We’ve had one of the best first sessions of camp ever, and the fun is only beginning!  Session 1 is the only session this summer that will have TWO special days, including our amazing 4^th of July camp kickoff special day!  We had a great time at our first BBQ/Campfire last week, and this week at the outdoor movie screening of Finding Nemo!  With only six new full-time staff this summer, we’ve got the strongest staff ever and it’s going to be an amazing summer!

Finding Nemo is a great movie for camp because it’s the story of a father and son that have been through a tragic experience and are forced learn to face life with courage.  In the movie, Nemo becomes frustrated with his father’s fear and ends up on a journey that takes him across the world.  His father’s heroic decision to face his fears and pursue his son through all sorts of danger is one that resonates with every parent.  Our Alvernia parents know the value of giving kids a taste of independence by sending them to camp, but that doesn’t make it any easier to let go. 

All of our parents want what’s best for our kids, but it can be hard to know what that looks like.  I count our parents as heroes, because each day is an adventure into uncharted territory.  No matter how many children you have, each is different, and it’s a daily challenge to work together to find out what’s best for each individual, and then have the courage to carry that out.

As parents and caretakers, we are charged with the task of preparing children to become successful adults.  Overwhelmingly history teaches us that the happiest, most successful adults are those who are able to deal with failure and disappointment well.  Child development experts call this resiliency, the ability to bounce back when things go wrong.  Camp is one of the best places to learn resiliency, because every day there are opportunities for things to go wrong.  We have fantastic staff and facilities, and we are well-prepared for emergency situations, but every day there will be campers who come in second in a footrace, who don’t make a best friend on the first day of camp, or who are teased by other campers trying to up their social standing. 

In many ways youth development experts have tried to sanitize the world completely of disappointment and negative experiences.  Some schools and camps have done away with the concept of winning in sports, because they don’t want to damage the self-esteem of the “losers”.  Rather than teach kids to avoid dangerous areas, every play area is padded to the nth degree.  Instead of coaching our children through difficult situations, we indignantly call teachers and coaches and shift blame, inadvertently teaching our kids that they’ll get their way if they complain loudly enough.  Even Camp Alvernia is not immune.  Ten years ago we gave out awards to campers who excelled in certain areas, until complaints from non-winning camper parents became so loud the camp began giving awards to every single camper.  When staff could have been focusing on helping children navigate disappointment, they instead spent hundreds of man-hours tracking points for each child and making up certificates so no one would have to feel left out.  What a waste of effort!

Protecting children from disappointment is well-intentioned, but in some cases it’s the easy way out.  It’s far more difficult to teach children what to do when things go wrong.  But resilience is far more important than getting 100 at NYSSMA, scoring a goal in soccer, or even getting good grades academically.  None of our children will have perfect lives, but we can give them the tools they need to come out of any difficult situation better and wiser. 

At Camp Alvernia we know it’s ok to experience disappointment or hardship.  We focus on never giving up, on trying our best, on making up with someone after a disagreement rather than avoiding them. That’s what camp is all about!  Let’s all have the courage to teach children to accept responsibility, to win or lose graciously, to get back up when they fall down, to face each challenge head-on, and to keep trying until they succeed.