Adventure for Girls

Girls of all ages get at least a taste of adventure while at camp. Even the youngest girls (who, having finished kindergarten, can be as young as 5 years old!) are able to gear up and climb our 50ft Alpine Tower. Even before leaving the ground it’s an adventure— fitting the helmet, tightening the harness, clipping the rope to everything, and learning the belay commands. This kind of outdoor adventure camp activity introduces girls to a few technical details of climbing while at the same time providing a nice balance of physical and personal challenges. It’s balancing up little holds and remaining calm and focused despite a fear of heights.  All good things!

Atlanta Camp Party

A week or so ago we traveled down to Atlanta Georgia to visit Rockbrook alumna Melissa Thurmond and her family. She hosted a great camp party at her house, where she invited friends to come and learn about Rockbrook. As you can see, there were quite a few Atlanta girls at the party interested in camp. Some were young and planning for camp in 2010!

Melissa’s daughter Cody is really a third generation camper since both her mother and grandmother attended camp.

It’s fun to see those Georgia summer camp girls get so excited.

The Rockbrook Camp Bell

Here’s something that all the girls who attend Rockbrook will easily recognize— the camp bell! This is the bell we ring to signal the whole camp when it’s time to change activity periods, come to meals, and of course, wake up in the morning. It has such a clear tone and is easily heard throughout the entire camp, even up on Castle Rock.

It’s actually a very old bell, older than the camp itself by more than 20 years, which means it’s well over 100 years old. For as long as anyone around here can remember it’s been perched up in the big oak tree at the front of the dining hall, ready to be rung by pulling on the rope that leads to the dining hall porch. It’s one of those very familiar parts of camp that everybody loves.

Friends at Kids Camp

Summer Camp is a place where girls make some of their very best friends, the kind of friends that understand you and like you for who you really are. Away from the confines of home and the expectations of school, girls at camp are free to explore, to build real relationships, and live beyond their current patterns. The nurturing and encouragement of the summer camp community fuels this development, and as girls find themselves enjoying the people around them, they experience and practice what it means to be a good friend to others. Of course, some of this can happen in other contexts, but kids summer camps provide a special balance of community and independence that is uniquely suited for girls to grow, to nurture the habits and values that foster friendship. It’s really no surprise girls say their camp friends truly are their best friends.

Summer Camp for Kids Survey Results

After each summer we send our camp families a brief survey where they can tell us about their experience with Rockbrook. It’s a great way for us to learn what we’re doing expecially right and also what we might improve next time around. One question we ask is “What factors most influenced your decision to select Rockbrook as your daughter’s summer camp?” The answers are pretty interesting. Here are the top three:

1. A trusted recommendation
2. Rockbrook’s reputation
3. Rockbrook’s overall camp philosophy

Altogether 68% of the responses mentioned one of these factors as most important.  In other words, for our parents, it’s not the mountain location or even the different activities that makes Rockbrook stand out among summer camps.  It’s the overall feeling of the place and all the positive experiences other families have had over the years.  It’s the “big picture” that makes Rockbrook’s summer camps for kids so special.  Wow, that’s pretty neat.  Thanks everybody!