The Art of Camp

Forty plus years ago, I was a little girl attending day camp.  I remember lining up at the pool practicing my kicks.  I remember a certain counselor who used to read us stories.  And I remember crying.  Day after day of crying.  Then one year, I went to overnight camp.  All I remember from that experience was a lot of crying.  I didn't like it.  My subsequent summers were spent taking art and drama classes at our local schools.  I was never much of a camper.  Surprising isn't it that a lady who has spent much of her adult life working in the camping industry, was a miserable little camper.

I think I was pretty unique.  The camps I went to were pretty nice, had great programming and made the majority of the kids happy.

The problem was, that I was not really like the majority of kids.  I was an artsy kid.  The outdoors.  The sports, the competitive nature of these camps was just not my cup of tea.

What these camps lacked were strong arts programs to grasp my attention, to engage me and make me, a shy, clumsy little girl, feel like I was welcome, like I was part of  a crowd.

Of course many years have passed, and the camp industry has very much evolved, and now there are specialty camps that cater to the Artsy Child (I recommend Appel Farm Arts Camp for kids that want to completely immerse themselves in a summer of creativity).    There are also strong art programs at liberal arts camps that teach everything from Digital Photography to Glass Fusing.  There are so many more choices now, and campers of all interests and talent levels are the beneficiaries.  I would have done so well...if only I'd been born a few decades later!!

I came upon this article about the importance of Arts Programming at camp and just had to share.


The Art of Camp: How Arts Programs Fuel Self-Expression and Youth Development | American Camp Association