Carpe diem. A gentle yet steady breeze. Five hundred shades of green trees behind an emerald lake. Gravel roads lining nature’s paths. These are just a few of the reminders of the sheer natural beauty of these mountains and our safe space at Blue Star. It also makes it easier, even refreshing, to settle in for the summer as Lauren and I transition from our off season to our “playoff” season. With that, our focus pivots fully to getting our incredible staff as prepared as possible for the potentially transformative work they are about to do.

To help us with our staff training preparation over the past couple seasons, we have connected with Dr. Michael Thompson—a psychologist, school/camp consultant, and nationally recognized leader in the field of child development. Below is an article he wrote a few years ago on the positive impact camp counselors can and do have on children’s lives. Our intention here also is to share some of our learning with our parent community as we partner together to create a meaningful experience for our campers.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/parenting/2012/05/30/why-camp-counselors-can-out-parent-parents/?_r=0&referrer

Some of my takeaways from this article are that parents have the opportunity to allow other adult mentors to enter their children’s lives at summer camp in a much more unique environment for learning than at home. That is, campers are away from their parents and so really can grow to lean on and learn from their counselors. Thompson writes, “College-age students possess a completely different kind of authority than do parents [and they are able to] teach character and community, caring and sacrifice.” Camp counselors are cool, hip, and more like older role models who campers want to emulate. Looking up to them, campers will follow strict guidelines, try on new rituals, and make some selfless choices to be an active participant in their own community.

During staff training, we will remind our counselors and activity specialists of the powerful opportunity they have this summer. Further, we will show them how to channel their role to be fully present with their campers, meeting them where they are at and gently nudging them out of their comfort zones. Let the good work continue! See you all very soon…

Carpe diem. Lauren and I are so excited to introduce our theme for summer 2015. Our theme is “Shine On”. The idea connects to our first organizational internal core value to Let your Light shine. It is about giving our campers (and staff) permission to truly be themselves. Let THAT inner light shine and be shared with everyone in our camp community (and out in the larger world). All we ultimately set as an expectation for each camper is to be kind to others. Having a kind and caring heart and thinking of how we can be of service to others is one thing towards which we always can strive. As the Dalai Lama reminds us, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

We grew up at a time where there were growing pressures put on us to be a certain way and follow a prescribed path toward success in life. Now societal pressures have magnified exponentially, and as parents, we already are aware of this. Lauren and I view camp as a sacred and safe space where we can provide a sort of antidote to some of these outside pressures. At camp we invite and encourage all of our campers to find their best selves. We try to create the conditions within which each camper can feel comfortable just being.

How do we create these conditions at Blue Star? We spend a lot of time and energy behind the scenes, with our team, devoted to designing an overall program structure and specific daily programming aimed at just this. For example, our campers are given the opportunity to choose themselves what their primary two “options” (or daily camp activities) will be. In other words, they do not just go with their whole cabin to every activity already pre-selected for them. While that might seem quite simple, it actually provides many of our campers the unique experience of choosing and pursuing what they really want to explore as their main focus (without their parents’ input). This is one example of how we consciously are carrying out a foundational philosophy at Blue Star passed down to Lauren and me from Herman Popkin and directly through Rodger. That is, every child possesses a unique gift(s), and it is our mission to help her/him discover that.

Lauren and I believe that it is such important work to discover what makes each of us truly happy. The process of self-discovery can be illuminating and liberating, even if the change it inspires is subtle. We believe that what is most important about this process is that our campers find happiness. That is what becoming successful in life means to us. When we are truly happy we really do “Shine On”.

Carpe diem. Lauren and I just returned from a wonderful week in New Orleans at the American Camp Association (ACA) National Conference. Most importantly, we spent a lot of time attending various educational sessions that pushed and stretched us as we learned tons…so many ideas to bring to camp this summer and beyond. While we were there we also were humbled to be able to receive a prestigious award on YOUR behalf.

Blue Star won the ACA Eleanor Eells National Award for Program Excellence, honoring the Conservation Generation initiative we launched with you last summer. This program highlights environmental stewardship and allowed us to put into practice our “programs with a purpose.” Lauren and I believe that doing good (for others and for the world) is the central ingredient in creating the space within which children can discover what truly makes them happy. YOU all did good work this past summer, and we know you are continuing with that good work this school year in your home communities.

We want to be mindful of both celebrating the achievement AND reminding ourselves to “keep going.” What can we do next? How can we build on this? At the same time we want to make sure we place this award in a larger context, starting with Blue Star’s rich history. We have learned that Blue Star actually has won this award for program excellence before for the Camping Unlimited program (pretty unique to earn this national recognition twice). As one of my mentors from the Harvard Graduate School of Education reminds us, “let the work continue!”

