A collage of campers and counselors enjoying activities at camp.

If there's one thing that can be said about Camp Fire Central Oregon's summer camps, it's that they are full of exciting beginnings! For many youth, that means experiencing powerful “firsts” that help ignite their sparks and contribute to their Camp Fire journey. Whether it’s the first time pitching a tent, leading a group activity, making a new friend, or simply stepping outside their comfort zone, these moments matter.

But don't just take our word for it! Hear from campers themselves!

During the first few weeks of camp, we got out and about, visited with our campers, CITs, volunteers, and staff members, and asked them to share a “Camp Fire First” that has stood out so far this summer. Here’s what a whopping 20 of them had to say:

Girl smelling orange clay pinch pot.

 

“This is my first time making pinch pots … I liked it because it was fun, the color is orange, and it smells like the ocean.”

—Ingrid, SummerKids Camper

 

Boy with arms behind his head.Multiple firsts at Tumalo Day Camp, including:

“Cooking outdoors, eating s’mores, hanging out with friends … I thought it was going to be boring … then like when I got used to this, I finally found out it was actually really good … It actually makes me feel like I want to explore more, be outside more, play outside more and learn more about animals outside.”

—Alex, Tumalo Day Camp Camper

Cyprianna, camp counselor, smiling.“This is my first summer with Camp Fire, and it’s been really exciting getting to experience our Sparks Clubs that we do! We give our counselors about an hour a week to plan things they want to lead with the kids in their camps, things they’re passionate about and want to share…and then the kids have the opportunity to sign up for Spark Clubs and participate in those three times a week to experience other counselors, what they love to do, learn a new hobby, learn new things, and have a lot of fun meeting other new people in their groups throughout the day.”
—Cyprianna, SummerKids Activities Coordinator

Camper holding origami parrot.

First time signing up for the Spark Club: Origami Crafts!

“I’ve never done an origami parrot!"  What has she discovered in making her first pink paper parrot? "I can try new things and do new stuff!”

—Shelby, SummerKids Camper

Valerain talking outside at camp.First time attending Tumalo Day Camp!

“I was a little skeptical because I was like, 'What if I don’t know anyone there?' The first few days, I was, like, really shy, but then I started seeing that people were really kind … and it’s been a really good time because I’m kind of a shy person but now I’m not as shy because I get to meet more people here, more often.”

—Valerie, Tumalo Day Camper

Junior camp counselor sits with camper at a table.

 

“This is my first time being a junior counselor, and it’s been really cool to make
a bunch of different relationships with all the kids and just to meet so
many different kinds of people."

—Austin (aka “Rino”), Junior Counselor Intern

Grayson at Newspaper sparks club.

 

“This is my first time making a newspaper … I love to write and make special ‘S-ess’ and I work on tying my shoes. I learned to do it on Tuesday!”

—Grayson, SummerKids Camper

Girl sitting on the park grass.

 

“My name is Ada, and the very first thing I did at camp is make new friends. And, we went on a hike last night, and we saw a girl with a crawdad—it was so cool!”

—Ada, Tumalo Day Camp

Boy cheering at front of room.
First time public speaking while signed up for Spark Club: Shark Tank!

“I was very scared because I’ve never done this before and I made $11,000!…The speech was very good ‘cause Crypto and I, we role-played (it).”

—Liam, SummerKids Camper (Crypto is his SummerKids Counselor!)

Camper and camp counselor play rock paper scissors at camp.
"Sleeping over two nights is a new thing … Going into kindergarten, I was kind of scared of outside, but now I’m going to be sleeping outside tonight and I’m like really excited about that, so I went from being, like, scared to go outside to asking to sleep outside!”

—Fern, Tumalo Day Camp Camper (pictured with Camp Counselor Maggie)

Jet and camper play a stacking game.


“This is the first time I’ve done this program with Camp Fire … I’m doing this to get job experience and, if I can get job experience and do something I enjoy, all the better!”

— Jet (aka “Airplane”), Junior Counselor Intern

Boy doing robotics coding.
First Time in Tech Tinker Team Camp, where it was the ...

“First time building Milo (the Science Rover) … and LEGO Robotics!”

—Ollie, Tech Tinker Team Camper

Camper at Tumalo State Park.


“This is my first time at Tumalo Day Camp … I really like how all the counselors aren’t really strict—all my other camps, they were really strict... I think it feels more comfortable ... this is the first time I've had counselors that are really nice."

—Taylor, Tumalo Day Camp Camper

Picture of campers and a hand holding a bird egg.


“The baby bird was a first for the 4th grade group! Out of nine kids, only one had ever seen a new baby bird fresh from its shell. And none of the nine knew what to do. So we pivoted that afternoon from our planned activity to instead focus on the topic in front of us.”

— Sarah, Tumalo Day Camp Volunteer Counselor


“This is my buddy burner … I feel excited when I do things for the first time and about how it’s going to turn out. And since I’ve never done it before, I don’t have a way it has to turn out. Like, I don’t have to have a final product. And this is going to be kind of an ongoing project, so it’s kind of special to me in that way.”

—Adia, Tumalo Day Camp Camper

“Some of the new things I’ve done are play ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,’ buddy burners, dump water on a CIT, soon to be doing a one-night sleepover camp here … and I’m excited to see the experience! I’ve actually never been on a hike up there. I learned new songs, new dances, new ways to do songs that I already know, and up there on the cliff, our CIT told us Marvel Stories and Origin stories, and that was really fun.”

—Oliver, Tumalo Day Camp Camper

Female camper at park.

First time “going ankle deep in the river…and here’s another thing: Being in a tent with like five other people!”

—Eleanor, Tumalo Day Camp Camper

Clark plays the violin for campers.“Being a counselor is a big step up from being a CIT—I was surprised … it’s a lot more fun being a counselor because you can teach (campers) things instead of, ‘Oh yeah, play a game, do this, do that.’ So it’s a lot better learning experience and great first time!”

—Clark, Tumalo Day Camp Volunteer Counselor (who also brought along a violin and entertained campers for the first time ever!)

Boy holding two paper airplanes taped together.

 

"The things I’ve done in Camp Fire that I’ve never done before is taping two paper airplanes together to make a better one!”

—Alden, SummerKids Camper

 

Counselor intern speaks about camping.“A first would be helping kids through challenging activities because I think a lot of times we tend to do super safe stuff, but at Camp Fire, you get to explore a little bit and are entrusted with some responsibilities. So that was a first for me, when we were like, ‘Ok, how do we properly prep these kids to succeed when they’re in more challenging, engaging activities,’ whether that’s like whittling, or buddy burners, or like how to properly use a knife or use fire. Because oftentimes kids don’t know how to do that, so that was a first for me, to make sure kids like properly know what they’re doing, so that when they’re engaged in the activities they’re safe.”
—Samuel, Tumalo Day Camp Intern Counselor