Well, beloved Summer Update readers, I need to apologize to you all. Yesterday was one of those days at camp that was just perfect… weather, programming, meals, general vibe… and, well, when I finished writing this update, in my rush to make it to G-Swim, I neglected to press “send.” I’m sorry about that and I’ll do better! So here is yesterday’s update, today. We’ll get back on schedule with another update tomorrow.
The first handful of days at camp are always a flurry of activity as campers get into the swing of things. One hallmark of the beginning of the summer is the rush to earn ranks. We ask all campers to earn their Waterproof rank in swimming (our initial swim test). Campers who want to head out on a trip need to earn ranks in CNOC (our wilderness skills project) and Canoeing as well so that they’re prepared when they hit the trail. Of course campers can choose what they want to do every day, but around camp it’s been clear that many of our campers are rank oriented right now. Attending CNOC, Canoeing and Swimming have been popular choices. The energy at those activities during project periods has been positively contagious as well. There seems to be a collective sense of motivation to earn these ranks right off the bat.
Today, on our first Sunday of the summer, we had the chance to talk about goal setting with the whole community. After our traditional Sunday morning late wake up (more of a theoretical late wake up for many of our early-rising Swampers who were already in the Big House playing cards in the living room by the time I arrived around 6:30 AM), and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, we made our way to the Chuck Hirsch Shrine for our first Sunday Service of the summer.
Our Sunday Service is a non-denominational presentation delivered by an administrator or experienced staff member on a value or something on a theme they cherish. The Service is a great time for reflection and today was no exception. This morning our Sunday Service was presented by our Axeman Village Director John Bellaire. John spoke about the value in setting goals and taking measurable steps to achieve them. He gave us all some time to quietly reflect on our goals for the summer and then to share them with our neighbors. The next part I found brilliant. He asked us to share how we felt when we were talking to our neighbors about our goals. The answers were amazing. A fourth grader shared that it felt “calming.” A seventh grader shared that it made him feel like he was “more likely to achieve his goal.” A ninth grader observed that when we share our goals we can “hold each other accountable to achieving them.” I couldn’t stop smiling as I was listening to these responses.
I left the Sunday Service feeling inspired and curious. So I switched from camp director mode to journalist mode and jumped on the goal-setting beat. With my notebook in hand I roamed camp asking campers, “what was the goal you thought of during the Sunday Service?” Here are some of my findings:
“My goal is to learn how to waterski” – fifth grade camper
“I want to spend more time on trips this summer than last summer” – seventh grade camper
“This summer I want to go sailing a lot” – fourth grade camper
“I have a goal to get my ‘Advanced Wilderness’ rank in CNOC” – fifth grade camper
“I want to get better at basketball” – seventh grade camper
I loved hearing that for so many of our campers, their goal was to build skills, because that’s a huge part of what we do at camp! We give kids choices about what they want to do each day, and whether they want to go on trips, and then provide a structure to support them in learning the relevant skills in each area. As they work through ranks in different projects or go on trips they gain competence and as they gain competence they gain confidence.
As I continued my interviews around Camp, I noticed that the goals campers shared with me weren’t all about projects. Check out this batch:
“I want to make a new friend this summer” – third grade camper
“My cabin group has been together for a long time, and I just want us to get closer with them this summer for our last summer here.” – ninth grade camper
“My goal is to spend a lot of time with my friends” – fifth grade camper
“I haven’t been getting along with [my cabinmate] and I want to work it out with him” – sixth grade camper
I’m not crying. Are you crying? Ok maybe I’m crying a little bit! (tears are cool at camp). But really…wow! How thoughtful are our campers? These guys recognized that there are a variety of goals we can set for ourselves, and that at camp we not only build skills, we also build and maintain relationships, we learn to live with one another.
And then there was this one. A remarkably brave Logger who has been having a tough time with some homesickness shared:
“I want to have the best summer ever.”
Two hours earlier this guy had been asking me to go home, and now this? What a turnaround! I asked him what had changed. He said, “I’m having a lot of fun and I’ve made some new friends.” “How does that feel?” I asked… “GOOD!” he exclaimed.
Good indeed. My interaction with that Logger reminded me of John’s brilliant question. “How did it feel to tell someone your goal?” What John so tactfully elicited from the audience is the notion that when we share our goals with someone else, we can work together to make the goals happen. How does that play out at camp? I think it happens in a few ways that I’ve already noticed this summer:
- We help each other learn new skills- As I walked through CNOC yesterday I watched an older camper teach a younger camper how to tie knots. I saw a counselor teaching how to clean a camping stove and another teaching campers how to construct an A-frame tarp.
- We build each other up- At the waterfront yesterday two Lumberjacks were learning how to portage canoes. One camper was struggling with the initial launch and lift and the other camper kept repeating “you’ve got this!”
- Our counselors guide progress- Every night before bed our counselors check in with each of their campers to review how the day went. They discuss the goals that the campers set with you parents and new goals that have come up during the summer. Counselors track their progress towards ranks and help them achieve their goals.
I think the third grader who shared at the Sunday Service that it felt “calming” to share his goals with his neighbor was spot on. At camp we set goals for ourselves that can be difficult! We want it to be hard so that we can learn to overcome challenges. However, we achieve those goals in the context of a community that is supportive. A community that helps one another learn new skills. A community that builds each other up. With that kind of support I know that even when things get tough, and goals seem out of reach, we can still experience the sense of “calm” knowing that we’re all here for each other, and together we can help each other achieve our goals. That Logger experiencing homesickness? He said making friends led him to setting a goal to have a great summer and that having that support felt “Good!” (I’m assuming that “good” is Logger for “supported,” or “nurtured!”). Just more evidence that our collective care for one another helps us achieve all of our goals!
On another note, we felt collective care in our community on Friday night when a storm blew through Camp. The storm (which thankfully ended up not materializing quite as intensely as we thought it would) approached camp around 3:30 AM. Out of an abundance of caution we all headed to our storm shelters to wait it out. Sitting safely in the shelters there was a mix of sleepiness, smiles and sweat (our shelters are great and really safe, but they also get hot). That night could have been difficult, but because we all had each other’s backs for the 45 minutes or so we were in shelters, it ended up being generally a “no-big-deal” situation. By 4:30 AM or so our campers were back in cabins and shortly thereafter were sound asleep once again. We pushed the wakeup bell back by 45-minutes and Saturday was just another beautiful day of achieving our goals at camp! If you have any questions about our evening adventure to the storm shelters please don’t hesitate to reach out.
All is well in the Northwoods!