Post by Ash on Oct 6, 2009 10:13:35 GMT -5
Why go to an overnight camp?
Link: www.summercamphandbook.com/21-.html
Sometimes I actually just sit down by myself, like on the rocks by the brook...and just think about home...and just think how lucky I am to have parents who send me to camp. -Geordie, age 11
First of all, camp is not school. As if that’s not reason enough for kids to love it, overnight camps also offer outdoor activities that most kids don’t have at home or school. Plus, there are Summer Camp Handbook opportunities to make new friends in a relaxed environment, and positive adult role models whose priority is to show kids a good time. A good camp is kid heaven. Overnight camps also offer the unique experience of community living away from home. That experience is what makes overnight camps so special. It’s what makes overnight camp a wonderful, life-changing experience.
Of course, spending a significant amount of time away from home and loved ones is not a decision to be taken lightly or to be made unilaterally. You should include your child in the decision to go to overnight camp. Our research has repeatedly shown that children who feel included in the decision to spend time away from home adjust better than those who feel the decision was made for them.
As you read through this chapter, which outlines the goals of overnight camping, discuss your goals as a family. You may be surprised to learn that your child’s goals differ from your own. That’s OK. What’s important is that you recognize that kids are more likely to have immediate and tangible goals for overnight camp, such as having fun or getting better at soccer, whereas parents are more likely to have lofty goals, such as developing social skills or gaining independence.
Having lofty goals is commendable. After all, you’re paying good money for your child to have this experience, right? Just don’t forget: Having Fun is Goal Number One. It is the prerequisite for all the other goals you might have. Unless kids enjoy their time at overnight camp, they are unlikely to experience the personal growth you’re hoping for. It’s the pleasure of living at camp and having fun that paves the way for lifelong learning, such as overcoming adversity, sharing personal experiences, rising to meet challenges, and gaining self-confidence.
WHAT KIDS SAY ABOUT WHY THEY GO
Kids produce revealing answers to the question, “Why go to overnight camp?” Their opinions are as diverse as the camps they attend. Here’s a small sampling, culled from the hundreds of interviews we’ve done as part of our research.
Camp is just awesome. I mean, there are so many things to do here that I can't do at home...like archery and horseback riding. What would I be doing if I was at home? Watching TV?
-Jake, age 8
Most of my best friends are from camp. When you live with eight other girls in a cabin for four weeks, you just get close...like really bonded. That's why I come back each year. We do everything together when we're here. We even write to each other during the winter.
-Emilie, age 14
At my school, it’s not really challenging...not in the same way it is here at camp. At school, we have homework and stuff, but not ropes courses or learning about nature. The counselors here teach you way more than regular teachers at school.
-Byron, age 13
I like being away from home. I mean, I still feel homesick sometimes and miss my parents...well, mostly Cactus. That’s my dog. But it’s cool to be out in the woods, kind of living on my own.
-Richard, age 10
I like camp because you're not in the city, where all the buildings and smoke and noise are. And the trees here...you're in the trees, and it makes it look pretty.
-Hali, age 9
There is so much pressure at school, like homework and what you wear and who your friends are. I hate seventh grade. At camp, I'm much more myself.
-Amy, age 12
I didn't know what a church camp would be like. I thought it might be weird, but it was neat. At school, I always have to explain my religion to people, but here, all the kids are the same. I mean, the kids are all different, but we all believe in God in the same way, and that made it easy to get along and talk.
-Elias, age 13
I've gotten so much better at soccer since I got here. The coaches are really nice and they help me a lot with my dribbling. When I first got here, I couldn't dribble at all, and this week our team won the tournament.
-Charles, age 8
The best part, besides all the awesome stuff to do, is the cabin leaders. I can tell my leader anything and she always has time to talk. Like if I'm feeling sad, she usually says something to make me feel better. The leaders here are like your parents...like your parents away from home. Someday, I’ll be a leader here.
