Category: Leadership Development

One of the things we always emphasize is how big of a difference camp can make in the lives of children.  You may not see it right away, but the future benefits are astronomical!  One of our Counselors, Lindsay, wrote about camp for her college essay and wanted to share her experience with our camp family. Lindsay will be going to Colorado State this fall…

“It was just a few days before my eighth birthday and I remember driving though the north woods of Wisconsin with my dad by my side.  I had been waiting for this moment for most of two years — all my excitement built up from stories I had heard from my older cousin.  We arrived at Camp Woodland just at sunset.  I was a little nervous and scared, unsure what it would be like being away from home for six weeks at a summer camp.  I was welcomed with open arms by the director, one of my counselors, and my older cousin.  I quickly became friends with the other girls in my cabin, said goodbye to my dad, and started my first of ten summers at Camp Woodland.

At eight years old, camp was a magical place where I could run around all day, explore new things, and not have a single care in the world.  As I got older, these wonders lessened, but at the same time I realized just how important the people in my camp experience were to me.  From the first year, I have grown up and matured with the same tight group of girls that I met at that first flag lowering.  As each summer came around, we all returned for another year of bug juice, mosquitoes and each other.  Even as we transitioned from little girls to teenagers, our bond grew stronger and stronger.  Every year, we would commit to each other that we would come back and spend our precious summers together at camp.  To this day, the friends I made when I was eight years old are still my best friends.  We still make that promise every year.

I always looked up to the camp counselors and decided at some point that I wanted to be a counselor when I grew up.  In 2012, I returned for the first time not as a camper, but as a counselor.  I have worked several jobs at home during the school year.  However, I have never been prouder of my “staff” jacket and the responsibility which goes with it.  It was the culmination of a ten year commitment.  Ironically, I was assigned to the cabin with the eight year-old first time campers!

Interestingly, camp is a place where I could grow up and develop into the person I wanted to become without having the pressure of the outside world.   At camp, it was OK to be different and not fit in with the “in crowd.”  You do not have to be ashamed to reveal the person you want to become, and no matter what you believe in you would always have a friend.  To this day, I do not judge people on how they dress, how they look, or what they believe in.  As I transitioned from camper to counselor, camp has helped me develop into a responsible adult.  Over these years, I have learned how to take care of not only myself, but others as well.  Camp is not about iPods, cell phones, and Facebook.  It is about the simple things: realizing that we do not get everything we want in life, learning how to accept that and making the best of what we do have.  As a counselor, the owners have helped teach me how to resolve problems in the cabin.  There are no easy ways out of this: campers cannot move cabins, go home or avoid an issue.  I learned that I had to face the problems as a camper, and now I am learning how to help others handle problems in an appropriate manner.  I am currently leaning towards a major in psychology: little did I know how much Camp Woodland for girls would come to define who I am today.

Many of the girls at camp are not from the United States.  A large number live in Mexico. The opportunity which I have had to become friends with girls from other countries, has taught in a very real way about other cultures and how we are both different and alike.  I know that I have gained respect for other countries and the different traditions they have. Growing up in Arizona, many people look at Mexicans in a negative way.  They are seen as a lower class, when, in reality, they are just as good and worthy.  Camp has quietly shown me not to pre-judge anyone.  This lesson actually came later.  As a young child, I didn’t even see the difference between us; as I grew older and came to understand the harsh reality of prejudice, I was surrounded by a compelling reason to reject it.  I know that I am more open to people from other countries and refuse to stereotype them.

Its just six short weeks every summer.  But Camp Woodland has helped me to become the young responsible adult that I am today.  The continuity of experiences I had as a child, a young teenager, and as a counselor cannot but impact me as I continue to grow up in the years to come.”

– Lindsay K., Starshine Cabin

Usually, we have our weekly campfire on Wednesday evening. We cookout our burgers and dogs, grab our letters home, and file down to the waterfront for a fun evening of songs, skits, jokes and challenges. This Friday, though, we had a very special and very different campfire: Cabin Unity. Cabin Unity campfire is an annual tradition at Woodland, and it is a time for cabins to join together, focus on each member’s strengths, and bond as one group. It’s always a memorable and moving time, and it marks a point in the summer where the girls really “clique” together within the cabin.

