<![CDATA[CAMP SPIRIT

<![CDATA[CAMP SPIRIT - Blog]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 17:21:24 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Most Favorited Blog Posts]]>Wed, 12 Aug 2015 01:31:30 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/most-favorited-blog-posts

We hope you've enjoyed our weekly blog posts, specially curated to support parents and families. Let's take a look back at some of our most popular posts:

Seven Things Children Learn at Camp
From camp songs to making life-long friends, summer camp is an enriching experience.
I Welcome the Rain: A Mindfulness Practice for Vancouver Parents
Transform your perspective, reduce stress and anxiety, and enjoy more of the moments that matter by practicing mindfulness.
The Spirit of Happiness / The Happiness of Spirit
Does materiality make a happy child? One University of British Columbia study suggests that spirituality, not to be mistaken for religiosity, significantly influences a child's happiness.
Camp Songs to Sing with Your Children
Any parent of a Camp Spirit camper will attest that music is an important part of our camp. And often, campers continue to sing songs learned at camp well after camp is over. And, as the saying goes, "If you can't beat them, join them!"

]]><![CDATA[Children Summer Reading & Story Book Suggestions]]>Tue, 04 Aug 2015 18:10:30 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/children-summer-reading-story-book-suggestions

One of my favourite things to do is read! It was not difficult to convince me to join my elementary school book-of-the-month club. I remember being filled with excitement with the arrival of every new book that I could not wait to read. Two of my favourites that have survived the test of time are Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett.

Reading is an important, life long skill. The ability to read contributes to the ability to write, speak, and listen – all of which combine in the ability to communicate effectively. Aside from the practical, reading for fun can spark imagination and creativity, motivate logical and critical thinking, reveal new experiences to the reader, improve understanding and empathy, etc.

The fact that you’re reading this blog right now is proof that you enjoy reading! So how do you get your children hooked on books and stories? When is a good time to start? In a world filled with digital distractions, how do you encourage your children to drop the smart phone and pick up a juicy novel? (Read my sidebar on what I did and my differing approaches to engaging my two different children in reading.)

As children’s first and most important teachers, parents/caregivers play a vital role in motivating and encouraging children to read, especially during the summer months. There are many strategies families might employ to encourage summertime reading. Here are just a few gathered from my experience as a parent and from my friends:

Fill your house with books that vary in genre and style; fiction and non-fiction. Usborne Books publishes some fantastic non-fiction books.
Let your child(ren) choose – I found this to be very important over the past 16 years. While parental guidance is valuable, letting your child choose for him/herself improves likelihood of enjoyment and validates that they have and can exercise their opinions.
Visit the library – take advantage of the summer reading programs offered at your public library and use the library’s vast array of books to choose from. Best of all, the public library is a free resource!
Pair the book with the movie or outing – local libraries usually have a good selection of movies to borrow, ranging from classics like Charlotte’s Web to newer titles like The Lightning Thief. Try matching the subject matter of a book to hands-on discovery such as visiting the beach to learn about sea life described and illustrated in a book for reference.
Make the time – help kids carve out time away from television, video games, Minecraft, YouTube, etc.
Use technology – books can be borrowed from the library in e-book form, audio form, and downloadable onto a tablet/ipad/laptop. And of course, many titles old and new can now be purchased online and downloaded immediately.
Lead by example. Whether it is the newspaper, magazines or books, if your child sees the adults closest to them reading, they will understand that literature is important and exciting.
Join a book club – I know that I really enjoy discussing a book with my book club and will often share thoughts with my girls too. You could also start your own parent and child book club.

My Personal Experience

Once I had children I knew I wanted to pass on my love of reading to them and couldn’t wait to share my favourites with them. It started as a nighttime ritual, reading to my girls before bed. In addition to reading books, I would tell them stories of adventures from my childhood. They soon had their favourite books for us to read to them. When they began to learn to read, they’d pick books to read to us!

