Camp Options 'Cause Summer is Just Around the Corner...Almost

Summer camps now a days, come in all shapes, sizes, themes and duration.  When I was kid, there were day camps and sleep away camps.  Period.  And, whether you commuted for the day or stayed for a month or two, these camps offered water activities, sports, arts, music and drama.  Today it seems that you can find a summer experience for all kinds of kids, themes, and affinities.

At http://www.camppage.com/ , for example, you can find a multitude of camping options (which you can then search by regional locations) according to "camp type" or by "camp activities":

• Camp Type
• day camps
• residential camps - coed
• residential boys' camps
• residential girls' camps
• adventure travel camps
• organization camps (such as 4H, Boy or Girl Scouts, JCC, YMCA)
• religious camps (such as Bible study, Catholic, Christian, or Jewish)
• special interest camps (such as military, weight loss, or wilderness therapeutic camps)
• special needs camps (for cancer, asthma, diabetes, learning disabled, ADD, or physically disabled campers)
• summer retreat camps
• Camp Activities
• academic and summer enrichment programs (for academic credit, animal interaction, college and SAT preparation, computers, ESL, general academics, gifted, language immersion, leadership, marine sciences, math, nature, computer programming, science, and space and aviation programs)
• adventure camps (specializing in travel, canoeing, kayaking, caving, challenge courses, hiking and backpacking, mountain biking, "primitive skills", rock climbing, sailing, scuba, snows skiing and snowboarding, whitewater activities, or wilderness experiences)
• arts summer camps (music, acting, crafts, ceramics, creative writing, dance, drawing and painting, film making, magic, performing arts, photography, pottery, sculpture, theater, or woodworking)
• computers and technology
• robotics
• video game design
• horseback riding
• sports camps

Pretty awesome... I want to go to most of these now, myself! 

Here is a video from ID Game Academy.  At first when seeing this I was saddened to see rows of kids sitting indoors at computer stations working independently for the summer.  I think summer should be fun.  But I realize that  "fun" comes in all shapes and sizes ant that this is AWESOME experience for certain teens:

Today, summering requires attention, research, dialogue, and planning.  Parents need to consider economics along with your kids' needs, affinities, strengths and weaknesses while also evaluating the staff, philosophy and physical aspects of various summering options.  Do you use the summer to get a 'leg up' for school, or is this the time to let your kids relax, breathe, and have fun in (hopefully) stress-free environments? Is there proper supervision and safety concerns?  Who is running the camp?  Who do they hire?  Who will be working and supporting your child? 

For our kids, my husband and I believed summer was the time to regroup, have fun and chill, so we initially sent our (nerdy) kids to a traditional summer camp.  The thing is, they didn't love it.  As a kid, my husband loved camp, while I did not.  So, I understood my kids when they were unhappy.  We were at a loss what to do the following summer.  Then the kids' school contacted me to tell me they were recommending our kids for Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Program - CTY.

What they meant (after a closer look) was that my fifth grader qualified to take the SAT's and if she scored above the 70th percentile she could attend their summer programs (kids below firth grade take a national high school entrance exam and must meet similar criteria).  Our kids met the CTY criteria and ended up spending many happy summers there, and not only did they love learning some really cool things (cryptology, learning about and creating inventions, history of disease, international study and model UN to name a few of the courses they took), but they made friends they have kept through high school, college and beyond.

Aside from being a place for bright, motivated learners to chose one from a list of dazzling courses to study - CTY offered my kids the opportunity to interact with kids just like them.  For the first time, they felt they belonged.  The classes were small and aside from classes there were afternoon activities (choice of sports, crafts, nerdy games, movies) and weekend dances.  CTY is not for every bright, motivated kid, but it was for my kids.  The point is that sometimes you have think out of the box and use the summer to fill all sorts of social, academic, and /or emotional gaps left open throughout the school year.

I suppose there are so many types of camps because kids are different.  They have different skills, needs and affinities.  Too bad school isn't like this...yet.  Schools and educators have to better accommodate kids with different skill sets, strengths, weaknesses, affinities and learning styles. But, at least kids have the summers to recoup, rediscover and recover from the stresses and challenges of school.

Here are some websites you may want to check out for summer planning:

• http://www.camppage.com a resource for all types of camps by type, activity and location
• www.summercamps.com/ another resource that helps find a variety of camps at various locations
• http://www.kidscamps.com/ yet another resource for a variety of camps and locations
• Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth - CTY
• Why sleep away camp? Are you and your kids ready? How to select a camp:

Please feel free to leave additional summering opinions/ options/ opportunities/ or suggestions in the comments.  In closing, I hope you enjoy this one last video about summer camp from Whose Line:

 

Promoting Expressions of Care... Or... Where Has Mister Rogers Gone?