-Sophie, age 11
It is a blessing that overnight camp means something slightly different to each child, whether it be the activities, the environment, the personal growth, the facilities, the staff, or the friendships. Many day camps offer these elements, but day camps lack that defining feature of overnight camps: community living away from home. It is this feature that engenders the growth experience you’ll read so much about in camp brochures.
Let’s get specific. Overnight camping has five primary goals:
1. Have fun
2. Improve athletic, artistic, and intellectual skills
3. Gain independence
4. Make friends and develop social skills
5. Experience a new environment
Although some of these goals could be met at day camp, they are easiest to accomplish at overnight camp, especially Goals 3, 4, and 5. The unique experience of community living away from home is a powerfulSummer Camp Handbook force for gaining independence, making lifelong friends, and developing social skills. Plus, living in a new environment (especially a beautiful natural one) intensifies the experience of community living away from home because it’s a dramatic shift from familiar home and school environments.
As you read discussions of these five goals, you will begin to appreciate the powerful, positive influence that overnight camp has on the lives of children. Since their inception, overnight camps have been designed to build character. The good ones still do. Here’s how:
GOAL #1: HAVE FUN
Camps are fun factories. Skilled camp directors and cabin leaders know how to create fun activities, regardless of the facilities they have. A good cabin leader can get a group of children excited about cleaning the cabin or picking up firewood. That may sound silly, but consider the positive example that a cabin leader sets for your child by turning an otherwise mundane activity, such as cleaning the cabin, into a fun game. You may laugh and say, “Not my kid,” but we’ve had parents tell us how flabbergasted they were to find their children cleaning up at home, without being asked, after returning from overnight camp.
Although skilled staff and choice facilities make it easy to have fun, it’s still important to check out any camp’s list of activities. The range and quality of activities varies from one camp to another, but few homes or schools can offer the variety of equipment, activities, and playmates that most overnight camps do. For that reason, Goal #1 will be easy for your child to achieve. Although some day camps offer a great selection of activities, the added time that children spend at overnight camps means that staff can provide more in-depth instruction. Added time also means that special activities, such as tournaments and carnivals, can last days or weeks.
GOAL #2: IMPROVE ATHLETIC, ARTISTIC, AND INTELLECTUAL SKILLS
Whether the camp you and your child choose offers five or five hundred activities, there will always be the opportunity to improve various skills. Of course, camps vary in the expertise of their cabin leaders and instructors. For example, at some music camps the instructors all have degrees from music schools while at other music camps the instructors are self-taught amateurs. At some traditional camps, the soccer coach is a former Division 1 All-American; at others, he is simply the guy who raised his hand a week ago and volunteered to run the program.
Who can best help your child develop skills? It’s hard to say. The music school graduate and the all-star athlete obviously have the skills, but are they good teachers? Will they set a good example for your child to follow, or are they prone to losing their temper and using profanity around campers? Do they emphasize competitive achievement or personal improvement? Clearly, when it comes to helping your child achieve Goal #2, the personal qualifications of a cabin leader or instructor are as important as her athletic, artistic, and intellectual qualifications.
Besides having staff with a winning combination of personality and expertise, the camp must have sessions long enough to allow children to develop their skills. Here is where overnight camps have most day camps beaten hands down. Overnight camps allow for a one-to-eight-week immersion. One week or more is usually enough time to achieve Goal #2. Of course, the longer the session, the more opportunities children have to develop skills. Ultimately, this skill development leads to an enhanced sense of self-worth.
At overnight camp, kids have wonderful opportunities both to master skills they already possess and to challenge themselves to develop skills in an area previously unfamiliar to them. Encourage your child to try some activities completely new to him, such as archery, sailing, acting, or ceramics. All kids—those with expertise, those with few skills, and those with special needs—will find the rewards of learning plentiful at overnight camp.
