I think we’ve all collectively run out of words to describe how hard this year was for our kids. The disjointed, unpredictable, exhausting, zoom-filled, oh-so-much family togetherness only scratches the surface of our communal and simultaneously isolated experience. So many of our kids emerged from the school year very weary and a little anxious.
And then, as we dampened the threat of Covid, kids came to camp. At a time when what we wanted most was for our kids to be together (and maybe not together with us parents), camp provided the desperately needed antidote to the over-revved and overwhelmed nervous system of the 20-21 academic year. What kids need now is to reset, relax, play and connect.
And here’s the thing- we were actually built for this. What camps have been offering for years as a great addition to childhood has now been laid bare as the critical components to our children’s wellness.
Each Monday morning I greet new campers and the predictable, routine structure of the check in, attendance and drop off process is designed that way for a reason- it provides stability and steadiness in what can be a tricky time of transition. Then the group and their counselors use intentional play- name games, ice breakers and clever get-to-know you activities so that kids don’t have to try to navigate that on their own day one. This is a gently reentry, a guided and supportive foundation to make the rest of their week a success. And on a macro level, that’s what a summer at camp is providing right now- a guided and supportive foundation for the year ahead.
Summer Fenn has always promised our kids active, outdoor, unplugged time together. Sure, we always knew this was valuable, but now? Now we’re starting to understand more tangibly that this is a lynchpin of our kids’ health and happiness. Just in the past few weeks I’ve seen slip-n-slide kickball, outdoor dodgeball, newcomb with an omnikin ball, zombie tag, flag football, world cup, step ball, frisbee golf, capture the flag and of course- nonstop gaga ball all day. The endorphins, the physical exertion, the joy of moving their bodies- I’ve never seen so much running around in any year of camp!
Another thing camp has always offered that seems especially critical now is the self-expression of choice and autonomy. In a year when nothing has been in our control, when we’ve had to reinvent our whole lives through no choice of our own, kids have a place to go to everyday where they get to choose. Whether they’re designing a custom woodshop project or claiming their activity at choice time in Base Camp, they get back a little bit of the ability to assert what they like, what they want to do, and who they are.
And I can’t help but think the most important thing that Summer Fenn is doing for kids right now is simply and masterfully delivering the art of hanging out again. Counselors are engaging with kids in simple and easy conversation, offering “would you rather” or “5 things” scenarios, playing brain teaser games like Sally’s Green Glass Door, and debating what house they would get placed in by the sorting hat or what anime characters are the coolest. We’re looking at each other, talking to each other, and becoming at ease again with each other… and ourselves.
I’ve fielded more emails than I can count from families saying their kid hasn’t been this happy in over a year, and every time it makes my eyes well up. I’ve always believed in the power of camp, and yet I somehow got completely blindsided by the kind of unbridled joy that’s happening here this summer. The spontaneous, shrieking-while-squirting-each-other-with-a-super-soaker kind of joy… The beaming, look-what-I-built-in-the-woodshop joy… the jaw dropping, I-just-went-on-the-ZIPLINE joy… The content, teaching-my-counselor-a-gimp-stitch joy.
Finally, once we could give our kids some steadiness, some play togetherness, some agency and some space to be… we could finally get back some joy. And that’s what Summer Fenn does. We were built for this moment, and we’re so grateful to be here.