Displaying items by tag: Best Summer Camps
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- First off we have a Discovery Program that is only for children who have never been to camp before. For this camp we shrink the amount of children at camp making sure that we can give individual attention to each child. We have about 6 children for 2 counselors in each cabin. This program, since it is everyones first time creates a level playing feild for everyone. And since we know it everyones first time at camp we are constantly on the look out for homesickness or other areas of concern.
- For our 3 week programs, again our small size allows us to give individual attention to all, with around 90 children (45 gals, 45 boys). Our children are divided by gender and age group. So a cabin of 10 children will have lets say 9 & 10 year olds. We limit the age groups at camp so that we get an even distribution of campers , younger to older. Then each age group will participate in age appropriate activities and adventure trips. For instance the younger girls may take a canoe trip to a nearby island while the older girls may go to the Apostle Islands for 3 days.
- So you can see how Swift Nature Camp meets every age and gender. If you would like to talk more please give us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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But this is still praise isn't it? I thought praise was supposed to be bad. What are we supposed to do instead? Arrggghhh!
As I am putting together the final preparations for my upcoming Art Of Intentional Parenting tele-seminar, I have been reflecting a great deal on the struggles modern parents have to find the way to do it right.
This Ain't The 70s:
Like many of you, I was raised at the end of the "spare the rod, spoil the child" era (they allowed corporal punishment in my school until I turned 12), then was educated professionally in the beginning of the self-esteem "I am loveable and special" era of the 1980s and 1990s.
I was also raised in an era when religion still mattered and it was socially acceptable to teach kids that right and wrong and morality were not about individual preference.
Lastly, I was raised in an era when the standard upbringing and education would prepare us to make a needed contribution in the workplace. Mostly employers didn't need our creativity and unique contributions our gifts and talents could offer them. They just needed our willingness to play our role.
Our children are not being raised in any of those eras.
Knowing how to parent them is not just a matter of "so they will grow up to be good, successful people." It now must be about "So they will be prepared to thrive in spite of the chaos and instability of the modern world."
By the end of this tele-seminar, you will think differently not just about how you parent, but about what your role needs to be as a parent in the 21st Century - different and far greater than it was for our parents when they raised us.
This critical piece of input you will receive here, will position you to give your children a serious edge in these turbulent times.
Failing to make this adjustment though almost certainly leaves them on course for years, if not decades, of unnecessary frustration and disappointment.
Just ask many of the recent college graduates and 20somethings who are now experiencing what it's like to have done everything right, earned degrees from top schools, been told they are special, only to find the world not only doesn't owe them a thing, it isn't going to hand them anything.
I know this may sound harsh, but it is the growing reality for those who are still following the outdated parenting practices that most experts out there still readily encourage and endorse.
A professor of mine in college used to say, "The truth will set you free." I've since discovered that the truth can also empower you, if you let it.
It will certainly empower your children.
Best regards,
Jeff Leiken
PS: There are three more days to take advantage of the EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT. The tele-seminar series begins Thursday November 3rd. Remember, you do not need to be available to listen live. All calls are recorded and will be available for participants to listen to on-demand.
Register here --> http://leiken.com/parenting
Did you read the piece in the NY Times yesterday about how "Too Much Praise Is Not Good For Toddlers"? You may wonder why an article about toddlers is relevant to you, but I assure you it is.
You may be familiar with the study about how praising children for being "smart" or "intelligent" sets them up for disappointment and self-confidence issues when they become teens - when natural intelligence alone won't be enough to keep getting them A's. The study instead encouraged praising effort and hard work. It found that those who were raised this way instead, consistently performed better in school. |
Summer Camps Make Kids Resilient
I recently spoke to 300 camp directors about how to make children more resilient to life stress. Summer camps, we discovered, are perfect places to help children optimize their psychosocial development.
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.
permalink=”http://www.swiftnaturecamp.com/blog”>
But this is still praise isn't it? I thought praise was supposed to be bad. What are we supposed to do instead? Arrggghhh!
As I am putting together the final preparations for my upcoming Art Of Intentional Parenting tele-seminar, I have been reflecting a great deal on the struggles modern parents have to find the way to do it right.
This Ain't The 70s:
Like many of you, I was raised at the end of the "spare the rod, spoil the child" era (they allowed corporal punishment in my school until I turned 12), then was educated professionally in the beginning of the self-esteem "I am loveable and special" era of the 1980s and 1990s.
I was also raised in an era when religion still mattered and it was socially acceptable to teach kids that right and wrong and morality were not about individual preference.
Lastly, I was raised in an era when the standard upbringing and education would prepare us to make a needed contribution in the workplace. Mostly employers didn't need our creativity and unique contributions our gifts and talents could offer them. They just needed our willingness to play our role.
Our children are not being raised in any of those eras.
Knowing how to parent them is not just a matter of "so they will grow up to be good, successful people." It now must be about "So they will be prepared to thrive in spite of the chaos and instability of the modern world."
By the end of this tele-seminar, you will think differently not just about how you parent, but about what your role needs to be as a parent in the 21st Century - different and far greater than it was for our parents when they raised us.
This critical piece of input you will receive here, will position you to give your children a serious edge in these turbulent times.