When kids achieve Goal #2, you can see it right away. Skills are things kids can demonstrate. They can show you how they can hit a ball farther, dance more gracefully, shoot more accurately, or paint more artistically. However, newfound independence often shows itself in subtle ways. When kids Summer Camp Handbook meet Goal #3, they become more outgoing and, in certain ways, less dependent on their parents. They become more interested in exploring new things on their own. They also become more confident that they can set and achieve important goals, as well as solve problems on their own. Being away from home is empowering.
Sometimes, your child’s newfound independence will be obvious. Parents we know love to tell the story about how, when their child returned from his first two weeks at overnight camp, he had learned to keep his elbows off the dinner table. He even started making his bed every morning! Discoveries like this amaze parents, especially those who have given up trying to get their child to perform chores spontaneously. Of course, such increased responsibility and politeness may not last all year. Kids are kids, and camp won’t change that (thank goodness!). However, camp does help kids take steps in the right direction. The responsibility they’re given at camp cultivates an awareness of what needs to be done, without being told. Independence slowly evolves.
One of the nice things about overnight camp is that it gives parents and kids a break from one another. Every family can use a change of pace now and then. In fact, time away from home is the most powerful force behind gaining independence. Parents tell us all the time that camp has made their children more mature and independent. Like these parents, we get a wonderful feeling when we witness children growing. We see it every summer. Being part of that process of positive change is what motivates us to return to camp each year. Recently, one of us got this beautiful letter from a parent:
I wish to express my sincere gratitude and thanks for all the time, energy, and support that you have given Ben over the past eleven years. As you probably know, Ben thinks the world of you. From what he has shared with his mother and me, you were a wonderful resource, a mentor, and an important guide in his development. From both of us, thank you very much.
This is the sort of letter that parents send to staff members at high quality camps every year. The letters are testimony to the deep, enduring independence and maturity that children gain at overnight camp.
GOAL #4: MAKE FRIENDS AND DEVELOP SOCIAL SKILLS
Camp brochures are full of mission statements that emphasize the development of friendships and social skills. Most also emphasize the cultivation of spirituality and independence. Although these mission statements may sound grand or trite, they are true of many overnight camps. Living away from home with other kids in a rural setting does indeed promote a unique sort of personal growth. The experience is unparalleled. Kids learn to get along better with others, and they gain confidence in their ability to negotiate new social problems and challenges on their own. These are critical skills. No individual can accomplish much without knowing how to get along with others.
Years after he was a camper, a friend captured the essence of Goal #4:
One of the best parts about my camp experience was the opportunity to establish myself among peers with a clean slate. None of the kids who knew me from school were there, and the authority figures had no history with me. I felt very free to be myself, and not to be part of an ingrained social order.
GOAL #5: EXPERIENCE A NEW ENVIRONMENT
Despite many changes in the camping world in the last 140 years, most camps still embrace the natural environment as a vital aspect of their programs. In fact, one of the reasons that overnight camps became so popular was that parents in the city wanted their children to get a taste of wholesome country living. If you look through Camping Magazine or a selection of camp brochures, you’re sure to see photographs of smiling kids in front of pristine lakes, tall trees, or majestic mountains. One reason these settings have remained popular spots for overnight camps is because of kids’ dwindling contact with beautiful natural environments.
At a good overnight camp, your child can gain respect for and curiosity about nature. Roughly half of all overnight camps report that they include some sort of environmental education in their daily program. The belief in nature as vital to overnight camping is evident in the American Camping Association’s definition of camping: “...a creative recreational and educational opportunity in group living in the outdoors. It utilizes...the resources of the natural surroundings to contribute to each camper’s mental, physical, social, and spiritual growth” [emphasis mine].
Our research suggests that the camp environment means different things to different children. That’s why we feel that finding a camp in a beautiful natural setting is the first step toward achieving the five goals of overnight camping.
In one of our studies, we found that 8-10-year-olds prefer places in camp because of their physical properties or because of the activity that happens at that place. For example, a 9-year-old might say that her favorite place in camp is the waterfront because she loves swimming. However, older children prefer places because of their aesthetic qualities. For example, a 14-year-old might say that her favorite place in camp is the rowboat dock because it’s the best place to see the spectacular sunsets. Given the choice, young people prefer camps with pleasant, varied landscapes.
