Camp Kupugani Blog
The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In
Checked out an interesting article about the ramifications of parenting while plugged in. Nothing too earth shattering that we didn’t already apply at camp, i.e. recognizing that human interaction is valuable–but maybe a little bit of a wake up call for certain parents.
Challenges of Camp Standard Time
Thinking earlier today about how Camp Standard Time (CST) is a funny creature. Days seem very long yet fly by…as do the weeks of camp. Before you know it, the girls are gone. Also the CST time lag that underscores the trust that our camper parents have in us. If/when there are times when a camper has a difficult transition, those down moments are the ones that result in the letter home that makes parents wonder if their babies are okay. Meanwhile, the parents don’t necessarily get to see the […]
Our Camp Staffing Process More Selective Than Harvard
We’ve been enjoying a camp week with the 4H-ers at camp. Our camp staff is amazing, as expected, especially since they’ve been culled from almost 250 applicants. On top of their being just generally awesome, it’s fun to note that our staffing process is even more selective than Harvard. Its acceptance rate is almost 7%, while ours is approaching 4%.
Serious Responsibility of Caring for other Children
I had a couple of amazing moments earlier today–one a parent moment, and one a camp moment. During our staff training for rock climbing, led by our experienced instructors, Mico had his now annual opportunity to scale the limestone rock face. Belayed safely by a new staff member, he climbed his way to the top of the 50-ish feet limestone cliff, watched by smiling Mama and Papa. He was engaged and feeling great the whole way up, which was surpassed at the summit by his absolutely beaming smile and eyes […]
Intentionality and Punished by Rewards
Have been enjoying summer staff training, recently with session discussing Punished by Rewards. Sharing viewpoints on how challenging it is to overcome the popular, easier choices that teachers, parents, and others working with youth make. Avoiding the carrot and/or stick approach that many use–which work only temporarily to elicit desired behavior…and at a cost of eroding true relationship-building. Instead, we’re learning to focus on the harder work of helping youth to develop the intrinsic values so that the carrot or stick will be unnecessary.
6 Questions for Supporters of Arizona Law
As a camp celebrating diversity and empowerment of girls and women of all cultures and backgrounds, it’s been a troubling few weeks following the attempted passage of the proposed Arizona law targeting undocumented aliens. The article below has some good insights… Six questions for supporters of Arizona law BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER aoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com This has been a bad week for those of us opposing Arizona’s anti-immigration law: New polls show that a huge majority of Americans support the legislation, and key candidates for November’s mid-term elections are now saying they want […]
