Let’s Go Rock Climbing!

When kids come to Rockbrook for camp, they know there’s going to be outdoor adventure happening, things like backpacking, kayaking and whitewater rafting, but they are sometimes surprised about all the rock climbing available. That’s mostly because there is simply so much rock to climb right here on the camp property, not to mention some of the famous rock climbing areas nearby in the Pisgah National Forest. But it’s also because learning to climb is so popular! No matter how old you are —yes, even the youngest kids— you can climb a real rock just about every day at Rockbrook.

Here’s how it works. Usually at breakfast or at dinner the night before, the rock climbing staff will announce a trip they have planned. Like for all of our adventure trips, the campers can then decide if they want to go. They make their own decision weather to go.  It means giving up their regularly scheduled activities, and that can be a hard choice if you really love horseback riding or archery for example, but it also means enjoying the thrill of getting up on the rock. It helps to have experienced the fun of rock climbing to realize these trips are worth signing up for, but even after just one outing, campers learn how much of a treat they are. Some of these trips are short hikes up to a couple of the routes on Castle Rock, while others will be all-day adventures to one of the climbing areas on Looking Glass Rock.

The Rockbrook Camp rock climbing program is a big part of the adventure activities around here. Hey, let’s go climbing!

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!

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.

Camp Friends

For years now, we’ve been talking about the benefits of a camp experience for children, the incredible rewards that stick with them long after the active fun of camp life fades back to the demands of home and school. We talked about the meaningful transformation kids experience, personally, socially, intellectually and physically. In so many ways, camp is educational, in the best sense of the word. It’s an experience that children can draw upon later in life as they encounter new challenges, meet new people, and branch out beyond the familiar. Camp is great for kids, in truly important ways.

If you ask the girls at Rockbrook why they love camp so much, they won’t hesitate to explain that it’s the people, their friends that make it so important. There’s no doubt about it; at camp you make your very best friends. There’s time to relax and plenty of super fun things to do, so it’s easy to make friends.

In addition to the real benefit of learning how to make friends, it’s also true that simply having these “camp friends” can be something valuable later in life. Campers share so much together and get to know each other so well, they naturally grow very close, and the camp becomes a close-knit community of supportive people. Years later, for example when they are looking for a job, or getting married, or moving to a new town, these connections (this “social capital”) can really make a difference. Camp friends are there for you!

Kids Going Outside

There’s a fun article in the March 28th issue of the New Yorker Magazine that lists the “features” of “going outside.” It’s by Ellis Weiner and is entitled “Just in Time for Spring” (here’s a summary) In the tradition of a radio commercial for a new product, the article suggests that “going outside” is an “astounding multipurpose activity platform that will revolutionize the way you spend your time.” Of course the humor here is that going outside is not new at all; though, it has been too often forgotten as we spend more of our day interacting with electronic media and filtering our experience through technology.

So what does going outside promise? Here are a few highlights.

1. real-time experience through a seamless mind-body interface.
2. authentic 3-D, real-motion visuals.
3. true surround sound.
4. complete interactivity with inanimate objects, animals and Nature.
5. the opportunity to experience actual weather.

Rockbrook is the kind of outdoor camp where all of this is so easily true. Kids love being outside at camp. They love all the chances to actually do things, to use all their senses, and to experience the wonders of Nature. Of course, we’ve mentioned before just how good this is for kids as well.  If you think about it, it’s good for all of us!

All Their Senses

“I worry about how much time my kids spend looking at a screen.”

We’ve heard this more than once recently, perhaps not so surprisingly when you consider how many electronic screens are part of our lives these days. For our kids too, in addition to television, there are cellphones, computers, tablet computers, ebook readers and hand-held video games. Screens are everywhere, even in our pockets! With this kind of availability and often unlimited access to technology, we now see that the average 8-18 year old child in America is spending 53 hours per week consuming electronic media.

We’ve discussed before the value of unplugging from technology and how camp gets kids out of the virtual world of screens and into the actual world of nature. Camp turns off the screens and gets kids actually doing things instead of just watching.