Some camps, such as those on college campuses, have few natural landscapes. Although this is not ideal, keep in mind that your child’s experience with a new, mostly artificial environment can still be beneficial. Research on something called “wayfinding” suggests that when children learn their way around one new environment, they are better at finding their way around the next new environment. Developmental psychologists and geographers call this skill “mental mapping.”
Now that you know more about the goals of overnight camping, ask yourself: Are these my goals for my child? Kids, too, should ask themselves: Are these my goals? If so, then overnight camp is an excellent choice.
However, overnight camp is not for everyone. If the goals we’ve outlined above are incompatible with your own, or if they don’t seem to match your style, then you may wish to consider other options for leisure time. These include: day camp, extended stays with friends or relatives, a family vacation, various academic programs, community theater and art programs, lessons in a favorite activity, Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or CampFire day programs, religious group activities, or some type of team or club, such as 4-H. Of course, you could also choose to do some of these alternatives and overnight camp.
LEARNING FROM A POSITIVE ADULT ROLE MODEL
There is one more goal of overnight camping. It’s not a goal that most kids think about, but it should be on the mind of every dedicated staff member at camp: Learning from a positive adult role model. Dedicated staff members want to be positive role models, and they want children to learn from Summer Camp Counselor's are Great Role Models them. It is the quality of the camp staff, coupled with your child’s motivation, that will determine whether she achieves any of the goals of overnight camp. Without positive adult role models, none of the other goals can be fulfilled.
At this point, you might say, “Kids learn from their parents. Why do they need other role models?” There are two answers to this question. First, kids can and do learn from their parents, but even the best parent has limitations. Other positive adult role models can support, counsel, and lead your child in surprising ways that complement your own style. These other adults form what author Michael Gurian calls children’s “second family.” They help provide the protective guidance that author Mary Pipher calls “the fence at the top of the hill.”
Second, the mere fact that cabin leaders are not parents, changes kids’ outlooks. They behave differently when their parents aren’t around. They explore and take risks in different ways. They reach out for friendship and security, and find it, in ways that they never attempted before. Although they are authority figures, cabin leaders also function as campers’ peers. They are closer to campers’ ages than parents, and they can be especially playful and goofy. Considering the tremendous influence that peer groups have on children’s development, parents should work hard to find a camp where the cabin leaders serve as positive role models.
At the camp where we work, the guiding principle of our staff is leadership by example, or L.B.E. Each staff member is constantly striving to set a good example, knowing that kids emulate adults’ behavior, be it good or bad. Cabin leaders use proper manners, clean language, and good sportsmanship. They never ask a camper to do something that they themselves would not be willing to do. Perhaps the best example of L.B.E. that we ever saw was a bleary-eyed cabin leader who began picking up trash one morning after some raccoons had ransacked one of the camp dumpsters. He didn’t whisper a single obscenity, nor did he solicit anyone’s help. Yet within five minutes, there were 10 or 12 kids helping him throw all that disgusting trash back in the dumpster. His L.B.E. was his demonstrated willingness to do the right thing, even if it meant getting dirty. Campers respect leaders like that.
Unfortunately, many of the role models kids look up to, such as sports, movie, and music stars, have an unsavory side that can include ignorance, disdain for school, smoking, sexual promiscuity, drug use, or violence. Some parents ignore this dark side of pop culture role models in the interest of appeasing their child’s desire to fit in. At a good camp, you won’t have to look the other way. Your child will find real-life role models whose full range of behaviors are worthy and memorable; whose successes and failures teach much about the human side of achievement.
Even if the celebrity role model your child idolizes has uniformly positive traits, the chances of actually interacting face-to-face with that celebrity are minuscule. At a good camp, cabin leaders will be consistently available for close interpersonal interactions. It will be these wholesome, face-to-face interactions that will leave a lasting impression on your son or daughter.
