Parent’s Glossary
Your child may return home from camp wielding a whole new vocabulary. Understand their campy language with the help of our glossary.
Breakfast of Champions: A camp tradition. On Friday mornings, the campers who want to are led to the statue and back down to main camp to jump into the lake for a polar plunge!
Smorgasbord: This is a time in the afternoon that we open up many different areas of camp for kids to choose from, so they can experience more than just their skill tracks.
Gnome Homes: At YMCA Camp Santa Maria, we have a booming population of gnomes. They are a nomadic population and can move year to year. Unfortunately, due to the population increase, there is a housing crisis and we need help from everyone at camp to provide shelter for the gnomes!
Bead Ceremony: At the end of each session, counselors will award campers with beads that recognize their growth in their programming, and will also distribute beads that represent the Y Core Values to campers that best exemplified them throughout the week.
Gummie: The toothless, vegetarian alligator that often inhabits our lake.
Danger River: The dangerous, off-limits river that runs through camp.
The Icebox: A three-sided stone structure in our upper field that is often used a meeting place.
Embers: Every night, campers are given prompts to help with self-reflection and communication among their cabinmates. Embers most often occurs in a circle in the middle of the cabin but can be experienced outside around a dying fire. Hence the name, Embers.