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What’s the vibe of camp right now as we head into the 6th week of camp?

Borrowing the words of a once (maybe still?) popular Eagle’s song, campers and staff right now both have “that peaceful, easy feeling.” It makes perfect sense if you just look around. You see plenty of smiles, girls laughing and playing, and appearing really at ease. With camp being a place where girls can be themselves without the pressures and worries of school, where they know instinctively the people around them are genuinely kind and caring, it’s natural to relax into the experience.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

There’s no need to guard against anything or to maintain any kind of facade, so camp provides a release of sorts. That feeling alone is enough to lift a child’s spirits, but combine it with all of the fun activity at camp, along with all the enthusiastic energy of a zany community (spigot parties!), and you have a the recipe for peacefulness as well. There’s also plenty of giggling, especially now that campers are comfortable around each other. It doesn’t take much these days for a little bit of silliness to turn into a laugh out loud moment!

Where can you find that peaceful, easy feeling?

This feeling shows up in many of the activities. For example, in gymnastics, which meets outside of the Rec Hall, each class starts with a series of warm-ups. Spread out on the gymnastics mats, girls are peacefully stretching, listening to music, and getting mentally ready for some more difficult flips, spins around the parallel bars, and balancing on the beam.

On Land…Focusing, Concentrating, and Losing Yourself

Sometimes, this peaceful feeling arises from concentrating on something, from being completely immersed in whatever we’re doing. As one might imagine, the girls have to really focus when riding a horse, being careful with the position of their legs, their posture in the saddle, and how they are controlling the reins. This gentle coordination between the horse and rider makes horseback riding rewarding and fun.

Similarly, at the archery or riflery ranges, concentration is greatly assisted by slow, even breathing in order to have a bullet or arrow make its way to the desired area of a target. Adding up the score upon completion of each round brings great satisfaction or determination to improve next time.

Spending Time with the Animals

While we don’t have “therapy” animals per se at camp, it is not a huge stretch of the imagination to come to the conclusion that hanging out at the barn or Farm Zoo is about as therapeutic as it gets! Showing your horse some “love” before mounting and after a gratifying lesson in the ring is definitely encouraged (if not required!). The bunnies, chickens, and ducks in our small animal area get watered, fed, and petted (a lot!) every morning by the first hour class while sixth hour helps get the menagerie of very tame fuzzy friends get ready for nighttime.

And, Being Creative

Arts and crafts activities at camp offer a similar opportunity to lose yourself in the moment. Working with their hands, making a picture frame, wrapping yarn around a bottle, or tying the many knots required to make a friendship bracelet, campers easily become deeply engaged. There’s a strange immersive quality to many craft projects at camp, each providing another way to relax and at the same time enjoy the satisfaction of making something. It’s amazing how easily the campers are happily absorbed in designing, building, creating, arranging, painting, and more.

In the Sun and Shade at the Beach

Rec Swim at the lake also exemplifies that peaceful, easy feeling. Often instead of swimming, floating is more popular. It’s a way to cool off in the refreshing water of Sand Lake, while at the same time lounging comfortably on a tube or one of the mats available. Even more fun is when friends pile into the tubes making them a little unsteady and easy to end up in a splash. Even for those who choose the shade at the beach, there is something grounding about having sand wriggling between your toes and sifting through your fingers should you decide a sandcastle or lounging with a book is the way to go.

Ahhhhhhh, The Soothing Waves!

Sailing offers those “wind in your face” moments as your boat cuts through the waves while enjoying an easy going cruise with good company or rounding a buoy marker in a competitive race. Canoeing provides a calming rhythm as you dip, dip and swing a paddle to nowhere in particular or a planned destination. Spending an hour fishing while letting your legs dangle off the dock or taking a slow ride on the pontoon boat is a great way to decompress. Just hearing the waves lap on the shore or against the sailboats on their moorings, along with the sound of the halyards clanking on the masts is about as good as it gets!

A Gift That Keeps On Giving

Compared to the daily lives of most kids, living the “peaceful, easy feeling” life of camp is a great gift. It proves to them it’s fun and rewarding to be active, and to really dig into creative pursuits (this is often how Woodland girls find their passion that comes with them wherever they go!). Most importantly, it reveals the peacefulness that follows from simply being yourself in a relaxed way (like eating pancakes outside in your jammies!). The beauty of camp, and surely a big reason why girls love it, is how quickly and easily the community here evokes these feelings. It is our wish that your camper is storing up a reserve of “peaceful, easy” to insert when needed at home or school over the coming year!

