picture books. With the leaders constantly by their side, the children began to feel at ease and fall asleep. Thank you, leaders, for your hard work.
The next morning, we put away our futons and tidied our luggage. Let's have fun again today!
Breakfast was a buffet!
After breakfast, we came to Old Karuizawa town to experience Raku-yaki pottery!
Raku-yaki is a type of simple, warm pottery that originated in Japan in the late 16th century.
After receiving an explanation from the craftsman on colors and brush techniques, we each spent one minute imagining what kind of design we wanted to draw.
We then applied colors to our plates and mugs. Everyone had a serious expression!
All the children's works were rich in individuality and wonderful!
We're looking forward to seeing the finished pieces after the craftsman fires them!
After the Raku-yaki experience, we strolled through the streets of Old Karuizawa and bought souvenirs.
The children were adorable, seriously choosing souvenirs while thinking about what their families would like.
After finishing souvenir shopping, we came to eat Udon for lunch!
After lunch, we went to play in the snow one last time!
After playing in the snow and changing, we moved to the station.
Karuizawa Station was very large, and a Christmas market was bustling there. Although it was raining, the children brightened up when they saw Santa, exclaiming, "It's Santa!"
Inside the large tent, we checked for lost and found items and handed out the fired Raku-yaki pottery to the children. After drinking juice to re-energize, we finally headed to board the Shinkansen back to Tokyo!
The return Shinkansen ride flew by as we chatted with newly made friends and leaders, or slept soundly.
After getting off the Shinkansen, we headed for the ticket gate holding hands with our buddies. We could feel the children's growth in their steadier steps compared to when we arrived.
Before disbanding at Tokyo Station, we announced the Leadership Award. The Leadership Award is given to children who demonstrate leadership by speaking up, looking out for others, or proactively helping everyone during Camp Ship Academy programs, in order to encourage such leadership behavior. For this toddler camp, the Leadership Award was given to children who independently and skillfully changed into their ski wear, and those who organized their luggage in the room.
Finally, with their luggage in hand, they made one last effort to head to the group meeting point where their parents were waiting! Even children who had been helped by leaders earlier said they wanted to carry their own luggage to show how cool they were.
Returning to the same spot where we gathered just yesterday morning, we truly feel the length of the one-night, two-day Camp Ship Academy experience. It's astonishing to think that all the various activities, the children's smiles at every moment, and all the stories they shared are condensed into these two days.
Seeing the children's faces as they said goodbye to the leaders, it's clear they had a wonderful time.
Let's have a fun time together again at Camp Ship!
Camp Ship leaders love seeing children who have been here before show more growth, and also seeing new children relax and smile more as they feel at ease in Camp Ship's free and fun atmosphere with interesting leaders.
Thank you for coming to Camp Ship Academy!