From Camp to School - How Camp Helps Prepare Kids for the Classroom

Greetings camp friends and family!

Here at camp, we are getting prepped for all the fall fun and start of school trips. While your campers' time at camp may seem like years ago now, we thought it would be helpful to share some of the skills and ideas your camper learned at camp this summer. Camp is a place where Christ-centered community is practiced in a way totally separate from the tyranny of the everyday. Lessons are taught and learned so that they can be brought back into the world to make a difference for Christ. 

Camp is a faith centered experience. At camp, faith is invited and encouraged in all spaces, not just Chapel! Campers see what life can look like when God's word is integrated into every part of life. We pray before activities recognizing that God is always present, we just need to acknowledge Him. As campers go back to school, remind them of this truth. They get to play a part in creating sacred spaces, acknowledging God's presence around us, and being a light for Christ in public spaces. 

Camp is a safe space for kids to be themselves without fear of judgement. Kids gain confidence in themselves and who God created them to be. They are taught that God has made everyone with special gifts so that they can all serve one another in community. As campers return to school, remind them that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared for them beforehand. 

Camp is participatory experience. At camp, kids are challenged to do hard things. Whether it's climbing to the top and then jumping from the top of the Zipline or memorizing long passages of Scripture to earn their patch, camp is a character-building experience. When your camper encounters challenges, remind them that they met challenges head on a camp, and go do that at school too!

Camp is an unplugged experience. In our day and age, phone addition is a real challenge for today's youth. At camp, campers went a whole week or more without their phone. While it was hard at first, they often found life to be less stressful and more enjoyable when connecting with the people around them. Encourage your camper to leave devices they can at home so that they can better connect with friends at school and engage with their lessons. 

Camp is a relational experience. Campers live in close Christian community for weeks at a time at camp. When living this close, conflict is bound to come up. When this happens, camp teaches kids to have hard conversations, forgive and forget, and then reconcile to restore the relationship. In today's cancel culture, the normal thing to do is write someone off entirely when they hurt you. But Christ calls us to be one, united because of the grace we have all received. 

Don't let your camper forget the lessons learned at camp! Encourage and equip them to be a light for Christ in their school communities. At camp, we are here and happy to help and provide resources for parents who are interested! A great place to start is The Sacred Playgrounds, a research group dedicated to sharing the power at camp. 

Hope to see you soon!