Summer is beginning to wind down, at least for kids who are facing the mixed emotions of the back-to-school bell, so we thought it appropriate to piggyback on our Aug. 14 entry and offer some final thoughts on the pilot Riverweek program at Van Cortlandt Manor, which ran from Aug. 4-8 and was organized by Danielle Fontaine, HHV summer camp guru (shown above).

Danielle said she found it particularly rewarding to work with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization, which centers around a boat built by folksinger Pete Seeger in the 1960s to bring attention to pollution and environmental degradation plaguing the Hudson.

Riverweek wasn't the first time these two organizations partnered on projects. Danielle is a long time volunteer for Clearwater and had worked with Clearwater educator Dan Einbender on past projects such as the Summerweek program at Sunnyside.

After several brainstorming sessions between HHV Program Director Ross W. Higgins, Van Cortlandt Manor Site Director Althea Corey, and Clearwater Director Jeff Rumpf, the team of Dan and Danielle created the program that would become Riverweek's. With the addition of Camp Director Christin Creary and the talents of HHV's interpretive staff, Riverweek came to life.

A true blend of both organization's missions and educational programs, Riverweek featured a split day: mornings being spent in the early 19^th century with the Van Cortlandt family and other residents of the manor, with students studying how the Hudson and Croton Rivers shaped our history.

The afternoons were spent learning about the environment, ecology, and our effect on the future of our rivers. Campers built their own boats, prepared a lunch featuring Van Cortlandt family recipes for river fish, tied nets, studied the Hudson River School of painting, and made hand crafts of sailors past such as scrimshaw, knot work, and sailor's valentines. Students also spent  time studying aquatic life, examining the food web through games, and testing the waters of the rivers.

One entire Riverweek day was spent at Croton Point Park, seining in the Hudson River, collecting fish, and taking water samples. Students got to learn how they, as stewards of the river, can protect the waterways for future generations. Each day at lunch, there was a moment of silence, providing a chance to just listen to the surrounding environment and feel a part of nature, rather than just watching it on a screen.

Campers wrote their own song parodies and designed story boards with their own photographs, reflecting on what they learned during the week. They presented the end results in a concert for parents on the final day.

Danielle says by all measures the program was a huge success.

"After reviewing comments from campers and the written responses from parents, we are very hopeful that Riverweek will become a permanent part of Historic Hudson Valley's summer program offerings," she said.

From HVBLogger's perspective, any program that gets kids outside and thinking about the implications of man's footprint on the environment is a good thing, indeed. Bravo to Danielle and the entire crew for making it happen.

"Riverweek is the best camp on the Hudson."

A strong claim, indeed, but it's straight from the mouth of a young environmentalist who recently took part in Historic Hudson Valley's Riverweek summer camp at Van Cortlandt Manor.

A new program launched this year, Riverweek was designed by HHV's camp gurus to complement the organization's existing Summerweek programs, which are for children ages 9-11 and take place at Sunnyside and Philipsburg Manor, as well as Van Cortlandt Manor.

Riverweek, however, which is dedicated to the history of the Hudson and Croton Rivers as well as modern lessons about conservation and preservation, is for the 11- 13-year-old set.

"So many of our students who stay with us for three years in Summerweek asked us for a camp for older kids that we just had to respond," said Danielle Fontaine, camp manager. "They wanted something that was different and challenging but still featured the historic immersion experience that defines Summerweek."

This year's pilot Riverweek program, a collaboration with Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, was by all measures a huge success, said Danielle, who you can see in the top photo (she's the one with the ponytail.)

In an exit survey, a whopping 100% of the campers (yes, that means all of them) said they would want to return and repeat the program next year and would highly recommend the program to their friends.

Now that's impressive!

Activities ranged from the artistic (like creating the brightly colored carp shown above) to the crafty (like building wooden boats, also shown above).

More on Riverweek to come...

And in our final installment about the joys of Summerweek, Danielle Fontaine has some good news for Web-overloaded older kids, too.

As you know, all of the Summerweek camps are for kids aged 9-11 and run from 9:30 until 3:30.

Slightly older than 11-year-old: "But wait, I'm too old to go to Summerweek, and I want to go!"

Me: "You're stuck in the 21st century I guess. Nothing to do except comment on MySpace and watch Britney videos on YouTube."

Slightly older than 11-year-old: *shudders to think*

Me: "No worries! A whole bunch of Summerweek campers who loved camp and realized that they'd ‘aged out' called me with the same problem sooooo..."

