The Rattlin’ Blog
News and Ideas from Camp Foley
With contributions by Campers, Staff, Directors, Parents and outside sources, the Rattlin’ Blog is your one-stop-shop for all things camp. See videos, read what kids have to say about camp and find out about camp culture.
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Exploring Excellence: Why Is Camp Foley One of the Best Co-Ed Camps in Minnesota?
If you’re wondering, “why is Camp Foley one of the best co-ed camps in Minnesota?”, the answer lies in its unique approach to blending adventure with life skills development, nestled in Minnesota’s...
Upper and Lower Treehouses: The Perks of Both
Treehouses are a special night that two and four-week campers have the chance to experience. Each treehouse is located in the woods across the road from the center of camp. Cabin groups hike, cook...
Top 9 Smart Summer Camp Packing Hacks for a Stress-Free Adventure
Summer camp is a rite of passage for many kids, but packing for it can feel like scaling a mountain. How do you fit a summer’s worth of items into one bag? And how do you ensure your child will find...
Deciding When Is the Best Time to Go to Summer Camp: Beginning or End of Summer?
Are you wondering, “When is the best time to go to summer camp beginning or end of summer?” Is it the start of summer, when the warmth of June is just beginning to unveil its charm? Or is it better...
A History of Clothing at Camp Foley
We have a particularly fun one today! We are going to travel through history and check out how the clothing trends have evolved over the last 100 years of Foley history. We are bringing some of them...
The Highest awards of 2023
Our Campers showed real Grit this summer! Read below to learn about the highest awards you can earn at Camp Foley and who achieved each one this past summer! Gold Birchbark Congratulations to the...
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We’re Sharing Our Favorite Camp Meals
Our Favorite Camp Meals Winter may be starting to feel a little long, cold, and snowy. What would be better than a little taste of Minnesota? (We promise we don't mean snow!) We mean TTHD (Tater Tot...
Tales of Creativity and Play: A Ted Talk for All of Us
Tales of Creativity and Play Raise your hand if you believe playfulness helps drive you towards more creative solutions and ultimately more happiness in your everyday life? Our hands are raised...
Foley on the Road: Recap!
You may have seen Jordan and Treff on your social media feeds taking the Midwest by storm! This Foley duo traveled to Dubuque, IA, Des Moines, IA, Kansas City, KS, St. Louis, MO, Chicago, IL, and...
How to Write Your Best Thank You Letter
With it being National Thank You Month, an important quality to have is gratitude! A lesser-used expression of giving thanks is a handwritten letter. Don’t we all love receiving notes of...
Making ‘Thank You’ a Habit
Now that we're about halfway through National Thank You Month and a couple of weeks into our New Year's resolutions, (keep it up!) we want to encourage saying 'Thank You' beyond just the month of...
Get Involved in YOUR Community!
'Thank you' is usually reactive. Someone gives you something - you say 'thank you,' another person holds the door open for you - you say 'thank you,' and etc. What if we made it proactive? Meaning,...
Five Love Languages for Showing Gratitude
Happy New Year from all of us here at Foley! As we gear up for 2019 (what?!) we start setting resolutions. We have goals we want to stick to, and with it being National Thank You Month, what's more...
Camp Creature: Nike, Norm, and Duke – Holiday Edition
Our camp creature today features our three happy camp dogs! They are sometimes spotted in activities, behind the Dining Hall (waiting for food) or sunbathing in various patches of grass. Nike, Norm...
10 Things To Do Over Christmas Break
Time off from school is the best! Or at least it was from what I remember channeling my inner student and reminiscing on those winter breaks. As an adult, this holiday time usually isn't as long as...
Switching Sessions? Try Something New!
How many of you have gone to one particular session in your whole camp career? Did you know each session has a unique group of kids who come to camp and unique programming you might not experience...
Finish Strong!
Can you believe it is November 21st?! If you're reacting to that statement like we are, then you've probably had just as busy a Fall and can't fathom how fast life is moving. That being said, today...
As the saying goes, let’s “Disconnect to Connect”
Unplugging Our Kids. Steve Baskin hits the nail on the head when he says, "a fulfilling life starts with face-to-face, interpersonal connections." Check out this insightful TedTalk to hear from...
Camp Moves Simon. Participant Spotlight!
This October we saw the highest number of Camp Moves Me participants yet! 20 wonderful members of our Foley family dedicated their October exercise (running, biking, swimming, hiking, walking,...
The Foley Beach
It has been a dream of ours to add a beautiful stretch of beachfront to our Camp Foley paradise. This fall, our dream came true! All of the stars aligned when a nearby neighbors property went up for...
Ideas for a Successful Halloween!
Halloween is just under 1 week away. Many neighborhoods and communities will celebrate this upcoming weekend and into next week as there will be lots of fun costumes, candy, and spooky stories to be...
Camp Creature – The Bald Eagle
Eagle mid-flight. (Photo by Alli Faricy) Ever seen the majestic bird of prey that represents America as its National Symbol? They are an impressive sight! We are lucky enough to see them quite...
The Perk of Early Registration
We have had an amazing start to early registration! Many returning families have signed up again for our Historic 95th Summer in 2019. In addition, we have had many new families register and we are...
Buoy Award – Striving for New Activities!
As we reflect on another summer, it is easy to get lost in thought of all that our campers push themselves to achieve. Over the past few summers we have seen a rise in the number of campers striving...
Morning Fun & Free Swim: But What To Do?!
Twice a day, campers are given a 30-minute break from activities to spend playing gaga ball, making friendship bracelets, shopping at a special canteen, going to Paddle Mania swim, or joining in a...
What it Means to be a Foley Counselor
With the summer coming to a close, the staff reflected on their time working with campers, their personal growth, and the impact they had throughout the last eight weeks. It’s no small task to lead...
In response to the Wall Street Journal
About 4 years ago I was invited to join a volunteer committee headed up by the American Camp Association and the Association of Camp Nurses. We were then, and continue to now, looking in to the MESH...
Meet the Staff!
The 2018 staff has come from far and wide to make this summer the best one yet! There are seven international counselors coming from Mexico, Colombia, Australia, and England. Eleven hail from...
Bravery Is Learned
In Caroline Paul's Ted Talk "To raise brave girls, encourage adventure," Caroline discusses the importance of guiding our daughters to develop bravely, rather than foster the growth of fear in their...
Top 10
Since the launch of our Foley Fact Videos, overall excitement for summer has been on the rise. Along with the facts those videos highlight, I also would like to point out a very broad fact - our...
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It’s Never Too Late or Too Early to Plan for Summer!
We’re so excited to meet you, and we’d love to answer any questions you have about Camp Foley and how much fun we’ll have this summer!