Displaying items by tag: Aca Camps
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Hon. Chellie Pingree of Maine
In the House of Representatives
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ms. Pingree of Maine. Mr. Speaker, this summer marked the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of organized camp in the United States. Summer camps throughout the nation provide valuable educational experiences and offer the chance for youth from many different backgrounds to connect to the outdoors, enhance their mental, physical, spiritual, and social development; make new friends; and learn life-long skills. In the summer of 1861, William Frederick Gunn and his wife Abigail organized the first summer camp in America by taking a group of kids into the wilderness along the Long Island Sound for two weeks. Since then, thousands of camps have been founded, and 150 years later there are over 12,000 summer camps nationwide. While times have changed, the purpose of summer camp has remained the same – to provide our youth with havens in which to grow and learn in nature.
In the state of Maine, we have nearly 200 camps — most of which are accredited by the American Camp Association — including sleep-away camps, day camps, co-ed camps, boys–only and girls-only camps, and specialty camps. More than 18 of those have been operating for more than 100 years. In 1902, Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark, Maine opened its doors to girls and, today, remains the oldest continuously operating camp for girls in the nation. Girls’ camps have and continue to play a pivotal role in young women’s lives — providing settings in which they can grow confidence and develop can-do attitudes. In the same year, Pine Island Camp for boys opened in Belgrade Lakes, Maine and remains the oldest continuously operating camp for boys in the state. In 1908, two camps were opened by non-profit agencies in Maine: West End House Camp in East Parsonfield and Camp Jordan YMCA in Ellsworth.
Camps in Maine and throughout the nation reflect a unique American attitude towards the outdoors and towards the value of natural settings in the education of our youth. Camps are special places where kids get a chance to re-create themselves, develop independence, be physically active, and learn new skills outside of the traditional school setting. And, through exposure to new experiences, friendships with kids from other states and around the globe, campers gain perspectives on their own lives that augment their education during the school year. Camps are also a place to build lasting friendships — a home away from home where the camp community becomes a second family. In a fast changing world, summer camps continue to be a mainstay of American society — providing youth a time for quiet reflection away from the pace of day-to-day modernity. As millions of summer campers head back to start another year of school, let’s remember the valuable role that summer camps play in the year-round education of children.
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Hon. Chellie Pingree of Maine
In the House of Representatives
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ms. Pingree of Maine. Mr. Speaker, this summer marked the one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of organized camp in the United States. Summer camps throughout the nation provide valuable educational experiences and offer the chance for youth from many different backgrounds to connect to the outdoors, enhance their mental, physical, spiritual, and social development; make new friends; and learn life-long skills. In the summer of 1861, William Frederick Gunn and his wife Abigail organized the first summer camp in America by taking a group of kids into the wilderness along the Long Island Sound for two weeks. Since then, thousands of camps have been founded, and 150 years later there are over 12,000 summer camps nationwide. While times have changed, the purpose of summer camp has remained the same – to provide our youth with havens in which to grow and learn in nature.
In the state of Maine, we have nearly 200 camps — most of which are accredited by the American Camp Association — including sleep-away camps, day camps, co-ed camps, boys–only and girls-only camps, and specialty camps. More than 18 of those have been operating for more than 100 years. In 1902, Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark, Maine opened its doors to girls and, today, remains the oldest continuously operating camp for girls in the nation. Girls’ camps have and continue to play a pivotal role in young women’s lives — providing settings in which they can grow confidence and develop can-do attitudes. In the same year, Pine Island Camp for boys opened in Belgrade Lakes, Maine and remains the oldest continuously operating camp for boys in the state. In 1908, two camps were opened by non-profit agencies in Maine: West End House Camp in East Parsonfield and Camp Jordan YMCA in Ellsworth.
Camps in Maine and throughout the nation reflect a unique American attitude towards the outdoors and towards the value of natural settings in the education of our youth. Camps are special places where kids get a chance to re-create themselves, develop independence, be physically active, and learn new skills outside of the traditional school setting. And, through exposure to new experiences, friendships with kids from other states and around the globe, campers gain perspectives on their own lives that augment their education during the school year. Camps are also a place to build lasting friendships — a home away from home where the camp community becomes a second family. In a fast changing world, summer camps continue to be a mainstay of American society — providing youth a time for quiet reflection away from the pace of day-to-day modernity. As millions of summer campers head back to start another year of school, let’s remember the valuable role that summer camps play in the year-round education of children.