My daughter posted this You Tube feed and it really touched me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXEuEUQIP3Q&feature=player_embedded

 

Mister Rogers Defending PBS to the US Senate in 1969

I admit that in my house we occasionally made fun of Mister Roger's sappy low-budgeted show, and laughed as Eddie Murphy spoofed 'Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood' on SNL, but there was something warm and comforting about watching Mister Roger's Neighborhood.   More importantly, there were kids from disadvantaged and troubled homes who needed his soothing, reassuring love and constant commitment.

This clip shows Fred Rogers passionately championing public television and the need to promote "Expressions of Care" while demonstrating that angry feelings can be "reasonable and manageable."  My daughter (in her 20's) who grew up watching Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and the occasional Mister Rogers, wrote the following reaction: "As a child watching his programming, I didn't quite realize how profound that man was, but man did we loose a leading light when he died."

Just look, listen and feel his passion!  It is breathtaking.  Where are our champions today?

Let's talk about bullying. It's time to model and teach our bullies more appropriate expressions of conflict while empowering their victims to speak up and not feel embarrassed.  Gifted kids should not need to hide their gifts for fear of ridicule.  New kids, kids of different ethnicities, sizes, and colors.  Rich kids, poor kids, just plain different kids should not feel they have to hide who they are. My kids, for example, should not have had to attend Johns Hopkins University's CTY (Center for Talented Youth) to feel like they belonged. Their schools and clubs should have been able to. Schools, athletic teams, social clubs need to focus on social as well as academic or athletic goals. We need to teach our kids to how to effectively communicate needs and desires and to feel compassion for those who may not be like them.  There are two blogs I came across that do just this, you may want to take a look at them:

• http://becomingsupermommy.blogspot.com/2010/10/bullying-and-sexual-identity-parenting.html?showComment=1298998969920#c610541541713008769 
• www.dorkoids.com 

Now let's talk about graphic novels, and violence:  Fredrick Wertham published Seduction of the Innocent (1954) which protested the harmful effects violent imagery in mass media and comic books had on children. [Ironically, the early superhero comics were about standing up to bullies and fighting for the voices of the 'little guys'.] Wertham called television "a school for violence" and his book helped spark a U.S. Congressional inquiry into the comic book industry that led to the "Comics Code."   Comic book publishers were to submit their works to the CAA (Comics Code Authority) and those "acceptable" publications would receive a seal of approval.  This almost killed the comics industry until recently.  Now authors, publishers and readers are finding that comics are not just for adults and there are some truly wonderful, nonviolent fiction and nonfiction publications for kids of all ages.

Yes, there are still violent graphic novels published.  There are also very violent novels, movies, plays, music and music videos published and produced as well.  It is up to us to promote the positive messages and argue the negative ones. 

The Answer as I see it: We need to validate angry feelings while modeling and nurturing appropriate acceptable means of expression.  And while Rodgers' puppetry, educational /video clips, even his clothing are now way outdated, his message should not be.  We need to promote "expressions of care" in the way we behave, in how we communicate, in the shows we watch, the books we read and the songs we sing.

What we can do as parents and teachers:

• It is really important to validate feelings.  
• If your child or student is angry, insulted, upset, embarrassed, overanxious, etc. acknowledge those feelings - even if you feel they are unwarranted.
• IF  unwarranted, first, calm him or her down.  Once calm, talk in a soothing voice pointing out concrete examples of why he or she may be overreacting.  Listen carefully to what they are saying.  Continue to acknowledge their feelings while discussing other possibilities.
• For a young child, help him or her express feelings.  You may want to role play responses (with puppets, dolls, legos, train characters - whatever they will best relate to, find 'fun,' and least threatening).
• Brainstorm possible solutions and ways to respond.  For a young child who is reluctant to talk about this, you may want to role play with puppets or dolls.  When role playing help show your child how to use their words.
• When brainstorming, or as a followup, you may want to discuss favorite book, movie, television characters who have dealt with similar issues.  Discuss how they resolved the problem.  Did it really help? Why? Can the strategy work for your child?
• These discussions should be held privately with your child or student.  They can then be discussed later, more generically in the classroom as a whole - possibly using story characters (so students involved are not embarrassed or further upset).
• If the problem continues, you may want to seek further help from school or medical professionals.
• If you see bullying, name calling, shoving, break it up.  Don't let it go.  Talk to the parties involved.  
• In your classroom do a lot of group work, mixing up students - helping them learn to work (and hopefully) respect each other a bit more.  Supervise group work carefully, monitoring dialogue between frequently targeted kids whenever possible.
• If you find your child has been bullied, talk to him or her about it.  Talk to the teacher or responsible adults (coaches, playground/cafeteria supervisors - where appropriate). 

These are only a few suggestions.  I'd love to hear what you do.  Let me know how you are promoting expressions of care with your kids.  Let me know how you are dealing with violence and bullying.  Let's learn from each other while supporting each other - while shaping future Fred Rogers'!