Swedish Camp is 26 years young

The Isanti County Historical Society offers its annual Swedish Language and Culture Day Camp in Cambridge, Minnesota.  

  • At Swedish Camp in Cambridge, there is a focus on songs, games, listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Swedish. These campers add personal information to the story they were reading in language class. Photo by V. S. Arrowsmith.

  • In 1990 the Isanti County Historical Society offered its first annual Swedish Language and Culture Day Camp for children and youth. It used the 1898 one-room school for language classes, the 1864 Edblad Family log cabin for crafts, and the canopy of trees covering a grassy knoll for outdoor games and songs.

  • Dala horses all in a row await the next coat of paint at the craft class for Swedish Camp in Cambridge, MN. Photo by V. S. Arrowsmith.

  • While the buildings and grounds remain much the same today, some of the teachers have changed from the first year. Sometimes they are alumni who went on to develop their skills, others have sent their children and grandchildren to camp for several years, and director Valorie Arrowsmith has been there every year helping to guide campers on their journey of language learning. She is a credentialed language teacher, with a K-12 Minnesota Swedish teaching license. Kathy Olson and Morfar Mike Johnson will offer crafts based on traditions. Johnson works on a woodcarving project all year and is ready to share cultural items with the participants. Olson varies her activities to include old favorites and new renditions of Swedish cultural items that help reinforce language learning. Riana Ries will support vocabulary development through songs and games. This year she'll arrive hot on the heels of her four-week high school program at the Concordia Language Village program in Bemidji.

  • Crafts at Swedish Camp help children learn about culture. These girls work on decorating a Midsummer pole, part of the June tradition in Sweden. Photo by V. S. Arrowsmith. Testar om ' i ordet's rätta mening skapar ...

  • To register for camp contact the Isanti County Historical Society at www.ichs.ws or call 763-689-4229. The 2015 daycamp program for ages 5-13 runs Monday through Friday, beginning August 10 at 9:30 a.m. to noon. On Saturday pre-school children and their significant adult are invited to attend from 9:30-noon to get a taste for what camp is like.

  • Two campers practice asking and answering questions such as "Where are you from? I'm from Cambridge, Minnesota." Games are used to make the learning active at the day camp program in east central Minnesota. Photo by V. S. Arrowsmith.

  • Cambridge is located one hour north of the Twin Cities on Hwy 65. The camp is one mile west of Cambridge on Hwy 95, and then one mile north on County Road 14.

  • “Doktor, doctor” is a popular game at Swedish Camp. Here Valorie Arrowsmith and Rianna Ries get tangled up with the children, who have to call the doctor for help in undoing the tangle. Photo by T. Fluth.