Right around the time they reached intermediate grades, I thought they should seek out new books to read on their own, as well as books that we can read together. It took a while for both girls to find a book that caught their attention and caused them to fall in love with reading. For my oldest it was Rick Riordan’s Lightning Thief series. She then branched out and tried all sorts of genres of books. For my youngest, it took a lot longer to find that book that ignited her imagination. But she and I kept trying different authors and styles. We would visit the library often and try a variety of books. Finally, she found Veronica Roth’s series Divergent. She fell in love and away she went into the wonderful world of reading.

If you’re looking for book suggestions to kick-start your summer reading, here are a few favourite stories to share with children and are great for discussion:

Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el
Everybody knows your typical dragon breathes fire. But when Crispin tries to breathe fire on his seventh birthday, fire doesn’t come out – only whipped cream! Each time Crispin tries to breathe fire, he ends up with… band-aids,… marshmallows,… teddy bears…? Crispin wonders if he’ll ever find his inner fire. But when a family emergency breaks out, it takes a little dragon with not so typical abilities to save the day.

What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada
This is a wonderfully illustrated book that encourages people of all ages to share their ideas and bring them to life.

Enemy Pie (A Reading Rainbow Book) by Derek Munson
It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became the neighbourhood’s enemy #1. Luckily Dad had a plan to get rid of enemies: enemy pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy. Enemy Pie serves up a life lesson in the difficulties and rewards of making new friends.

Big Momma Makes the World (A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner) by Phyllis Root
When Big Momma makes the world, she doesn’t mess around. With a baby on her hip and laundry piling up, she demands light and dark, earth and sky, creepers and crawlers, and lots of folks to trade stories with on the front porch. And when the work is done, Big Momma is pleased all right. “That’s good,” she says. “That’s real good.”

My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff
When Kedi hears about America’s Great Depression from her teacher, her heart will not sit down. Men and women are unable to find work. Children are going hungry. In her teacher’s village of New York City, people are starving because they do not have money to buy food. But can one small girl in Africa’s Cameroon like Kedi make a difference all the way across the great Salt River in America?

Extra Yarn (A Caldecott Honor and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner) by Mac Barnett
Extra Yarn, an award-winning and New York Times bestseller, is the story of how a young girl and her box of magical yarn transform a community.

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson
Ordinary small acts of kindness can in fact change the world into a more loving place. This can inspire people of all ages to think about what we do in our daily lives that are deemed ordinary and yet have a positive impact.

Now that you’re equipped with tips on how to ignite the book worm inside of your child(ren) and book suggestions, how do you keep your child motivated? Summer reading programs and activities help motivate kids with reading incentives and provide accountability. Here are some options:

Your Public Library – most public libraries have their summer reading programs in full swing. Head down and get signed up. They will often include chances to win books and prizes. Plus, many local libraries schedule story time and other activities during their summer reading program.
Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Activities (http://www.scholastic.ca/kids/stufftodo/) -- find quizzes, fun games, activities, downloads, and reading guides. You can also write a review. Scholastic has book recommendations and plenty of resources to help you motivate your kids to get reading this summer.
Play Book Bingo (https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/kids-summer-reading/) – Indigo Kids also has a great summer reading guide divided by age and styles of writing like 12 Books to Read Before You’re 12 and Silly Reads.
No Time for Flashcards Mission: Make Reading Fun 2015 Printables (http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/05/summer-reading-calendar-free-printables.html) – No Time for Flashcards is on a mission to keep your kids reading this summer. You’ll find printable calendars with a reading suggestion for each day such as “read a book that makes you laugh” or “read at the program.” Plus, follow along on Facebook for book recommendations and resource.

Mary Nichol
Children and Youth Minister
Shiloh-Sixth Avenue United Church

]]><![CDATA[The Spirit of Happiness / The Happiness of Spirit]]>Tue, 28 Jul 2015 18:01:01 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/the-spirit-of-happiness-the-happiness-of-spirit

Activities such as sports or dance exercise the body. Academics such as languages or math stimulate the mind. But what do we do to nurture the spirit? While sports and education may help to nurture the spirit of the child, it is not guaranteed. Much depends on the adults who offer leadership with the children in their care. Much also depends on each families' unique culture (not ethnicity or nationality but how the family communicates — family rituals; traditions and stories; systems of decision making; approaches to opportunities and problems; style of work; style of play; etc.).

