February 24, 2012

Spending Time With Friends Isn’t Nothing!

Most of our activities at Campus Kids-NJ are very structured.   At our athletic activities, campers receive instruction for part of the time and then participate in organized games.  In the fine arts department campers learn how to make new crafts and are constantly working on projects.  Campers who sign up for performing arts activities are getting ready for performances or learning to play an instrument.  And then there is afternoon shade and evening shade… where you don’t have to do anything!  Kids are just hanging out together in "the bowl".  Some of them are reading books… yeah and some are playing guitar while others sing along… and there’s some lawn games like “washers” going on…  okay, there’s a couple of kids throwing a ball around… but lots of them are just sitting there talking to each other! Some parents out there might be wondering why this is a camp activity? The answer is that at Campus Kids, we would never describe any of the above mentioned "shade" past-times as doing nothing!  Even just sitting around talking to friends is something awesome!  Our camp philosophy includes a point which emphasizes our belief that play is the work of children as they learn about the world and their place in it.  Just one step out into “the bowl” on a sunny day and seeing kids of all ages playing together or getting to spend time with counselors they might not see on a regular basis will warm anyone up to afternoon shade.  Some campers say that their favorite memories from camp happen during shade.  Some even answer the question “What activity do you most want to improve this summer?” with either afternoon or evening shade.  Tom answered this question of why we have unstructured play brilliantly a while back in what I consider one of the many greatest hits of his Parent’s Corner column in the “Sundial”. 

     This cartoon makes a comment that I think every one of us can relate to. It’s very funny because it portrays a situation that is close to the actual truth of our lives. But that’s also why it’s sad, because our children are missing out from having enough “play time”.

     Why does that matter? Because unstructured play provides so much that’s essential to personal well being and growth. First, there’s the joy and satisfaction at having time that is yours to use as you wish. Second, there are the skills that are developed by deciding how you want to use your time. Third, kids test out their social skills and learn about the give-and-take world of doing things with others. Fourth, free play exercises the imagination (which is so often squashed in activities organized by adults). And free play is a great stress reliever. Few of us would argue that even kids are faced with ongoing stress in their lives.

     It’s true that our world today makes it difficult to give children as much free play as we had in “the

good old days”. But it’s important that we make this a priority. At camp, we are sensitive to the need for free play. We give campers an incredible amount of choice in our “Camper Choice” programming system, but we also have free play times — “afternoon shade”, “evening shade” — that are enjoyed by many campers who want some unstructured time. Bunk times are also great free play times.

     As a parent and a camp director, I strongly support giving our kids free play time. Our highly scheduled lives and regimented expectations for children make free play more important than ever.

We started shade as an alternate activity for those kids who did not want to go to sign up for free swim during the fourth period of the day.  After it became immediately popular, we added evening shade as an option for clubs 2-3 nights a week.  Over the years it has evolved from a general hang out time to one where several unstructured but well supervised options exist.  While one option allows campers to “chill out” with their friends, we have lanyard making and ceramics painting going on, band rehearsals and LOTS of lawn games.  Tom’s Parents’ Corner is a regular column of our year round newsletter called the "Sundial".  It can be read online at www.campuskids.com/readthesundial.htm .  The column featured above originally appeared in our January/February issue of 2004.  

~Jeremy

February 15, 2012

Choice Does Not Equal Chaos

I remember many years ago when Stu made a presentation at a camp conference about the Campus Kids "Camper Choice" programming system and half the people walked out of the room within the first five minutes because our level of choice was simply not possible in their minds.  That was good for those who stayed because they got to have a really good discussion about the benefits of giving kids choices.

Kids are intrigued and excited about choosing their own activities.  They are a bit skeptical at first because getting choices is not something they are used to.  But they get excited when they realize that every day we help them plan what they want to do the next day -- as an individual, not as part of a group vote or assignment.  From the campers' point of view, this is a very good thing.  It's freeing and fun.  It's having control of their camp experience and making it what they want it to be.  It's the great feeling of having independence and responsibility.

Adults also agree that Camper Choice sounds like a good thing, but they often have more question about it.  Examples are:

HOW DO THE CAMPERS DEAL WITH ALL THOSE CHOICES?
We organize the choices by age division and into activity periods and the bunk counselors help their campers make their choices.  Our system is organized.  Choice does not equal chaos.

DOES MY CAMPER HAVE THE OPTION TO DO "NOTHING"?
The answer is "mostly no".  There are three activity periods in the morning, three in the afternoon and one after supper (before the evening programs) and campers all choose something to do each of those periods.  The answer is "sometimes yes" because a camper who wants to take a break from doing organized activities every period can choose "afternoon shade" or "evening shade", which is unstructured play time.  Check back next week where we will blog about our shade activity.

