ICE CREAM

Who does not love Ice Cream with all the trimmings? If you have been to Swift Nature Camp...you know this site all to well. It is that special time when instead of going into town and getting Ice Cream at the best ice cream store in the world the Village Scoop we get to have Ice Cream at camp. What a joy it is We have camp counselors hand it out and put on all the good stuff. You know sprinkles, chocolate sauce and even a cherrie. Of course the real deal is you have to earn Ice Cream at Swift Nature Camp, it is not all that hard to do...JUST KEEP YOUR CABIN CLEAN FOR INSPECTION!

LET’S PLAY

Being a kid is all about having FUN! Yet, many of todays children do not get enough time outside to just play. Unstructured and without parental supervision. That’s right, without adults. Remember when you were a child out with your friends...not only were you having fun but you were practicing how to get along, how to motivate others, how to resolve disagreements and more. A children’s summer camp like Swift Nature camp allows children the opportunity to mot only have structured fun but also some supervised unstructured time. Ourdaily camp schedule includes three times when we teach children different activities. Each day children will be able to select one of the activities that they most want to engage in . However, the most popular time of the day is the unstructured time, FREE TIME. During this time kids can do what they want— Go swimming, canoeing, catch frogs or just read a book. Most campers agree...there is so much to do and so little time.
Why is this FREE TIME so popular? Kids tell us it is a relief from “normal life” where children are the over scheduled, pressured to perform at school and sports.  For many childhood has become a stressful job, its all about sports, grades, chores, music lessons and so much more. Residential summer camp provides the place where children can set their own pace, direct their self interests and just have FUN.
When it is all said and one to play is to learn and to learn you have to have the time to play. 

Charter into new waters this summer. For many kids, coming to camp is a big adventure! One of the biggest challenges is swimming in a lake. We all have had experience swimming in a nice blue pool. There is security in being able to see the bottom of the pool. Lake swimming is to enter the wild water and to cross a border. You pass the lake’s edge and you break the surface of the water itself. In doing so, you move from one realm into another: a new realm of freedom, adventure, magic and occasional danger. Watch out for those Turtles and Fish! 

Swimming in open water is a new experience that's not to be feared, but embraced. Once you feel comfortable swimming in a lake, the world will open up to you and wherever you see water you will see a new adventure waiting. Swift Nature Camp has over 1500 acres of water right out your cabin front door.

At Swift Nature Camp we have a wonderful swimming area full of fun toys, not to mention Wally (the water trampoline) & Sally (the slide). "Free Swim" is one of the most anticipated times of the camp day, but "Instructional Swim" is there to help give you build the confidence for those free swims. You can even earn American Red Cross Swimming levels

Over the past few years I have been happy to act as the Vice President of the Midwest Association of Independent Camps (M.A.I.C.).We represent the very best independently owned and operated summer camps in the Midwest. MAIC includes kids' summer camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana. Our organization educates and inspires camping professionals to be their very best.
MAIC is a group of camp professionals who are dedicated to promoting high quality standards in organized camping, while offering children and their parents the best possible summer camp experience. Members of MAIC have been meeting together and sharing ideas, methods and practices since 1960.
To parents looking for a top quality resident camp or day camp in the Midwest: we are a great place to start your camp search. CampsRus.com is a camp directory that represents over 45 of the very best summer camps in the midwest.
If you are looking for an amazing summer camp job working with children, be sure to choose an MAIC camp and start your search here! 
Remember MAIC camps are family run camps that are concerned for each child’s safety and emotional development. Above all else M.A.I.C. camps = fun, fun, fun, fun!

you are looking for a children's summer camp!After you have watched all the camp DVDs and read the brochures, you need references! CampRating is an independent website that allows campers and parents alike to post a note about their summer camp experience. I am so pleased to say that Swift Nature Camp is currently rated one of top 25 summer camps in America. Thats pretty special. Here are just a few of the many positive comment folks have offered about Swift. To read more click Best Summer Camp in Wisconsin

Best camp ever!!!!! I wish I stayed for 6 weeks! 

Swift was the BEST camp I have ever attended! the staff was caring, the whole camp was maintained perfectly and every cabin participated in frequent and awesome activities. They pay attention to table manners and make them fun. SNC has changed me as a person inside and out. With a limit of around 2 or 3 candies a week, it was a very healthy 2 weeks. I wait eagerly for the summer so that I can attend once again. -Gaby, A Former Camper. 

You can't get much better than Swift. Swift Nature Camp is like a second family. You always feel welcome and wanted. Jeff and Lonnie have created and maintain a great summer program full of opportunities beyond your imagination. Where else can you go from being a clown, to jumping on a water trampoline, to dinner over a campfire with just you and your cabinmates. If you're looking for a camp where your adventurous side will be tested Swift is also the place, offering different camping and day trips from Kayaking the fish creek estuary into Lake Superior, to volunteering at the Vince Shutte Bear Sanctuary, to paddling to Picnic Island a 1/4 of mile offshore from camp and having your own private oasis. The staff care about you and it's like the theme song to Cheers, "Everybody knows your name". As someone who has moved on from my camping days into my adult years and thinking about starting a family, when my own kids are older I'd send them to Swift in a heartbeat. You'll be glad you went! I am. 

