Kevin Gordon

About Kevin Gordon

Posts by Kevin Gordon:

10 Things Successful People Do Each Day

At our summer camp outside of Chicago, we try to role model ways to live positive lives. An article from the folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree (summarizing an book by author Tim Ferriss) offers ten ways we can follow the lead of others to lead happy, successful lives. Summary below, with the whole article at the link at the bottom. Have a mindful morning ritual: Don’t start the day reacting. Get focused. Turn weaknesses into strengths. Don’t ignore the clichés: Many are spoken so often because they […]

4 Ways to Live a Happy Life

At our midwest summer camp, we always try to encourage healthy living. An article from the folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree offers a few good tips. Summary below, with the whole article at the link at the bottom. Here are the different happy lives: The Pleasant Life: PLEASURE GOOD. PAIN BAD. Schedule more fun. The Good Life: Do what you’re good at and go as far down that rabbit hole of “flow” as you can, Alice. The Meaningful Life: The Good Life + helps others. The Full […]

4 Easy Rituals to Relieve Stress

At our summer camp near Chicago, we continually try to improve how we can live healthy lives and treat ourselves well, so as to positively influence our campers and ourselves. An article from the folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree offers a few good stress-relief tips. Summary below, with the whole article at the link at the bottom. Clench your facial muscles and relax them Take slow, deep breaths Splash your face with cold water Play some music and do a little dance New Neuroscience Reveals 4 Easy Rituals […]

5 Reasons to Avoid Sending Your Child to Camp Kupugani

(1) Your child will probably engage in gleeful repetitive renditions of camp songs for up to 4-6 weeks after camp. You may be tempted to sing along, stomping hands and feet, and potentially violate social norms of your work, home, or other community. (2) Your child might repeatedly admonish you on how and why to use “I statements” to resolve conflicts. (3) Your child might publicly admonish you for leaving food waste on your plate or littering. (4) Your child might be overzealous about their newfound independence after camp. (5) […]

Dare to Embrace Difference

I hope that you are well, or as well as you can be during these tumultuous times. Depending on your worldview, you might be considering what to do in response to the what you see in the larger world—to defend rights, to counter hateful rhetoric, to rebuild movements and momentum for positive change. I ask that you support Kupugani and our mission to continue to create a version of the world that we want to see—where issues of difference can be celebrated, and our commonalities can be recognized and appreciated. […]

Are You Culturally Competent? Do You Want to Be?

Given the historic levels of what some have deemed a “cultural crisis” in this nation, perhaps now’s as good a time as any to challenge yourself with our cultural competence quiz. Are you culturally competent? (Do you want to be?) Are You Culturally Competent? Find Out Here

Ways Technology Influences Your Child’s Behavior

At our Midwest summer camp, we minimize electronics during camp sessions, to empower our campers to maximize their social development. A recent blog from the good folks at Intelligence for your Life, underscored how electronics influence children’s behavior. Bullets below, with the whole piece available at this link. Developmental psychiatrist Dr. Sara Konrath says that kids today consume three times more screen-based media than they did 50 years ago. They also score 40 percent lower on tests that measure empathy and compassion for others. Videogames are especially harmful because the […]

Where Has the Summer Gone?

Now that summer is officially drawing to a close, let’s take a stroll back through memory lane. We had a wonderful and fun-filled 8 weeks with our boys- and girls-only camps and the ever-growing blended camp. We had campers who: conquered their fears on a 60-foot limestone rock wall, crate stacked 21 milk crates, dam jumped, slept under the stars and peed in the woods. During the Kupu-Olympics, the red and blue teams competed in the three-legged race, gaga, potato sack race, and canoe relay, and somehow they tied every […]

Be a Better Parent: Lessons from Science

At our summer camp near Chicago, we continually try to improve how we as staff and counselors can positively influence our campers. An article from the folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree offers a few good parental tips. Summary below, with the whole article at the link at the bottom. 1) Peer Pressure Can Be A Good Thing Myth: Peer pressure is always bad, just leading kids to drinking, drugs and vandalism. Fact: The same instinct that makes some kids so vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them better students, friends […]

The Final Two…

Today, is officially the last day for the remaining two summer camp counselors, Hannah and Leah. [From Hannah and Leah] We both want to say a huge thank you to Camp Kupugani, Kevin, Natasha, our fellow co-counselors and the amazing campers for an amazing summer, filled with new friends, laughter, growth and memories. We have had a blast! Reflecting back on the 2017 summer… We both learned that it was okay to be an original individual and not to compare ourselves to others. We also challenged ourselves in activities we […]

How to do the Kupugani Beat!

Have you got that beat? That Kupugani beat? This is a fun camp song that takes some campers and counselors (and camp directors) a lifetime to master! You arrive at camp on the Sunday and are having a great time, when dinner time arrives and returning campers start with the Kupugani beat! So they do it really slow and you think you’re starting to get it, when two words you don’t want to hear happen–“full speed”! And suddenly all that you thought you had disappears and you know nothing again. Don’t […]

No Challenge is Too Big

Have you ever tried slack-lining? No? Neither had I, until I came to Kupugani. There is no feeling like standing on a two and a half inch wide piece of fabric and feeling every muscle in my body functioning to keep me balanced. Determination rushes through my mind that I just want to keep bettering my previous effort, even if it is just one extra step. It’s addictive. I may only be two feet above the ground, but I feel on top of the world, challenging myself and conquering something […]