Monthly Archives:March 2025

I am just now catching some rumblings that sleepovers may not be the rite of passage they once were for various reasons. I can remember begging my parents on a regular basis to have a friend or two come to our house to spend the night. In fact, several of my birthday parties when I was in late elementary and jr high school consisted of going out for pizza with my “best” friends, taking in movie or a session at the local skating rink, and then coming to my house to sprawl out on the downstairs living room floor (love me some shag carpet!) in sleeping bags, and doing what girls do…stay up late talking and giggling about all kinds of things (boys!). Fun times!

I can also remember getting invited to spend the night a one of my classmate’s home where the entire group of 5th grade girls was included. We played games like “light as a feather” to see if we could get someone to levitate, dressed up in this gal’s mom’s clothes and paraded around, ate more junk food than anyone should consume in a month, and had dreams of staying up all night, but never quite seemed to make it to the wee hours of the morning.

When someone is interested in signing up for overnight summer camp, a question that often gets asked is whether or not the potential camper has been to any sleepovers. While this in theory could make the transition from home to sleepaway camp an easier one, I’m not so sure that is entirely so. Sleepovers can be uncomfortable due to the sleeping arrangements, loud for someone who may prefer to “chill”, and not ideal for getting good rest in order to function the next day.

In my humble opinion, spending the summer at sleepaway camp with us at Woodland for Girls is WAY better than a sleepover for these reasons:

• You get to sleep in your own bed every night (with the exception of your cabin’s overnight canoe trip when you sleep in a tent).
• You can make the bottom or top bunk feel like “home” by bringing your favorite blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, pics of family and friends, and other “decorations” that make it “yours”.
• Did I mention that there is an evening snack every night around 8:15 pm? You have your choice of fruit or some variety of frozen treat to keep your stomach from growling in your sleep.
• Every cabin has a set bedtime that is part of the daily routine. Your counselors ensure that you get into your jammies, brush your teeth, take a shower (this could happen earlier in the day, too), and get cozy under the covers so that you are primed for a good night’s sleep after a fun-filled day of activities.
• One of my FAVORITE things is that your counselors will read a bedtime story (even to the older girls) that will help you settle down and even drift off before she stops for the night. Breakfast is a great time for everyone to catch up on any missed details and make predictions about what will happen next!
• One counselor stays in the cabin after lights are out and is right there if you need anything. She may even visit each bunk to find out your favorite thing from the day or hear what you are looking forward to tomorrow.
• Bathrooms are in the cabins, so you don’t have to go far in the middle of the night if needed.
• It is possible to get 10 good hours of sleep every night for most campers! Sleeping in screened cabins allows for the breeze and sounds of loons calling across the lake to lull you into sweet dreams.

So, what about all of the laughing, giggling and cutting up that happens when you are at a sleepover? Great question! Because of the extended time at a sleepaway camp like Woodland, you will find yourself with a group of girls that you can have fun with all day long! The counselors are really good at coming up with conversation starters, things to do that include the entire cabin group, or making sure that you have a costume to wear for an all-camp event. They also know when it is time to get some rest, whether sleeping or just doing something less active like writing letters, making friendship bracelets, reading a book, doing a puzzle, or some other activity you brought from home. Sleepaway camp is the sleepover you dream about, only better!

If spending the summer with us for a sleepaway camp experience is sounding good right about now, you can reserve a spot for your daughter/s at camp for 2025!

I’m back! I’ve been in Dallas (with JoAnne), Atlanta, and Atlantic City (with Lee) attending several conferences and facilitating trainings over the past month and will be sharing with you what camp pros around the country are thinking about, reading about, and listening to in as we head into the summer. The person I’m going to mention today is someone I’ve already written about, and her stuff bears repeating again and again (and again). I (we) really like what Lynn Lyons has to say!

If you’re not familiar, Lynn is this brilliant anxiety specialist who talks about how our kids are increasingly struggling with mental health challenges. And not because the world is more dangerous, but because they’re not developing the skills to handle uncertainty.