Research has shown that connecting your child with a faith community can contribute to his or her overall happiness. Nurturing the spirit, as well as the mind and body, of a child can contribute significantly to a child’s sense of well-being.

In 2007, Mark Holder, Associate Professor of Psychology at UBC Okanagan, and graduate student Judi Wallace tested 315 children aged nine to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual’s sense of happiness. “Our goal was to see whether there’s a relation between spirituality and happiness,” Holder says. “We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children.”

The results were a surprise — 6.5 to 16.5 percent of children’s happiness can be accounted for by spirituality. “From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” says Holder. “I expected it to be much less — I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being.”

"Spirituality is easiest to describe as having an inner belief system,” Wallace notes. Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, she cautions that “spirituality is not religiosity, which is often more organized, and may be church-based.” UBC Reports, Vol. 54, No.2, Feb. 7, 2008.

When we focus all our time, energy and resources on nurturing ONLY the body and the mind of a child we neglect essential elements in a child’s growth and development…

Children become highly programmed. As a result, at an early age they begin to exhibit the signs of stress and anxiety that plague adults in our society.
Children need down time to discover the world in their own ways. They need to bury each other in the sand; build tree forts without having to take a 6 week how-to program; play dress-up; lie on the ground and stare up at the clouds, swim outdoors; collect sea shells and rocks; etc.
Children need unstructured time with each other and with the adults in their lives to play games; imagine; read stories and poetry; explore; laugh and create.
Extraordinary opportunities for learning and growing are lost when we structure every moment of a child’s life.
Part of nurturing a child’s spirit involves simply being together as families and communities. “God is in the in-between spaces.”

Happy, spiritually fulfilled children develop a deeper sense of connectedness with family, friends and community. They have greater potential of becoming happier, healthier adults who, because of their sense of connectedness, contribute positively and productively to society. It’s never too soon to start nurturing the spirit of the child — the effects are contagious and long-lasting in a seriously good way.

Cathy Cryder
Minister with Children, Youth and Families
Dunbar Heights United Church

]]><![CDATA[Camp Songs to Sing with Your Children]]>Tue, 21 Jul 2015 18:01:00 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/camp-songs-to-sing-with-your-children

Music is so important to our lives. So many memories are connected to the music we listen to, sing with, and are moved by -- music marks and shapes our lives. I can still remember the songs I sang at camp, "This Little Light of Mine" and "It Only takes a Spark," to name only two. I can still see in my mind the camp I was at and the people in that circle when I learned and sung those songs.

At Camp Spirit, music is an integral part of our program. And for many of the children the songs continue to be sung outside of camp and many parents have asked us to post the songs they learn. Many of the songs we sing at camp are by Linnea Good. Linnea Good is an award winning Musical Animator and singer-songwriter, and she has generously shared two of her songs for you to sing along to at home! Please check out her website at www.linneagood.com.

i_hav_luv_and_mi_hos_dos_too.pdf
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banquet_earth_grace.pdf
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Jen Cunnings
Minister with Children, Families & Elders
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church

]]><![CDATA[5 Ways to Beat the Heat with Children]]>Tue, 14 Jul 2015 18:01:01 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/5-ways-to-beat-the-heat-with-children

Summertime is a blessing. Time together with family and friends, a change of pace, sunshine, and play time in water and sun! However, with the sunshine can also come some uncomfortably hot summer days. Heat has an impact and children are particularly susceptible to the heat. Depending on how high temperatures climb, children (and all of us), if we are not careful, can experience heat related illness (heat stroke, sunburns, etc.). Here are 5 affordable ideas of beating the heat with children!

1.         Stay Hydrated - One of the most important things we need to remember is that our bodies need to be hydrated in order to function properly. Make sure that you and your children have access to water at all times. Have water bottles filled with ice and water, water coolers at arm's reach at all times. And water can be fun and flavourful! Check out these easy recipes to make healthy and naturally flavoured water: http://greatist.com/health/flavored-water-healthy-recipe.

