Camp Kupugani Blog
Gratitude Practices to Change Your Happiness Set Point
“Concentrate on naming, savoring, and feeling gratitude for the blessings you do have — your love for your kid, the pleasures of eating the food you like, the sight of the sky at dusk, the entertaining drama of your unique fate. Don’t ignore the bad stuff, but make a point of celebrating the beautiful stuff with all the exuberant devotion you can muster.” — Rob Brezsny If you feel like your life isn’t as joyful as you’d like, here’s a sure-fire strategy to replenish your joy quotient. Research shows that […]
Camp Does a World of Good in Challenging Times
Smart parents know that summer camp can be a vital part of a child’s growth and development, giving healthy opportunities to discover, explore, grow and have fun; the camp experience helps build character and enhance life-development skills, allowing children to connect with nature, themselves and others. In these difficult times, camp also provides your child with a delightful respite from the inevitable pressures that surround our homes and communities. Especially since children have a limited window of opportunity in their lives to benefit from camp, the decision to begin a new camp experience should not be put off. But we don’t need to tell you how good camp is for kids, or […]
3 Ways to Help Raise a Powerful Daughter
At our summer camp in the Midwest, we appreciate the importance of facilitating the growth of strong, independent girls who will continue to empower women all over the world. Remind yourself what it means to raise a powerful daughter by reading this article. Some tips include: Listen more than you talk Encourage her to be direct when she’s angry Encourage her to take physical risks If you’re looking for more insight on understanding and building a solid relationship with your pre-teen or teenage daughter, be sure to check out Peggy Orenstein’s book, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter.” Keep Up to Date Have […]
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 […]
How Much Freedom Should You Give Middle School Kids?
It’s hard to know how much independence to give middle school kids. Because they don’t mature in a linear way—it often feels like two steps forward, one step back—your tween may be perfectly competent at an independent task one day, and a ball of tears the next. Keep trying. Just because your child wasn’t ready on Monday doesn’t mean he won’t be on Friday. Of course, sometimes your tween is overconfident to a fault. Your daughter promises she won’t lose that phone she’s been begging for, but she can’t even […]
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 […]
Why Children Make Great Role Models
Check out this article by Denise Fournier Ph.D. on PsychologyToday.com to hear why children make great role models. A role model is someone we admire and wish to emulate; someone after whom we want to model our lives in some way. When we choose our role models, we tend to choose people who are older than us or have more life experience. We look to people like our parents; our bosses; or people deemed successful by society’s standards, like world leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities, or famous athletes. But who says role models have […]
What Makes Families Resilient?
Is your family resilient? What are the things you and your family can do to be more resilient? Marianna Pogosyan, Ph.D. shares her expertise and insight in this article from PsychologyToday.com. Family resilience has been defined as the family’s ability to “withstand and rebound from disruptive life challenges, strengthened and more resourceful” (Walsh, 2011, p 149). From decades of research and clinical experience, Dr. Froma Walsh, one of the leading authorities on family resilience, has identified nine processes around the beliefs, organization, and communication of families that can shape their response to adversity. Family resilience, […]
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) […]
Fun Fall Activities for Kids
As the weather gets cooler and the leaves begin to change color, it’s time to start thinking about how you can help your kids get outdoors and take advantage of all that this amazing season has to offer. Here are 101 fun fall activities for kids: Visit an apple orchard. Make apple crisp. Build a scarecrow stuffed with newspaper. Have an apple cider “tea” party. Bake apple chips. Make an apple stamp. Bob for apples. Make handprint leaves. Jump into a leaf pile. Paint wooden crafts. Make popcorn balls. Create leaf rubbings. Stuff leaves […]
Why Do Teenagers Lie? And What’s a Parent to Do?
Of the many battles to contend with when raising teens, lying can be the most frustrating and debilitating for parents. Thoughts swirl in your head, Why do teenagers lie? Will my teenager always be a liar? Where did my teenager learn this dishonest habit? You might also wonder how to stop your teenager from lying, while feeling deeply frustrated that your teenager continues to lie even though you know they’re not telling you the truth. These feelings are totally normal, but not necessarily helpful when it comes to changing your teenager’s behavior. As difficult as it may seem […]