Character Development

At Camp Kupugani, our overnight summer camp in the Midwest, we try to be the best versions of ourselves as campers and staff. This article from Barking Up The Wrong Tree discusses ways that doing just that enhances one’s life. Check out our takeaways below and/or read the full article here. Gratitude Write the letter. Make the call. (And have tissues on hand.) Give “It’s better to give than to receive” = True. Forgive It’s part of every major religion for a very good reason. Laugh No matter how bad […]

Camp Kupugani is our sleepaway Midwest summer camp, located close to both Chicago, IL and Madison, WI. Part of our mission is to facilitate and develop effective conflict resolution techniques with our community. This article from Barking Up The Wrong Tree discusses ways to have emotional intelligent disagreements. Check out our takeaways below and/or read the full article here. Remember The Relationship Enemies don’t say, “You are right. I am wrong.” Friends do. De-Escalate If your disputes sound snarky, you’re doing it wrong. Stop Trying To Control What They Think […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we strive to be our best selves. Here is an article on how to live your best life. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree and see a quick summary below. We need more awe: It brings us together and makes us feel like kids again. Good lord, it made college students put their phones down. Momma Nature: Go for an awe walk. Or watch Blue Planet. (Whenever you hear David Attenborough’s voice, you are not far from awe.) New Eyes: You are […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we role model and help our campers develop grit and resilience. Here is an article on how to make the most of things when life gets tough. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here  (https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2021/07/resilient-3/) and see a quick summary below. “First world problems” [“champagne problems” as we prefer to call them]: Playing discomfort Whac-A-Mole just moves the goalposts and makes you see less threatening things as threatening. Deliberate discomfort keeps small problems small. Boredom is a motivation state: […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we definitely enjoy being active and social in the outdoors. Here is an article on how to live a long, awesome life by emphasizing health, positivity and exercise. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here  (https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2021/04/exercise/) and see a quick summary below. Exercise is not natural. Neither is being sedentary. We did not evolve to move for no reason but we have been excellent at eliminating reasons. Not moving turns twenty-year-olds in forty-year-olds faster than… well, a lot faster than […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, a main goal of the experience is to empower our campers to cultivate new friendships. Here is an article on how to make emotionally intelligent friendships. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here (https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2021/03/friendships/) and see a quick summary below. Stay in touch: Friendship is not an arena where you want to play hard to get. What are you, a carnival prize? Gratitude: If we’re more kind to strangers than to friends, we are definitely doing something wrong. Quality > Quantity: […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we appreciate that happiness can be a challenging space in which to live consistently. Here is an article to help be happier without having to try too hard. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here (https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2021/03/happier-without-really-trying/) and see a quick summary below. Your brain is a time traveler  It projects into the past and future constantly and this can be an express ticket to regret and anxiety. Counteract it with mental distance to regain control. Say your name “I” […]

At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we strive to help our community maximize emotional intelligence. No matter how one feels about oneself, we can always get even better! Here is an article to help become even more emotionally intelligent. Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here and see a quick summary below of the “four R’s” regarding how to do it. Realize  Self-awareness can stem from others’ thoughts. Recognize and label Ask yourself how you’re feeling. Label the emotion specifically. Refine Broaden your emotional vocabulary. […]

Especially over the past year, it has been challenging for many to stay well, given added isolation and stress. At Camp Kupugani, our Midwest summer camp, we recognize that even the strongest human can struggle. A recent research paper offers a mental training plan on the “how” of well-being. With four key behaviors that tend to contribute most to overall satisfaction, the plan helps folks cultivate mental wellness. The full article originally from HuffPost is at this link, or check out our summary below.   Cultivate Awareness — And ‘Meta-awareness’ Awareness […]

Lots of people, like this current blog writer for instance, are either shy or formerly shy people. At Camp Kupugani–our overnight Midwest summer camp pretty close to Chicago, IL and Madison, WI, we recognize this. We want each child to be the best version of themselves, sometimes stretching to do so. Because not every person has the same level of comfort in dealing with others, we found this article from Learning Mind about how to engage an introvert. (Also useful for just any social interaction…) Read our brief takeaways below […]

These days, it is especially important to continue hanging in there, especially given many life challenges. At our Midwest summer camp, we emphasize the importance of resilience in character building. The good folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree have a recent post regarding fostering resilience. Check out the full article at this link, or the excerpt below. These are the 3 things the most resilient people do every day: Goals: Have some. Think about the key areas of your life and finish the sentence, “I want…” Then get specific. Oh, […]