Building Self-Esteem at Camp

How does summer camp help children gain self-esteem?

Parents know it’s important for children to feel good about themselves, to be proud of their abilities and accomplishments, and to be accepted socially. That’s why we take such great care to provide experiences where children will succeed. Music lessons, organized team sports, even the “right” haircut and clothing— we hope all of these will help our kids be more competent, confident, and ultimately happier in life.

Many times this strategy works. Our child may find a talent, rise above the ability of others, gain some praise and recognition for it, and thereby feel good about being “good.” Being recognized for an outstanding ability, winning the competition for social attention, can be a real boost to a young person’s self-esteem. But what if a child doesn’t quite measure up, and she’s not the prettiest, the smartest, the most athletic, or the most talented in some way? What about her self-esteem? Is winning some unspoken competition the only way to feel good about herself?

Fortunately, there’s more to self-esteem than just individual success. It’s also about feeling competent in the face of life’s general problems, having a sense of “personal capacity.” It’s also about being able to simply have fun with others, to be able to make decisions for oneself, and feeling included in group endeavors. Interestingly, self-esteem is also about cooperation and community. In an environment defined by encouragement, mutual respect and collaboration, it’s not important if a child doesn’t stand out as an individual because of some extraordinary talent. Instead, a sense of self-worth and dignity can arise from doing something great together, from being a part of a group accomplishment.

And that’s why camp is so ideal for helping children grow their self-esteem; it is exactly this kind of environment. On the one hand, summer camp is a place for kids to make their own decisions, try new things, and discover individual achievement.  There are small moments of personal success everyday.  And on the other, there is incredible community spirit at camp, with groups of kids working together to solve problems, taking care of each other, and collaborating on creative projects. Regardless of their age or ability, their experience or talent, children at camp are reminded everyday that they can do it, and that they can believe in themselves. Everyone’s in it together at camp, and while we each may not hit the target with every arrow we shoot, there’s laughter and joy among friends no matter what. It’s through building this kind of community that all the girls at camp strengthen their self-esteem. Around here, you can count on it!

Are You A Kayaking Girl?

Are you a kayaking girl? Do you love fitting all the gear— helmet, PFD, skirt, and paddle —and squeezing into the boat? And the best of all, do you love getting out on the river and playing in the rapids? Catching eddies, surfing waves, and just playing on the water?

Maybe you do, or maybe you’ve always wanted to, but either way camp is the perfect place for kayaking. For example, just about every day down at the Rockbrook lake, girls enjoy kayaking classes. One of the camp whitewater staff members will be teaching basic paddling techniques, but also important skills like steering your boat, controlling your paddle, and learning what to do if you capsize your kayak. If you know all this, it’s still fun to get out on the lake and practice your stuff, and if you’ve never worked on your roll, then this is a great way to get started learning it.

In addition to kayaking on our lake, Rockbrook girls are running the local whitewater rivers too! Every week we offer several day kayaking trips to the Green, Tuckaseegee, French Broad or Nantahala rivers. This is a chance to take the skills learned at the lake and put them to use on moving water, to learn more about reading the rivers (“downstream V !”), and honing your ferrying and eddying techniques. Around here, every kayak girl is having a blast!

2011 Photo Yearbook Published

This fall as we travel around to our camp slide show parties, we’ve got something cool to show you— our new yearbook of photos collected from last summer. It’s an awesome full-color, bound photo book showing some of our favorite shots from all three sessions. There are 112 pages and more than 200 camp photos in all! Hit that Fullscreen icon and enjoy!

Don’t forget to tell your friends about the book by hitting that share icon!

Cool Posters for Girls

Graphic artist Amanda Vissell has done it again and drawn four more super cool posters especially for girls. Each has a simple declaration and shows a girl smiling with great confidence and independence— “Explore,” Dream Big,” “Get Dirty,” and “Be You.” Click the image to see a larger version.

The artist explains:

I got down to basics a little more this time, imagining what we all need to see when we wake up in the morning. To know its not just okay to be who we are, but when we are ourselves we shine.

We love these posters because they line right up with camp, with the kind of encouragement and empowering experience time at Rockbrook provides our girls. Around here, we’re always exploring, creating something, dreaming up something imaginative. It’s just part of our daily life in the summer to be outside and get a little dirty in the forest. And perhaps most importantly, Rockbrook is a place where girls can relax and find the freedom and support to be their true selves. It’s where they can uncover hidden talents and admirable aspects of their personality. Camp is a magical place because, at least in part, it makes all of these possible.

