Children's Program
All Star 2 Children’s Program
Our dynamic Children’s Program is the cornerstone of our week long family conference. Designed and developed over many years to meet the needs of all our young Shoalers, from infants to high school graduates, it is led by experienced and dedicated staff who will guide your children through the week during two daily sessions. Children will meet with their age groups for an hour and a half every morning, and for an hour and a half on most afternoons.
Children’s Groups
Children from infant up through high school are strongly encouraged to attend all group sessions. Recent high school graduates may opt to remain in the Senior Teen group for one more year. Children are divided into age/grade appropriate groups and each group has its own meeting space. Each group is led by two experienced adult leaders who come to Star prepared to engage their groups in projects, games, songs, walks on the rocks, and group-building activities. Group leaders may reach out prior to your arrival on Star Island if there is anything special that your child will need to bring from home. Of course, bringing a white t-shirt (or two) is always a good idea so that you and your child will be prepared to participate in Family Fun Day tie-dying!
Activities may include a session at our Art Barn, where creative leaders will provide exciting artistic projects; visits to the island's history museum, Vaughn Cottage, for storytelling with the Vaughn Curator; and visits to the Rutledge Marine Lab where touch tanks, holding tanks, and enticing displays are a source of delight for all ages. Some of the older groups may have an opportunity to row to nearby Smuttynose Island to go on a walk around the island or to go wading in the beach area. Children may participate with their group (and sometimes individually, if they choose) in our Children’s Stunt Show, where they may take to the stage to perform their skits and songs before an enthusiastic audience.
Chapel Services
All Star II schedules a daily Children’s Chapel at 9:00 a.m., which is very casual and always enjoyable. There is also a special Children’s “Candlelight” Chapel at 7:30 p.m. with the lanterns and traditional quiet procession up the stone pathway to the chapel. Many children’s groups participate in or run some of the morning Children’s Chapel services. A favorite tradition is our Senior Teen Chapel. This is an opportunity for the Senior Teens to share a memory, experience, or feeling that relates to their topic in a caring and loving group setting, as they bridge from the children's program to young adulthood on the Island.
Housing
Our youngest children, from infancy until age 8, share rooms (or adjoining rooms) with their parents and siblings. Family rooms are typically located on the second floor of the Oceanic Hotel. Children enjoy being in close proximity to their friends and peers, as do their parents. Star Island Corporation provides a hall monitoring service for families on the second floor of the Oceanic Hotel from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. every night to enable parents to participate in evening conference activities. All families with one or more children under eight years old are charged an additional fee for this service. Star Island does not offer private babysitting services, though conferees may approach Pelicans on an individual basis. There is no guarantee that private babysitters will be available on Star.
Children who are 9, 10 and 11 sometimes room with their friends, but always with a parent in adjacent or nearby rooms. Youth aged 12 and 13 often room in dormitory fashion in rooms with parents nearby and older teens room together with parents close enough to offer guidance, but far enough down the hall to give these teens a degree of independence.
Bedtimes/curfews are established and adhered to for all age groups, in the hope of minimizing the "mid-week meltdown" that some of the children will often experience due to lack of sleep!
An experience your kids will always remember!
In addition to regular Children's Group meetings, Children and Youth alike look forward to many additional events offered throughout the week, including our traditional Marshmallow Roast and Sing Along on the rocks, Family Fun Day, softball games, and All Star II′s unique Great People Hunt, which includes the young adults! These are just a few of the many ways in which we nurture our children throughout the week.
All activities and inter-generational events are geared toward creating memories that will last and developing friendships that will endure. This is sure to be an unforgettable week for all children, and their parents, too!
