Kids Craft Camp

We found this great photo from last summer and it reminded us of how much fun it is to tie-dye t-shirts at camp. It’s always exciting to see what your shirt looks like when it’s done, and so difficult to wait overnight while the dye sets! And like all the craft activities at camp, getting to bring home all of your creations makes it even better.

How many tie-dye shirts do you have? Let’s see…. one every summer at camp, at least!

Overnight Traditional Summer Camps

We often describe Rockbrook as a “traditional” summer camp. Being founded in 1921, its age is one good reason for this. Likewise, when you step into many of the buildings at camp, each of the three stone lodges or the “Goodwill” cabin for example, you have that feeling of being back in time. Then, of course, many of the camp activities have deep roots going back to the earliest years. Girls today still enjoy horseback riding, hiking and camping overnight, archery, canoeing, and crafts, for example. Perhaps most significantly, there are many special events and aspects of daily kids camp life that make it uniquely itself. For example, there’s the end-of-camp “Spirit Fire,” the camp songs sung in the dining hall, and the encouragement girls find to try new things, meet new people, and live simply with an appreciation of the natural world.

There are certainly modern aspects of camp as well, but understanding these features, you can see how Rockbrook is, at its heart, a “traditional” summer camp.

Noncompetitive Activities for Kids – Drama

Drama has always been a popular activity at Rockbrook. Throughout the week, the drama activity periods involve improv situations, puppet shows, charades, and other games, but during each main session the campers and drama instructors also produce a full-blown play. Costumes, scenery, music, choreography, and of course characters presenting a story— it’s an elaborate production performed for the whole camp at the end of the session.

The camp play brings together so many different campers and staff members, all in a cooperative and noncompetitive spirit.  It’s a wonderful example of our kids camp philosophy, a great opportunity to create something together, and for all of us to marvel at the results.

P.S. This photo is from last summer’s production of Alice in Wonderland.

Games for Girls

An article in the New York Times this weekend about recess in school made me think how the “unstructured time outside with other children” that camp provides is so important. The article is by Debra Nussbaum and is here. It reports that many American elementary schools are reducing the time devoted to recess. With an emphasis on academics and required standardized testing, the school day is busier and unfortunately recess has been one of the first things to be cut. For many parents, this is an alarming trend.

Recess is important because it provides kids freedom to play as they (and not adults) choose. It’s physical, outdoor time for exploring and growing.

“It’s a time for children to relate to their friends. Society has taken away a lot of children’s childhood. Play is children’s work.”

One of the great things about camp is its ability to provide a safe context for girls to interact in this way. Between our organized activities and meals, campers can play in the creek, sit around and talk, play tetherball, read under a tree, or just run around together— all within the bounds of camp and close by a helpful staff member. As time for recess shrinks at school, time at camp seems even more important.

P.S. Of course, the value of recess as play incudes the value of being outdoors.

How to Play 7up

Have you ever played the game 7up? Some people call it “heads up 7up.” It’s a very simple game for kids that’s often played at school. At our summer camp for girls, we’ve seen all kinds of variations… outdoor versions, gym versions, and rainy day versions. We’ve got the basics described on this page of our main site: play 7up.

Can you think of any other ways to play the game?

The Newest Rockbrook Camper

Sarah had her baby! Here she is: Lily Garnett Carter. She was born on September 4th (Labor Day!), was 9 pounds, 1 ounce and 22 1/2 inches long. Wow! We’re so happy to welcome her to the Rockbrook family.

RBC in the news!

The website LoveToKnow Kids has just published a feature article about Rockbrook and an interview with Jeff, one of our co-directors. It’s a great discussion of what makes camp so special. Check it out by clicking here.

A Place to Grow

In her book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Wendy Mogel critiques what she sees as a troubling trend in parenting these days— an excessive tendency to shield children from any kind of discomfort.

“Parents are so busy protecting their children that they don’t give them a chance to learn how to maneuver on their own outside home or school.”

Spending time at summer camp serves as a welcome counter force to this trend. As they choose their own activities, sleep in rustic cabins, live with and make new friends, young people at camp are given a great opportunity to grow. Far beyond what parents might orchestrate at home, camp encourages kids to become more independent, to try new things, and to learn from the experience.

It’s a lot of things (like a really fun time!), but perhaps most fundamentally, camp is a setting for exploring who we really are.  Stepping out of our normal routines, we can try new things, endure discomforts and setbacks (try again), and marvel at unexpected accomplishments.