Ready to explore? Let’s go!

Hannah Margaret in Italy

Look who traveled to Italy after camp and who proudly wore her Rockbrook T-shirt on the trip. It’s Hannah Margaret, from the 2nd July mini session. Click the photo to see a larger version.

Here she is climbing an Italian Alp nearby Lake Como (Lago di Como) in the Lombardy region of Italy.  These Rockbrook girls are on the move!

Where did you travel after camp? Send us some news!

Zumba Night

Today was a return to regular activities after our celebration yesterday. Rockbrook girls of all ages were happily back building and glazing pottery, shooting arrows, bullets and basketballs, climbing our Alpine Tower and Castle Rock, riding horses, and making all kinds of arts and crafts. The giant beach ball saw some action and the tennis courts stayed busy. Every activity area, especially the lake, had a group of enthusiastic girls chatting and having fun.

Like most weekdays, we also offered an optional out-of-camp trip today. That’s how we do trips; they are announced in advance so girls can decide to go if they want to. Going on a trip means missing their scheduled activities while away, so considering a trip is a real exercise in choice, a concrete chance to learn that selecting one thing means neglecting another. Today Michelle guided a busload of girls on a hike up to the top of Looking Glass Rock for a picnic lunch. This is a gorgeous trail winding past tall trees, over exposed rock slabs, and through thick rhododendron groves. It’s about 3 miles of mostly up hill hiking, but ends with a huge payoff— a 180-degree overlook view of the mountains across a deep valley below. It did start to rain, even hard at times, on the way back, but the girls still had great fun hiking (downhill thankfully!) even when wet.

This seems to be tour season at Rockbrook because we’ve given several tours of camp everyday this week. Part of that is probably because families are traveling over the Fourth of July holiday, but they also have heard about Rockbrook from a friend and wanted to check it out. In a couple of cases, they were alumnae who wanted to introduce their daughter or granddaughter to Rockbrook It’s always great fun for us to show people around Rockbrook, to meet some of our counselors (“They’re all so nice!” one mom said), and to see camp full of life. There are lots of friendly faces and excited children to meet, and occasionally, with the right timing, a yummy, freshly baked muffin to eat!

Tonight’s optional twilight activity was a dance party of sorts down in the gym. Actually it was a “Zumba” workout session set to the pop music of Lady Gaga. Think aerobics, coordinated group movement, but with modern music and beats. Elizabeth, Austin and Frampton kept the whole crowd of girls moving as they taught the group different spins, jumps and kicks to go along with the music. It’s all very high energy and exhilarating. It might be surprising, but for excited girls, there’s nothing like a little heart-pounding exercise right after dinner. Plenty of girls chose to hang out instead of joining the Zumba party, with all the lines coming together for their evening programs. Skits, more dressing up, plenty of laughing and giggling, and a homemade cookie with milk before bed. Another real Rockbrook day.

Beginning Archery

Can the youngest girls at camp try archery?

Yes they can! Even the youngest campers, the girls who have finished kindergarten and first grade, can sign up for archery. Just like all the campers, they too can learn about the equipment, safety procedures and archery shooting techniques.

To fit a smaller person, we first of all provide special bows that are easier to pull and shorter arrows to match these smaller bows. Also, to make things easier overall, we move the shooting line much closer to the target.

Likewise, the Rockbrook archery instructors take extra care to introduce the youngest girls to the important aspects of the sport. With plenty to learn when you’re just starting out, it’s a big adventure right from the beginning.

Beginning girls tend to really like archery right away, and it doesn’t take long for them to improve, hit the target more consistently, and even score a bullseye. It may start quite young, but archery can be a lifelong sport for all!

Posters for Girls

Mark Frauenfelder alerts us to these really cool posters by the graphic artist Amanda Vissell. They are drawn especially for girls, each having a message inspiring confidence and independence. “I am my own Captain” is our favorite, but there’s also, “I can save myself,” “I am wild,” and “I am a maverick.” Click the image to see a larger version.

The artist explains:

I decided to make a line of posters for girls. In a world where girls grow up feeling like their value is how they look these are meant to be a friendly reminder that they can do anything. That they can dream up their lives and make it happen. In the end we all do, it’s just how big we dream.

Camp is another reminder that girls have untapped abilities, that they can do amazing things far beyond what they have even imagined thus far. Camp provides daily encouragement and support as girls step out in new ways. Over time, the girls who attend camp build up a book of empowering experiences from which they can draw later in life. Rockbrook is a place for girls chock full of moments proving each of these posters.

You are your own captain!