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Hailey Eisen, Our Kids Go to Camp 2012
Camp Life Skills :
1. How to Make More Friends 2. How to Overcome Challenges 3. How to Get Fit 4. How to Love the Earth 5. How to Lead
When it comes to developing strong leaders, camp provides both implicit and explicit training, Glover says. Whether they're on a canoe trip, playing capture the flag or living together in a cabin environment, campers are learning how to be a leader implicitly through play and their everyday experiences, a form of experiential education.
"Kids don't go to camp wanting to be better leaders or more self-aware—they go because it's fun and the positive outcomes happen as a result," Glover says.
According to the Canadian Summer Camp Research Project, most campers demonstrated an increase in emotional intelligence and self-confidence, both characteristics attributed to good leaders.
As campers enter their teenage years, there are more opportunities to obtain explicit leadership skills. Most camps offer an LIT (leader-in-training) or CIT (counsellor-in-training) program that walks young people through the skills they need to plan activities and programs, care for younger campers and communicate effectively.
Whether it's by cleaning their cabins without being asked, helping younger campers find their way to the dining hall, or contributing their talents to a play or talent show, youth of all ages learn to take initiative at camp.
Learning how to take the lead essentially teaches youth how to be good citizens—a skill that has become increasingly valuable in the 21st century, Glover says. "They learn that we all have a role to play to contribute to a better society, and nothing happens if you sit back and wait for someone else to act."
At camps like Camp Kahuna, kids are free to learn by experience or through the mentorship of camp leaders. "We work with kids to help them find their own unique gifts and talents and use those to be successful," says Scott Graham, the director of the overnight leadership-based camp in Ontario's Halton region.
For 11-year-old Maddy, the skills she acquired at the camp last summer are now being put to use in the schoolyard. At her school in Oakville, Ont., she joined a program set up by her principal to mentor younger students during recess.
"Camp taught me that age doesn't matter when it comes to being a leader," Maddy says. "It also gave me a huge confidence boost. Before I was very shy, and now I'm one of the most outgoing people."
No matter what type of camp you choose, there are life skills to be acquired. Hidden beneath the sports and arts and crafts, the singsongs and campfires, the ropes courses and camping trips are invaluable skills that help transform campers into more responsible, confident and kind students, citizens and human beings.
- With files from Lisa Van de Ven and Christl Dabu |