            This year, Cabin Unity was hosted by the girls of Hilltop, and they started the festivities at morning assembly by assigning each cabin a color to dress in for campfire. At Rest Hour the plans continued, as each cabin composed their “cabin pledges” on sheets of birch bark. These pledges spell out the promises that the girls of the cabin make to each other, about respect, kindness, enthusiasm and cooperation. Finally, that evening, the cabins walk down to campfire, dressed all in the same color and ready to bond! Hilltop organized several bonding games, including a Compliment Circle (in which every girl both gives and receives a compliment to and from another girl in the group), the Machine Game (in which the whole cabin works together to silently represent a machine), and name games. Hilltop led us in singing “Make New Friends, But Keep the Old” – a camp favorite! We closed as usual with our friendship circle, and it was extra special after our evening of connection and community building. Thanks for hosting us, Hilltop!

At Camp Woodland we believe that you are never too young to start developing leadership skills.  Every Friday night a cabin is in charge of planning and leading an all camp activity. We call it Camper Council! This week the Tamarack cabin planned “Super Hero Night”.  All the cabins dressed up as super heroes assigned by Tamarack.  Just to name a few, Silverbirch-Bright Girls, Treetops– Captain Underoos, Aquarius– Candy Girls, and Hilltop – Aquagirl.  The campers got to play games that were led by Tamarack that would save camp from the escaped Villan. It was a lot of fun and the cabins loved being silly and dressing up!

As the skies above Camp Woodland cleared of Woodland Dew, all of Camp set out to have a wonderful first Sunday! In the morning, the girls got a taste (or a reminder!) of what activities are like as we went through our Activity Rotations. Spending a small amount of time in each activity area, campers were able to experience and learn about each different activity – and counselors were able to show off their stuff!

In the afternoon, the CITs put on a very special Sunday event: Find Snow White! Each cabin moved from princess to princess collecting clues and participating in fun princess-themed activities like relay races, Princess charades, and making Pocahontas marker tattoos! In the end, Sunnyside, Sunrise and Tamarack worked together to find and rescue Snow White.

After all that adventuring, everyone was ready for a cool-down… just in time for afternoon Rec Swim! The Big Banana was ready and the lake was refreshing, and the waterfront was the perfect end to a fun-filled day! To wrap it all up, we spent the evening . What a great start to the summer!

JoAnne and I were recently in Dallas attending the American Camp Association’s annual national conference.  It is always a great time to network with other camp professionals, learn about trends and emerging topics in the industry from some amazing speakers, and to explore new ideas and resources for camp.

Best-selling author and psychologist Madeline Levine was one of the keynote speakers at the conference.  With nearly thirty years of experience as a clinician, consultant, and educator, Levine has shared insights on youth development and success on the national stage; she has appeared on television shows such as The Early Show and The Today Show as well as on local and national radio stations, including NPR’s The Diane Rhem Show and Forum. She is a former camper and the mother of three sons who all attended camp. Levine spoke about how camps can work with families, train staff, and build environments to support the success of all children.

In Teach Your Children Well, Levine writes about the seven essential coping skills (resourcefulness, enthusiasm, creativity, a good work ethic, self-control, self-esteem, and self-efficacy).  She thinks that camps help children master all the critical coping skills. This is another way of saying it fosters resilience, which allows us to deal with life’s inevitable changes and losses. We all develop coping skills by being in situations that push us out of our comfort zones. That’s what camp does for kids: Every day, it presents them with a whole new set of challenges, some of which are easily accomplished, others which take persistence, grit, and learning new skills.

Resourcefulness probably comes to mind first. You’re in a new situation, you’re meeting new people, you’re trying activities you’ve never tried before. Mom’s not there with you, and there’s nowhere to hide. You have to figure out how to meet social challenges, how to solve problems, how to pack your backpack or saddle your own horse. In the process, you stretch and grow in meaningful ways.

Enthusiasm gets bolstered as well. Camp is a place where, often, kids with specific interests that are not always rewarded during the academic year get a lot of recognition. At camp, for example, kids who are great with their hands may get to tie knots or build a cool fort. Instead of feeling bored or frustrated, they get to be excited and engaged. This may be a new feeling for many of them.

Camp supports self-esteem. There’s a constant line of new tasks to learn, which are fun and usually doable. I like to remind parents that self-esteem is not bestowed, it’s earned. Camp gives kids the opportunity to earn competence in something new — whether it’s in archery or lanyards or swimming — and that leads to confidence. It is competence and confidence that promote self-esteem in kids, not ribbons and trophies for incidentals or just showing up.

In general, camp provides a great opportunity for kids to test themselves outside the home and see that they are capable, they can connect with other kids, they can solve problems and collaborate.

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