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Choosing a summer camp for my son was so overwhelming. The number of different programs and options that I uncovered during my research was daunting. While I considered all things in my decision, facilities, activities, safety, staffing, location and price, I must say that a major factor in my eventual decision to send my son to Swift was my gut feeling. When I called to ask questions about Swift, Lonnie made me feel so comfortable about the program and the care that the staff provide for the campers. I’m so glad that I decided to go with my gut feelings. My son had a wonderful three weeks at camp, and has been begging to be allowed to go to the six week session next summer since the moment we picked him up off the bus. He got to try all sorts of new things at camp, and can’t wait to go back and improve his skills at canoeing - even though he’d never been in a canoe before, one of his favorite parts of camp was the canoe trip his cabin went on. I am so happy to say that I was able to find my son a summer ‘home’ where he feels just as comfortable as he does at home - and where he gets to be with caring staffers that encourage him to try new things and improve his skills - he’s become much more self-confident. In a sentence, this is two thank yous: One to Lonnie for making me feel so confident that my son would be cared for and happy and camp, and one to the entire camp staff for making my son feel so confident in himself.
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.
This cult we call summer camp has its positive impact soon children forget about the cliques at school, their concerns about grades, and what their friends are doing and wearing.Summer Camp will replace these things with campfires, caring for others, singing in the dining hall, trying new things and increase their growth as a paddler, a rider, a gymnast, and a climber. Even more, they will be replaced by a community of friends
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.
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Experts tell us the first step in becoming an environmentalist is noticing what nature offers. Such observation often leads to a desire and commitment to conserve and protect the natural world.
However, with out having a purpose many times staff and campers merely walk along the trail without really noticing what is around them. They overlook the sounds, sights, textures and diversity of the ecosystem.
Please read these simple programs that can be done while walking through the woods. You may need suppliesbut it will take only a few minutes to get them.
One you feel you have a feel for these activities invite your childrens friends to come along, I'm sure they too will enjoy being away from their scheduled lives and enjoy the peace of nature,
Look Down
Supplies: Yarn and scissors
Ahead of time: Cut the yarn into 15-inch pieces, have one for every two campers.
Assignment: Move off the trail, and make a square on the ground with the yarn. Study what you find within the square. What lives there? What is the soil like? What grows there? Use a stick and dig into the ground a little. What do you see?
Conversation: What did you find in the square or circle that surprised you?
Changes
Supplies: Clipboard and writing utensils
Ahead of time: think or research how things would be different if the land was developed
Assignment: Stop along the trail and look into the woods. Imagine that the land had sold this plot of land to a developer to build. How would that development changethings? What effect would it have on the habitat and food supplies of the animals living there? What would happen to the soil if the trees were cut down? How would the plants in the woods change? How would the threat of erosion increase?
Conversation: How have ecosystems near your home been destroyed? What changes have happened to the land?
Look a Tree
Supplies: Blindfolds
|Ahead of time: look for a place on the trail where there is a variety of trees.
Assignment: Find a partner and decide who will be blindfolded first. The sighted partner will lead his/her partner to a tree. The blindfolded child will explore the tree by touch and smell. Then the sighted partner leads his/her partner away from the tree. Once the blindfold is removed, that camper tries to locate the tree. Switch places and repeat.
Conversation: What have you learned about trees that you didn't know before?
Swift Nature Camp hopes this information give you few a simple projects we do at our camp out in Nature. If you child is interested in these sorts of activities Please look at our website and see if we might be part of your summer plans,
If this is your first time thinking about Summer Camp look at Summer Camp Advice a free website that helps parents fing the right camp for thier child.
About the authors: Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz are the directors of Swift Nature Camp, a non-competitive, traditional overnight Animal Summer Camp. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15 enjoy nature & animals along with traditional camping activities. As a Summer Kids CampSwift specializes in programs for the First Time Campers as well as Adventure Teen Camp programs
| Swift Nature Camp, is a |
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Visit: Nature Summer Camp
Recently Backpacker Magazine set out to find the best cities to raise kids in Nature. Suprisingly, or maybe not, Duluth was ranked in the top 25. These are the best places in America to “beat Nature Deficit Disorder.” Read more at Outdoors Camp. That’s not too surprising when you think about all the incredible fun outdoor things to do around Swift Nature camp. Remember Lake Superior, Apostle Islands, Amnion Falls, Superior Hiking Trail and THe Boundary Waters. So nest summer do What Back Packer Magazine Recommends go Play Outside in the Northwoods of Minnesota.