Link: www.summercamphandbook.com/21-.html
Sometimes I actually just sit down by myself, like on the rocks by the brook...and just think about home...and just think how lucky I am to have parents who send me to camp. -Geordie, age 11
First of all, camp is not school. As if that’s not reason enough for kids to love it, overnight camps also offer outdoor activities that most kids don’t have at home or school. Plus, there are Summer Camp Handbook opportunities to make new friends in a relaxed environment, and positive adult role models whose priority is to show kids a good time. A good camp is kid heaven. Overnight camps also offer the unique experience of community living away from home. That experience is what makes overnight camps so special. It’s what makes overnight camp a wonderful, life-changing experience.
Of course, spending a significant amount of time away from home and loved ones is not a decision to be taken lightly or to be made unilaterally. You should include your child in the decision to go to overnight camp. Our research has repeatedly shown that children who feel included in the decision to spend time away from home adjust better than those who feel the decision was made for them.
As you read through this chapter, which outlines the goals of overnight camping, discuss your goals as a family. You may be surprised to learn that your child’s goals differ from your own. That’s OK. What’s important is that you recognize that kids are more likely to have immediate and tangible goals for overnight camp, such as having fun or getting better at soccer, whereas parents are more likely to have lofty goals, such as developing social skills or gaining independence.
Having lofty goals is commendable. After all, you’re paying good money for your child to have this experience, right? Just don’t forget: Having Fun is Goal Number One. It is the prerequisite for all the other goals you might have. Unless kids enjoy their time at overnight camp, they are unlikely to experience the personal growth you’re hoping for. It’s the pleasure of living at camp and having fun that paves the way for lifelong learning, such as overcoming adversity, sharing personal experiences, rising to meet challenges, and gaining self-confidence.
WHAT KIDS SAY ABOUT WHY THEY GO
Kids produce revealing answers to the question, “Why go to overnight camp?” Their opinions are as diverse as the camps they attend. Here’s a small sampling, culled from the hundreds of interviews we’ve done as part of our research.
Camp is just awesome. I mean, there are so many things to do here that I can't do at home...like archery and horseback riding. What would I be doing if I was at home? Watching TV?
-Jake, age 8
Most of my best friends are from camp. When you live with eight other girls in a cabin for four weeks, you just get close...like really bonded. That's why I come back each year. We do everything together when we're here. We even write to each other during the winter.
-Emilie, age 14
At my school, it’s not really challenging...not in the same way it is here at camp. At school, we have homework and stuff, but not ropes courses or learning about nature. The counselors here teach you way more than regular teachers at school.
-Byron, age 13
I like being away from home. I mean, I still feel homesick sometimes and miss my parents...well, mostly Cactus. That’s my dog. But it’s cool to be out in the woods, kind of living on my own.
-Richard, age 10
I like camp because you're not in the city, where all the buildings and smoke and noise are. And the trees here...you're in the trees, and it makes it look pretty.
-Hali, age 9
There is so much pressure at school, like homework and what you wear and who your friends are. I hate seventh grade. At camp, I'm much more myself.
-Amy, age 12
I didn't know what a church camp would be like. I thought it might be weird, but it was neat. At school, I always have to explain my religion to people, but here, all the kids are the same. I mean, the kids are all different, but we all believe in God in the same way, and that made it easy to get along and talk.
-Elias, age 13
I've gotten so much better at soccer since I got here. The coaches are really nice and they help me a lot with my dribbling. When I first got here, I couldn't dribble at all, and this week our team won the tournament.
-Charles, age 8
The best part, besides all the awesome stuff to do, is the cabin leaders. I can tell my leader anything and she always has time to talk. Like if I'm feeling sad, she usually says something to make me feel better. The leaders here are like your parents...like your parents away from home. Someday, I’ll be a leader here.
