Hi Folks,
We’re all ready for some normal in our lives, and for those of us who get to spend our summer at camp, this summer in particular, while not entirely normal, will bring us a long way there. We can’t wait!
In the most “normal” years, some kids are very excited to get to camp, and some kids are very nervous about it. And, of course, some kids are both excited and nervous. Those feelings are entirely normal.
But this has not been a normal year, so it is likely that those feelings may be exaggerated this year.
This has been a stretch of more than 12 months during which we have all spent intensive time together as families, isolated from others out of necessity. That is not normal, and as a resulting side effect, our kids have grown more accustomed to having their parents close by. Interestingly, parents have also grown more accustomed to having their children close by. That includes knowing exactly where they are at all times, what they’re doing, when they’re doing it.
Human nature is sometimes unpredictable. While we might expect kids to be chomping at the bit to get out from under their parents’ watchful eyes and garner some independent experiences, the precise opposite may, in fact, be true. Your kids may be more anxious about spreading their wings this summer than they’d otherwise be.
Children, especially younger kids, thrive with routines. Going to camp is always a disrupter of at-home routines, but it may be far more so this year because the routine of being home and with their parents will not have been disrupted for more than 15 months by the time June arrives. Yikes!
Here’s the big take away: these concerns actually make going to camp much more important and valuable for our kids this year than ever before. THEY NEED CAMP NOW MORE THAN EVER! Maybe so do their parents.
It may be comfortable having your kids at home and knowing their whereabouts every second of every day. Comfort is nice, but as youth development experts have told us forever, that kind of comfort actually deters growth. This is why camp is so vital. It is safe, it is healthy, and it introduces enough challenge and disruption of comfortable routines to facilitate important growth in our kids.
Our mission is to help kids develop into caring, confident, and socially connected adults. Parents choose to let their kids go to camp because they share those goals, and they know camp provides a unique opportunity to let kids learn what they are capable of, INDEPENDENT from their parents.
So if you or your kids seem especially uneasy about separating for camp this summer, of course it makes perfect sense. Let’s work together. Reach out to us, and we can help you. We have the same goals. Once we all get to camp, we will make great strides getting there. And when your kids return home with more confidence and independence (not to mention stories, smiles, exuberance, new friends, etc), it will be abundantly clear how important this camp summer was for them and for you.
WELCOME BACK TO THE FOLLOWING “OLD-TIMERS” WHO WILL RETURN NEXT SUMMER:
Blake Ablin | Chicago | IL | Ethan Maydew | Glencoe | IL | |
Toby Askenazi | Denver | CO | Oliver Morales | Dallas | TX | |
Bennett Crosby | San Diego | CA | Noah Morales | Dallas | TX | |
Eli Garber | Glencoe | IL | Shea Reynolds | Columbus | OH | |
Leo Garber | Glencoe | IL | CJ Rizzo | Breckenridge | CO | |
Jeremy Grover | Los Angeles | CA | Jack Sargent | San Anselmo | CA | |
Isaac Guthmann | Glencoe | IL | Jack Schwarcz | Nashville | TN | |
Emmitt Hechtman | Northbrook | IL | Judah Vallejo-McCann | Cleveland Heights | OH | |
Sam Kline | Chicago | IL | Jaden Walkowiak | Thousand Oaks | CA | |
Pierson Lipschultz | River Forest | IL | Owen Yoffe | Louisville | KY | |
Milo Lopez | Tempe | AZ |
WELCOME ABORD TO THE FOLLOWING NEW CAMPERS:
Abbott Arthur | Columbus | OH | Nathan Liberman | Mequon | WI | |
Arlo Arthur | Columbus | OH | Abram Lopez | Tempe | AZ | |
Klay Baron | Middleton | WI | Aidan McConville | Des Peres | MO | |
Teddy Brown | Kansas City | MO | Teddy Merritt | Evanston | IL | |
Dawson Burns | Neptune Beach | FL | Avery Oppenheim | Glencoe | IL | |
Ben East | Cheyenne | WY | Andrew Sachs | St Louis | MO | |
Heath Estepp | Memphis | TN | Jasper Sandel | Farmington | NM | |
Charlie Falconeiri | Hingham | MA | Lex Silberman | Glencoe | IL | |
Aaron Gepner | Middleton | WI | Hudson Smith | Wilmette | IL | |
Evan Gourdji | Chicago | IL | Lincoln Smith | Wilmette | IL | |
Grady Hooten | Durango | CO | Ryan Stenander | Chicago | IL | |
Leo LeGault | Lyons | CO | Thomas Stenander | Chicago | IL | |
Charlie Szot | Highland Park | IL |
This is the last post from our Chicago office. Things are getting packed and we are ready to move up to camp!
Benches up,
Sam & Prestin