stephenwinbaum
Communications Coordinator
/ Moderator
Jun 4, 2008, 11:58 AM
Post #1 of 1
(3286 views)
|
|
New Beginnings - Summer Camp 2008
|
Can't Post
|
|
It's beginning. Open the camp gates and watch the kids run down the path to their cabins. The first few hours are critical . . . who gets what bunk . . . give the kids the freedom to hook up with old friends, but make sure that cliques don't develop. Number one rule is that everyone is included in a meaningful way. Now is a good time for counselors to get acquainted with the kids . . . the framework and the rules can wait for later. Reach out a friendly hand; serious discussions will arise according to the situations.
Everyone - directors, counselors, and campers want to make a positive first impression, and what better day than on the first day of camp. Relax, and get into it, and there will be many chances to fit in and to shine - everyone in their own way.
Participation and team work are the key for kids and counselors. Cooperation breaks down when competition enters in. Some aspect of traditional summer camp is competitive . . . a hard-fought game of baseball or basketball can be character-building, as long as it's just a game.
Summer camp is a physical affair, but, more so, it's a social and emotional experience, the collective phenomenon of kids getting along in the spirit of interaction and fair-play. And for many children, summer camp is a spiritual event.
'Spiritual'. Now that's a hard one to categorize. Definitions abound for all of us. Some camps are strictly denominational and others provide a religious background, of sorts. But, for many camps, there is a spirituality that occurs with the relationship between nature and an ecology that hums with a spirit that can rarely be found in the city and the suburbs. The return to nature from two week to two months is a lesson that summer camp teaches in an environmentally-challenged era. With the threat of climate change and global warming, summer camp provides hope that children can experience nature as it should be and take home valuable lessons to help make the world a better place.
That's a 'spiritual' aspect to summer camp that could be redeeming for future generations. For many camps, it will be July 1, and it's begun - lots of fun and hope for a better future.
Stephen Winbaum is the Communications Coordinator of MySummerCamps.com.
---
(This post was edited by stephenwinbaum on Jun 10, 2008, 11:35 AM)
|
