Displaying items by tag: Residential Camp

Your child will have an unparalleled experience Camp Nature Swift in Wisconsin. This ACA accredited camp has been teaching lucky children how to have a great summer for over 40 years. Dedicated to the spirit of Ernie Swift the camps goal is to enjoy a traditional summer camp while encouraging children to respect nature and to understand it in a more profound way, Children learn why and how to become good stewards of the environment. It is through direct experience and hands on activities that we inspire kids to be environmentally conscious when they return home. This Kids summer camp is so much more, with their dedication to the environment. It is fun with a purpose.

A Perfect Summer Camps. a Summary.

The children have such a diverse selection of activities at this Wisconsin summer camp that they can barely fit it all in during their stay! From horseback riding and swimming to archery and craft making the time is action packed with fun filled adventure that your child won’t stop talking about. It will be the best summer camp experience for your child. Camp Nature Swift is no exception and even has a special program for those first time campers. Swift Camp is dedicated to the spirit of Naturalist Ernie Swift. The camps goal is to provide a traditional summer camp while encouraging children to respect nature and to understand it in a more profound way, This ACA accredited camp has been helping children have a great summer for over 40 years. 

Our Discovery Program is dedicated to those children going to camp for the first time. This special session is unlike any other overnight camp because it is designed to give additional attention to those children a little reluctant to leave home for their first summer camp experience. Regardless if your child is a first time campers or is experienced at overnight backpacking and canoeing trips your child can attend this camp.

To learn more about picking the best summer camp for your child visitSUMMER CAMP

It is being lost! Today less and less children are getting to go to summer camp. The wonderful experience of summer camp has been a way of life for generations of American children. Sleeping away from home and making new friends is a time of increased independence and maturity.For others who did not get the opportunity to go to Outdoor Camp they just don't understand the importance.

In many books and movies summer camp has been the scene. To name a few, "The Parent Trap" and "Indian Summer". Yet, the majority of these movies and books are not realistic. Either they sugar coat the camp experience or they make it just horrible. Summercamp! , the documentary is one of the most realistic true stories about kids at summer camp. Filmed at Swift Nature Camp in Wisconsin, it truely shows how the kids interact and what makes camp so special. During the filming over 300 hours of film was shot to make this charming 90 minute feature. This documentry shows camp like it really is, this is no glossy brochure or promotional DVD, it just shows kids living life with new friends and in new siuations.

These days parents heavily schedule their children making it more difficult to plan for summer camp. In addition, we parents, have given much more importance to technology than nature. After all the boogie man outside rarely comes in to harm your child. Thus making the world of mature unsafe. It is estimated that most children spend nearly 6 hours a day in front of some sort of screen. 

Famed author>Richard Louv, of Last Child in the Woods: is alarmed by this untouching of nature. He calls it Nature-deficit disorder and sad situation in child development. He feels there is a link between lack of outdoor play and and increase in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Summer Camp is just one place that can help children learn to appreciate nature as well as teach children independence and friendship. Connection with nature and other children are important in raising a generation that sees the importance in protecting this planet. Most camps today are specialized in sports, acting or math. So, how do we find a traditional camp that encourages good values and a focus for nature.

Ask yourself these questions before selecting your child's summer Camp:

• What about technology? All electronics can take away from the true camp experience. Ipods and cell phones allow children to hide in their electronics rather than participate with the cabin. Louv says that tent mates with video games or text messaging can easily distract your child. At first most campers are not so keen on this idea but after a few days at camp they see a reson to take a break.

• Does the camp have an Outdoor Focus? Louv suggests some camps are trying to be all things to all people. No longer are camps seen as a traditional time in the woods. Historically, summer camps used their natural settings, and encouraged chidren to to play in a outdoor environment. Today this is no longer true, many camps take place on college campuses.

• Can children play without direction in Nature? Nature-deficit disorder is nearly always due to parents overscheduling kids. Louv suggests this gives kids less time and energy to explore their natural world on their own. Summer camps have figured this out and design structured and nonstructured play. When children play on their own, they have to figure it out and work together, what a wonderful learning experience.

• Is there Environmental Education? Does camp schedule time where nature can be explored and discovered? These times should be hands on and not like school. Does a theme of the outdoors run within all activities? Are "WOW" moments created that hightlight the wonders of nature? Does the summer camp try to reduce its environmental footprint? Does it compost and recycle?