It’s worth underlining another benefit to turning off the screens. It’s the simple fact that by getting kids outside and giving them lots of fun things to do, they stimulate and utilize all their senses. They feel things— mist in the morning, hear things— owls at night, smell things— galax along the trail, and even taste things— s’mores (!), that can’t come from a screen. By bringing all of their senses into play, instead of just their eyes and ears, kids activate and develop their brains in important ways that can enrich their future experiences.

This is another way camp really matters to kids. It’s fun in creative, imaginative, and sensuous ways. It’s stimulating in the best sense.

5 Ways Camp Helps Children Grow

Summer camp professionals around the country, largely encouraged by the American Camp Association, have begun to refer to camps as “Youth Development Organizations.” Being at summer camp, we all agree it seems, is more than just “fun and games.” It’s beneficial for children in unique and lasting ways. Summer camps are dedicated to helping children grow, certainly also to have a good time, but perhaps most importantly, to gain valuable skills and foster personal development.

But what are the ways children grow while at camp? We’ve often said Rockbrook is “a place for girls to grow,” but what kind of growth can we expect?

Here are 5 powerful ways a summer camp experience fosters youth development and growth for children:

1. Social growth: Going to a sleepaway summer camp means joining a close community of people living and playing together 24/7. It builds inter-personal skills like sincere communication, conflict resolution, a willingness to share, and an enthusiasm for working as a team. Perhaps more importantly, the highly social nature of camp really encourages children to make friends easily. It’s a fun, down-to-earth, friendly environment that naturally draws children together.

2. Character growth: Summer camp, simply because it’s living away from home, is an ideal opportunity for children to become more independent. As they make decisions for themselves, for example when selecting their activity schedule, children learn to embrace the freedom (opportunities) and responsibility (consequences) their choices entail. With its non-competitive activities and with the care and support of the camp counselors and staff, camp provides children fantastic opportunities to succeed. It’s a real boost to campers’ self-confidence and self-esteem when every day includes accomplishment. Of course, it can also include setbacks and disappointments, but summer camp is always supportive and encouraging. It inspires resilience by providing role models of courage and determination.

3. Humane growth: An overnight camp like Rockbrook is also a great place for children to strengthen and develop greater humane values. Starting with a general warmth and sensitivity toward others, camp fosters cooperation and respect. Camp is also a place to meet children from different countries with perhaps unfamiliar cultural assumptions and religious traditions. It provides real world reminders, despite these differences, of our common humanity.

4. Practical growth: Residential summer camps provide an incredible variety of activities for children. They combine quality instruction, equipment and facilities specially designed to challenge kids’ sports abilities (like tennis and horseback riding), nurture their artistic and creative talents (painting, ceramics, and dance for example), and build their outdoor adventure abilities— all practical, real world, life-long skills.

5. Physical growth: Camp is chock full of action! Whether it be swimming, jumping, climbing, dancing, riding or running, Rockbrook keeps girls in motion. It introduces them to all kinds of ways to develop physical skills. With all the great food (made from scratch!), outdoor living, and big active fun, camp has important health benefits for children.

Everyone knows Rockbrook is super fun, but in these five ways, it’s powerfully formative as well.

Miami Rockbrook Girls

We’re back from a great trip down to Miami Florida talking summer camp with the girls down there, connecting with current campers Morgan E., Isadora K., Sarah G., and Bella M., and meeting a bunch of new girls interested in attending camp this summer. It was so great to see everyone come out on a Wednesday night.

Super camp dads Jonathan Eismann and Daniel Kron (of Genius Jones) got the word out to their friends in Miami and the Miami Beach area, and decided to hold the party at Pizza Volante, the Eismann’s awesome pizzeria restaurant in the design district of Miami. We all enjoyed tons of great pizza and cold drinks as we watched the Rockbrook movies and talked about our favorite sleepaway summer camp.

These parties are always such a fun way for campers to relive a bit of camp and for new girls to learn about Rockbrook and all the zany fun we have in the summer.

Next time you’re in the Miami area, be sure to stop by Pizza Volante for a perfect slice, and around the corner, check out Genius Jones and its functional, smartly-designed products for parents and children.