Space at Camp Zion filled at record speed this year. Registration for CZ2019 is now closed.
If spaces do become available they will be filled first come first serve from our waitlist. If you would like to add your child to our wait list please send your child’s registration form to our camp director at campzion@zionreformed.org .
Registration is now open for Camp Zion 2019.
Click on following link for a copy of our registration form. CZ Registration Form
Camp Zion is open to children from Grandville & Jenison school districts entering 1st-6th grade in the fall of 2019. Spaces are limited and filled on a first come first serve basis. Completed registration forms can be dropped off to our church office M-Th 9am-2pm or emailed to our camp director at campzion@zionreformed.org
Hello Camp Zion Families,
Week 6 was a favorite for all of our staff. By choosing to have a less intense schedule of events for our week with no theme, there were so many more opportunities to have lots of good one on one conversations with your kids. We love how smart, creative, funny and kind hearted they are.
During lesson time we talked about our last piece of the Armor of God – the Sword of the Spirit and also about prayer.
Here is what is coming up next week.
Week 7 – June 30-Aug 3 – Nature Week
Monday: Bowling. Wear socks & tennis shoes – NO SANDALS!
Tuesday: Learning Lab.
Wednesday: Holland Outdoor Discovery Center. Wear Camp Zion shirt, socks & tennis shoes.
Thursday: 8th Ave Beach & Park. Bring swim suits & towels. There is no lifeguard on duty at the beach. If your child is not a good swimmer please also send along a life jacket for them to wear.
Lunch Menu
Lunch will be served at church this week. If your child does not enjoy what is on the menu please feel free to send along a sack lunch for them to eat.
Monday: Pasta with choice of spaghetti sauce or alfredo sauce, garlic bread, fruit & vegies
Tuesday: Scrambled eggs w/ cheese and sausage, French toast sticks & fruit.
Wednesday: Hot dogs, mac & cheese, Jell-O & vegies.
Thursday: Hamburgers, chips & watermelon.
Other stuff:
Make sure to check the lost & found table in the lobby everyday this week. We have a small collection of items building up. Anything left behind after camp on Thursday will be donated.
Have a great weekend ~ see everyone on Monday.
Rachel
Hello Camp Zion Families,
Carnival week was so much fun. Magic, games, inflatables and so much laughter. Our staff and volunteers had so many sweet conversations with the kid-o’s this week.
This week during lesson time we talked about the Shield of Faith. The Bible says that faith in God acts as a shield against evil. Satan is a super tricky bad guy. We need a shield to protect ourselves from his sneaky evil ways. With faith, we can defend ourselves. We can face any problem because we KNOW that God is always on our side. Faith helps to hold us up under pressure. It helps us to recall times when God has helped us up in the past, and that gives us reassurance that He will do the same in the future.
Here is what is coming next week.
July 23-26 The Week with No Theme.
Monday: Camp Zion Theater
Tuesday: Maplewood Park & Splashpad. Bring swimsuits & towels.
Wednesday: Movie Day (Wonder – rated PG) & Slip-n-slide. Bring swimsuits & towels.
Thursday: Soccer Zone. Online waiver required.
If you haven’t done so already clink on the following link to complete the online waiver for Soccer Zone. Anyone without a completed waiver will not be able to go on Thursdays field trip. https://letsplaysportsinc.waiverapps.com/locations/grandrapidssoccerzone
Code of Conduct update.
I am very thankful and happy that everyone’s listening skills were much improved this week. We do still need to work some more on watching the words we use. Not only with each other, but with everyone we meet throughout the day – at lunch, on fieldtrips and with visitors who stop in at church. Kindness and respect is something I want our campers to be known for throughout the community, but that takes some work on their part to always be using actions and words that built people up & not tear people down. Some more gentle reminders from you about this would be appreciated. 🙂
I hope you all have an amazing weekend.
See you on Monday.
Rachel
Hello Camp Zion Families,
It is hard to believe we passed the half way mark of our camp season this past week. Our time together is flying by way to fast.
This week during lesson time we talked about two different pieces of the Armor of God. The Breastplate of Righteousness & the Shoes of Peace.
Here is what is coming up next week.
July 16-19 – Carnival Week.
Monday: Magic Bob & Suzie.
Tuesday: CZ Carnival.
Wednesday: Learning Lab. (Lunch served at Zion. Menu includes: Hotdogs, chips, watermelon & lemonade.)
Thursday: 1st-4th graders = Play World. bring socks. 5th-6th graders = Mystery trip. Bring swim suits & towels
Reminder about the Soccer Zone waiver that needs to be completed for our upcoming fieldtrip. Thank you to those who have already gotten this completed. For those of you who haven’t yet follow this link https://letsplaysportsinc.waiverapps.com/locations/grandrapidssoccerzone When you have completed your waiver for your child please shoot me an email and let me know it has been submitted.
Other stuff:
Please be praying for our CZ staff members Jeremy, Brad and Kim as they are leaving Sat morning on a week long mission trip with the Zion HS youth group to Philadelphia, PA. We hope they have an amazing time serving in the community there, that they have safe travels both there and back, and that they are inspired and brought closer to God through the experience.
See you all on Monday,
~ Rachel
Hello Camp Zion Families,
We had a great week 3 at Camp Zion. Leaders and kids alike were tired after staying up late watching fireworks but everyone did a good job staying positive and having fun with each other.
