by Melanie Taylor | May 6, 2019
Hanging with friends at 4-H Camp. Melanie Taylor as a 4-H Teen Counselor (right). Photo source: Melanie Taylor
Spring is upon us and 4-H Summer Camp preparations are in full swing. As a 4-H Agent preparing for our week of county 4-H camp, my days are busy with phone calls and emails from parents, teen counselor trainings, adult volunteer screenings, paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. Although this is a very busy time for me as a 4-H Agent, it also allows me to reflect on why I chose this career path and why there is a sense of nostalgia as I prepare for 4-H camp.
I attended 4-H camp in Virginia, where I grew up, every year from age 9-18. I was a camper who grew into a counselor-in-training and then a counselor. Those weeks of 4-H camp were filled with hot days and warm nights, but it was worth it all for the memories I will have for a lifetime. I can still smell the cafeteria food and hear the sounds in the gymnasium as kids played basketball and pounded at their leathercraft projects. I can feel the chills I would get as the entire camp sang around the campfire circle and patiently waited for the canoe to land on the lake’s edge; the camp staff would carry a flame as they entered the campfire circle and ceremoniously light the fire. Most importantly, I am still connected with my 4-H camp friends through social media and/or as close friends and we continue to share our old, blurry camp pictures from the 1990’s each year on Facebook.
Morning flag raising ceremony at Camp Timpoochee. Photo source: UF/IFAS Northwest District
So, as I work hard to prepare camp for my county campers and teen counselors, I want to create similar memories for them. In ten, twenty, and thirty years from now, I want them to think back on the fun moments they experienced in the Florida 4-H camping program. I also want them to form friendships and make camp connections for a lifetime, whether it is learning to kayak, fish, make arts and crafts, cook over a campfire, sing camp songs, etc.
With all of this said, I hope you as parents will consider giving your child(ren) these special moments. The days will be long, but fun, and their nights will be filled with campfires and hanging out with friends. When they arrive home on Friday, they will be exhausted, but so excited to share all of the camp songs with you (prepare yourself for lots of loud, enthusiastic singing). They will have new friends they want you to meet and they will tell you camp stories they will always cherish.
In Northwest Florida, there are two 4-H Camps, Camp Cherry Lake in Madison and Camp Timpoochee in Niceville. Each county in these camping districts has one county week of camp each summer. Contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office now to find out the details and register your child for a week of fun and memories.
Northwest Florida 4-H Camp Dates 2019. Photo source: UF/IFAS Extension
by Monica Brinkley | May 13, 2015
With summer around the corner, it’s a great time to enroll your children in residential and/or day camps. For most communities there are a variety of camps offered. Camping experiences not only give children something to do, they are also great learning experiences.
Just as a garden or flowerbed requires critical elements like water, sunshine, space, and freedom from bugs to grow and to flourish, so do children. Similar to other living things, you need nourishing, supportive and protective environments where youth can grow to be healthy and contributing adults.
Each young person needs to:
Know they are cared about by others: Belonging
Feel and believe they are capable and successful: Mastery
Know they are able to influence people and events: Independence
Practice helping others: Generosity
Camps offer environments for growth, rich in the essential elements that support healthy development.
Very enthusiastic older youth and caring adults are the staff that lead the camps. Participating youth develop meaningful relationships with admired and trusted adults and older teens. New relationships begin as the campers share cabins and engage in camp activities. As a result of these experiences, the campers develop a sense of belonging as they realize that they are cared about by others.
During camp, youth develop many new skills. Camp teaches children to communicate, to work together as part of a team and to be a leader. Residential camps do this as the children learn to live in the same cabin and perform daily living chores. Leadership is developed by asking campers to fulfill responsibilities that may not be expected of them elsewhere. Additionally, sharing resources and attention helps foster teamwork and the desire to participate. Campers gain the sense of mastery as they become capable and successful at new skills.
There is a sense of adventure and challenge not usually found in daily home life. Most camps offer time for youth to test new ideas in a non-threatening environment. It pushes children out of their comfort zone and exposes them to new activities and experiences that they may not be familiar with. Many youth discover new hobbies or passions. By exploring various types of activities, children have a greater chance of finding something that they excel at or that makes them happy. Independence is gained as they are able to influence people and events.
Camp also provides many opportunities for youth to help fellow campers through daily chores of cleaning up cabins and dining hall, encouraging campers who may be homesick, cheering on their team, assisting camp staff, and so on. Our society needs for more people to gain the practice of helping others – that element of generosity.
Camp offers youth an opportunity to accept new responsibilities in leadership, conquer fears, practice new skills, and discover individual differences in an environment that reinforces the value of each person. These essential elements should be a focus of every camp. So as you seek camp opportunities for you children this summer, look for ones that feature these four essential elements. 4-H camping opportunities are available in every county in the state of Florida. Look them up and enroll your child today.