• Kids eat 3 times a day. So the food has got to be good. For years children's summer camps have had a poor reputation for their meals. This has changed at many camps. More vegetarians have caused this change. Ask about fried foods? Is there a salad bar with fruits and yogurt? Can the camp cope with your child's food allergy? Still meals must taste good and be kid friendly.

If any of this sounds like something of interest to your child, try looking at Swift Nature Camp. This is a small coed camp for children 6-15. It has a very strong emphasis not only on developing a desire to learn more about nature but also undrestanding why we need to respect it. This Outdoors Camp engage kids in hands on, fun-filled learning. A child's natural curiosity and self-discovery make this program work... This Tags:sleepaway-camps Children's Summer Camp Residential Camp Overnight Camp

Discovery Camp is a twelve-day First Timer’s Program offered at the Swift Nature Camp facilities near Minong, Wisconsin. The program utilizes Swift Camp's highly trained staff at a ratio of two staff members for every cabin of eight new campers. The first time at summer camp will quite possibly be a child's first extended time away from home. The program acknowledges this by making sure that every new camper will find a staff member on hand at all times. First time campers need to feel special, and the first priority of this program is to foster the sense that camp is there for them and exists for their benefit.

* Prior to each camper's arrival, the staff studies the informational packet for that person. They learn about each child and gain awareness of specific individual needs. If any camper has medical circumstances or special needs these will discussed by the staff in confidence with the camp nurse. By the time a child arrives at camp, the staff will feel as if they already know that new camper. This preparation is immediately beneficial to the first-time camper from the moment he or she steps off the bus and is warmly and personally greeted.

The first day of Discovery Camp is Orientation Day. New campers get a complete tour of Swift Nature Camp, including a visit to the HealthCenter, the Mail Box, and every activity area. Every activity is introduced with a discussion about the importance of safety and the basic safety information for that activity.

Staff members work hard to promote an atmosphere of nurturing and harmonious friendship from the campers’ first day of cabin life. There is a Respect List for all to agree to and sign, and each night will end with a bedtime story. The cabin is the place where community begins. First time campers are gently brought into a sense of connection and community with others who begin on equal footing.

At Discovery Camp, first time campers are introduced to Swift Camp’s well rounded noncompetitive variety of camp activities. Each morning a cabin’s campers are invited to instruction at two activity areas. These activities include Swimming, Canoeing, Nature Center, Arts and Crafts, Archery, and more. The new campers are encouraged to try new and different activities, giving each of them the opportunity to discover and explore what activities he or she might enjoy and eventually excel in. In the afternoon, campers learn how to make their own choices from the activity board, making their own decisions about which activity to pursue that day.

Swift Nature Camp aims to encourage each child to learn independence in a safe, age appropriate environment. The twelve day first-timer program is set up to run the optimum length of time for a first time camper to leave homesickness behind and gain a comfortable sense of autonomy. For many of these campers the greatest first lesson camp teaches them is that they can leave home, return days later and find out that very few things will have changed, especially their parents' love for them.

The directors of Swift Nature Camp think it's important that parents know that their children's first time away from home is in a safe, nurturing and secure environment. As a part of the Discovery Camp's first timer program, parents are encouraged to visit at any time after the first five days.

Parents who would like to find out if this is the right first-time summer camp experience for their child are encouraged to speak with other parents who have had their children attend Swift Nature Camp. A list of references is readily available for that purpose. Discovery Camp, a special program for the first time summer camp experience, is finally available to suit the needs of campers and parents alike!

Having a child that is a complete animal lover, I knew that I wanted to choose a animal summer camp that had a nature focus besides just being located in the woods.  I am happy to say that Swift satisfied my daughter’s never-ending desire to be outside, explore, play with animals, and just learn through experience.  When we dropped her off at camp, I visited the nature center, and I could tell that she would love it - all sorts of animals to interact with, and lots of things to learn and explore with, not just look at.  Though her letters home were short, they were filled with descriptions of the exploring that I hoped that she would be able to do - catching frogs, exploring the outdoors, hiking, learning about wildlife, and exploring different ecosystems. (She ‘retaught’ me that one - there are lots of areas for the campers to explore with the staff - woods, a bog, a pond, a lake, and more brushy areas.)  But in addition to that, we’ve noticed such progress in her personal responsibility since she came home - camp taught her to be more self sufficient.  She’ll clear her plates after dinner, and while she doesn’t do the laundry on her own, she at least untangles her clothes before she throws them in the basket now.  It was hard having her away from us for three whole weeks, but knowing how great a time she had and how much she grew as a young person, I can’t wait for her to be able to return next summer.

