camp girl archery pull

summer camp kids an counselor
• Counselors • Jeff Carter

Common Mistakes for Camp Counselors

3 Common Mistakes

Life as a camp counselor is a lot of fun, and is rewarding for all sorts of reasons, but it can sometimes be challenging too. Children are learning and growing, and in the camp environment away from their parents, it’s common for them to struggle a bit, need assistance now and then, and even make “less than ideal” choices leading to unwelcome behavior.

Seeing these behaviors and struggles, it’s common for camp counselors to want to “fix” the situation. They’ll rely on their instincts, their pre-camp training, and character to help their campers improve. At the same time, it’s also easy to fall into certain traps and make mistakes, despite their best intentions.

Here are 3 common mistakes camp counselors often make.

summer camp counselor fun

1. Telling children the things you don’t want them to do, rather than the things you do want them to do.

We often tell children, “Don’t fight! Stop running! Quit arguing! Leave that alone!” This way of communicating leaves children with a much better idea of what we don’t want them to do than of what we do want them to do. No wonder many child-care workers are exasperated with the ways children behave! It takes awareness and a concerted effort to break this habit, but learning to say what we want from children pays dividends. Calm, clear expectations are the goal.

2. The tug-of-war trap.

When a child says, “I’m not making my bed! My parents didn’t pay for me to come to camp to work; I came to have fun,” most novice counselors fall for the bait and immediately get caught in an argument about who paid for camp and whether the camper must make the bed or not. A better strategy is to understand what might be motivating the child’s behavior by kindly asking how you might work together to accomplish the goal at hand.

3. Missing the feelings in what children say.

We become fixated on behavior and forget that a child may be acting out of fear, sadness, or a sense of loneliness. Unless counselors learn to identify and name feelings, much of what campers communicate to them may be lost. Pause and listen. Bring out your compassion, and be patient. You’ll soon understand what feelings are present.

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vintage camp girls mountain view
• History • Charlotte Page

Rockbrook Camp Council

Sunset on the Hill

We had a nice conversation the other day with Belinda Strickland aka “Sparkie” who was a camper at RBC in the 1960’s.  She told us that one of her fond camp memories was being chosen to be part of the Camper Council. The Council met weekly with Jerky and discussed lots of topics including the upcoming special events for the week.  Most of us here in the office had not heard of the Camp Council before.  What stories or memories do you have of the Council?  If you have any information on the Council or any other stories you would like to share we would love to hear from you!

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Girls camp campfire
• Summer Camp • Jessi Nixon

The Scent of Wood Smoke

Here is a poem we sometimes read at Spirit Fire. It was written by Canadian, Mary Susanne Edgar. Like Nancy Carrier, she founded a girls camp and was its long-time director.  That camp was Camp Bernard, located in Ontario. This poem does such a beautiful job conveying many of the sentiments of camp life and why it means so much for the girls who experience it.  We love it!

girls camp campfire

To An Old Camper
by Mary S. Edgar

You may think, my dear, when you grow quite old
You have left camp days behind,
But I know the scent of wood smoke
Will always call to mind
Little fires at twilight
And trails you used to find.

You may think someday you have quite grown up,
And feel so worldly wise
But suddenly from out of the past
A vision will arise
Of merry folk with brown bare knees
And laughter in their eyes.

You may live in a house built to your taste
In the nicest part of town
But someday for your old camp togs
You’d change your latest gown
And trade it for a balsam bed
Where stars all night look down.

You may find yourself grown wealthy
Have all that gold can buy.
But you’d toss aside a fortune
For days ‘neath an open sky
With sunlight and blue water
And white clouds sailing by.

For once you have been a camper
Then something has come to stay
Deep in your heart forever
Which nothing can take away,
And heaven can only be heaven
With a camp in which to play.

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confident teenage camp girl
• Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

More Benefits of Youth Camp

Camp Benefits Girls

I spotted an article discussing how parents can understand why residential summer camps are worth their cost. It’s true; sleepaway camps are usually expensive and can cost between $1000 and $2000 per week. And while it’s also true every summer activity (e.g., other educational opportunities, extracurricular activities, family vacations, trips, and entertainment) costs something significant, what are the unique benefits of an overnight camp experience that can justify its price?

First of all, the American Camp Association has a lot to say about the benefits for youth of attending summer camp. We have written about it before here and here (and especially here!), but you should visit the ACA Web site to see what they say.

One clear, obvious benefit to camp is the fun and concrete skills kids gain from the wide range of camp activities available.  By trying everything at camp, girls learn how to be an archer, a swimmer, a knitter, a tennis player, an actor, and a horseback rider, to name just a few.  They learn to do things, exciting new things that can easily turn into life-long pursuits.

Perhaps more importantly, a quality camp experience provides kids intangible benefits as well. Here’s how one camp director in the article put it.

“Besides all the exciting activities and friendships made, the immense value in camp comes in the development of key lifetime skills and attributes such as confidence, cooperation, communication, new skills and decision-making, to name a few. Camp goes beyond a summer session. It’s unique in that it really is about each camper developing their best self for life… In that regard it is priceless.”

More than other summer activities, a sleep away summer camp experience endows children with valuable life skills, provides positive adult role models, supports them with consistent encouragement, and all within the kind of well-rounded wholesome environment all too rarely found these days. These are lasting benefits that can really make a difference in a child’s life as she becomes an adult.  It’s pretty clear; with that kind of benefit, camp is definitely worth it.