- By Kristen BourqueFamilies hike in Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge during a Jan. 29 trip organized by the Children's Heart Center.
Instead of an order for pills, pediatricians at the Children's Heart Center in Las Vegas have given Matias, his mother, who is diabetic, and his 9-year-old, 136-pound little brother, a "nature prescription."
More than 100 of the 553 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuges such as Moapa are part of a national consortium of federal parks and the National Environmental Education Foundation now using this prescription tactic. It's funded by a $75,000 grant to improve family health through a two-year pilot project linking the federal agencies with health care providers. The aim is to turn doctors, nurses, teachers and therapists into "nature champions" who steer children and their parents into the outdoors.
It's a whole lot more than just saying, "take a hike."
The prescription, an "Rx for healthy living," prompts families to eat more fruits and vegetables, step away from the TV or video screen and go outside to breathe fresh air, awaken their senses, and shed some weight.
Using the prescription format gives the psychological oomph of doctor's orders to simple suggestions for diet and workouts disguised as nature walks. Each prescription comes with easy-to-follow maps to nearby refuges and parks where outdoor experiences are led by rangers and volunteers.
'Phenomenal difference'
Perez Mata says, "It's so beautiful, and you learn about nature. It's been so long that I breathed fresh air and so long since I've hiked and been surrounded by nature. The rangers tell you about life in these places, their history. It's very interesting."
Since December, the Children's Heart Center in Las Vegas, has already organized three field trips to nearby desert refuges with about 100 participants such as Matias and his family, says Angelina Yost, visitor services manager for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes Moapa.
They hiked up a little hill "that definitely gets your heart racing" and visited a viewing chamber carved into the desert floor that let them get face-to-fin with an endangered fish, the Moapa Dace, Yost says.
The initiative began last September with a national training program where nearly three dozen health professionals from 11 states met at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, to be schooled in the value of nature prescriptions.
Dubbed "nature champions," they were charged to each train 30 more advocates. One was pediatrician Noah Kohn, medical director for Clinics in Schools, the free medical clinics funded by private donors and the United Wayof Southern Nevada. He sees this as a smart new tool to combat complex problems:
"We have a very significant obesity problem. Ninety percent of my patients have no health insurance. These are low income families with few resources. It's hard enough to convince them to eat a vegetable. And they don't live in neighborhoods where there is a safe place to go out and play.
"A prescription makes a phenomenal difference. It says, 'Rx for healthy and active outdoor living.' Once you get kids outdoors, away from the inner city, they are just completely bamboozled by the science and the natural world and they never think they are exercising," says Kohn, who will start sending out prescriptions as soon at the Spanish translations are available.
Multiple benefits
In Santa Clara, Calif, Kaiser Permanente clinic pediatrician Charles Owyang has already written 67 prescriptions to the Don Edwards Preserve, an urban nature enclave in the San Francisco Bay Area. Owyang also teaches other doctors about studies that show outdoor activities have intellectual and emotional benefits, too — brightening kids' moods, sharpening their concentration and cutting down on stress.
In New Jersey, a nature champion connected health care provider AtlantiCare with a network of home schooling parents to begin forming "Family Nature Clubs" that meet every second Saturday for a walk in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge that weaves exercise and education.
"The days when Mom could send you out the front door to play have changed," says Sandy Perchetti, volunteer coordinator, at Forsythe, 15 minutes from Atlantic City.
"Once the children come with their 'prescriptions' we stamp them and give them an incentive like a nature journal or a pedometer to track their walking," says Perchetti.
The national project includes tracking whether families visit the refuges and parks, their physical progress and whether they came back again.
The answer is in for Matias and his family. They've already been back to Moapa.
Contributing: Marisol Bello
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Recently Backpacker Magazine set out to find the best cities to raise kids in Nature. Suprisingly, or maybe not, Duluth was ranked in the top 25. These are the best places in America to “beat Nature Deficit Disorder.” Read more atOutdoors Camp. That’s not too surprising when you think about all the incredible fun outdoor things to do around Swift Nature camp. Remember Lake Superior, Apostle Islands, Amnion Falls, Superior Hiking Trail and THe Boundary Waters. So nest summer do What Back Packer Magazine Recommends go Play Outside in the Northwoods of Minnesota.