-Sophie, age 11
It is a blessing that overnight camp means something slightly different to each child, whether it be the activities, the environment, the personal growth, the facilities, the staff, or the friendships. Many day camps offer these elements, but day camps lack that defining feature of overnight camps: community living away from home. It is this feature that engenders the growth experience you’ll read so much about in camp brochures.
Let’s get specific. Overnight camping has five primary goals:
1. Have fun
2. Improve athletic, artistic, and intellectual skills
3. Gain independence
4. Make friends and develop social skills
5. Experience a new environment
Although some of these goals could be met at day camp, they are easiest to accomplish at overnight camp, especially Goals 3, 4, and 5. The unique experience of community living away from home is a powerfulSummer Camp Handbook force for gaining independence, making lifelong friends, and developing social skills. Plus, living in a new environment (especially a beautiful natural one) intensifies the experience of community living away from home because it’s a dramatic shift from familiar home and school environments.
As you read discussions of these five goals, you will begin to appreciate the powerful, positive influence that overnight camp has on the lives of children. Since their inception, overnight camps have been designed to build character. The good ones still do. Here’s how:
GOAL #1: HAVE FUN
Camps are fun factories. Skilled camp directors and cabin leaders know how to create fun activities, regardless of the facilities they have. A good cabin leader can get a group of children excited about cleaning the cabin or picking up firewood. That may sound silly, but consider the positive example that a cabin leader sets for your child by turning an otherwise mundane activity, such as cleaning the cabin, into a fun game. You may laugh and say, “Not my kid,” but we’ve had parents tell us how flabbergasted they were to find their children cleaning up at home, without being asked, after returning from overnight camp.
Although skilled staff and choice facilities make it easy to have fun, it’s still important to check out any camp’s list of activities. The range and quality of activities varies from one camp to another, but few homes or schools can offer the variety of equipment, activities, and playmates that most overnight camps do. For that reason, Goal #1 will be easy for your child to achieve. Although some day camps offer a great selection of activities, the added time that children spend at overnight camps means that staff can provide more in-depth instruction. Added time also means that special activities, such as tournaments and carnivals, can last days or weeks.
GOAL #2: IMPROVE ATHLETIC, ARTISTIC, AND INTELLECTUAL SKILLS
Whether the camp you and your child choose offers five or five hundred activities, there will always be the opportunity to improve various skills. Of course, camps vary in the expertise of their cabin leaders and instructors. For example, at some music camps the instructors all have degrees from music schools while at other music camps the instructors are self-taught amateurs. At some traditional camps, the soccer coach is a former Division 1 All-American; at others, he is simply the guy who raised his hand a week ago and volunteered to run the program.
Who can best help your child develop skills? It’s hard to say. The music school graduate and the all-star athlete obviously have the skills, but are they good teachers? Will they set a good example for your child to follow, or are they prone to losing their temper and using profanity around campers? Do they emphasize competitive achievement or personal improvement? Clearly, when it comes to helping your child achieve Goal #2, the personal qualifications of a cabin leader or instructor are as important as her athletic, artistic, and intellectual qualifications.
Besides having staff with a winning combination of personality and expertise, the camp must have sessions long enough to allow children to develop their skills. Here is where overnight camps have most day camps beaten hands down. Overnight camps allow for a one-to-eight-week immersion. One week or more is usually enough time to achieve Goal #2. Of course, the longer the session, the more opportunities children have to develop skills. Ultimately, this skill development leads to an enhanced sense of self-worth.
At overnight camp, kids have wonderful opportunities both to master skills they already possess and to challenge themselves to develop skills in an area previously unfamiliar to them. Encourage your child to try some activities completely new to him, such as archery, sailing, acting, or ceramics. All kids—those with expertise, those with few skills, and those with special needs—will find the rewards of learning plentiful at overnight camp.