2.         Make Frozen Treats with your children. Freeze and then enjoy: frozen grapes, watermelon, berries, bananas or make homemade popsicles. Check out these frozen delectable treats: http://www.superhealthykids.com/recipe-category/popsicles-and-frozen-treats/.

3.         Limit Time Outside - As much as being outside is fun, be conscious of sun and heat exposure. Visit the library and sit in their air conditioned buildings and immerse your child in the adventure of the stories! Support your local artistic, cultural, historical or scientific institution by visiting a museum. (The Happy Show is currently exhibiting at the Museum of Vancouver.) At many museums children 4 and under get in for free and there are family rates. Inside, children will learn and enjoy while staying out of the sun!

4.         Go for a Splash - Be it at the beach, at an indoor or outdoor pool, be it in the tub even! Bring your temperature down by taking a dip. Did you know that all the outdoor pools in Surrey are free? Click here to find a pool in Surrey near you.

5.         Stay Still - It is hard to suggest with a child but when it is hot, exerting a lot of energy can be problematic. Young children in particular heat up more quickly than adults and are at greater risk of heat-induced illnesses. Promote more low-energy activities; bring out the board games, the books, imaginative play, and dare I say, watch a movie?? You could also bring out the creativity materials - make pictures to send to friends and family, maybe even think about and create some Christmas gifts. Pinterest is chock-a-block full of creative ideas!

Jen Cunnings
Minister with Children, Families & Elders
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church

]]><![CDATA[I Welcome the Rain: A Mindfulness Practice for Vancouver Parents]]>Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:31 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/i-welcome-the-rain-a-mindfulness-practice-for-vancouver-parents

Ask any parent and they’ll tell you one of the more difficult tasks of parenting is dealing with stressed, anxious and/or distracted children. Add on everyday stressors like a job or career, finances, extracurriculars, caring for aging parents, etc. and soon you’ll have a parent experiencing unhealthy levels of stress too. This mix of demanding lifestyle has led some parents to seek complementary or alternative strategies to medication for their children, as well as seeking self-care strategies to balance the demands of parenthood. Mindfulness practices can help both you and your child to:

Reduce stress and anxiety,
Improve focus and
Deal with difficult emotions.

Mindfulness has no negative side effects and will give you and you child tools you can use for the rest of your lives. Read on to learn more about what Mindfulness means, and how it can positively impact your family now.

What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is bringing conscious, nonjudgmental attention to the present moment. Whether you are joyfully witnessing a first in your child’s life, or scrubbing ‘art’ off the living room walls, mindfulness can enhance joy and decrease suffering.

Why Practice Mindfulness?
Over the last decade working with families, I have noticed that parents and children are experiencing greater levels of stress-related illness than ever before. Increased screen time, highly scheduled lives, and the desire to “get somewhere” are all contributing to this reality.

Anxiety and (most) stress are a result of where we have been (and what we think about it) or where we are going (and what we think about that). Neither of them are rooted in the here and now. Mindfulness brings attention to the present moment, thus, decreasing stress and anxiety, rebalancing the nervous system, and creating more space for joy.

Children are sponges and learn much from osmosis. When parents practice mindfulness, this has a relaxing affect on their children. A child’s nervous system is linked to their parents. When the parents are stressed, the child’s nervous system creates it own stress signals. When parents are relaxed, the child’s nervous system relaxes.

How do I begin?
I would love to tell you that mindfulness takes no time or effort and you will see great results. However, that would be a lie. Mindfulness is not a miracle. Mindfulness, like anything that will change your life for the better in long-term ways, takes commitment. Not unreasonable, impossible, ‘there is no way to fit it into my life’ commitment, but commitment.

Make the time
If you have never practiced meditation or mindfulness before, I suggest beginning with an intention to practice 3-4 times per week for 5-10 minutes. (That could be just 15 minutes per week!) I suggest choosing a specific time of day. Morning often works for people (depending when your kids get up), or just before bed.

Make the space
Choose an area of your house to practice consistently. Choose a cushion, or perhaps set a table with a candle. Be intentional about setting the space as this place will hold the energy of your practice. You may choose a visible place where your children are able to observe your practice, or you may choose a quiet place away from busyness.

