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. At our pony camp, 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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.”
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.
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!
Often when parents begin researching a camp for teens they have some kind of growth experience in mind, something they hope their teen will gain from his or her time at camp. Sure they want the experience to be fun, but parents also believe it will be formative too. There’s a lot to go through in your teen years, so having a place in the summer that helps is a good thing.
Some camps are explicitly designed to address these kinds of issues and provide specific activities to help teens gain “personal power,” build “self-confidence and self-esteem” and develop “deep friendships.” Others, and Rockbrook’s teen program fits in here, emphasize creating a friendly and noncompetetive environment where teens can relax, be themselves, and try new activities. In this kind of setting and with true encouragement and support, teens find they have hidden talents and abilities and they do grow more confident and capable. The culture of camp, as the foundation for the excitement and fun, is the driving force for the transformation our teenagers experience and parents appreciate.
Here’s an interesting article that caught our eye over at the Christian Science Monitor, “Mom to Dad: ‘Think Jimmy’s Doing O.K. at Camp?'” It’s a short piece written by Dave Horn about his time as an overnight camp counselor in the 60s. While parents today have online photo galleries and blogs to see how their children are doing at camp, he notes just a few years ago there were only letters. Parents had to mostly wonder and wait to find out about their camper’s camp experience.
But what if the campers didn’t write home much? After all, they’re having too much fun to stop and write a letter. Camps helped by asking the camper’s counselors to write quick notes to parents, reassuring them that all is well at camp (a tradition Rockbrook still follows). To help his young campers even more, Dave Horn turned this letter writing into a game. He had each camper take turns playing the “boss” and dictating a letter home. The camper would sit down and recite what he wanted to tell his parents and Dave would type it out on his portable typewriter. In this case, 1960s technology helping kids communicate from overnight camp.
I wonder if he mentioned hula hooping in your bathrobe? 🙂