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Camp swim time
• Swimming • Jeff Carter

Let’s Go for a Swim!

Swim Summer Camps Girls

No matter what set of activities you sign up for at camp, there are two times each day when the lake is open for “free swim.” These are right before lunch and right before dinner. It’s up to you how you spend this free time, but it feels really great to jump in the lake for a swim after you’ve spent the day at other activities around camp. You might have been playing basketball with friends in the gym, or climbing the alpine tower, or just walking back from horseback riding, but chances are you’ll be at least little hot and sweaty. It’s summer after all! So head down to the lake, and you can meet up with some of your cabin mates and find out how they’ve been spending their day. The Rockbrook swimming lake is fed by a mountain stream, so as anyone will tell you, it’s guaranteed to cool you off.

Let’s go for a summer swim!

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how to make a lanyard at summer camp
• Arts • Jeff Carter

How to Make a Lanyard!

Summer Camp Lanyard Patterns

It just wouldn’t be camp without making a lanyard. That flat colorful cord, twisted and tied, seems to be a part of every girl’s summer arts and crafts. Even camp alumni speak fondly of learning to make decorative lanyards. Here are four different lanyard patterns to learn. Have you seen these?

1. Diamond Braid.
The first pattern to the left is called the “Diamond Braid.” Like most of these braids, getting started is the hardest part.  This one is unique too because it’s more braiding that tying knots, and will require a knot at the end to keep it from unraveling.

2. Cobra Braid.
The second one is usually called the “Cobra Braid” because it makes a flat lanyard reminiscent of a cobra’s head.  Some people also call it the “Ladder Knot.”  If you know how to tie a square knot, or even how to tie your shoes, you’ll be able to make this lanyard.

3. Box Braid.
The third pattern is probably the best known camp lanyard pattern.  Known as the “Box Braid” or the “Square Braid,” it makes a regular 4-sided strand.  The important thing for this arts and crafts project is keeping your strands straight and your knots tight.

4. Round Braid.
The last pattern shown here is a variation on the box braid, and is usually called the “Round Braid.”  To make it, use the same 4-strand weaving knot, but each new knot makes a slight turn crossing over (rather than parallel to) the previous knot.  Like all these patterns, you repeat the knot and braiding over and over until your lanyard is long enough or you run out of cord.

Don’t forget that these are just starting points. You can combine them, switch from one the other, add a twist to a strand, or maybe even add a bead to create your own summer arts and crafts project. Go ahead and experiment, and you’ll have something really cool.

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South Carolina Girls Camp
• Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

SC Camps in the Mountains

South Carolina Summer Camp Girls

Looking over the listing of girls attending Rockbrook, this summer and in the past, it’s interesting to see how many campers are from South Carolina. It’s not too surprising if you realize a couple of things about RBC.

First of all, camp is located only about 8 miles from the South Carolina border. You have to go up the mountain to get here, but you can drive to Rockbrook in less than 6 hours from just about anywhere in South Carolina. Here’s a map showing camp’s location.

There is also a long tradition of Rockbrook directors being from South Carolina. For example, our former director “Jerky” (Ellen Hume Jervey) was a native of Charleston, SC.  Later, the Stevensons and the Whittles where also from SC.

Another thing to appreciate is that before air conditioning was common in the south, heading to the mountains was the best way to cool down in the summers.  South Carolina summer camps would even establish outposts in the “upstate” for this reason.  It’s hard to beat the mountains in the summer!  If you’re from Columbia or Charleston, you know what I mean.

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Carrier ice skating lake
• History • Charlotte Page

A cold day at the Rockbrook lake

Ice skating on Rockbrook Camp lake
Nancy Carrier and her children,  Henry and Helen, enjoyed a cold day at the frozen Rockbrook lake. We think this photo was taken in the 1930’s.

We sure have had a cold winter this year in Brevard, but take a look at this photo from our archives. Can you imagine ice skating on the frozen Rockbrook lake? It looks like the Carriers were having a great time sliding around- they didn’t even need ice skates!  These days we drain the lake in the winter, but if we didn’t it would probably look just like this picture.

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Unplugged summer camp fun
• Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

Unplugging at Camp

Kids Enjoy Summer Crafts without Technology

Spotted a nice article about summer camp in the American Way Magazine. It’s called “Summer, Unplugged.” The author, Winston Ross, interviews several camp directors and camp kids to find out what’s so attractive about being at camp. There’s a lot of good stuff to read, so you should go check it out.

One thing that stood out for me, was the discussion about technology and how camp is so nice because it doesn’t have cell phones, video games, television and the Internet. Campers admit that it’s really tough to give that stuff up at first, but once they settle in at camp, they appreciate being “unplugged.” One girl put it this way.

“It’s kind of like a symbolic way of stepping out of the real world,” she says. “It allows me to take off from home, leave my worries, thoughts about college, and stress behind. I just go escape.”

Turning off your technology allows you to really engage all of what camp offers— the real friendships, the physical activity, and the chances to explore and discover the natural world. Instead of being entertained by a flickering screen, you get to create a fun time with your friends. You get to actually do really cool things instead of just sitting around “watching” something. …Take off your shoes, soak ’em in the creek, and let’s make a basket.

When you think about it, there’s a lot more to life, to being human, than “facebooking,” text messaging, and watching “reality” TV. These days, it takes a real effort to get past all of that so you can exercise those more important parts of who you are. Camp is special place to help with that effort. It’s perfect for reminding you that life is more fun in the real world.

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