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Crossroads Connects offers a comprehensive catalog of both day and evening activties to choose from when planning your retreat. Our staff is specially trained to work with you to create the ultimate experience with the specific purpose of helping your reach your unique goals.
Day Activities
Archery
Our Certified Camp Archery Instructors enjoy teaching first time archers and modern day Robin Hoods alike. The archery range includes four lanes and equipment includes a variety of bow sizes for all.
Beach Excursion
Camp Wing is located just 6 miles away from Duxbury Beach. Crossroads Connects offers transportation and can facilitate great experiences while there. At the beach we can relax, complete a scavenger hunt, or learn about marshes and ocean life. The Beach can also be used as an alternative location for sports and games.
Boating
The docks at Keene Pond waterfront provide access to our canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, row boats and giant 14 person dragon canoes. Students learn skills through working together in paddling and water craft control, in addition to water safety, as they cruise on the beautiful pond.
Challenge Course
Using the experiential model of education, the challenge course experiences promote personal and group development through mental and physical problem-solving exercises. Your group will be presented with a variety of challenges such as stepping onto and maintaining balance on a large ‘whale watch’ platform. Each challenge is a tool for learning by doing, processing experiences, and creating team cohesion through cooperation and fun. The leadership, strategy and goal-setting skills learned in these situations readily transfer to the ‘real life’ challenges facing your students in their school and community.
Climbing Wall
Students have the incredible opportunity to climb to the top of our 30 foot wall. Students are given a safety orientation, roped into a climbing harness, and belayed by a Crossroads Connects instructor. When time allows and it fits in with the goals of your retreat, participants can be taught to belay each other. Using the climbing wall is a great way for students to build their self-esteem, as well as boost each other as they encourage others to reach their goals.
Cooperative Olympics
Cabin or Program groups travel to various stations to compete in events that stress support, cooperation, and cabin spirit.
Community Service
Groups choose a project on camp in conjunction with the Maintenance Director to improve a facility on camp for a long term effect. Alternatively, groups choose an activity in the surrounding community (with the Director) that can be completed on the Camp Wing site and then delivered to the recipients i.e. gift wrapping, murals, newsletters, baked goods, etc.
Creative Arts
Our art and craft building is available for a variety of creative projects. Whether you bring your own resources or arrange an all inclusive activity, such as mural painting, the Crossroads Connects Directors are more than happy to assist in making your ideas come to life.
Dice Relay
Each number on a die represents a piece of equipment like a chair, a ball or broom. Six members of each team roll a die to receive a piece of equipment. The team must then use the objects and their team members to get from one end of a room to another without touching the floor. If the group touches the floor, the group has to start all over again…
Egg Zip/Drop
Using a combination of teamwork and science, students work in groups of four and are challenged to build a capsule to protect an egg using straws, tape and card board. Each capsule is sent from the top of the 30 foot climbing wall down a zip line pulley to a target on the ground. The challenge is for each group to build a capsule that will save the egg from exploding on impact!
Journal writing/Drawing/Reflection
These programs allow students to have time to appreciate nature, themselves and others in their own ways. After hiking through the woods or partaking in their daily activities, students have the opportunity to express their thoughts about nature and their experience through drawing, writing, or painting. This program is a great way for participants to have a little down time to reflect during a fun-filled and active camp experience.
Miguel’s Puzzle
Working together as a group, you have to find a staff member and ask for a certain piece of a puzzle. In order to receive a piece, you have to do a team builder, sing a song, or perform a dance. There are six pieces to each group’s puzzle. The first group to collect all their pieces wins. This activity adds a whole new meaning to making a jigsaw puzzle!
NASA Rescue
This is a communication activity which uses the skills of prioritizing, reasoning, and negotiating. The NASA space shuttle needs certain rescue material in order to survive. It is up to the group participants to decide which is most important.
Orienteering
Students learn skills of how to use a compass by practicing bearings and paces. Students gain self-confidence as they become familiar with the use of a compass and put their new found skills to work by participating on the orienteering course throughout our camp.
