Child Development Tips

Life Skills in colorful writing in a notebook with colorful balls of paper.

Life Skills Every Teen Should Know

Even during the best of times, parents wonder whether their teens are developing all the life skills they need to be successful. A problem in this “appraisal” process is that parents see their teens in some of their most regressed and infantile states — when they are at home with their families! Furthermore, neuroscience research indicates that the human brain does not reach maturity until a person reaches their early 20s. So, how do parents of teens know what to look for in the development of life skills? Our short […]

Critical Thinking Skills Are Important For Kids

What does it mean to think critically? In psychology, there’s little agreement over the meaning of critical thinking, even though everyone agrees that critical thinking skills are vital for academic performance and career development. But, should teaching critical thinking to kids be a central learning objective? Below, we’ll talk about the benefits of teaching critical thinking skills to kids. Why Critical Thinking Is Important For Kids We can easily argue that critical thinking is one of the most important elements of literacy! Once children have developed critical thinking they’ll be […]

African American Father, Caucasian Mother, and mixed child reading a book together.

Cultural Diversity Activities For Kids

The world is so large that it can be tough to teach children about places that exist outside of their own immediate physical world. From music, languages, and food to school, dressing and sports there is so much beauty and excitement that each country and culture brings to our world. Explore and add these fun cultural diversity activities at home. Celebrate Holidays & Traditions When holidays come around, make sure to acknowledge and celebrate those dates. Decorating for different cultural holiday celebrations like Christmas, Eid, Hannukkah, etc. can enhance learning […]

Hispanic, Black, White, Asian Middle School students

Raising A Well-Rounded Child

In today’s world, where kids’ abilities are measured with high-standard tests, it’s easy for parents to forget that it’s not all about academics. While educational achievements are important, a child’s talents and skills are equally important. Their talents and skills are what are going to give them the confidence that they need to prepare for adulthood. So, how do you raise a well-rounded child? Here are some tips to assist. Establish A Support System Children need to feel like they have a solid support system at home that makes them […]

How to Raise Awesome Kids

At our Midwest summer camp near Madison, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, we appreciate the value of partnering with our camper parents in the development of the kiddos. A recent article shared some good insights on how to raise awesome kids. Check out our summary below, with the full article available at this link:https://bakadesuyo.com/2022/08/make-you-an-awesome-parent/ This is how to use ancient traditions to raise awesome kids: To Raise Helpful Kids: Don’t shoo them away to the world of self-indulgent child distraction. Make them valued members of the team with communal activities […]

A Few of Our Favorite Pinterest Boards for Parents

This is just a fun little blog from your favorite Midwest summer camp for all you Pinterest users! Kids these days are all scrolling–so why shouldn’t you? Pinterest is a free website where you can upload, save and manage images to discover new and inspirational ideas to try at home. Below is a selection of Pinterest boards we think are super great for parents! https://www.pinterest.com/kupugani/_created/ Couldn’t help but sneak a little self-promotion in here! Our Camp Kupugani Pinterest is full of great boards, such as “Female Role Models,” “Games and […]

How to Be an Emotionally Intelligent Parent

At our Midwest summer camp near Madison, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, we recognize the importance of how our adult interactions impact the youth whom we serve. We strive to foster an environment where children are empowered to be their best selves. A recent article shared some good insights on how to be an emotionally intelligent parent. Check out our summary below, with the full article available at this link: bakadesuyo.com/2022/03/parenting This is how to be an emotionally intelligent parent: The 4 Systems: Playing dictator should be a last resort. (Orwell’s “Nineteen […]

4 Parenting Styles and Their Consequences for Kids

At our Midwest summer camp near Madison, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, we recognize the importance of how our adult interactions impact the youth whom we serve. We strive to foster an environment where children are empowered to be their best selves. A recent article shared some good insights regarding the impacts of various parenting styles. Check out our summary below. There are four main parenting styles: Authoritarian Permissive Uninvolved Authoritative Each style has different characteristics, with different effects on children. Authoritarian Style The parent is in control and has all […]

6 Ways to Help Your Child Thrive Socially in Middle School

Camp Kupugani is our multicultural summer camp located in Northwest Illinois close to Chicago, IL, and Madison, WI. We at Camp Kupugani know that middle school can be a challenging social time; hormones are doing odd things, children are learning more about themselves than ever before, people are placing pressure on children to decide what they want to do. That can be a lot for a child to process. We found this article from The Washington Post that can help you support your middle-schooler to thrive in middle school. See […]

5 Rituals That Will Make You An Awesome Parent

Camp Kupugani is our Midwest summer camp offering two-week sessions for children ages 7-15. Realizing that campers will often do for magical counselors so much more than they will for even the most connected parents, we found this article from the folks at Barking Up the Wrong Tree describing 5 rituals that will make you an awesome parent. You can read the whole piece here or check out the summary below. Here are the 5 rituals that will make you an awesome parent. Remember to SERVE: Self-Care: Happy parents make […]

How to Solve the Top 10 Parenting Problems

Camp Kupugani is our Midwest summer camp offering two-week sessions for children ages 7-15. We recognize that even the best of parents and families can struggle sometimes. We found this article from Mom Junction describing the top 10 parenting problems and solutions. You can read the whole piece here or check out our summary below. Frequent Tantrums? When they are in this mode, they don’t see clearly. Don’t lose your cool. Allow your child time. Children Who Do Not “Obey” This can often be your children trying to assert their […]

How to Make Your Kids Amazing

Camp Kupugani is our Midwest summer camp located in the beautiful wilderness of Northwest Illinois. We know your children are already pretty great; here is an article to help your children be even a bit more amazinger (that is totally a word…okay, it is now?). Check out the article by Barking Up the Wrong Tree here and see a quick summary below. Help Your Kiddos with Balance Green zone? All is well, happy, peaceful Red zone? Losing control, acting out Blue zone? Kids shut down or withdraw How to get […]