One of the most meaningful things a Woodland girl can gain from camp isn’t something she can hold in her hand.

It’s not an award, not a project, not even a new skill. It’s independence — something earned quietly over time, in small moments and big steps, as she begins to navigate life beyond the support structures she’s always known.

At Camp Woodland, independence doesn’t mean girls are left to figure everything out alone. It means they’re given the opportunity to try, to stretch, to stumble and recover, and to learn how to thrive in a space that’s fully their own.

A Place That’s Hers—and Hers Alone

Home is full of familiar comforts: family routines, neighborhood friends, known expectations. But at camp, those supports give way to something just as powerful: ownership. From the moment a camper unpacks and sets up her bunk, she begins building a space that’s hers.

At Woodland, that space expands daily. It includes each camper’s cabinmates who become sisters, the trails and courts and cabins where she learns and plays, the mentors she looks up to, and the skills she earns through practice and persistence. And perhaps most importantly, it includes the confidence that comes from knowing she’s capable of building a life, even temporarily, away from the comforts of home.

Hard at First, But Worth It

For many campers, their first time away from home isn’t easy. It can also be a recurring challenge each summer for returning campers, too. Missing family and familiar rhythms is normal and expected. But being given the time and space to work through those feelings, supported by a caring staff and surrounded by peers doing the same, allows for real resilience to develop.

Independence Isn’t Isolation

Being independent doesn’t mean being alone. At camp, it means developing the internal compass to make decisions, form friendships, solve problems and bounce back from setbacks.

At camp, individual tasks and shared cabin responsibilities create dozens of opportunities each day for Woodland girls to take initiative and grow. Over time, these small acts shape something much bigger: ownership of their experience and pride in the young women they’re becoming.

Sisters, Friendships Built on Connection

The friendships formed in this space aren’t just convenient—they’re foundational. Without the usual filters of school pressures and digital distractions, girls meet each other as they are. Camp friendships are built on connection and depth. Each year, in big moments like Campfire and quiet ones during Inspiration Hour, campers profess feeling more fully known and accepted at camp than anywhere else. And that kind of connection gives campers the freedom to be independent without feeling alone.

A Broader Perspective

For many, camp is their first experience connecting with peers from different parts of the country or world. These relationships stretch the understanding of others and help build empathy, another foundational aspect of independence.

The Kind of Growth That Comes Home With Her

The lessons of independence learned at camp don’t stay behind in the Northwoods. They return with her in the way she takes responsibility, expresses herself, steps up when needed and navigates challenges with resilience.

When a Woodland girl finds her strength outside the safety net of home, she returns with a new understanding of what she’s capable of and a foundation that supports her long after the summer ends.

While we still have more time at camp with your daughter/s this summer, we will look forward to hearing stories of how her independence and resilience show up at home and school!

Reference: FCC blog

What does trust look like several miles off the ground? I’ve been flying a lot lately and thinking about the inherent trust I have in the airlines. When flying domestically, I am typically in the air for a couple of hours at the most, and it is highly likely I can get to where I am going within the course of a day. So, I am putting my trust in the airlines for 24 hours or less (usually WAY less). I am in a metal tube thousands of feet (several miles in the air) with a bunch of people I don’t know and with a pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendants that I have most likely never seen before I am about to embark on my adventure.

When do we meet the flight crew? The flight attendants are visible before, during, and after the flight; however, the time that I *may* see the pilot is after I am on the ground and rushing out the door to make my connection or to get on with the business or pleasure that has prompted my need to fly the “friendly” (when everything goes smoothly!) skies in the first place. In this scenario, I see the person responsible for a group of 50-100+ passengers from runway to runway after the flight has landed. The pilot oftentimes stands by the cockpit door while telling folks good-bye and thank you. I have no idea what kind of grades were made in flight school or how many hours were logged off the ground, yet the airlines have my trust or I wouldn’t choose flying as a common mode of transportation.