This week we introduced your kids to the first piece of the Armor of God, The Belt of Truth. Belts are an important part of a soldiers outfit. Not only are they fashionable but a belt holds the pieces of a soldiers armor in place so nothing falls apart or falls off in the middle of battle. The truth is like a belt – it also holds everything in place. The Bible, in John 14:6 Jesus tells us that He is THE TRUTH. He also says that the Bible, the word of God, is TRUTH. We need to make sure that we have the truth, both Jesus and the word of God in our lives. When we take the time to learn more about God and Jesus by reading the Bible we are filling ourselves with truth.
Our skit this week was about three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that believed so strongly in the truth of God that they were willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace rather than worship a golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built. Because Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were willing to die for the truth rather than disobey God, God saved them. When King Nebuchadnezzar’s saw the three men walk out of the furnace unharmed his eyes were opened to the TRUTH that God is real, and the King began to worship God immediately.
Here is what’s happening next week at camp.
Week 4 – July 9-12 – Community Week.
Monday – Learning Lab @ Zion
Tuesday – Wedgewood Park
Wednesday – Camp Zion Serves.
Thursday – Spartan YMCA. Bring swimsuits and towels.
Important Reminder: We have a fieldtrip to Soccer Zone coming up. Everyone needs to complete an online waiver for Soccer Zone or they will not be able to attend the fieldtrip. Follow this link to complete the waiver. https://letsplaysportsinc.waiverapps.com/locations/grandrapidssoccerzone
When finished send me an email confirming that your waiver is complete so I can mark you off of my list. Thank you.
Have a great weekend,
Rachel
Hello Camp Zion families,
We had a wonderful week 2 at camp. It is nice to see the campers trying new things and making new friends.
This week during lesson time we talked about the strength of God. For one of our lessons I asked all the kids how strong they were. Two of our kid-o’s and one of our staff members thought they might be the strongest in all of camp so I asked them to prove it. I placed a ping pong ball inside a paper funnel. I asked the three of them to blow the ball out of the funnel. Despite their best efforts none of them could blow the ball out.
Just like the ping pong ball was too heavy for us to blow away, our problems can be too big to be solved without Gods strength. We can (and should) always ask God to give us strength to help us through difficult times. Sometimes He will give us physical strength, sometimes He will give us mental strength and sometimes He sends other people to help us.
Here is what’s coming next week.
July 2-5 Super Hero Week.
Monday: Gymnastics Unlimited. Dress cool – it gets super hot. Signed waiver required.
Tuesday: CZ Field Day: Bring Swimsuit & Towel.
Wednesday: CAMP CLOSED – HOLIDAY
Thursday: Tarry Hall Roller-skating. Wear socks. You are allowed to bring your own skates/blades if you would like.
I just finished putting the last load of tie-dye T-shirts in the dryer. They turned out cute. I will put everyone’s shirts in their cubby’s on Monday. I recommend washing them separately from your others clothes for the first couple of washes just incase they release more dye.
Don’t forget to check out all our photos on our Facebook page and Instagram to see what we’ve been up to at camp.
Hope you all find ways to keep cool this weekend.
Looking forward to week 3.
~Rachel
Hello Camp Zion Families,
We had an awesome first week together at camp. Your kids are all so funny and smart. They are already looking out for one another and encouraging each other which is so great to see. Thanks to all of you who have been so very patient as we struggled with the computers & printers this week. I am hopeful we now have the quirks worked out and check in will go a lot smoother going forward.
During lesson time this week we began to talk about the power of God and the armor of protection he gives to all of His children. Our staff & volunteers performed a play about Jesus being able to calm a stormy sea with just his words. We also had an object lesson using oranges. Oranges that have their peal on will float in water, oranges without a peal will sink. Gods armor protects us just like a peal protects an orange. The armor doesn’t keep us from experiencing bad things but it will help keep us afloat amidst the difficult times. Next week we will start talking about the individual elements of the Armor of God.
Week 2 – June 25-28 – Outer Space Week.
Monday: Bowling. Wear socks & tennis shoes (no sandals)
Tuesday: Learning Lab @ Zion
Wednesday: Tie Dye (shirts provided) & Slip-n-slide. Bring swimsuit & towel.
Thursday: GRPM Planetarium.
Many of you have asked if we need donations of any kind. We can always use the following items:
5oz Dixie Cups (the kitchen kind)
Scotch Tape
Pony Beads
I am looking forward to week 2.
Have a great weekend,
Rachel
Hello Camp Zion Families,
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Camp Zion open house this week. All of our staff members are excited to spend the next 7 weeks with your kids. I can tell we are going to have an amazing summer together.
Camp Zion begins Monday, June 18th. Door A will open at 9:30am. Parents please come in with your child to sign them in.
On Monday during circle time we will be reviewing the camp rules and code of conduct with your kids. We’ll also explain any changes we’ve made here at camp and we will answer any questions that they might have about our summer together. The rest of the week during circle time we will introduce them to our theme Bible verses, Ephesians 6:10-11, and begin to explain what the Armor of God is.
Here is whats coming up week 1.
June 18-21 – Pioneer Days
Monday: Putt Putt Golf
Tuesday: Heritage Park
Wednesday: Learning Lab @ Zion
Thursday: Georgetown Ice Center. Bring: socks, sweatshirts, long pants and gloves.
I also recommend that your child bring along a water bottle each day. This will cut down on our paper cup usage and also gives your child water to bring along on our fieldtrips. Please label the bottle clearly with their name. We’ll send bottles home on Thursdays to be washed.
Is it Monday yet? I can’t wait for the fun to begin.
~Rachel
Camp Zion Open House
June 12, 2018 6-7pm
The Camp Zion Open House is available to all of our 2018 registered campers. Come meet our summer staff, check out our facility, practice signing in at our check in station, find your cubby and make a craft. This is a great opportunity to get out all those nervous jitters before the first day of camp. Hope to see you there.