Do the Practice
This practice is informed by Eline Snel’s book Sitting Still like a Frog and also “The Welcoming Prayer” as taught by Cynthia Bourgeault in Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening.

Get comfortable in your space. Tell your family what you are up to. Set a timer.
Light a candle and take a few long, slow, deep breaths.

Stillness and Presence: Repeat in your mind, “I am here”. Allow these words to flow in and out on your breath.
Acknowledging: Check in with your inner landscape. What is the weather report inside? (Cloudy, sunny, rainy, stormy? etc.)
Welcoming: “I welcome ________ (rain, sun, storm etc)”. Allow this phrase to flow in and out on your breath.
Letting go: “I let go of rain, sun, storm etc”. This step may or may not happen. You may not be ready to let go. That is okay. Be gentle with this step. The intention is to change how you are relating to it.

For example: On a rainy Vancouver day we don't try to stop it from raining, but we might change our relationship to the rain by getting an umbrella. We don't try to stop the sun, but we might seek shade.
Align with your inner inner stance: Despite how you may be feeling inside, you can choose the inner stance you take in your life and your parenting. You can choose how you wish to operate in the world. Eline Snel suggests that Presence, Understanding and Acceptance are three qualities that help create a relaxed atmosphere in the home. Perhaps choose one of them to align with each day.

Good luck practicing! Remember that setting aside time to practice mindfulness is simply building the foundation for practicing in everyday life.

Christina Kinch, BA CYC, CYA-YT
Family Wellness Consultant, Yoga Therapist, Energy Healer

Christina has over 10 years experience working with children, youth and families. She blends her expertise in child and youth mental health, addictions and family development counselling with her experience in yoga therapy, energy healing and mindfulness meditation to help support and restore health to whole families.

Christina is the founder of Kinchara, a Vancouver-based business that offers programs to families and professionals that explore health from a holistic (mind, body, spirit) and community-based perspective. Christina also provides individual family sessions as part of the “Whole Family Journey” program. These sessions are customized to meet the needs of families struggling with anxiety, stress, behavioural challenges, ADHD and more.

For more information about Kinchara and the services Christina offers, please visit christinakinch.com.

If you are interested in learning more about the above practice, how to integrate mindfulness into your daily life, and how to involve your child in mindfulness practices:

]]><![CDATA[Top Five Tips for First Time Day Camp Goers]]>Tue, 30 Jun 2015 19:01:02 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/top-five-tips-for-first-time-day-camp-goers

Going to camp, especially for the first time, is a big step for a child and parent alike. Whether it is going to a day camp or sleep-away camp there are ways to prepare for the big adventure and to minimize anxieties.

Often, the biggest question to ask is, “Are you ready as a parent to let your child go?” Children are like little membranes – they pick up all of the subtle emotions of their parents. It helps to be clear with yourself about what your child signed up for in the first place; whether it is to make new friends, learn new skills, or try out some new exciting activity or program. Think of camp as life experience with training wheels.

Here are some tips for parents to help you and your child(ren) get ready for the adventure of camp:

Go by the site of camp or take a tour (even if the set up might be different). Just by becoming familiar with the space and knowing where to go helps!
Together with your child(ren) go to the camp’s website and look at available photos, pictures, albums, etc. from previous years. Click here to see the 15-second flipagram (video slideshow) Camp Spirit created to share with everyone.
Read the Camp registration letter together. Talk about what they need to bring. Involve them in the decision making process (and the packing), for example, by letting them choose a special water bottle or hat and having them decorate it. Even in the planning out of their breakfast menu during the week of day camp helps them be engaged in thinking about what to expect in the days ahead.
Spend some time exploring their hopes and questions for the week. The more detailed the response to questions and concerns, the better. A parent's words will help children draw the picture in their heads as to what camp is going to look like. Not sure how to respond? Let them know you will find out and get back to them after contacting the camp coordinator.
It also helps to have a few conversations with your child, before they head off to camp. Here are a few things you can say – not all at once, but a little over time in the week or two before they go to camp:

