Tag: camp traditions

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.

Sunsets at Camp

May 6th, 2014

Camp provides the perfect backdrop to a sunset. Watching the sun dip below the tree line and catch the reflection of the water before finally disappearing into the horizon as the campus slowly lights up isn’t just a classic picturesque image of camp, it’s symbolic. It signals a shift in the camp day. The daily activities have ended and now it’s time for the evening to begin.

Sunset at camp signifies dinner. Dinner is an important activity at summer camp. It is a time for everyone to come together and tell stories about their day as they share a meal as the daylight slowly transitions into a star filled night.

With the sunset also comes campfires. Each camp has its own unique campfire traditions. But the one thing they hall have in common is that campfires happen after the sun goes down. Whether it’s entertaining each other, singing songs, or eating s’mores, sitting around a campfire at night helps everyone tune into the environment around them and take in the magic of summer camp. The sounds of campus become more amplified. The smells become more distinct.

Campers and staff alike also know when they see the sun begin to set that it’s almost time for evening activities. Evening activities are some of the most action packed and anticipated moments at camp. Sometimes the entire camp participates in evening activities together while at others separate activities are held for different age groups.

It’s so easy to not even notice the sunset during the ten months when one is not at summer camp. But at camp, sunset is something that just can’t be missed. Not only is it an important part of the camp day, it’s nice to take notice of such a beautiful transition and to understand that taking notice of it is a special part of camp.

Yes, You Can

March 27th, 2014

“No” is a word that children hear a lot. No talking in the classroom. No running in the hallways. No playing ball in the house. No to anything that gets clothes dirty. No. No. No. With this in mind, it’s no wonder that “yes” is one of the many reasons that children so eagerly anticipate camp each summer. Of course safety is always a factor, and children also have parameters at camp for that reason. However, those parameters extend much further at summer camp than they do at home and school. At summer camp, campers are encouraged to climb walls, zip down ropes, run, get dirty and play ball. Even when they express doubt in themselves, they are encouraged with, “Yes, you can.” There is no pressure to be the best at something or to even be good at it, simply to try it. With such encouragement, many campers venture into previously unexplored territory and discover that they can, in fact, do things they previously thought they couldn’t.

The benefits of such encouragement extend beyond the development of courage to try new things. Children become more open to possibilities. They develop the skills to venture out of their comfort zone and examine situations from different angles. A refined sense of creativity helps them attack tasks that previously seemed difficult or even impossible. They learn to comprehend the importance of trying, particularly when the time and place is right. With such perspective, “no” and “yes” become words less associated with ability and more associated with restraint. If they’re talking in the classroom, they can’t understand what the teacher is saying. School is not an environment that makes running in the hallways safe. Things tend to break when they play ball in the house. The clothes they wear when they’re not at camp are just a little nicer than the ones they tend to wear at camp. In contrast, camp is a safe environment for them to talk, laugh, run, play, climb and get messy in ways that are productive. In short, it’s an environment with less restraint in mind. Once children are able to understand the symbiotic relationship between “yes” and “no,” they are better able to accept “no” for what it actually means: It’s not in your best interest.