Summer is just around the corner and all parents are feeling the pressure. What to do with my kids over summer break? Summer school? Family vacation? Enrichment activities? Summer camp? It's a lot to juggle and consider. Our theme this year, 'Camp is FUNdamental', has many meanings behind it, with the biggest component obviously being F-U-N! Summer camp is fun, but what other benefits do your children gain from attending summer camp? Let's dive into a few!

First and foremost, summer camp is for everyone! Between sports, games, swimming, arts & crafts, archery, ropes courses, horseback riding and everything in between, there's something for everyone to love and enjoy! While campers are participating in their favorite activities or maybe some new ones, there's so many other things happening that they don't even realize! Camp is a safe place to take risks. Since there are so many options and so much versatility, it's an easy way to try something new. Sure, there will be times they aren't perfect at something or maybe even fail, but the beauty of camp is you try again. Counselors and fellow campers are there to support and believe in them, so even if the first time isn't perfect, they'll master it soon enough and they're sure to have others trying again alongside them. Through this process of trial, campers gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. They feel a supported independence and then may want to try something new again. To quote Isabella from Encanto, "What else can I do?"

Through a "near peer" mentor, (counselor) campers can learn to adapt, be flexible, and problem solve! It's just not "cool" when a parent says, "try and do _________ this way", but a counselor can say something similar and all of the sudden, they're willing to try! As a parent myself, I watched this firsthand with my own kids as they attended summer camp. I could tell them to try the water slide or try the rockwall a hundred times and no way! Their counselors encouraged them and the response was completely different and the excitement in their faces and speech when they told me about it later, is something I always hope they have! As a parent/guardian, I challenge you this summer to ask your campers, "What did you do new today?" and "How did it go?" Celebrate their failures with them and encourage them to try again. It's FUN to watch them become independent and begin to problem solve. After all, our camper's joy becomes our joy!

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- Mrs. Rachel