When kids achieve Goal #2, you can see it right away. Skills are things kids can demonstrate. They can show you how they can hit a ball farther, dance more gracefully, shoot more accurately, or paint more artistically. However, newfound independence often shows itself in subtle ways. When kids Summer Camp Handbook meet Goal #3, they become more outgoing and, in certain ways, less dependent on their parents. They become more interested in exploring new things on their own. They also become more confident that they can set and achieve important goals, as well as solve problems on their own. Being away from home is empowering.
Sometimes, your child’s newfound independence will be obvious. Parents we know love to tell the story about how, when their child returned from his first two weeks at overnight camp, he had learned to keep his elbows off the dinner table. He even started making his bed every morning! Discoveries like this amaze parents, especially those who have given up trying to get their child to perform chores spontaneously. Of course, such increased responsibility and politeness may not last all year. Kids are kids, and camp won’t change that (thank goodness!). However, camp does help kids take steps in the right direction. The responsibility they’re given at camp cultivates an awareness of what needs to be done, without being told. Independence slowly evolves.
One of the nice things about overnight camp is that it gives parents and kids a break from one another. Every family can use a change of pace now and then. In fact, time away from home is the most powerful force behind gaining independence. Parents tell us all the time that camp has made their children more mature and independent. Like these parents, we get a wonderful feeling when we witness children growing. We see it every summer. Being part of that process of positive change is what motivates us to return to camp each year. Recently, one of us got this beautiful letter from a parent:
I wish to express my sincere gratitude and thanks for all the time, energy, and support that you have given Ben over the past eleven years. As you probably know, Ben thinks the world of you. From what he has shared with his mother and me, you were a wonderful resource, a mentor, and an important guide in his development. From both of us, thank you very much.
This is the sort of letter that parents send to staff members at high quality camps every year. The letters are testimony to the deep, enduring independence and maturity that children gain at overnight camp.
GOAL #4: MAKE FRIENDS AND DEVELOP SOCIAL SKILLS
Camp brochures are full of mission statements that emphasize the development of friendships and social skills. Most also emphasize the cultivation of spirituality and independence. Although these mission statements may sound grand or trite, they are true of many overnight camps. Living away from home with other kids in a rural setting does indeed promote a unique sort of personal growth. The experience is unparalleled. Kids learn to get along better with others, and they gain confidence in their ability to negotiate new social problems and challenges on their own. These are critical skills. No individual can accomplish much without knowing how to get along with others.
Years after he was a camper, a friend captured the essence of Goal #4:
One of the best parts about my camp experience was the opportunity to establish myself among peers with a clean slate. None of the kids who knew me from school were there, and the authority figures had no history with me. I felt very free to be myself, and not to be part of an ingrained social order.
GOAL #5: EXPERIENCE A NEW ENVIRONMENT
Despite many changes in the camping world in the last 140 years, most camps still embrace the natural environment as a vital aspect of their programs. In fact, one of the reasons that overnight camps became so popular was that parents in the city wanted their children to get a taste of wholesome country living. If you look through Camping Magazine or a selection of camp brochures, you’re sure to see photographs of smiling kids in front of pristine lakes, tall trees, or majestic mountains. One reason these settings have remained popular spots for overnight camps is because of kids’ dwindling contact with beautiful natural environments.
At a good overnight camp, your child can gain respect for and curiosity about nature. Roughly half of all overnight camps report that they include some sort of environmental education in their daily program. The belief in nature as vital to overnight camping is evident in the American Camping Association’s definition of camping: “...a creative recreational and educational opportunity in group living in the outdoors. It utilizes...the resources of the natural surroundings to contribute to each camper’s mental, physical, social, and spiritual growth” [emphasis mine].
Our research suggests that the camp environment means different things to different children. That’s why we feel that finding a camp in a beautiful natural setting is the first step toward achieving the five goals of overnight camping.
In one of our studies, we found that 8-10-year-olds prefer places in camp because of their physical properties or because of the activity that happens at that place. For example, a 9-year-old might say that her favorite place in camp is the waterfront because she loves swimming. However, older children prefer places because of their aesthetic qualities. For example, a 14-year-old might say that her favorite place in camp is the rowboat dock because it’s the best place to see the spectacular sunsets. Given the choice, young people prefer camps with pleasant, varied landscapes.