However, as parents know, chronological age is never a definitive marker. Some children are more than ready at six or seven, especially those who have an older sibling at camp, while some eight year olds still need a year or two before they are ready to handle the separation of a sleepaway camp experience. Three guidelines can help you to consider your childs readiness:
1) Has your child enjoyed other overnight experiences?
Many children eagerly sleep over at friends or grandparents homes, a sign of readiness. When a child is successful spending the night away, it’s a sign that he or she can function independently. However, if you’ve gotten middle of the night calls and had to pick your child up in the middle of an overnight stay, its an indication that he or she is not quite ready for overnight camp.
2) Has your child had other camp experiences?
It’s helpful if a child has attended day camp prior to going to sleepaway camp. At a day camp, children learn to move from one activity to the next, make new friends, and develop teamwork skills.
3) Is your child adaptable?
Going to overnight camp requires some flexibility, an ability to adjust to new situations, and a willingness to try new things. Though all children experience some period of adjustment, camp adjustment will be more difficult for the child who is fairly rigid and has difficulty in new situations.
Generally speaking if by 11 or 12 your child is still reluctant to go to camp, the time might come to give some gentle persuasion and insist that they go. Then encourage and guide to help make this transition easier for them.
As parents we have to remember that as much as we love our children our goal is to prepare them to leave the home and be a productive part of society. Summer Camp is a basic part of the growth process. Try it this summer.
Summer Camps Make Kids Resilient
After all, summer camps are places where children get the experiences they need to bolster their range of coping strategies. There are the simple challenges of learning how to build a fire, going on a hike, or conquering........
a high ropes course. There are the much more complex challenges of getting along with a new group of peers, learning how to ask for help from others, or taking manageable amount of risks without a parent following after you.
The best camping experiences offer these opportunities for manageable amounts of risk and responsibility, what I term "the risk takers advantage" (see my book Too Safe for Their Own Good for more examples). The worst camps pander to children as if they are entitled little creatures whose parents are paying big sums of money. Children at camp can't be treated like customers if they are going to get anything out of the experience. They need to be treated like students whose caregivers, the counselors, know what the kids need to grow.
Camps that pull this off and make kids, especially teens, put away the makeup, stash the iPods, get a little dirty and even a little frustrated while having fun and making new friends, are the kinds of camps that offer children the best of what they need. Looking at those experiences from the vantage point of my research on resilience, I know that camps help our children develop great coping strategies when they provide seven things all children need:
1) New relationships, not just with peers, but with trusted adults other than their parents. Just think about how useful a skill like that is: being able to negotiate on your own with an adult for what you need.
2) A powerful identity that makes the child feel confident in front of others. Your child may not be the best on the ropes course, the fastest swimmer, or the next teen idol when he sings, but chances are that a good camp counselor is going to help your child find something to be proud of that he can do well.
3) Camps help children feel in control of their lives, and those experiences of self-efficacy can travel home as easily as a special art project or the pine cone they carry in their backpack. Children who experience themselves as competent will be better problem-solvers in new situations long after their laundry is cleaned and the smell of the campfire forgotten.
4) Camps make sure that all children are treated fairly. The wonderful thing about camps is that every child starts without the baggage they carry from school. They may be a geek or the child with dyslexia. At camp they will both find opportunities to just be kids who are valued for who they are. No camps tolerate bullying (and if they do, you should withdraw your child immediately).
5) At camp kids get what they need to develop physically. Ideally, fresh air, exercise, a balance between routine and unstructured time, and all the good food their bodies need. Not that smores (marshmallows, chocolate and graham cracker treats) don't have a place at the campfire, but a good camp is also about helping children find healthy lifestyles.
6) Perhaps best of all, camps offer kids a chance to feel like they belong. All those goofy chants and team songs, the sense of common purpose and attachment to the identity that camps promote go a long way to offering children a sense of being rooted.
7) And finally, camps can offer children a better sense of their culture. It might be skit night, or a special camp program that reflects the values of the community that sponsors the camp, or maybe it's just a chance for children to understand themselves a bit more as they learn about others. Camps give kids both cultural roots and the chance to understand others who have cultures very different than their own.
That's an impressive list of factors that good camping experiences provide our children. Whether it is a subsidized day camp in a city or a luxurious residential facility up in the mountains, camps can give our kids a spicy combination of experiences that prepare them well for life. Add to that experience the chance for a child's parents to reinforce at home what the child nurtures at camp, and maybe, just maybe, we'll find in our communities and schools amazing kids who show the resilience to make good decisions throughout their lives.
