Packing Our Bags

As the sun sets on the evening of our second day of camp, I want to take a moment to share with you some of the principles and ideas that are driving this season's programming. Our theme, Around the World in 24 Days, was born of a desire to create a unifying concept that would tie all camp activities together while providing a forum for children to develop their skills, nurture their talents, and cultivate those values that we cherish in our community. As such, the second through fifth weeks of our session have been assigned a "country" that campers will explore. Starting on Monday, the kids will be immersed in a study of South Africa. This will be followed by Egypt, Japan, and, in our final week together, Mexico. Our programming specialists have been hard at work researching these countries and identifying ways that they can celebrate and integrate the respective cultures into our curriculum. Additionally, we have scoured libraries for relevant books and games that we can use to supplement our work during group times.

One of the key components to this new approach to programming is choice. Campers in Divisions Two and Three will have the opportunity each week to select activities in cooking, performing arts, studio arts, and movement from a menu of options. We want to demonstrate to campers our respect for their own interests and empower them to make decisions for themselves about how they want to spend their time with us. Of course, we also want them to have a wide range of experiences. When they rank their choices, we will encourage them to select a specific number of activities related to the "country du jour" and to make sure those activities span our content areas. Additionally, when we review their preferences and place them in electives, we will balance our desire to honor their interests with our hope that they evolve throughout the summer and step outside their normal comfort zones. The younger children in Division One, who are not quite ready to exercise guided choice, will benefit from adapted versions of the most popular activities. We are confident that this approach will create an incredibly positive experience for campers and staff alike.

As we ready for our adventures, we've identified this week as "Getting Ready to Travel" week. In Studio Art, campers have been preparing for their trips by creating "passports" that they will use in the coming days to track their journeys. Each time they participate in an activity that is country-specific, they will receive a stamp to acknowledge their experience. We are excited to see them become cultured and well-traveled and look forward to celebrating those campers whose passports fill up!

Tomorrow we will venture into the wild and head off-site to Cochitutate State Park and Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau, who lived at Walden Pond from 1845 to 1847, wrote a book about his experience there that helped to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment. If you read Walden, you will find it filled with quotes that closely align with our own core values. Here is a favorite that is particularly apropos to our summer ventures:

Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.