One of those boss level skills? Flexibility. Not the “down dog” kind from yoga class (whew!).

• The “Oh, it’s raining? Let’s pivot to an amazing indoor activity without missing a beat” kind.
• The “I’m not sure what’s happening next but it’s cool, let’s roll” kind.
• The “This isn’t exactly what I expected but all good, can handle it” kind.

And yeah, if you know me, you know what’s coming next.

Summer camp might be the single best place on earth to develop this skill!!

Flexibility: The Secret Superpower

Here’s how Lynn puts it: “When we get locked into a position, stance or perspective—be it based on fear, inexperience, or rigidity of any kind—we remove the opportunity to learn, expand, discover, and problem solve.”

Sound familiar? It’s basically the opposite of what happens at camp.

At camp, flexibility isn’t just encouraged – it’s required.

The schedule changes. The weather doesn’t play nice. Your favorite counselor has the day off. The kitchen ran out of grilled cheese. Your cabinmate snores like a broken chainsaw. The best part? Parents/caregivers aren’t around to “solve” any of it.

And somehow, kids learn to roll with it all.

It Matters More Than We Think

The thing about flexibility is that it’s not just about adapting. It’s about adapting without falling apart into a million-gajillion pieces.

Kids who develop flexibility at camp don’t just grudgingly accept change – they are rocking new environments with confidence. They develop a simple but super productive mindset that says, “I can handle the unexpected.”

Meanwhile, rigid thinking leads directly to anxiety.

When kids go through childhood believing things must go exactly as planned or disaster is on deck, they’re setting themselves up for a lifetime of stress.

The Flexibility Gym

There are so many ways flexibility gets exercised at camp:

• The weather suddenly changes, time for a quick pivot from afternoon activities to Lip Sync Contest.
• A homesick camper needs the counselor’s extra attention, so it means the morning routine might shift just a bit.
• The food isn’t exactly what they’re used to at home, so new foods are tried.
• Another kid reacts to something in a completely unexpected way which gives valuable information about that person.

Each of these moments is a rep in the flexibility gym. Each one says to a kid, quietly but clearly, “You can adapt. You can handle change. You’ve got this.”

As Lynn Lyons says, “A kid with a flexible brain becomes a person who can go with the flow when life doesn’t unfold as planned. Handling the unexpected is a critical skill in most aspects of life.”

Most parents are desperate for their kids to develop exactly this. The word “flexibility” may not be used, but there is a definite want/need for children to be able to handle uncertainty without shutting down.

Embracing the Unplanned

Here’s where it gets tricky for us as adults: Sometimes we work so hard to make everything perfect, predictable, and seamless that we accidentally remove the very opportunities that develop flexibility.

• What if instead of seeing schedule changes as failures, we look at them as growth opportunities?
• What if instead of apologizing when things don’t go exactly as planned, we celebrate the chance for kids to practice adapting?
• What if we told you, our camp families, in July, “Your child had fifteen opportunities to practice flexibility today, and they crushed it”?!

Yep, that happens at camp! Every. Single. Day.

Making It Stick

The beauty of camp is that flexibility practice happens naturally. And, we can be more intentional about it:

• Normalize change. “Plans change, and that’s actually a good thing!”
• Celebrate adaptability. “I noticed how quickly you adjusted when we had to leave earlier than expected. That’s a real strength.”
• Highlight the skill. “You just showed flexibility, and that’s going to help you in so many situations.”

Because at the end of the day, what we’re really doing is preparing kids for a world that will never, ever go exactly as planned. And, if you want to give your kids a jump start, you can begin practicing NOW. Not sure what to say when your camper shows signs of anxiety about the summer ahead through the questions that are asked? Say This, Not That (a previous blog) will give ideas on how to respond (thank you Lynn Lyons!).

Enroll for 2025

Now is a great time to reserve a spot for your kid/s at camp; we hope your daughter/s will join us at the flexibility gym this coming summer!

A big thank you to my friend, Jack Schott, for being the inspiration of this blog. Here is the Podcast he did with Lynn – Apple, Spotify, Youtube