Summer is Here; So Is Camp

Across the state, camp directors are assembling their staffs, making last-minute maintenance repairs, watching the forecast, and awaiting the arrival of thousands of youngsters for another camp season. Regardless of the type of camp – coed and single gender, day and residential, arts and sports, traditional and tripping – camp personnel are putting in long hours in preparation for even longer ones. Camp is fun and challenging, a chance for kids to grow and learn. And for those who operate camps, the time has come – a culmination of months of off-season work to give youngsters experiences that make those months away from the classroom active and enjoyable and, yes, educational.

Camp teaches skills across the board. Kids discover new passions, make new friends, and visit parts of Maine they’ve never seen before. They do so under the supervision of professionals whose mission it is to provide a safe, nurturing, fun, and stimulating experience for every child enrolled. Camp directors wear as many hats as the children they reach – educator, counselor, stand-in parent. And in the coming week or two, those directors will assume all those roles for the campers who pass through their gates.

Since last fall, this blog has addressed camp from a broad range of perspectives. What follows is an overview of some of those blog posts, with links to specific topics. And next week, the blog will be back with new input from those busy camp directors.

Why Camp?

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/03/03/home/why-camp-from-nature-to-friendships-to-skills-the-real-questions-is-why-not/

Managing Homesickness

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/04/10/home/conquering-homesickness-a-life-lesson-in-resilience/

Building Leadership Skills

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/03/16/home/camp-leadership-programs-teaching-skills-for-camp-college-and-life/

Camps and Spirituality

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/04/03/home/beyond-the-self-camps-fostering-spiritual-growth/

Camps and Sustainability

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/05/18/home/camps-and-sustainability-practicing-it-teaching-it/

Teaching Problem Solving

http://kmillard.bangordailynews.com/2017/05/11/home/problem-solving-at-camp-a-skill-for-a-lifetime/

 

Visit these and other posts for a look at how camps will serve kids this summer. And in the coming weeks, read about the specific experiences camps are offering youngsters across the state.

 

Kristine Millard

About Kristine Millard

Kristine Snow Millard is a free-lance writer from Portland and a fan of all things summer, including camp. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Hampshire, a master’s degree (communications) and a law degree from Boston University, and, most recently, earned an MFA in creative writing from the Stonecoast MFA Program at the University of Southern Maine. She is currently helping to edit The Art of Outdoor Living, a guidebook used for Junior Maine Guide candidates, and is a regular contributor to the Maine Summer Camps newsletter. She has also contributed to the American Camp Association New England newsletter. Kris has written regularly for Maine Women and My Generation, both publications of Current Publishing. She has written features for the Maine Sunday Telegram, and is also a free-lance grant writer. A parent, she is also deeply committed to the subject of emotional wellness, and has seen how camp can foster whole and healthy kids. She is working on a memoir about living with clinical depression, and an essay she has written on that topic is forthcoming in an anthology to be published by Talking Writing, an on-line literary magazine.