Exploring the Magic and Power of Summer Camps in Europe
We’ll let you in on a secret. It’s difficult for children, and even parents, to fully understand what the magic and power of summer camps in Europe really is. In fact, potentially it’s only possible if you step into the role of a camp counselor because it’s then that you see firsthand what children learn as campers.
As a staff member you see that camp is more than ‘just’ a camp. It’s potentially an unforgettable experience and life-long memory based on fun, growth, safety and community.
Fun as a way of being
Great camps take fun seriously. They promote an idea of fun as joyful being, rather than fun as the leisure of least resistance. Popular notions of fun are often temporary, little more than a cheap escape from boredom. Joyful being is different, less conditional. As we say at Explorer Camps, “To find the joy in cleaning your room or waiting in line or failing at an activity — that’s the kind of fun that translates to more of life.”
An emphasis on growth and skill building
It goes without saying that camp is a place for practice and improvement, a place for skill development. There are, of course, the activity-based skills — everything from rafting to rock climbing to overhead serves in tennis — that easily lend themselves to marketing brochures and help draw kids to camp in the first place. But camp is also a place for building life skills: confidence, independence, leadership, cooperation, risk-taking, and countless others. For a whole host of learned capacities, camp offers a relatively safe place to reach beyond the comfort zone — and yes, sometimes fail, dust oneself off, and possess the self-esteem to try again. Few settings, especially school, offer this mix of challenge and support, not to mention the power, pressure, and freedom of a limited-time opportunity.
Safety to take risks and be who you want to be
For many children, camp offers the first “clean-slate” opportunity — that first experience outside the character expectations of school and family, beyond the collective identity of their hometown and upbringing that may not reflect where someone actually is or where he or she wants to go. Though by no means an all-accepting bubble, camp affords us a little more freedom to form our own identity, whether that means affirming our own sense of self or venturing outside ourselves for something new.
Being part of something larger than oneself – a caring community
We need and look for connection and belonging in ways that few, if any, can fully appreciate. Camp is a place to belong — to a community, an ecosystem, a wider world around us. From camp legends and rituals to annual camp events, there’s an ever present feeling that campers take part in something living — something shaped by those who came before, those present now, and those to come. At a great camp, everyone feels like they’re a part of something big that is worth pushing forward and celebrating together.
So, when you think about the magic and power of summer camps in Europe remember fun, growth, safety and community and … of course Explorer Camps!