Sports and Games
The Spread field is a spacious area containing three baseball diamonds, a soccer pitch, two full size basketball courts, and plenty of recreational space for a variety of outdoor sports including frisbee and football. We also have a sand volleyball court on site.
Swimming
Our two outdoor pools are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day (weather permitting) for swimming laps or for fun and games. Crossroads Connects Lifeguards are required to supervise at all times when groups are in the pool areas.
Survival Skills
There are many skills to learn using our many acres of land as the classroom. Choose from options including: fire building (safety concerns, function, proper set-up); how to build a shelter to fit an entire group (tepee, debris hut, lean to); how to build a litter out of nature and carry a member up a hill; basic knot tying; learn “leave no trace philosophy;” how to understand weather patterns and clouds; take a ‘solo’ for 20 minutes and write down things observed or heard; or make a gift out of nature for another.
Total Team
Students love this active team-building adventure program. Students start out with challenges on our spread field and progress to more challenging ones. All activities are designed to facilitate cooperation, communication, and leadership skills.
Raft Challenge
Participants are given the challenge of building a raft out of materials they find around camp, excluding boats and anything within buildings. They must then get at least three group members on the raft. Those members must then try to paddle the raft across the lake and back keeping at least three members aboard and the raft in tact. Sounds easier said than done!
Rocket Ship
This is a communication activity that uses all group members to build a rocket ship out of candy and sticks or Lego. Groups try to build a replica of the original. However, only one participant can see it (the architect); only one can hear what they see (the engineer); and then the builders must do their best to build the replica! Sounds confusing, but this is a great exercise in understanding the strength and need for good team communication.
Scavenger Hunt
Using clues around camp, groups get familiar with our landmarks and orientate themselves to our site using this fun and interactive method.
Wacky Relays
Teams race against each other in various wacky ways. Each member takes a turn completing the relay; the winners are based on the first to finish in a straight and quiet line. Depending on the number of teams, the activity can be run in a tournament format.
Evening Activities
An after dinner or evening activity can be planned for your group. These activities are designed to include all members of the retreat participating together. All chaperones are expected to be present and help with group management during these programs.
Campfires
Camp is not the same without a campfire filled with upbeat ‘repeat after me’ songs, stories and skits. We often finish the campfire with our traditional ‘Rain Storm’ activity while enjoying, s’mores - with Hershey’s chocolate, fire hot marshmallows and crunchy graham crackers.
Camp Dance
We have a great sound system that can crank up the music so your group can get into the groove - be it the oldies but goodies from the 70’s & 80’s or the top pop and R&B of today, dancing is a great excuse to dress up and have a good time.
Dutch Auction
Cabin groups bring random objects from their cabins and then work together to complete tasks, perform songs, imitate personalities, etc. Focus is on teamwork, creativity, and enthusiasm. Teachers, chaperones or Crossroads Connects staff can be used as ‘guest judges.’
Group Encore
A singing competition where the last group singing wins! Groups strategize against each other about who knows the most songs containing a particular word (e.g. baby, summer, friend, nighttime). The groups take turns singing their lists and the group that still has songs to sing wins. This program is a great mixer and team builder with a guarantee of lots of laughter.
Karaoke Night
We have a karaoke machine with amplifier - and follow the word screen - sure to make a fun night of lip sync competition and entertainment. Look out for the next American Idol!
Night Canoe
Groups of 30 or more get into a variety of different boats and paddle out to the center of the pond. They then stay as quiet as possible to listen to the night sounds. At the conclusion of the silence each person takes a turn sharing their thoughts, expectations or favorite part of camp. It is not everyday that you get to stop and think while floating on a lake looking up at the stars.
Night Hike
This program is designed to help students feel comfortable in the outside world during the night. Our staff will guide groups around Keene pond nature trail. The groups finish with twenty minutes of stargazing on the spread field and learn about constellations.
Talent Show
Students prepare skits throughout their stay and present them on the final night of retreat. Themes can be varied or based upon their group experience.
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