I’m happy to share that next summer will be my son’s 4th year at SNC - he’s still so excited and happy from this past summer that I’m surprised he let me unpack his suitcase.  Though he’s been to camp for three years now, every summer he learns something new and improves his skills - he’s never complained about being bored at camp, which is much more than I can say about being at home.  He gets to learn to do things that he would never get the opportunity to do living in the city - and he’s learning to do them safely.  I really wanted my son to be able to have experiences that he wouldn’t be able to have at home - going on camping trips, canoeing, learning to cook over a fire, and a little bit of learning to fend for himself - with adequate supervision of course.  One of his favorite things are the trips that the cabins get to go on - they get to spend time bonding with their group, and experiencing new challenges each year.  I cannot recommend SNC highly enough to other families.  Not only do the campers have a great time, but they continue to be entertained, excited, and challenged year after year.

Both my son and daughter have attended SNC over the past 5 years, and it has been a pivotal force in their development into responsible young adults.  At the end of every summer, they come home full of enough stories and memories to keep them talking for days.  My daughter’s favorite activities at camp have always been arts and crafts and archery, and I was really surprised this past summer when she really took a liking to riflery.  She brought home several of her targets, and you could see her improvement - she showed them off to all of our family members.  My son was an intermediate, but not very strong swimmer when he started camp, and he was proud to have made it to be a blue swimmer by the end of the session - the staff really worked with him to improve his swimming skills.  His favorites from camp were the nature center, and of course, swimming.  Every summer, they come home more self-reliant and self confident.  We’re already planning for next summer, when my daughter will be a counselor in training, and my son will be back for his third summer.  I can’t imagine how different my children would be if they hadn’t had Swift in their lives.

I was nervous about sending my daughter to summer camp for the first time, but I was excited when Jeff and Lonnie told me that Swift Nature Camp has a program just for first time campers.  That way I knew that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed or feel out of place - everyone would be starting on the same page as her, so she could be more comfortable.  I think that it was harder for me than it was for her - she followed the friendly counselor right on to the camp bus, but I was a little more hesitant about her being away from home the first time.  But it seemed that everyone at camp went out of their way to soothe my ‘mommy worries’ - Lonnie called to let me know that the bus had gotten to camp safely, I received a handwritten postcard from my daughter’s counselors during her first week at camp, and the office staff was always helpful and willing to talk when I called just to check on her.  She loved all the activities at camp, as well as the ‘field trips’ to the Lumberjack show and the ice cream shop in town.  She can’t wait to go back next summer, and while I’ll miss her while she’s at camp, I’m confident that Jeff and Lonnie will make sure that she is safe, happy, and cared for the whole time that she is there.

SNC is the best summer camp!  There are so many activities that you can choose from, and the counselors are really nice.  My favorite activity is going tubing with Jeff - it is the most fun when he drives the boat really fast so that you have to hold on tight to stay on.  I wasn’t sure about swimming in a lake at first, but seeing Wally (the water trampoline) changed my mind.  The waterfront is so much fun and you can go swimming everyday at free time if you want.  The food was really good, especially Taco Tuesdays.  I learned a lot of new things at Swift this summer, and I can’t wait to go back next year to see my friends.

Swift is my favorite place on earth.  I have made some of my best friends at camp, I keep in touch with them all year long, and none of us can wait to get on the bus to go to camp in the summer.  The counselors come up with really crazy fun things to do in the cabin, and all of the regular activities are really exciting too.    My favorite thing at camp is the trips, because you get to go out with just your counselors and cabin friends and do fun things like canoeing and swimming.  Of course the BEST part of camping trips is when you get to make S’mores.  I miss camp so much when I’m at home that sometimes I even get ‘campsick’!  