Some camps, such as those on college campuses, have few natural landscapes. Although this is not ideal, keep in mind that your child’s experience with a new, mostly artificial environment can still be beneficial. Research on something called “wayfinding” suggests that when children learn their way around one new environment, they are better at finding their way around the next new environment. Developmental psychologists and geographers call this skill “mental mapping.”
Now that you know more about the goals of overnight camping, ask yourself: Are these my goals for my child? Kids, too, should ask themselves: Are these my goals? If so, then overnight camp is an excellent choice.
However, overnight camp is not for everyone. If the goals we’ve outlined above are incompatible with your own, or if they don’t seem to match your style, then you may wish to consider other options for leisure time. These include: day camp, extended stays with friends or relatives, a family vacation, various academic programs, community theater and art programs, lessons in a favorite activity, Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or CampFire day programs, religious group activities, or some type of team or club, such as 4-H. Of course, you could also choose to do some of these alternatives and overnight camp.
LEARNING FROM A POSITIVE ADULT ROLE MODEL
There is one more goal of overnight camping. It’s not a goal that most kids think about, but it should be on the mind of every dedicated staff member at camp: Learning from a positive adult role model. Dedicated staff members want to be positive role models, and they want children to learn from Summer Camp Counselor's are Great Role Models them. It is the quality of the camp staff, coupled with your child’s motivation, that will determine whether she achieves any of the goals of overnight camp. Without positive adult role models, none of the other goals can be fulfilled.
At this point, you might say, “Kids learn from their parents. Why do they need other role models?” There are two answers to this question. First, kids can and do learn from their parents, but even the best parent has limitations. Other positive adult role models can support, counsel, and lead your child in surprising ways that complement your own style. These other adults form what author Michael Gurian calls children’s “second family.” They help provide the protective guidance that author Mary Pipher calls “the fence at the top of the hill.”
Second, the mere fact that cabin leaders are not parents, changes kids’ outlooks. They behave differently when their parents aren’t around. They explore and take risks in different ways. They reach out for friendship and security, and find it, in ways that they never attempted before. Although they are authority figures, cabin leaders also function as campers’ peers. They are closer to campers’ ages than parents, and they can be especially playful and goofy. Considering the tremendous influence that peer groups have on children’s development, parents should work hard to find a camp where the cabin leaders serve as positive role models.
At the camp where we work, the guiding principle of our staff is leadership by example, or L.B.E. Each staff member is constantly striving to set a good example, knowing that kids emulate adults’ behavior, be it good or bad. Cabin leaders use proper manners, clean language, and good sportsmanship. They never ask a camper to do something that they themselves would not be willing to do. Perhaps the best example of L.B.E. that we ever saw was a bleary-eyed cabin leader who began picking up trash one morning after some raccoons had ransacked one of the camp dumpsters. He didn’t whisper a single obscenity, nor did he solicit anyone’s help. Yet within five minutes, there were 10 or 12 kids helping him throw all that disgusting trash back in the dumpster. His L.B.E. was his demonstrated willingness to do the right thing, even if it meant getting dirty. Campers respect leaders like that.
Unfortunately, many of the role models kids look up to, such as sports, movie, and music stars, have an unsavory side that can include ignorance, disdain for school, smoking, sexual promiscuity, drug use, or violence. Some parents ignore this dark side of pop culture role models in the interest of appeasing their child’s desire to fit in. At a good camp, you won’t have to look the other way. Your child will find real-life role models whose full range of behaviors are worthy and memorable; whose successes and failures teach much about the human side of achievement.
Even if the celebrity role model your child idolizes has uniformly positive traits, the chances of actually interacting face-to-face with that celebrity are minuscule. At a good camp, cabin leaders will be consistently available for close interpersonal interactions. It will be these wholesome, face-to-face interactions that will leave a lasting impression on your son or daughter.