Every camper is part of a group and as your parents, we expect you to cooperate and participate.
If you are having a problem, your counsellor is there to help you. Don't wait to tell us, you can tell your counsellor. Be honest and ask for what you need.
If your counsellor doesn't help, talk to another leader or camp coordinator.
There are many new things at camp, and you may not like them all or be as good at some as you are at others, but we expect you to try!
Go about making a new friend or two. If you are timid about meeting someone new, ask about what she likes and be a good listener.
Not everyone has to be your friend, and you don't have to be everyone else's friend. But we expect that you are kind to everyone and if you have one or two good friends at camp, that's great!
Keep expectations realistic – ups and downs included. Talk about the fun-filled times that your child can expect to have at camp, emphasizing the goals of enjoyment, not success. But don't forget to acknowledge the possibility of some unhappy periods, too. Let them know that you have confidence in their coping ability.
Let them know that you look forward to hearing of their adventures.

Bob Ditter, a well regarded child, adolescent and family therapist from Boston, Mass. and a life long camper and leader wrote:

Camp is about making some of the best friends of your life. It's an exercise in self-reliance and social learning. Children not only make some of their best friends at camp, they learn what real friendship is. Since campers connect in groups, it is also about learning the give-and-take of making decisions and getting along with all those "brothers" or "sisters" you suddenly inherit when you arrive. In a time when resilience – the ability to stick with something and recover from a setback – is a great quality to cultivate in our children, camp is an increasingly attractive option. I can't tell you how many parents have told me how much more confident, calm, purposeful or focused their children seem after a couple of weeks of camp.

Whatever we can do as parents, as caring adults, to support a child in going to camp, making a smooth first time transition and embracing the experience will go far in helping them enjoy this life transforming experience!

Jen Cunnings
Minister with Children, Families & Elders
St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church

]]><![CDATA[Seven Things Children Learn at Camp]]>Thu, 25 Jun 2015 19:05:04 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/seven-things-children-learn-at-camp

We could have created a list a kilometre long on all the things children learn at camp. But we narrowed it down to seven because we know, as a parent, you may not have the time to read 1,001 things. Here are just seven things children will learn at camp:

1. How long they can go without being sanitized/a little dirt never hurt nobody. Yes, it is true – since the beginning of the history of camp, parents have been mystified by the lack of interest in children over the idea of cleanliness. It is a thing. And despite labelling everything with the days of the week and providing a bag clearly marked for dirty laundry – that bag stays empty. At day camp, that special bag for their wet swimsuit and towel is ignored and that sopping wet swimsuit AND towel, with most of the sand from the beach, can be reliably found in midst of the crackers that they didn’t finish at the bottom of the backpack. Surprisingly, their spirits are never dampened by the lack of cleanliness and they get up the next day ready and willing to do it all over again.

2. How to listen deeply. Camp provides an environment and opportunity for an expanse of time uncluttered by the use of technology and screens. With this gift of time comes the opportunity for deep listening: to what the natural world and its beauty are saying to each one of us in the rustling of trees and the song of birds; to each other and conversations that go uninterrupted as dreams and ideas are shared; to the call of the Sacred and mystery in all of us.

3. How to carve… or bake bread, or paint, or play the drums, or learn a new game, or knit, or how to administer first aid, or any number of amazing things! Skills children learn at camp can become lifelong passions that engage their minds and encourage them to be creative. Warning: during or after camp, your child may express an interest in going to your closest craft store to pick up supplies to continue a quest for mastery of making friendship bracelets or another skill that catches your child’s interest!

4. How to be a friend. There are never enough opportunities to learn how to be friendly and supportive to those around us. Camps open up opportunities for children to share time together – to make new friends and connect with old ones. Sharing meals together in community can foster great relationships. Camp Spirit thrives on the generosity of multi-generational volunteers, creating a safe environment that encourages interaction and friendship across all ages – elders and children, toddlers and youth – sharing wisdom and stories with one another.

5. How to lead. Camps offer opportunities for youth and young adults to develop their leadership skills, skills that affirm each child for who they are, and skills in providing an environment of inclusion and authentic welcome. Leaders express care, respect, delight and joy in their jobs. Children learn how to lead by watching these leaders in action.

