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November 5, 2008June 1, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

Camp Counselor Skills

So you just were offered a job as a cabin counselor and a climbing instructor. You think to yourself, “This should be really cool – I get to be outside, hang out with kids, make a little money and meet new people – hey, it’ll be way better than working in a restaurant all summer!” All of these things will hopefully be true about your summer experience – but wait – there’s more! Camp naturally fosters opportunities to grow in leadership, communication, problem-solving and in learning new ways to cope with challenges. All of these are areas that future employers value, too! Here’s an article from the American Camp Association about how to talk about the skills you learned at camp to future employers.

Spending nearly every minute of every day with a group of people certainly enhances skills in working with others. While these working relationships are established, other traits are also being fostered in the camp setting, such as patience, tenacity, the ability to stick with a job, and being a dedicated employee.

Check it out!

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October 29, 2008March 5, 2020 • Horseback Riding • rbc

Horseback Riding Lessons at Camp

The horseback riding activity at camp is a nice combination of learning, riding, and fun with all things horse and riding related.

With the great instructors and amazing horses down at the Rockbrook Riding Center, you learn so much about taking care of the horses and the operation of the barn (which is no small thing for 26 horses!). In the horseback riding lessons, you ride of course, but you also learn how to improve your riding skills and to become more comfortable on the horse. All of this is great fun, if you’re a little “horse crazy.” But even if horseback riding isn’t your number one thing to do, you’ll still enjoy being down at the barn with your friends, and you’ll learn a bunch too.

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October 17, 2008March 17, 2023 • Summer Camp • rbc

Camp Builds Teen Self Esteem

It’s not something we talk about much— mostly because it happens without any extra effort —but camp is a place where everyday you can achieve something great. You can make something, do something extra-ordinary (if ordinary is what happens at home or at school), meet some challenge, and feel good about it. For a teen girl, especially, camp proves you can do it, and you can believe in yourself. It’s a real boost to your self-esteem. Sure things can sometimes go badly, like when you can’t quite hit the target at first, but camp is also a place where you get plenty of encouragement and support from the people around you. Particularly at Rockbrook, we’re not competing. We’re all trying new things and enjoying each other’s company, no matter what our “score.” Here too, it feels so good when you realize that these people are your friends, no matter what. Ask the teen girls that come to camp every summer, and they’ll tell you. It’s just like this.

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October 6, 2008March 5, 2020 • Horseback Riding • rbc

Equestrian Jumping at Summer Camp

One of the most common questions we receive about our equestrian summer camp for kids is if girls can learn how to jump. Naturally, equestrian jumping is an advanced skill and it requires a great deal of practice and knowledge to do it safely. That’s why, while the answer is “yes, you can learn how to jump,” you must first be good at most other horseback riding techniques. Equestrian jumping requires a high level of accomplishment that you have to work up to. Step by step, you’ll have the right amount of challenge added to your lessons, and eventually you’ll be ready for jumping. With good personal instruction and well-trained horses like those at the Rockbrook summer equestrian program, kids can learn how to jump. Over your time at camp, you’ll be really good!

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October 6, 2008June 1, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

A Word from a Counselor-in-Training

CIT’s are a vibrant and important part of the Rockbrook Camp community. They work with the counselors to help campers have a great summer and they also get to know “Hobart,” our dishwasher machine, quite well because they are responsible for washing dishes! Here’s what Savannah Tally said about making the transition from camper to counselor this year at Spirit Fire:

Eight years ago, I found myself as a new camper at Rockbrook who was completely overwhelmed with the excitement of experiencing new things and making new friends. My first cabin ever was Junior 4 side A. The year was 2001 and I don’t think I would have guessed that this new summer camp would become a staple in my life; a safe-haven where I would come to reconnect with friends and make memories that would last a lifetime. This was my first year as a counselor, well Counselor-In-Training to be exact, and although I knew Rockbrook and its ways inside and out, I was horrified to come. I mean, of course I was pumped and ready to lead a cabin of my own, but I had no idea how camp would receive me in my new role and more importantly how I would receive it. I won’t lie in saying that it was a difficult transition from camper to counselor but once I got the hang of it, it became like clockwork. Each day is a new day and sometimes I still find it hard to accept the fact that I will never again be a camper at Rockbrook. It does get easier as each day passes along though and now instead of being excited about making a cool bracelet in curosty or climbing the alpine tower, I’m excited to hear what my girls did that day. I love to see all you campers making similar memories to those I have and I’m so glad to make memories with y’all. So even though I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum, Rockbrook is still the same ol’ Rockbrook. I am now back in Junior 4 side A and I can say that no matter where we come from, what we like/dislike, or even how many years we’ve been here, we can all find common ground and love in the heart of the wooded mountain. Of course it didn’t take me eight years to figure that one out.

