Being Your Best Self at Maine Camps
October 1, 2019
This week many MCE families are celebrating Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. And just like the New Year is a time to reflect and turn a new leaf, camp provides a space for campers to reinvent themselves and be the best version of themselves. One of the best things about spending a summer at camp in Maine, is that it is feels totally removed from the school year. Camp is a unique chance for kids to meet brand new people in a brand-new place. They have opportunities to have new experiences, and to form new opinions. All of this adds up to an overall opportunity for kids to really to carve out a brand-new identity at camp. This can be incredibly positive for a few reasons. First of all, this kind of environment means kids are more open to trying new things. Kids who don’t usually play sports might be more open to a game of soccer, kids who don’t like heights might tackle the ropes course, and kids who never sit still might get into a book or card game. I have literally been told by campers, between mouthfuls of chicken curry, that they’ll only eat chicken at home if it’s served in nuggets. At camp, kids expand their horizons – and this means campers start to develop a more well-rounded sense of self. Campers also build tremendous amounts of social confidence at camp, and this has a lot to do with the clean slate camp provides. Many kids in elementary and middle school have grown up with the same group of friends, and they’ve known many of their peers for as long as they can remember. At camp, they’ll have opportunities to form brand new friends and identities – they can be the funny kid, the brave kid, or the smart kid; even if this isn’t who they are at home. And because of the values Maine camps teach and emphasize, more than one camper becomes the nice kid once summer rolls around. In fact, I’ve found that kids at camp really strive to be kind, supportive friends, and to be leaders in the camp community. This doesn’t mean these campers don’t encompass these traits at home, or that they don’t have their slip-ups during the summer. But by and large I really do think there’s something about the camp environment that prompts kids to try to be the best versions of themselves. And all of this adds up to more confident kids. Campers become more comfortable trying new things and forging new relationships; they form a stronger sense of themselves, and overall make great strides in their development. Summer camp in Maine provides kids a chance to become the best versions of themselves – and that’s even sweeter than apples or honey. — Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.