Failing to make this adjustment though almost certainly leaves them on course for years, if not decades, of unnecessary frustration and disappointment.
Just ask many of the recent college graduates and 20somethings who are now experiencing what it's like to have done everything right, earned degrees from top schools, been told they are special, only to find the world not only doesn't owe them a thing, it isn't going to hand them anything.
I know this may sound harsh, but it is the growing reality for those who are still following the outdated parenting practices that most experts out there still readily encourage and endorse.
A professor of mine in college used to say, "The truth will set you free." I've since discovered that the truth can also empower you, if you let it.
It will certainly empower your children.
Best regards,
Jeff Leiken
PS: There are three more days to take advantage of the EARLY REGISTRATION DISCOUNT. The tele-seminar series begins Thursday November 3rd. Remember, you do not need to be available to listen live. All calls are recorded and will be available for participants to listen to on-demand.
Register here --> http://leiken.com/parenting
Did you read the piece in the NY Times yesterday about how "Too Much Praise Is Not Good For Toddlers"? You may wonder why an article about toddlers is relevant to you, but I assure you it is.
You may be familiar with the study about how praising children for being "smart" or "intelligent" sets them up for disappointment and self-confidence issues when they become teens - when natural intelligence alone won't be enough to keep getting them A's. The study instead encouraged praising effort and hard work. It found that those who were raised this way instead, consistently performed better in school. |
Do you love SNC? Are you looking for a wonderful summer camp?
Then go to CampRatingz and read what campers and parents are saying about their summer camp experience. This is a great resource to help parents decide which camp best meets the needs of their child.
If you are an SNC alumni please help others learn how wonderful your experience was this summer at Swift Nature Camp. This satisfaction survey allows parents and campers to give their input about camp. This survey currently ranks SNC as the 26 best camp in America. But I think we can be better! We encourage all to participate! Please click here Best Camps then click “Rate this Camp”
Teens claim that 1/5 have been Cyber Bullied. In response, Facebook has launched an anti-bullying campaign and other programs,have been started that that aim to empower kids to promote kindness.
Swift Nature Camp has long promoted fairness and kindness with our children and has lead the way in being non-tollerent towards those children that physically pick on other. Once back home its hard for us as camp directors to know what is going on...so if you find yourself being cyberbullied please reach out to us, your counselor or your parents so we can stop this type of bullying.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and released Wednesday teases out these complex, often painful threads of teen life on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Two-thirds of the teenagers surveyed said people were “mostly kind” to each other on these networks, even as 88 percent said they had witnessed “people being mean or cruel.” One in five admitted to having joined in on the cruelty.
Notably, one in five teens surveyed said they had been “bullied,” but of those, the largest share said they had been bullied in person, not online. Indeed, online and offline sentiments often merge: one in four said an online squabble resulted in a face-to-face argument or worse.
What do they do when they see or feel the brunt of cruelty online?
The vast majority say they ignore it. Girls are more likely to seek advice than boys. And when they do seek advice, teenagers are more likely to turn to their peers than their parents. Parents are not entirely useless. The survey found that 86 percent of teens said parents advised them on “how to use the Internet responsibly and safely.”
Those surveyed expressed a certain savvy in manipulating their online profiles: Close to half lied about their age in order to access a site off limits to children under 13. Most said they tweaked their privacy settings so their posts were not widely visible.
The survey also revealed some of the new anxieties that parents experience. Three out of four parents said they “checked which Web sites their child visited.” Pew researchers said that could have been as simple as checking the browsing history on their computers. And among parents who have a Facebook account, 80 percent were on their children’s list of friends.
The survey was conducted by phone earlier this year on 799 children, aged 12 to 17, and their parents or guardians. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points. Nearly all kids in that age group are online, and among them, four out of five use a social network like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. The report aptly calls them “spaces where much of the social activity of teen life is echoed and amplified—in both good and bad ways.”
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.
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.
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.
Often Parents are curious if Swift Nature Camp has specific programs for certain aged children. Are SNC programs better for young children- a first time at camp, middle school- looking for new activities or teenagers- searching for teen adventure. Since we feel we do so well in all these areas let us give you a few reasons why.
arents are curious if Swift Nature Camp has specific programs for certain aged children. Are SNC programs better for young children- a first time at camp, middle school- looking for new activities or teenagers- searching for teen adventure. Since we feel we do so well in all these areas let us give you a few reasons why.
- First off we have a Discovery Program that is only for children who have never been to camp before. For this camp we shrink the amount of children at camp making sure that we can give individual attention to each child. We have about 6 children for 2 counselors in each cabin. This program, since it is everyones first time creates a level playing feild for everyone. And since we know it everyones first time at camp we are constantly on the look out for homesickness or other areas of concern.
- For our 3 week programs, again our small size allows us to give individual attention to all, with around 90 children (45 gals, 45 boys). Our children are divided by gender and age group. So a cabin of 10 children will have lets say 9 & 10 year olds. We limit the age groups at camp so that we get an even distribution of campers , younger to older. Then each age group will participate in age appropriate activities and adventure trips. For instance the younger girls may take a canoe trip to a nearby island while the older girls may go to the Apostle Islands for 3 days.
- So you can see how Swift Nature Camp meets every age and gender. If you would like to talk more please give us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.