Tag: benefits of summer camp

In Search of the Perfect Gift

November 7th, 2014

The leaves are falling, the days are shorter, and there is definitely a nip in the air. That can only mean one thing – the time has come to think about a wonderful holiday gift for the kids or the grandkids. This can also be the time for an “ah ha” moment. The perfect holiday giftRCMkaoGaGbzR0eKF7D4RoYT4KKMMwK8XUaVVUIfbE9g just might be a magical sleepaway camp experience for your loved one.

lM7ydpdpUJjkMr__hc2JUJCssj-okW9yKd5jdjF8218If you are like most people, you want your gift to stand out from all the others. You want it to be unique. And you want it to be memorable. These days, many youngsters have an excessive number of toys, and they probably own all the latest electronics, too. In your heart, you know that in the long run people relate best to the experiences they’ve had and the friends that they’ve made, and not so much the material things they have acquired.

Sending a youngster to camp can offer a supremely enriching experience. Under the guidance of a caring staff, youngsters participate in team activities like roller hockey and gaga, and they can improve their ability in individual sports like tennis, golf and gymnastics. Campers dance to a hip hop beat, try their hand at magic and experience the thrill of rocketry. For the adventurous – and for those who never knew they had it in them – there are zip lines, mountain biking and camping in the wilderness. Children can become American Red Cross swimmers and learn kayaking, water skiing and tubing in a spring-fed lake.

At Camp Weequahic, campers benefit from a strong 60-year tradition of providing a caring environment for a three or six-week camping experience. Campers are encouraged to try new activities, sharpen their skills and build friendships that can last a lifetime. Summer camp allows a child to reap the joys of spending time in a naturally beautiful environment and builds self-esteem for a job well done. Camp also provides the opportunity to learn essential lifeskills like cooperation, teamwork and problem-solving that will serve them well at home, in schoolwe7TFmjIjZmishZD3OsgMaO4hCQJLLC6f6BcoZtqFCY and eventually in the workplace.

Can any other gift really compare?

If you would like to learn more about giving the gift of Camp this holiday season, email our office at [email protected]

Camp Family

June 12th, 2014

Over the next several weeks, campers will arrive at summer camps all over the country knowing that although each summer brings new surprises, it also brings the familiarity of a second family and home. For campers, camp is a touchstone of people, activities and events on which they can depend each summer.
For those who have never experienced summer camp, it’s difficult to imagine forming such tight bonds with others in the span of a month or two. Those who have attended or worked at a summer camp understand cmaps are more than a place where campers go to have fun and enjoy the outdoors each summer. They’re a place where friendships and networks are formed that last long beyond the teary goodbyes and hugs that mark the end of each summer.
Although almost ten months pass between summers, with camp family, it inevitably feels like everyone was together just minutes ago. Hugs are plentiful when camp campers reunite with their camp family and conversation comes easily. There’s also an easiness about the pastoral settings of summer camps that facilitates a relaxed atmosphere. Tradition is an easy place marker that helps everyone slip back into the summer routine.  And the thrill of the endless combination of opportunities to embark on new adventures is balanced with the everyday act of sitting down to meals with camp “siblings” or coming back to the bunk or cabin at night to share the details of the day.
Summer camp is a naturally inclusive atmosphere, which is perhaps what makes it unique from other social settings and allows for tight familial bonds to form in such a short period of time. There’s also something to be said for the overnight aspect of sleepaway camps. At sleepaway camp, campers are together around the clock as opposed to a school or day camp setting in which the majority of campers return to their homes at the conclusion of the day.
There is an intimacy about sharing living quarters that makes people more open and even accepting of each other. Sleepaway camp friendships, like family relationships, are built upon the knowledge that everyone must co-exist. Campers tend to maintain acquiescent opinions of one another, and disagreements are typically brief. Personality quirks are not only socially acceptable at camp but often an attraction. There is a saying that summer camp is the only place where ‘you’re so weird’ is a compliment.
Family is comprised of people who accept each other for who they are, in spite of any and all flaws, and encourage each other to be themselves. For campers, their camp “family” is no different, which is what makes them so eager to return to their summer homes each summer.

Camp Friends

May 15th, 2014

Dictionary.com defines a friend as someone who is a “patron or supporter.” Whether you’re a child or adult, chances are that your friends are a crucial part of your life. Of course, there are different kinds of friends and some are closer than others. They’re all very special. However, there is one type of friend who is the most special — the camp friend. For those who have never experienced summer camp, it’s difficult to grasp the idea of forming a lifelong bond with someone with whom you spend time for weeks each summer. Yet, that is exactly what happens for the millions of campers who attend summer camp each year. There are many reasons why the summer camp environment actually facilitates friendship.

Camp is a 24/7 environment

Children don’t have play dates at camp where they meet someone for a few hours and then return home. Campers play together, eat together and live together. They have constant contact, which psychologists say leads to an open environment, conducive to making friends. The more time campers spend with each other, the more they get to know each other, and the less they feel the need or desire to shield aspects of themselves from each other.

Camp is a common experience

Common experience is another crucial element to friendship bonds, and camp friends are special because they share a very special commonality. The things that happen during those weeks at camp each year are shared by a realtively small circle of campers who attend a respective camp. .

Camp develops shared traditions

By attending summer camp, campers develop shared traditions. Camp traditions bond children to each other. They add a sacred element to friendship. Much like sorority or fraternity membership develops friendships leading to a lifelong network, so to does summer camp.

Camp encourages socialization

Camp encourages interaction. Too often, an inhibitor to those who have trouble making friends is a lack of social maturity. Whether it’s on a sports field or court, sitting at table in arts and crafts, enjoying a meal together, or relaxing in a bunk or cabin, the camp environment is social. Campers are not without adequate time for introspection, but the opportunity for learning how to be with other people is there.

Camp focuses on the positive

Summer camps focus on harnessing moments and making them special and fun, whether or not they are planned. Not only does this teach children to have a great amount of flexibility both individually and with each other, it teaches them to remain positive. Positivity helps children remain in an open and accepting frame of mind.

Camp friends are definitely some of the most special friends.  Friendships made in camp are bound by a commonality of experiences that may very well be cherished for a lifetime.