What do flying and sending your child to camp have in common? Similarly to the trust I put in the airlines, there is also a HUGE trust factor that our camp families (YOU) put in US when enrolling your child/ren in the Woodland experience for up to 6 weeks. You are sending your most precious gift/s to us. Some of you bring them to camp yourselves so that you can see camp and more importantly, meet the people (camp leadership and counselors) who will be taking care of your camper/s. You get to take a good look at the “airplane” AND those people who are in charge of “flying the airplane.” There are others of you who live far away and rely on a call (or more!) to speak with a member of the leadership team or a direct connection to camp, the information on our website, and what is shared on social media platforms.

How do we increase the trust factor? For those of you whom we have never had the pleasure of  coming to camp or meeting us (even for those we have), two events occurred this week that can put your mind at ease and increase the trust factor in how camp runs on a day-to-day basis. On Tuesday, the Oneida County health department (through the state of Wisconsin) came to Camp Woodland for our annual review. Then on Wednesday, we greeted two trained volunteers from the American Camp Association (ACA) for our on-site accreditation visit that occurs every 5th year (this is in addition to completing an online review and signing a statement of compliance in February of each year).

What does a health department/accreditation visit look like? For this year’s on-site health department and ACA visits, JoAnne and Lee gave our guests the grand tour of camp. On both days, stops were made to watch various activities in action, check out a few cabins, take a look at the kitchen and health center, and interview some campers and staff. The great thing is that because our staff are trained at the beginning of each summer and on an on-going basis, they handled any questions that were asked like pros and did a nice job telling the story of what we do and why. Following Wednesday’s ACA tour, the visitors went through multiple notebook binders to verify that we have systems in place and the necessary required documentation to be in compliance with close to 300 health, safety, and program quality standards! Whew!

Why do we seek accreditation? We’re glad you asked! Unlike the mandatory visit from the health department each year, Camp Woodland and Towering Pines CHOOSE to go through the accreditation process and PROUDLY display the ACA-Accredited Camp sign as it has 50+ years (at Woodland) of parent trust behind it. Accreditation means that both camps have proof of accountability, credibility, and commitment to the best practices established by the camp industry. Experts from many fields including the American Red Cross and The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, are consulted to work with ACA to continually improve the camp standards program. Towering Pines is on a different cycle from Woodland and had their on-site visit in 2023. Marion Jordan (JoAnne, Susan, and Jeff’s grandfather) was actually instrumental in starting the ACA Accreditation program back in the day!

How did we do?! Camp Woodland had another excellent report from the health department (are you surprised?!)! While we won’t officially know if we “PASSED” our accreditation visit until the fall (the final report is sent to ACA headquarters for scoring), we can share that we were able to say “YES” across the board in the various categories as the team made their way through each standard. Having back-to-back visits made for a busy week, AND we are glad to return to the more FUN part of our jobs (getting ready for Woodland’s 56th birthday celebration, driving the ski boat, reading a story at campfire, and spending quality time with your daughter/s)!

P.S. I will actually be on the ACA accreditation visit team for a camp in NC on my way to camp next week – it is one way to give back to the program and the people who volunteer their time for us. I can’t wait to spend the last 10 days with your camper/s and see you for Parents’ Weekend!

There’s a word you’re likely to hear when people describe their camp experience, a word we’ve heard from teenage campers, staff members and adult camp alumni alike like the ones in the photo above. It’s “magical.” When trying to convey how special camp is to them, how extraordinary it feels to simply be at camp, they’ll talk about the “magic of camp” or that “camp magic.”

Yes, camp life is marvelous. It’s awesome, amazing, fantastic. It’s so much better than the “mundane world,” with everything having a little something extra, some power or spirit. That’s why camp friends are your closest, the moon is more beautiful, s’mores more delicious, being silly more hilarious, and feelings of belonging more genuine. Camp life reveals a magical quality in even the simplest things, enriching our days beyond ordinary.

But how does camp do that? The moon with its blazing trail on the water, biting into a gooey s’more while on an overnight excursion, and the excitement of the aqua tramp are probably pretty similar to what can be found elsewhere. There’s probably nothing material that would make camp life distinctly better than non-camp examples.

What makes it magical? If there’s something profoundly different about camp life that fills it with amazing people, flashes of beauty, moments of wonder, and surprising feelings of deep happiness and contentment, then how?

Here’s an idea.