6. How to sing. To all those parents and guardians out there, we are sorry – sorry that we taught songs that caught your child’s imagination and interest – so much so, that they sing them… all the time! In the car, in the bath, at dinnertime, hiking, biking, when they are supposed to be going to sleep, to annoy an older sibling (in the car, in the bath or when they are supposed to be sleeping). You get the idea. And we are a little bit sorry but, they are really fun songs and some of them even have amazing messages of love and hope!

7. How they matter. Each child is affirmed for the beauty and gift of their spirit and life! It is a blessing to spend time with each one of them.

Pamela Jeffery
Minister of Children, Youth and Families
Shaughnessy Heights United Church

Children learn how long they can go without being sanitized.

Children learn how to listen to each other.

Children make friends across all ages.

Children develop lifelong friendships.

Youth and young adults develop leadership skills and children learn to care and respect from their leaders.

Children learn songs of love and hope.

]]><![CDATA[The Importance of Community & Value of Relationships]]>Tue, 16 Jun 2015 18:00:02 GMThttps://www.campspirit.ca/blog/the-importance-of-community-value-of-relationships

Imagine a world where each person, child/teen/adult, knew for certain that they were accepted and loved for who they are. Imagine a world where each person felt physically, emotionally and spiritually safe. Imagine a world where people strove to live the golden rule — treat others as you wish to be treated yourself — and to love God, love others and love self. We strive to do this in our households and, admittedly, achieve this with varying degrees of success. There are the times that we are rolling along very nicely — “Woo hoo! Yay us!” And then there are the times when it seems impossible to sustain a sense of loving community at home or anywhere else.

One of the challenges to building healthy community is in all the ways that we are virtually connected and yet isolated from each other. In many neighourhoods, face-to-face engagement is a thing of the past. It is rare that all the community’s children will emerge from their houses for an impromptu game of ‘Kick the Can,’ opting instead for digital substitutes for interaction.

Also, children’s lives tend to be more scheduled than ever. Extracurricular sports, education and arts programs can significantly enrich a child’s development. However, when a child is over-programmed or over-scheduled there is little time to simply be with others, nourish relationships, and evolve and grow into his or her whole self.

When we are fortunate to find a coach, teacher or instructor that is able to engage and nurture the whole child, the community as a whole benefits from their leadership. The team or the classroom become about more than the game or the subject at hand. In inclusive environments children learn to listen to each other and trust that they will have their turn to be listened to. The adult leader becomes a mentor and a holder of safe, sacred space. According to Dr. Rebecca Nye, a researcher, consultant and trainer in the field of children's spirituality:

At school, usually because the teacher has to manage a large group, children learn to put up their hands to get a turn to speak. In practice, the result can be that they focus on planning what they are going to say, and not listening to or being aware of others around them. A more relationship-sensitive, respectful habit can be to pass around a ‘speaking’ stone... to mark whose turn it is to contribute....

At Camp Spirit we strive to engage and nurture the whole child — body, mind and spirit. Spirituality becomes a dynamic between people rather than a characteristic in people. This is paramount because it emphasizes the relationship. In her book Children’s Spirituality, Dr. Rebecca Nye affirms, “the real spiritual work is how we treat each other not the topic of the day. We actively seek to develop communities that model healthy relationships. Children are greeted, engaged and mentored in ways that are respectful and caring. Youth and adult leaders model respectful and caring communication with each other and with the children.

So, why does any of this matter? Over and over again studies reveal that it is the people that know how to work and communicate effectively with others that achieve the greatest success. This cannot be learned in a vacuum. It is essential that children have communities, outside of their households, where they can discover who they are and who they wish to become in a wider context. This is a valuable and very important reason to expose our children to such communities. As a parent, this may be the only reason you need. The amazing thing is there is an even greater residual outcome. The world becomes a better place when our children grow up knowing what it means to be part of a community committed to loving, respecting, caring for and empowering others. Imagine that world....

Cathy Cryder
Minister with Children, Youth and Families
Dunbar Heights United Church

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