Riverweek was created! This is a never-been-done, one-of-a-kind camp that combines the history of Van Cortlandt Manor with the environmental activism of the Sloop Clearwater. Taking place Aug. 4-8, just after Van Cortlandt's River Day extravaganza on Aug. 3, Riverweek lets campers ages 11-13 step into life on the river back in the early 19^th century. You can learn how our history was shaped by the Hudson and Croton Rivers and then take a GIANT step into the present to see how we, as stewards of the river, can affect the future in a positive fashion. Talk about time travel!

We'll spend a whole day at the banks of the Hudson doing water testing, seining, and beach combing; we'll look through the eyes of the Hudson River School of artists, build boats, tie knots, hear tales of river pirates and, oh, yeah, make music!

Whoa! I'm seeing a lot of the past in your future! There's still time to sign up and join in on the historic happenings at Summerweek and Riverweek! Link up to the flyer here and call me at 914-631-8200 Ext. 643 to reserve your place in history.

Part two of our miniseries on the pleasures of Summerweek, courtesy of Danielle Fontaine, camp administrator. This time, she talks about the programs at Sunnyside and Van Cortlandt Manor. Take it away Danielle!

***You're on the lavish lawns of Sunnyside, the home of famous writer Washington Irving (the guy who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and a lot of other great stories). Ladies in hoop skirts and gents in top hats welcome you to the cottage where the story was written. Just like "Uncle Wash," you'll feel your creative juices flow on the hills of Sunnyside, over looking the Hudson River.

Walk away from the TV - we're creating and producing our own shadow puppet shows! Quill pens replace IMs! Leave your iPod at home and make your own kite, design a fantasy garden, listen to stories and sketch on the lawns surrounding the cottage, crank ice cream, and spend some time in the coolest amusement park ever - your imagination! Sunnyside's camp runs from July 14 until July 18. If you're up to some good old fashioned dirty work set your sites on the year 1800 and...

Meet me in the clay pits at Van Cortlandt Manor where you'll be making bricks that will help the country rebuild after the Revolutionary War. We have a lot of work to do on the shores of the Croton River: besides brick-making, there's tin punching, blacksmithing, and candle making. You'll learn a lot of necessary skills like making medicine out of stuff from the garden, cooking lunch on an open hearth (yum!), how to spin yarn and weave cloth to make clothes and quilts, and (whew!) haul water and go fishing.

Characters step out of the history books and tell about what's happening in the New Nation. Hey, there's fun to be had too - you'll play (and make your own) games like the Van Cortlandt children did. This camp takes place July 21-25.***

Ready to sign up or at least get sign up info? Click here.

Got a question for Danielle? E-mail her. 

It's the sum, sum, summertime. And living is definitely easy in the 21^st century...certainly if you go by 18^th and 19^th century standards. Now, nine- to eleven-year-old history buffs can spend some 21^st century days unplugged and outdoors courtesy of Historic Hudson Valley's Summerweek Day Camp.

This is a terrific program for those young'ns who like the past, who like learnin' and havin' fun, or who just plain like being outside on a nice summer day.

Don't believe me, well then let me turn this blog entry over to our summer camp administrator, Danielle Fontaine. Sure, she may be a touch biased, but I can vouch that her enthusiasm is real. She loves this program! Truly, truly! Stay tuned for more from her later this week...

***As the weather warms and school days draw to an end, I'm getting psyched up for the start of Historic Hudson Valley's Summerweek and Riverweek day camps!

Have you ever been on a school field trip you wished wouldn't end? Ever fantasized about being a kid in the time before America was a country, or what a day with Washington Irving's nieces would be like, or what it's like to apprentice with a blacksmith?

How about traveling back in time this summer? Put down the Wii and jump into history - Summerweek camps are the perfect way to see what it was like to be a kid in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Prepare to teleport to the year 1750... you arrive in a market port on the Pocantico River - the Upper Mills belonging to the Philipse family (they own almost all of Westchester County!). The Upper Mills are bustling with tenant farmers bringing their wheat to the mill to pay their rent; oxen pull carts loaded with goods that arrived from ships pulling into port; barrels are being prepared for voyage across the Atlantic, and you help make it all happen! Philipsburg Manor's camp is so good, we have to run it twice. The first week is July 7 through July 11 and the second is July 28 through August 1.

Campers become history detectives working to find out how we know so much about the past. Plus, you get to work on our farm, assist the miller with grinding corn, play games, and go fishing in the river just like kids did when George Washington was a mere stripling!

A field trip to the Old Dutch Church (the Philipse family is buried under the church... spooky!) and a tour of the burying grounds (where you'll see the names of the real people who became the characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow inscribed on the gravestones) make this a really cool way to spend a warm week. Want to know more about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Set your teleport to the year 1848...and...check back on the blog Thursday...***

Ready to sign up or at least get sign up info? Click here.

Got a question for Danielle? E-mail her.