Great Work in the Great Outdoors

Here's a great short video from Stomping Ground about the benefits of working at summer camps. After many years working for and around camps in just about every capacity, we can say they're absolutely right. Whether you've gone to camp as a kid, or never attended one in your life, the joy of camp continues on staff. Learn leadership, problem solving, and how to work with people - while having a great time to boot. Find out more about joining our team at http://campchippewa.com/join/staff.

A Difference of Opinion: New Authority Figures at Camp

Camping legend Dr. Michael Thompson (no, not that Michael Thompson) wrote a great article about the benefits kids can receive from different authority figures in their lives. Dr. Thompson praises the ability of camps to provide a wide variety of role models for kids – from counselors to CLTs and older campers – and gives kids a chance to learn outside of the (often tired) environments of school and adults. Check out his take on new role models here.

First Times at Camp

First time campers open the door to a whole new world of experiences. Cody Hill’s account of his first year at summer camp illustrates the profound effects of a child’s first exposure to camp. Even years later, Cody vividly recalls his first days at camp, and the way his counselors and fellow campers helped turned his anxieties into successes. The “secret ingredient” is simply camp’s role as an enabling force in the lives of children. Chippewa brings boys into the woods of Cass Lake and Hudson Bay, and lets them find the wonder of the world around them, and ability they didn’t know they had. You can read more about his experience here, and to learn about how to start the journey, please visit our website at www.campchippewa.com. 

150 Days and the Importance of Play

In just 150 days, Cass Lake will be open for business, and the first group of campers will be taking a dip after the opening game of scatterball.  Get excited: Summer '17 is on the way!

As we look ahead and plan for the summer, we're finding more and more research that supports what summer camps do.  Take, for example, this article from the American Camping Association:

http://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/imagine-child-tree-fertilize-unstructured-outdoor-play-character-development

This article from the ACA describes the benefits of unstructured playtime as researched by the Let’s Inspire Innovation n’ Kids (LiiNK) project. LiiNK found that increasing the time children had for free play during school hours, socialization, emotional maturity, and creativity were all increased, along with stronger physical development and appreciation of the outdoors. The multifaceted benefits of free play translated into more efficient classroom environments and students who were more open to learning STEM material. 

Chippewa delivers a concentrated, extended dose of free play and problem solving for our campers, chasing the same goals as the LiiNK project. Inspiring campers to play freely from Cedar Island to improvised golf courses on the Canadian trail, Chippewa helps create more creative, confident boys, well equipped for the years to come.

For more information on the LiiNK program, you can check out their website here.  And for more info on how you can come and play with us in Summer '17, please visit our website at www.campchippewa.com.