Next summer will be my 3rd year as a camper at Swift Nature Camp, and I can’t wait to go back.  I’m so excited to see all the friends from my cabin for another year, and get to see the counselors again.  The best thing about camp is going up to the Nature Center, where you can play with the animals and do cool nature activities.  We caught the BIGGEST frog, and got to keep it up in the nature center for a couple of days so that everyone could come and look at it.  It was huge!  There is lots of other fun things to do at camp too.  My favorite things beside the nature center are fishing, archery, and swimming in the lake.  The counselors are really nice and are good at teaching you new things and helping you to work on your achievement awards.  I’d never done archery before I came to camp, and next summer I want to get my Level 2 Achievement award.  I hope that lots of kids will want to come to Swift so that I can make new friends this summer!

I’ll admit that when I showed up at Swift Nature Camp for my first day of orientation, I was nervous.  I knew that I loved camp, I had attended several different camps as a child, and had even worked at another summer camp during the previous summer.  And while I loved my time at that camp, I never really felt like I fit in as part of the camp family.  I am happy to say that Swift is 100% where my camp family is.  As a staff member, I always felt like my input was valued and respected, and help was available whenever I needed it - even when all that I needed was someone to listen for a few minutes.  After my first summer at Swift, I returned as a staff member for four more years - and I would be lying if I did not admit that I’m still looking for a way to get my summers off so that I could go back as a staff member again.  I’ve gone back to visit since my summers working, and getting to lead activities with the campers, and see them learn new things and succeed is so exciting.  Swift is my summer home...having spent a significant amount of time there, and having seen everything up front and behind the scenes, I can say that I hope that when I have children, it can be their summer home as well.

Being an Elementary Education major, I knew that I wanted to spend my summer getting new experiences working with children.  While I’d volunteered at extracurricular programs and worked with youth groups, I had never worked at a summer camp before.  SNC’s two week staff orientation really eased my worries before the first day of camp.  The administrative and returning staff members went over everything that we needed to know in depth: how to teach activities, leading trips, building cabin bonds, managing behaviors, and all sorts of tips and tricks to really make sure that the campers had a great time at camp.  Being able to teach the campers skills was great - it’s amazing to see the look on their face when they first really ‘get it’ - learn just how to steer a canoe, perfect their archery shot, or light a ‘one match’ fire.  At the end of my first summer as a camp counselor I’m proud to say that I knew that I had made a positive impact on all the campers that I came into contact with, and made friends that I will keep in contact with far into the future.

Okay So you don’t buy it! You need to be in touch with your child. You know you are a helicopter parent. No need to fret.? There are a huge variety in the ways different camps help parents and campers stay in touch. Some camps allow campers to carry cell phones, some allow access to email. Many camps have visiting days. Every camp is different so be sure you ask the director how communication happens before you enroll in camp. This may also be a growing time for you ... getting you ready for those not to far off college days.

Your child will have an unparalleled experience Camp Nature Swift in Wisconsin. This ACA accredited camp has been teaching lucky children how to have a great summer for over 40 years. Dedicated to the spirit of Ernie Swift the camps goal is to enjoy a traditional summer camp while encouraging children to respect nature and to understand it in a more profound way, Children learn why and how to become good stewards of the environment. It is through direct experience and hands on activities that we inspire kids to be environmentally conscious when they return home. This Kids summer camp is so much more, with their dedication to the environment. It is fun with a purpose.

A Perfect Summer Camps. a Summary.

The children have such a diverse selection of activities at this Wisconsin summer camp that they can barely fit it all in during their stay! From horseback riding and swimming to archery and craft making the time is action packed with fun filled adventure that your child won’t stop talking about. It will be the best summer camp experience for your child. Camp Nature Swift is no exception and even has a special program for those first time campers. Swift Camp is dedicated to the spirit of Naturalist Ernie Swift. The camps goal is to provide a traditional summer camp while encouraging children to respect nature and to understand it in a more profound way, This ACA accredited camp has been helping children have a great summer for over 40 years. 

Our Discovery Program is dedicated to those children going to camp for the first time. This special session is unlike any other overnight camp because it is designed to give additional attention to those children a little reluctant to leave home for their first summer camp experience. Regardless if your child is a first time campers or is experienced at overnight backpacking and canoeing trips your child can attend this camp.

To learn more about picking the best summer camp for your child visitSUMMER CAMP

It is being lost! Today less and less children are getting to go to summer camp. The wonderful experience of summer camp has been a way of life for generations of American children. Sleeping away from home and making new friends is a time of increased independence and maturity.For others who did not get the opportunity to go to Outdoor Camp they just don't understand the importance.

