This is the third in a series of four blogs.  The first two describe two critical trends that have affected children in concerning ways: 1) parenting trends [LINK] and 2) the pandemic [LINK].  If you have not read them, I suggest that they will help you understand this blog and the next one.   This blog and its successor are about the ways that summer camp can help address these trends and help our children be more capable, contributing, confident, and content.  The next blog will talk about how camp allows kids to be Tech Free and Happy.   This blog is about Making St ..read more

In my previous blog, I shared that I want to scream the importance of camp from the rooftops.  In particular, I want parents to know that camp has critical impacts: Camp Builds Strong Kids Camp allows Kids to be Tech Free and Happy    I also shared that two inspirations had prompted me to write now.  The first was an update to the book The Coddling of the American Mind.  Here is a [link] to that first blog if you missed it.   The second inspiration is the pandemic.  You know that one – it has scrambled our lives for two years.   We have all struggled d ..read more

I normally do not blog in the winter.  Afterall, people are not thinking about summer camp, so during these months my blog happily hibernates like a grizzly.   But we have had an unusual winter and I feel the need to share this off-season. Camp is more important than it has ever been.  In fact, I believe it is vitally important to the growth of the children we serve.  I believe that: Camp Builds Strong Kids Camp allows kids to be Tech Free and Happy    Why am I writing now?  Two events have inspired my new enthusiasm: a new afterword from The Coddling of th ..read more

In 1991, an Arizona facility called Biosphere 2 began a series of experiments. [Note from Susie Ma’am: Steve Sir can go off on the occasional tangent.  You might wonder if there is a point.  In this case, I can assure you there is one.]   The idea of Biosphere 2 was to create a completely self-contained ecosystem as it may exist in outer space.   They learned many things, but some were completely unexpected.  My favorite example was the trees.    The trees grew faster in the Biosphere.  Well, until they fell over.  They would shoot up, look great a ..read more

“Our passion is to help every camper grow into the Champion he or she is intended to be.” ---Camp Champions’ Mission Statement When I share our mission statement with parents, some ask me what we mean by a “Champion”.  Some picture a camper draped in medals or one that wins a competition.  We mean something different. To us a Champion is someone that understands that his/her life is a great gift: a singular and spectacular adventure meant uniquely for him or her.  As such, a Champion knows that he or she must live that life to the fullest extent possible. A Champion lives a lif ..read more

  It is not often that I find myself at a loss for words, but such is the case as this summer begins.   We have lived through a time that has been unusual at best and tragic at worst.  We have all experienced changes to the rhythm of our lives.  As a person that strives to impact children, I have been especially focused on what it has meant to them to have less human contact, less structured school and fewer extra-curricular activities.   I have some friends in the camp world who are worried about the summer.  They are rightly concerned that some campers might ar ..read more

Coming to camp often feels like entering another world. There’s a magical quality to it. Time moves differently— we love saying that, at camp, “the days are long, but the weeks are short.” So much seems to happen in such a short period of time. Last summer, we had moments where we worried some of that magic might be lost. The new normal that our world found itself meant that we had to make some significant adjustments. For a moment, it seemed like the world beyond the spur would worm its way inside, and some of that magic might trickle out. Our counselors have been working hard— and having ..read more

Being camp directors in the age of Covid has twists and turns we’d never imagine.  Last summer we were interviewed by ABC, NBC, and National Geographic. The Dallas Morning News published an op-ed piece we wrote.  Last week, we got a call from The Wall Street Journal.  According to American Camp Association (ACA) records, last summer Camp Champions served the most campers of any camp in the US without a positive COVID case.  This got the attention of Nancy Keates, the WSJ reporter.  Before you get excited, we only show up in one paragraph. But we were delighted to be a ..read more

This blog is written by Steve Baskin in response to Meg Clark's The Hidden Danger: Saving Our Children From Social Media.  First, I want to thank Meg Clark. In fact, I feel a need to thank her for many things. Allow me to share a short list.   She was a friend and confidant when Susie and I first came to the world of camp. She has been a fellow “camp geek” in the pursuit of excellence in camping, particularly in how camp can make campers into extraordinary adults. Watching her create Camp Lonehollow gave us both inspiration and ideas that have helped us make Camp Champions bet ..read more

14 years ago, a dear friend and exceptional camp professional named Meg Clark started a new camp called Camp Lonehollow - a rare and daunting task.  From the start, we at Camp Champions felt a great kinship to Lonehollow.  Like us, Meg saw camp as a uniquely powerful opportunity to help young people grow into caring, confident and contributing adults.  She shares both our passion for teaching life skills (from leadership to collaboration to resilience) and our concerns regarding social media.  Camp Lonehollow is now part of the Young Life family, but Meg continues to be a l ..read more