The Russell W. Hogrefe Fresh Start Fund was established by Russell W. Hogrefe during his tenure as Executive Director of the American Camp Association, Illinois Section. He served in that position from 1979 until his retirement in 1996. Russ spent his entire professional career providing children’s summer camp and other services to families with very low income. 
Teachers, social workers, counselors or other professionals refer campers. ACA Illinois Section staff and the person making the referral select an appropriate day or resident camp program. Camps must be accredited by the American Camp Association.The camper's family is encouraged to pay whatever they can afford for the camping experience. The camp provides a partial campership and the Fund pays the balance.
If you would like to donate fund to help an underprivileged child attend summer camp in 2009 please send a check or make an online donation. Summer camp is an experience that enriches lives and all children should have the opportunity to attend kids summer camp. To learn how Swift Nature Camp can help your child attend camp visit our website.

Please make check payable to:ACA Illinois Section, Russell W. Hogrefe Fresh Start Fund 67 E. Madison Street, Suite 1406 Chicago, Illinois 60603

Is seems as if we are learning more that Summer Camp helps children grow into mature adults. A new British study finds that most modern parents overprotect their kids. Half of all kids have stopped climbing trees, and 17 percent have been told that they can't play tag or chase. Even hide-and-seek has been deemed dangerous. And that dreaded stick...”will put out someone’s eye”.
It is easy to blame technology for the decline in outdoor play, but it may well be mom and dad. Adrian Voce of Play England says 'Children are not being allowed many of the freedoms that were taken for granted when we were children,' 'They are not enjoying the opportunities to play outside that most people would have thought of as normal when they were growing up.' 
According to the Guardian, "Voce argued that it was becoming a 'social norm' for younger children to be allowed out only when accompanied by an adult. 'Logistically that is very difficult for parents to manage because of the time pressures on normal family life,' he said. 'If you don't want your children to play out alone and you have not got the time to take them out then they will spend more time on the computer.'
The Play England study quotes a number of play providers who highlight the benefits to children of taking risks. 'Risk-taking increases the resilience of children,' said one. 'It helps them make judgments,' said another. We as parents want to play it safe and we need to rethink safety vs adventure. The research also lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees. Summer camp provides an excellent opportunity for children to get outside take risks and play, all while still while being supervised by concerned young adults...we call counselors. See how Swift Nature Camp can put Adventure back into your childs life.

Camp is so different than home because often at school children hangout with kids that are homogeneous. Thats right all the same, same age, same gender, same community and more. Opportunities to make friends are not much more than others in class or down the block. However, at Swift Nature Camp kids get an opportunity to spend time with others, both younger and older and from different parts of the country or world. It is interesting how often the older teens become natural leaders for the younger kids, by “adopting them”.Not only is this true with campers but also for counselors as well. Our staff are generally college aged folks studying to be teachers. They truly look at SNC as a learning opportunity. They are camper centered making them great role models for todays youth. Then consider the SENIOR staff at camp...the oldsters do round out a super community which entices children to make new friends. 

So when you are thinking about camp it is easy to think about all the activities. However, Summer Camp is so much more! Children’s summer camp is more like the real world, the social benefits of this multiage, multicultural experience are significant. Research has shown getting children ready for multiage, multicultural world only helps them be more successful in life. Camp provides less competitiveness making it much easier to make and keep your summer camp friends.

Ask any camper what makes Swift Nature Camp so special and they will tell you it’s “the new camp friends”. But ask them why any? And they will tell you it’s because they accept me for who I am often unlike my friends at home. I can do stuff at camp that I can never tell my friends back home about.

This year we are so excited that our pottery program will get a blast at camp.  Our new Arts & Crafts Director Laura has years of experience in pottery and working with clay. So this year more than ever before we hope to see campers sculpting, and working on the wheel and kiln firing all those projects. All this means that there are going to be wonderful projects coming out of the ARTS & CRAFTS CASTLE this summer. Stuff like sculpted animals, multi-colored tiles, giant coil pots, and delicate wheel-thrown cups and bowls.
Let nature be a part of your clay work by taking a smooth slab of clay and press natural forms into it so that they leave intricate textures. You know, acorns, twigs, leaves, and tree bark, they all leave amazing patterns. then this can be turned in to a vase or some other vessel or just a fired the way it is.
Swift Nature Camp’s summer pottery program is going to be one of our most exciting programs in the summer of 2009.  There’s almost an endless variety of pottery projects to make which you can take back to home your family and friends.