In many books and movies summer camp has been the scene. To name a few, "The Parent Trap" and "Indian Summer". Yet, the majority of these movies and books are not realistic. Either they sugar coat the camp experience or they make it just horrible. Summercamp! , the documentary is one of the most realistic true stories about kids at summer camp. Filmed at Swift Nature Camp in Wisconsin, it truely shows how the kids interact and what makes camp so special. During the filming over 300 hours of film was shot to make this charming 90 minute feature. This documentry shows camp like it really is, this is no glossy brochure or promotional DVD, it just shows kids living life with new friends and in new siuations.

These days parents heavily schedule their children making it more difficult to plan for summer camp. In addition, we parents, have given much more importance to technology than nature. After all the boogie man outside rarely comes in to harm your child. Thus making the world of mature unsafe. It is estimated that most children spend nearly 6 hours a day in front of some sort of screen. 

Famed author>Richard Louv, of Last Child in the Woods: is alarmed by this untouching of nature. He calls it Nature-deficit disorder and sad situation in child development. He feels there is a link between lack of outdoor play and and increase in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Summer Camp is just one place that can help children learn to appreciate nature as well as teach children independence and friendship. Connection with nature and other children are important in raising a generation that sees the importance in protecting this planet. Most camps today are specialized in sports, acting or math. So, how do we find a traditional camp that encourages good values and a focus for nature.

Ask yourself these questions before selecting your child's summer Camp:

• What about technology? All electronics can take away from the true camp experience. Ipods and cell phones allow children to hide in their electronics rather than participate with the cabin. Louv says that tent mates with video games or text messaging can easily distract your child. At first most campers are not so keen on this idea but after a few days at camp they see a reson to take a break.

• Does the camp have an Outdoor Focus? Louv suggests some camps are trying to be all things to all people. No longer are camps seen as a traditional time in the woods. Historically, summer camps used their natural settings, and encouraged chidren to to play in a outdoor environment. Today this is no longer true, many camps take place on college campuses.

• Can children play without direction in Nature? Nature-deficit disorder is nearly always due to parents overscheduling kids. Louv suggests this gives kids less time and energy to explore their natural world on their own. Summer camps have figured this out and design structured and nonstructured play. When children play on their own, they have to figure it out and work together, what a wonderful learning experience.

• Is there Environmental Education? Does camp schedule time where nature can be explored and discovered? These times should be hands on and not like school. Does a theme of the outdoors run within all activities? Are "WOW" moments created that hightlight the wonders of nature? Does the summer camp try to reduce its environmental footprint? Does it compost and recycle?

• Kids eat 3 times a day. So the food has got to be good. For years children's summer camps have had a poor reputation for their meals. This has changed at many camps. More vegetarians have caused this change. Ask about fried foods? Is there a salad bar with fruits and yogurt? Can the camp cope with your child's food allergy? Still meals must taste good and be kid friendly.

If any of this sounds like something of interest to your child, try looking at Swift Nature Camp. This is a small coed camp for children 6-15. It has a very strong emphasis not only on developing a desire to learn more about nature but also undrestanding why we need to respect it. This Outdoors Camp engage kids in hands on, fun-filled learning. A child's natural curiosity and self-discovery make this program work...

Given the recent economic turmoil and uncertainty, families have also been understandably more cautious in committing to extensive (one could perhaps substitute expensive) summer experiences ahead of time — affecting traditional reenrollment patterns, in terms of time frames, as well as first-time camper and overall camper numbers for many camps. Unthinkable a few years ago, some “half-season” camps are now reporting being similarly affected! Over the past two years, we have been hearing reports of lower numbers of half-season campers enrolling in exclusively three-and-a-half-week camps, as well as at camps that once only offered full-season sessions but now offer shorter sessions, too. This is a significant change in marketplace behavior — one that perhaps indicates that half-season camp is likely now being considered by the public to be a “longer” or even “ full” camp season. It is becoming clear to many full-season camps that simply offering half-season options is no longer a surefire (current or future) “fallback” solu¬tion for the challenges faced by a shrinking marketplace and potentially declining full-season enrollments.
There are no real surprises here for anyone who has been listening to Fred Miller, president of The Chatham Group, Inc., (who has been writing articles and speaking at ACA national conferences on this topic for years), and others who study trends and market forces influencing the camp industry. That said, one wonders what the hundreds of camps who are still offering longer sessions are doing or saying in the open marketplace, in support or defense of their longer sessions.
Almost every camp professional I have spoken with who works at a longer-session camp seems pretty adamant that their longer sessions are somehow better / more impactful than shorter-session camp offerings. It would, therefore, seem reasonable to assume that many longer-session camps would be shouting these benefits from the rooftops in an attempt to maintain their current and future viability. However, after searching many full- and half-season camps’ Web sites, it becomes clear that those of us who are maintaining longer camp session offerings are not sending a consistent, comprehensive (or even abbreviated) message to the public about what we believe are the specific benefits of longer-session camp experiences.
Having spent multiple hours entering names of dozens of camps I could think of in Google and then accessing multiple pages of each of their Web sites, in an effort to find some mention of the benefits of full-or longer-season camp sessions, I realize there is a staggering dearth of information being presented by camps in support of longer-session camp experiences. In fact, upon closer inspection, it is extremely difficult to find any camps that are actually addressing, in any way, why they are only offering longer camp sessions today! I did finally manage to find a few camps with Web sites that included something about the benefits of their longer camp session(s).

