“Is that Billy raising his hand? He never participates in my science class!”

Replace the name “Billy” with any name and you get what I hear every day at camp. These quotes come from teachers that come to chaperone their kids at my outdoor education camp in Michigan. Teachers find it astounding that kids who are sometimes the “worst kids” participate and enjoy learning at our camp. Johnnie, who cannot sit still, can experience success. Taylor, who is an exemplary student, can experience success. Sara, who struggles with reading, can experience success. Children of all type experience success at camp. The key is experiential education. Who wants to see a diagram of a turtle when you can hold one? Who wants to see a chart of the food web when you can play a game of predator and prey? Who wants to read about how pioneers lived when you can act it out? A child doesn’t have to be told that there is a hinge on a box turtle, that student can look at it and watch it actually work.

Children need to get out of the classroom.

Camp brings learning to life!

When kids come to camp not only are they gaining a valuable experiential education, but they are learning life lessons such as leaving the parents nest, living with peers, energy and food conservation, and how to live without personal electronic devices. Students leave a week long camp program asking to come back and many voluntarily give up their phones when they visit us for summer camp! Watching kids leave a sedentary lifestyle for an active camp way of life is a huge win. Camp is where students can build culture, a sense of community, and make meaningful memories. School leaders often talk about how camp helps students make meaningful relationships with their peers and their teachers. So, not only is camp helping a student thrive academically and socially, but also improving the student’s interaction with other school goers. Children will play, learn, build community, and grow school culture at camp, not to mention create opportunities to fill up their school yearbook with great content! A camp experience is a trip that will create positive lasting effects for each student who participates.

Send your kid to camp.

Sorry, let me repeat myself…

Send your kid to camp!

If you are a teacher, work with your school to make camp a possibility. Ways you can make camp possible is to offer to organize the trip, start a fundraiser, or offer your time to chaperone. Parents, you can help too. Make camp possible by bringing it up at PTO meetings, offer to chaperone, or tell other parents.