WILL MY CAMPER TRY NEW THINGS IF NOT FORCED TO?
Most likely "yes".  Campers tell each other what they've been doing and they influence each other to try new things.  And, since they can try something once and then not go back, they are willing to take the risk to try something new.  They learn that it's worth trying and there's not a single camper who doesn't develop at least one new interest at camp.

WILL MY CAMPER HAVE TO FIND HIS/HER OWN WAY AROUND CAMP?
No!  It's true that the bunk group doesn't do its activities all together because each camper makes their own choices.  However, the foundational safety rule at our camp is that every camper is always with a counselor.  So we have a time-tested system for getting our campers to each activity with the counselors.  Come out to camp in the summer and watch our activity changeovers; they are very interesting.

Camper Choice is at the heart of our philosophy and programming and we wouldn't be Campus Kids without it.  When people ask, "Are you a specialty camp?" I say, "Yes!  We specialize in giving kids choices."

If you have any questions about this aspect of our camp, please drop me a line or give me a call.  I'd love to chat with you about it.

Tom
 

February 8, 2012

Where's Winter?

Usually at this time of year we are stomping the snow off our boots as we come into the office for another day of summer camp work.  Even though the world outside is cold and icy, our world in here is all about hot summer days filled with fun and friends.  We can't wait to trade in sweaters and heavy coats for t-shirts and shorts.

However, it hasn't been that kind of winter, as you know, with days being almost balmy, tempting us to wear a vintage CK t-shirt to work.  Sometimes I fear that maybe we slept through December, January and February and we've woken up in March and (oh no!) camp will be here soon and we're not ready!  Then I look at the Dr. Seuss wall calendar that Teri gave us (this month with the Truffala Trees) and am reassured that time hasn't changed, even though the weather has.

I'm disappointed that we don't have the usual snow because our camp -- at Blair Academy -- is amazingly beautiful when it's covered in a white winter blanket.  I love the green vistas of the fields and forest, but I enjoy equally the white expanses, seeing the footprints and sled paths in the snow, and experiencing the muffled quiet across the campus.

Whatever the winter weather, though, one of the fun things we do during these months is give tours to families who are interested in our camp.  Lead by Stu or me, with the assistance of some of our current (or recently "retired") staff assistants, we spend a private hour or so with each family: the prospective camper, parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, neighbors . . . anyone they want to bring along.  Every tour has common elements because there are certain things about camp we want to tell every family and, of course, certain things we want to show them like the dorms, dining room, athletic facilities, pool, performing arts and fine arts facilities, canteen, etc.

What makes each tour unique are the questions.  No two campers or families have the same questions, but here are a few samples:
-- What do you do when it rains?  (That's usually asked at the beginning of the tour because at the end they've seen the indoor pool, three indoor gyms, art rooms, theatre, squash courts, etc. and they know we have plenty of good indoor space for activities.)    
-- How do I keep from getting lost?  (All campers, even the oldest, are ALWAYS with counselors, so campers don't have to worry about this.)
-- Are the dorms air conditioned?  (No, but they have good window screens and we put a 20" box fan in each room.  There is AC in the dining room, performing arts center, health center, canteen, and some of the indoor sports facilities.)
--What if I don't get along with someone in my group or my roommate?  (Our campers are pretty nice people, so this isn't a huge problem.  Being realistic though, nothing is perfect and there can be disagreements.  Since this is camp, our counselors help you work things out and this usually takes care of the problem.  If it becomes a bigger problem though, we might decide that switching rooms is the best option.)
--Can I bring my laptop?  (No.  You won't go online at camp because you'll be spending that time in activities and hanging out with camp friends.)
--Who gets to use the really cool fitness center?  (Our teenage campers.  This is our only activity that is restricted to just the older campers.)
--How many activities can I choose?  (Six or seven different ones per day.  You get to choose every day so you can try out new things and make switches easily.)
--Do I have to know how to do an activity to sign up for it?  (No!  Every activity has counselors who are able and eager to teach you how to do it.  So we hope you will try lots of new things while you're at camp.)

That's just a sample.  The full list is practically endless.  Best of all, every weekend we get at least one question we've never had before, and this is the most fun to answer.

Winter tours will continue, even without the winter weather, and we'll continue to tell the wonderful story of camp to our visitors.  I wonder if this weekend I'll finally be wearing my big winter coat or if I'll be putting on my favorite camp t-shirt?

Tom