Camp Fernwood — Poland, Maine

Accessed directly from their home page, via a tab with only three drop-down options, is a page entitled, “What makes Fernwood so special?” Included in that page is the section, “Why full summer?” with the following content:
We are often asked the question, “How does Fernwood continue to thrive as a full summer camp?”It takes a long time to do what we do. Camps of many different kinds and lengths of session are overall healthy summer choices for children. However, our experience has shown us that to see the full benefit — experience the depth of relationships, establish the vital sense of connection, and to become a part of something bigger — a longer period of time or immersion is essential. It is in essence the key to our success.In a world that is increasingly hectic and impersonal, Fernwood isn’t. Fernwood is not just any experience. Fernwood is a series of life-changing, reinforcing events that teach girls how to be happy, well adjusted, and confident young women.

Camp Pemigawasett — Wentworth, New Hampshire

Found in the text of a page describing the Camp Pemi activities program: “In most instances they may also pursue a given activity for a number of weeks, allowing for significant growth and progress in that discipline.” And then, under a sort key entitled, “Parent Resources” in the Blog section of their site, the following para¬graph appears, in a posting that addresses a boy’s readiness for a camp experience: “That being said, as with a college year abroad versus a half year abroad, there is no doubt that the full season allows boys — who by the fourth week have fully settled into Pemi and feel comfortable with routines and friendships — to step further out of their comfort zones to try more new things and/or to refine expertise in a given area. It is this combination of confidence and extra time that leads to further development in an almost magical, expo¬nential way. For this reason, we suggest that a family consider a full season, if schedule and finances allow.”

Camp Laurel — Readfield, Maine

Another excellent rationale for full-season camp appears in a blog by Jem Sollinger, director at Camp Laurel, which I discovered by entering the words, “Full Season Camp” in my computer’s search engine. (It can also be found by searching through the blog content on their Web site or some of their additional Web marketing initiatives.)
Even as a targeted and motivated searcher, these were the only three camps I could find with concrete references to the specific benefits of longer sessions. Access to the quoted information varied significantly in terms of ease of discovery.

Validating the Value

From Camp Wawenock’s Web Site: www.campwawenock.com

Why Seven Weeks?

A “full season” at a camp like Wawenock offers many advantages over shorter-stay programs.

Relationships

Settling in to camp takes some time — whether the first or tenth year we attend — and, over the longer (seven-week) camp season, relationships between campers and their peers have time to develop and unfold naturally. At Wawenock, camp begins with more focus on getting to know and bond with cabin mates, and then campers are encouraged to branch out into the broader age group and beyond, as the days unfold. Relationships built and sustained over longer periods tend to be more stable, deeper, and based on the “real” person — rather than their projection of a particular image for a shorter period of time. Relationships are also able to develop at their own pace and to a greater depth within the whole camp community — with campers and staff of all ages getting to know each other well as summer progresses. Relationships built over time tend to stand the test of time best.