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October 3, 2008March 18, 2024 • Arts • rbc

Learn to Knit at Camp

Can I learn how to knit at camp?

You sure can! In fact, knitting has become one of the many needlecrafts at camp girls are really enjoying. You might think it’s old fashioned or something that only your grandmother would do, but knitting is really cool! And it’s not that hard to learn. With some basic pointers and a little practice you’ll be able to make a simple scarf, or even something more difficult like a hat.

The younger girls particularly like using the “Nifty Knitters.” These are special round, handheld looms that make knitting tubes really easy (there’s one on the shelf in the background in the photo). They are a fun way to see how knitting works and to make quick progress on a project before moving on to using knitting needles.

Knitting is one of those great crafts girls can easily do at home. It can easily become a life-long activity to enjoy for years to come.

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September 29, 2008May 27, 2020 • Adventure • rbc

Kayaking Adventure at Camp

Outdoor adventure is one of the core camp activity areas at Rockbrook. Our outdoor adventure summer camps focus on backpacking (hiking and camping), rock climbing, whitewater rafting and kayaking. Most recently, rock climbing and kayaking have become increasingly popular, especially with the teens and older girls at camp.

After learning basic kayaking techniques like how to “wet exit” (That’s when you get out of the boat when it tips over upside down.), or how to “roll” (That’s when you roll back rightside up instead of wet exiting.), we head out to some of the local rivers for more outdoor action. For the more advanced paddlers, we’ll even take trips to the Nantahala river, a Class I, II and III whitewater river nearby. The mountains of NC, and the rivers that run between them, are just perfect for summer camps and this kind of adventure.

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September 26, 2008May 7, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

Camp Friendships for Staff

One of the most common things that counselors say on their final evaluation is that they never expected to get so close to the other counselors. Camp offers a rather rare opportunity these days in that you actually get to live, work and play with the same people! It’s kind of like being in a tribe. With less time glued to your phone, and more time to get to know other people (and yourself), and with so much common experience, funny moments to laugh about, you can’t help but grow closer to the people around you. A real community based on friendship!

Here’s some of my favorite friendship quotes and pictures from this summer:

“A friend is someone who reaches for your hand, but touches your heart.” – Kathleen Grove

camp bracelets on three wrists — Friendship Bracelets, Oh my!

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and STILL likes you.” – unknown

“A friend hears the song of my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.”

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September 24, 2008June 1, 2020 • Children • Jeff Carter

Children Learning at Camp

Cory Doctorow wrote a nice post reminding us of the classic book about children and learning by John Holt, “How Children Learn” (originally published in 1967). The book, which has been revised and reprinted, can still be found on many education course reading lists because it makes a very important point teachers and parents easily and often forget. His basic claim is that children are natural learners, and that instead of always forcing them to adhere to a generalized curriculum, they should be encouraged to follow their curiosity, engage what they are passionate about, expand their perception and awareness, and experiment with the world around them. For adults, this means being less of a tyrant (“You have to…”) and more of a partner along for the adventure of growing up. Holt has observed this kind of adult coercion in the realm of learning to be often more counterproductive than not. Of course, parents and teachers need to provide some guidance at times and encourage or facilitate certain educational activities (or social behaviors!), but any habit of rigidly adhering to particular learning styles, contexts, or subjects may shape children to the detriment of their strengths and talents.

What does this have to do with camp? If most of the year is comprised of adults telling children what to do, what to study, what to learn —and you have to agree it is— then having a break from that in the summer is incredibly important and valuable. After all, that’s what camp provides. Campers arrive at camp and decide for themselves (without mom, dad, or teacher) which activities to take and how they will spend their time at camp. With some guidance from the counselors, they make their own experience, explore their own interests, build their own understandings. The great feelings that come with this freedom is certainly one reason girls love their camp experience.

Camp is so meaningful for them because they are active participants in making it meaningful.

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September 17, 2008May 25, 2020 • Tennis • rbc

Tennis Games at Camp

Tennis always seems to be a popular sports activity at Rockbrook. Sure there are lessons and chances to have an instructor teach you more about how to be a better tennis player. Sure we have little tournaments (both singles and doubles) now and then. We can always improve our tennis skills like that. But we also play plenty of games, activities that while involving tennis are designed to be as fun (and sometimes silly) as possible.

One is called “Around the World” and it involves a group of children dividing and lining up on opposite baselines. A child from one side hits to the other side and after hitting, runs and gets in line on the other side. It’s kind of a rotation of players as everyone runs to the right around the court. The goal is to see how many people in a row can hit good shots back. You can imagine; it’s lots of action and lots of fun!

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