We believe camp provides the conditions where we can notice what is right in front of us. In other words, the magic is already here; we just don’t always see it in our ordinary daily lives. Camp doesn’t have a special power to create magic. Rather, it inspires us simply to become more aware of subtle qualities always available in the world around us.

At Woodland the possibility that everyone is a potential friend becomes evident. The space is there for people who had they met under different circumstances, might never have given someone a chance, let alone have been friends. For the gals above, Camp Woodland was the beginning of something lasting, something rare. Decades later, the women who once shared bunks, songs, canoe trips, and campfire stories still gather. They’ve grown into mothers, professionals, caretakers, and adventurers, but the ties formed under the tall pines and star-filled skies remain unshaken.

After 40 years, they are still showing up for each other—celebrating milestones, comforting through grief, laughing at old stories that never get old. The magic of Camp Woodland wasn’t just the lake or the laughter—it was the foundation of deep, meaningful relationships built during their most formative years.

That’s the power of camp, how it’s magic withstands the test of time. It encourages an awareness that reveals the magical quality of others. By lifting respect and kindness up as its highest ideals, it helps us be generous and see beyond ourselves. By giving us a break from the fast-paced demands of work and school, camp helps us slow down and take notice of the amazing people around us where we recognize and appreciate each person’s uniqueness. By being a tech-free environment, it liberates us from connecting through a device or screen. By encouraging silliness and play, camp teaches us how to be comfortable with who we are. By establishing a truly supportive community, it draws us closer to the people around us. In the outside world, each of these might require a deliberate choice, but they are built right into our camp life… making it yes, magical.

This is a testament to summer camp. A testament to Camp Woodland. And most of all, a testament to the power of true, enduring friendship.

Because sometimes, the people who knew you when you were a kid… are still the ones who know you best.

Reference: RBC and spring WI alumni gathering

What is different about camp now that we are over 2 weeks in?

It’s easy these days to sense that something special is happening at camp. As the season has “matured” a bit, it’s even more apparent. By “matured” we mean there’s a greater sense of ease in the air, a feeling of relaxing into the rhythms of camp life, a normalizing of sorts. The girls have made more friends, opened up to the new experiences offered in the activities, and become more comfortable in our rustic outdoor environment. They’ve begun to feel included, treated with kindness and respect, brought closer by a community spirit that’s enthusiastic and supportive. As they become more familiar with camp, their confidence has grown tremendously. They’ve adopted a “camp mindset” of sorts, a way of being that develops when surrounded by all these wonderful qualities.

This maturing, however, takes some time. It takes a few weeks to settle in and acclimate to camp life. When they first arrive at camp, girls are generally more hesitant. They’re usually a little nervous about their place in the group and how they’ll do away from home. Even for seasoned campers, there’s a different mindset that takes a few days to fade.

Could it be a transition from a school to a camp mindset?

Maybe we can attribute this to school? Perhaps these campers are arriving with a “school mindset,” a way of thinking, or a collection of assumptions that’s clashing with what camp represents. As you know, for many kids, school can be a grind, something that requires careful steps, regular effort with competitive undertones, and often includes guarded engagement out of a fear of peer judgment. It requires a great deal of individual work, pressures to perform, and evaluations. While there may be certain legitimate educational goals this mindset serves, it can also be a burden.

With school occupying so much of their lives, it’s no wonder girls arrive at camp a little out of sorts. They’re immersed in the world in ways that don’t apply at camp. In a way, this is the project of camp— to unwind some of the habits and assumptions that are inevitable from spending so much time at school, to encourage a more genuine, playful and joyful approach. Camp is a form of relief. It’s why we have so many campers return year after year.

Will you notice a difference?

We might be running around camp searching for aliens. We might be jousting each other with fun noodles on the balance beam. We might be taking a trail ride through the Climax Forest, or just floating on the lake in a tube. In all these activities and more— throughout our days— we’re building a “camp mindset,” a way of authentic connection, a freedom to explore, and a lightness everyone finds refreshing.

When you reunite with your camper/s in August, we are pretty sure you’ll notice this change. In addition to the memories of camp being fun, and the many friendships they’ve made, our hope is that your girls will return home carrying their camp mindset with them. And while the pressures of school will inevitably creep back in, we hope they can move through the world with more camp confidence, camp values, and Woodland spirit.

Reference: RBC