Skill Development

Campers are grouped with others who have chosen the same activities, and the same staff members work with these activity groups all summer long. This allows detailed group and individualized planning to be done by staff members who have the time and consistency of contact to help each camper work toward broader programmatic goals, as well as her individual goals in that activity. The same principles apply to cabin living, where a stable group of campers and staff live and laugh (and sometimes cry) together for seven weeks. Social skills and different approaches to group membership and leadership can be identified and encouraged by involved, caring counselors and senior support staff. Seven weeks gives campers the time to relax and settle in, to learn about each other, and even to try out new approaches to building trust and friendship within their cabin groups and units. This unhurried, intentional approach to skill acquisition in all areas of camp life cements learning and promotes confidence among the campers — confidence that spills over into other areas of their lives.

Feeling of Belonging

At Wawenock, everyone is considered “new” every summer — as we all grow, change, and experience new things in our lives between summers. (Those who are spending their first summer at camp are simply referred to as “first timers.”) To avoid cliquishness and to promote broader friendships within the unit age groups, cabin groupings are shuffled each year (so every cabin, by default, also becomes “new” each year.) As summer progresses, campers and staff get to know others outside of their cabin, unit, or existing circle of friends. There is a tradition of welcoming all people to camp, and nowhere is this more evident than when first-time campers and staff join the camp family. The seven-week season allows us to change dining room seating each week, where we mix campers of all ages and interests with different staff members. Each week the campers get to know a different group of campers and staff. An awareness of knowing many people from different places in camp and being greeted by older and younger friends from previous tables in passing permeates the psyche of first timers as the weeks unfold. Traditions and rituals are repeated multiple times over the course of a summer, allowing first familiarity and then “ownership” to develop in first-time campers. After seven weeks, a sense of belonging to the camp family is well established!

Spreading the Word

In the interests of full disclosure, I must now confess that I am passionate about this topic of spreading the word about our longer camp sessions (and also reliant upon it, as we only offer a single, seven-week session). Here then, is some information about what we are trying to do to keep the notion of a full-season camp experience on the radar screen of those who find us . . .

1. What are we doing about it as an organization?

Based on feedback from our camp families, we decided last year to include a section in our re-vamped Web site dedicated solely to the topic of “Why Seven Weeks?” (see above). We do also highlight the “enough time to . . . ” factor — and the benefits we believe stem from the way we approach structuring our pro¬gram in light of this — by organically sprinkling the same message in various places throughout our site and in other promotional materials. We emphasize the fact that we are a seven-week experience and do our best to help prospective campers and their parents understand why we choose to fight to remain this way, despite compelling forces from all sides tempting and pulling us in what some might consider “easier” or more sensible directions.

2. Why did we do this?

Our campers, staff, alumnae, and their families have told us repeatedly that they believe this is fundamental to who we are and to their experiences here. Their feedback was used to help formulate both the paragraph headings and much of the content. Though certainly not perfect, or close to being fully comprehensive by any means, our families have described the page, and similar messages found in other pieces/ places, as being particularly helpful to them in articulating to others (in some cases they used the word “justifying”) their choice to send their daughter to a full-season camp and, for many, to Wawenock in particular. None of this information is propriety, or seems par¬ticularly “earth-shattering” on its own, and I am sure that many camps’ camp¬ers, staff, alumni, and parents would/ could come up with a very similar list of benefits/topics that would become their own rationale for their longer camp session(s).

3. Is it helping?

What has been particularly surprising for us is the amount of positive feedback we have received from prospective camp families about their willingness to now consider a full-season camp experience — after only reading the rationale on our Web site, versus their feelings before. This fact alone validates our decision to include the page on our site, and it is why I encourage all of you who consider yourselves to be offering longer sessions to find ways to articulate and spread the word about the benefits of your particular camp’s longer experience. This way, if we all chime in, those camps that are still thriving and/or surviving as fundamentally longer-session operations can collectively inform the public of the benefits of choosing a full-season or longer-session camp experience, and perhaps maintain a genuinely differentiated profile and position in the marketplace going forward.

Looking to the Future

As we look to the future and decide how to market our camp programs to the camp families who might still consider longer sessions, (in isolation but also in competi¬tion with each other!), I believe we must also take some time to articulate what we believe to be important about the greater length of our own camp experiences. We should all be talking about what can be gained from a single, longer-season camp experience, as well as from successive years of experiences in such programs — versus the benefits of single or multiple shorter-stay programs. If we do not, the driving forces affecting today’s marketplace will continue to endanger the existence of longer-season camps, and we will have to substantially alter our emphasis and offerings, or close our doors forever.
Among the many benefits of the camp experience, long-term residential camp uniquely: