Camp Eden Woods: Parent Interview with Marc Andre and Anne Marie

Watch our Parent interview with Marc Andre and Anne Marie to hear firsthand what children experience and how they grow at Camp Eden Woods.

Transcript of the interview

How did you know that this was the right fit?

Marc Andre 

It was a bit of a guess. The kids had gone to camps in Quebec, but at the time I was working in Ottawa and we were looking for a camp within three or three and a half hours of Ottawa. We were also looking for a camp that displayed a family feel [and was near] water. 

It was important to not have too dense of a daily schedule. When we saw the initial schedule with a morning break and a lot of downtime for the kids to relax, that was quite appealing for us.

Anne Marie

Also, the international [aspect] of this camp was important for us. With our kids being from Quebec, they're French-speaking at home, so we didn't want them to be the only ones who were not fluent in English. They don't feel apart from the others in Camp Eden Woods.

What's unique about the camp?

Marc Andre

The international dimension is incredible. We weren’t expecting so many students and counselors to come from abroad: Spanish, French, German, from Israel, also Eastern Europe, some from the US, and obviously, from [different parts of] Canada. The international diversity of the cohort was quite appealing for us.

Anne Marie

Also, the rhythm of the camp is quite unique because they have a lot of free time. They like to make bonds with the other campers. This is very important because kids nowadays are very structured in their day-to-day world and activities, in school, in sports. 

This camp is great because it gives them time to cool down, not be always organized and not optimize every minute of every day. That's important during the summer. We believe that this capacity of taking downtime is forgotten in what kids have to learn to become better adults. We don't want our kids to have a nervous breakdown at 40. We have to [let them] take time for themselves and not [be so structured in] everything. That’s a big strength of Camp Eden Woods.

Marc Andre

Another thing is that Lee and Sharon are constantly reinvesting in camp. It's pretty impressive. Every year, there's significant progress. 

From an infrastructure perspective, for instance, two years ago, they put this huge slide and redid the whole dock area. They're also constantly reviewing the menu to make sure that it's well balanced from a nutritional perspective. They're also diversifying their curriculum of activities. We find that also quite unique: the mentality to reinvest and always make it better.

Was there any personal growth you saw in your child?

Marc Andre

Significantly! This is going to be their sixth year. Obviously, 2020, their camp was closed. But every year when they come back, we see more autonomy: day-to-day routine, thinking, in developing one's opinion on certain things, appreciating diversity…

Anne Marie

..Leadership, social relations, how they resolve their problems on their own, with the [help] of adults, because there are plenty of good role models amongst the counselors—and the directors, Sharon and Lee, are, [also]. But the kids have to manage their relations by themselves. That is a big strength that they're learning at camp. 

Also, I remember the first year we came to get the kids at camp, our youngest cried when he saw us. I said, “Oh, honey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?”  He said, “I'm so sorry, but I didn't miss you at all!” We thought he was crying because he was so happy to see us. But actually, he cried because he realized that he had forgotten we existed, which is a very good thing! Because kids learn to be autonomous when they're away from us. Being very invested parents, it's important for the kids to be away from us. When we're not invested, they invest in themselves.

Marc Andre

They come back more forged [together] as siblings. They spend a month together and they can rely on each other for whatever happens at camp. Obviously, there's a few French-speaking, either from Europe or from Eastern Canada, but if they just want to vent [about] something, as siblings, they're there for one another. We often notice that they come back more [bonded], which helps for the school year. 

Anne Marie

Also because it's not a big camp, they see each other every day. There's a big family feel in Camp Eden Woods. A lot of siblings go there, sometimes three, four siblings in camp. The family feel is reproduced in the home. They're friends with brothers and sisters, so they do get closer in camp. A lot of camps are only girls or boys. The fact that this camp has a mix of boys and girls was also one of the reasons why we originally chose Camp Eden Woods. 

What would you tell parents who are hesitant about the overnight aspect?

Anne Marie

I'd say kids need time away from their parents to develop. 

It's also very good for parents to have time without the kids over time. It's like a time-off button for the kids and for the parents. It's very good because when all the family is back together, it's like a reset. That's important. 

Also, kids learn to be independent when they’re away from their parents, which is very important because as parents, we want to grow independent young adults. We want them to be able to develop and learn. They're always going to be our children, but at some point they're not going to be children. They're just going to be adults around us. We want them to be independent. And overnight camp is essential to that, we believe.

At Camp Eden Woods, also, the fact that there are showers and bathrooms in the cabins is very important. I remember when I was young, I used to go to overnight camp, and we had to go out in the forest to go to the bathroom at 2:00 AM. But then we wouldn't go to the bathroom at 2:00 AM because we were too afraid, and then we wouldn't fall back asleep. We'd come back from camp exhausted because we hadn't slept in weeks! But the fact that there are showers and bathrooms in the cabin makes it much, much easier for younger kids at 5, 6, 7 to have a certain normal routine. That helps us to benefit from all the good things that are offered at camp.

Marc Andre

The benefits are proven. For long-term development purposes, it's good that they are away from the family dwelling for a while. 

What I would say is to start small. We didn't send our kids to camp off for a month from the get-go. It was a camp close by, just north of Montreal. We sent them for three or four days, and it went really well. Then we quickly piled on to get to a month. But the response was very, very positive. 

Even before the first three-day trial, the school had done a two-night overnight, you see their reaction, it’s going well. You give them confidence, and it just snowballs to two, three, four weeks, quite quickly. You've got to try it. 

Anne Marie

Also, there are pictures and videos posted every day. We look at the pictures every day, and sometimes it’s three to four days without seeing your kids, and you think, How come I haven't seen my kid in four days? Relax. You're going to see him tomorrow, and then we see them. 

The Camp makes an effort to post pictures of mostly every kid. So you can expect news. When you're a parent sending your kids to overnight camp, you have to let go of a lot of things. Which is very good for parents. Don't expect them to shower every day. Don't expect them to bring everything that they brought to camp back. Because they're going to lose half their stuff. But that's actually part of the learning process. You need to make mistakes on your own and learn from them. That part is important. 

Some of our friends' parents resist sending their kids to overnight camp, but it's all about letting go. You have to let go of things that you think are important, but overall in a lifetime, not really important if they don't brush their teeth for a week or two weeks or even a month. I'm not saying the counselors aren’t watching any of this. They are. But in the big picture, it's not going to be like home, and that's okay.

What does your child say about Camp Eden Woods?

Marc Andre

Oh, wow. They get into... A lot of times, they're in the routine of camp. So there's songs in the mornings, routines at lunchtime and dinner time, contests, jokes. They talk a lot about that. They're really into the routine. A lot of the singing at camp, songs. There's the cabin feel also. They bring back a lot of those memories.

Anne Marie

The friends, the relationships.

Marc Andre

The friends, the relationships. They also talk about… 

Emma, for instance, likes water skiing. They're out in the lake every day with the boat, and she's water skiing. Edward likes to go on the dock and fish. He actually pulled out the biggest pike in the history of the camp. They often reference the free time slots where they're just hanging out with their friends, eating a bag of chips…

Anne Marie

You're at camp and you can do whatever you want. They love their camp. When they come back from camp, we usually have a 2-5 day period where they're hard to reach because they want to go back and they don't understand why life isn’t always like at camp. Why do we have to come back to a normal life? We can live that all the time? That part is actually a good indicator of how much they love their camp. 

Usually, the months pass, and around March, April, May, they're in their school routine with their friends, they're a bit reticent. They say, “Why again am I going one month to camp?” But then we remind them, “Remember how you felt in August when you came back?” “Oh, yeah, that's so great. Mom, you remember the stars?” “No, honey, I haven't been to camp.” “The stars are marvelous, and the water is so good, and the singing, and we can dance whenever we want, and we play volleyball.” So they bring back their memories, and then they remember how much they love it.

Final thoughts?

Marc Andre

For folks considering camps in Northern Ontario or Northeastern Ontario, you should seriously consider Camp Eden Woods for the following reasons. According to me, the family feel, it's focused on the kid's pleasure, the infrastructure, the fact that they have a lot of free time. 

They also have visits. If you're considering sending your kid to camp for four or six weeks, you can visit halfway. Then the international dimension is not to be overseen. It's significant how they learn from other cultures, other sports, other interests, quite well balanced between these multiple facets.

Anne Marie

The fact that our kids went to Camp Eden was actually shaped a lot of their personalities and learning in a good way. They did develop some independence, and they did learn how to relax and focus on important things. Let's remember that it’s a device-free camp. This is also very important for the kids. One month without your phone and your device is actually a good thing in the learning development of the kids.

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