*See the video presentation and learn more about the Eleanor Eells Award here… http://www.acacamps.org/awards/eells

Carpe diem.  With winter break on the horizon Lauren & I wanted to share our evolving thoughts on technology with our camp community. Our children will be home for the holidays for a week or two, soaking up much needed re-charging and decompression time. Parents will be faced even more with the question of how much “screen time” to allow. Full disclosure: While our Eli is only two and a half years old, we already face that very real question. Eli knows how to work an iPad and iPhone; that seems wild to me! Lauren & I have to set boundaries around how much time he gets to watch his (PBS Kids only) shows and play with his Wheels on the Bus app. This too is our dilemma.

One of our summer leadership team members recently submitted his thesis for his M.Ed. He chose to focus on the powerful emotional intelligence education that campers learn at Blue Star (of course, Lauren & I are deeply honored). He even quotes from Herman Popkin’s book, Once Upon A Summer. Paraphrasing his thesis liberally, technological frills distract a person from living life fully awake.

Thoreau echoes this idea: “with a hundred ‘modern improvements:’ there is an illusion about them; there is not always a positive advance…. Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.” Thoreau, [Vol 4] Walden, 57

At Blue Star we have the increasingly rare opportunity to provide a safe space for children to really BE PRESENT with other children (and older mentors in our incredible camp staff). They can engage directly in “face-to-face” time, learning how to navigate the labyrinth of social dynamics and how to read social cues from their peers. Do they need their screens in this setting? Do their screens help them discover their best selves, build intentional community, and do good?

We leave you with more questions than answers and another article (and short podcast) that we have found to be instructive…

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/09/30/351521488/kids-and-screen-time-cutting-through-the-static

Carpe diem. Lauren & I hope everyone had a meaningful High Holidays and is having a wonderfully sweet fall season. As we continue to explore different ways we might connect more with our camp families during the school year (our “off season”), we wanted to weave through our Directors’ Blog a series of posts that pose difficult questions around the “point” of the summer camp experience. Of course, Lauren & I believe passionately in the transformative possibilities of the Blue Star experience, and we know there are many parents who are not quite sure of the value of a summer at camp. Rather than “preach” one side of the debate, or worse yet shy away from it completely, we choose to embrace it.

Should we send our children to summer camp? There it is.

Last summer we came across the article posted below. It centers on an ongoing dialogue between two friends and colleagues (both active parents!) about the merits of a part of the summer away from home. While I will let both writers speak for themselves, I will offer my brief take.

In short, Lauren & I believe that the Blue Star experience is an integral part of a child’s whole education. At Blue Star we believe that children can and must make their own choices as it relates to what pursuits and activities they want to explore on a deeper level. We believe that children growing up today, including our own Eli, need to learn how to interact face-to-face with other children, reading social cues and navigating peer dynamics. We believe the pure fun that campers enjoy at Blue Star, in addition to the strong community they help build each summer, is essential to their positive growth. *Now see what some others think…

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/07/should-you-send-your-children-to-summer-camp

PART 1:  Our Conservation Generation mini-series…

Carpe diem. Blue Star always has been at the forefront of innovation and positive change, doing our small part in helping make our world a better place. Lauren & I are grateful daily to be the current custodians of this movement that has been part of the Popkin family for 68 seasons.

Tikkun Olam is part of our DNA. What is most important to Lauren & me in our parenthood journey with Eli and for us in our camp director journey with Blue Star is creating the space within which children can discover what really makes them happy. Directly connected to this ideal is our strong belief that doing good (for others and for the world) is the central ingredient in the happiness recipe.

So this past summer we launched Conservation Generation in partnership with Avi Djanogly’s Gabi H2O award-winning and world-wide program. This program highlights environmental stewardship and allowed us to put into practice our “programs with a purpose.” Having amazing fun is a guiding principle in everything we do at camp, while learning how to appreciate our beautiful nature surroundings and vital natural resources.

Part of this program involved enlisting the help of our campers and their parents—YOU! Together, in partnership with you, we planted 500 trees with the National Forest Foundation.

Just getting us all to camp left a carbon footprint of over 500 tons of CO2. On average, a broadleaf tree will absorb about 1 ton of CO2 over the course of its estimated 100-year life. By planting 500 trees, our Blue Star family has helped to absorb much of the CO2 emissions made by campers and staff travelling to camp this past summer. Wow!

*Of course, there is a lot more to Conservation Generation. Coming soon in Parts 2 & 3:  Re-cap of all of our camper-led arts projects focused on water conservation AND the three behavior changes at camp & how we made a difference…

Carpe diem.  Lauren and I recently moved onto camp for this summer and along with Eli (who is very much in the “terrible twos” now) have embraced this seasonal transition.  Really, leaving our off season home and life to drive with cars packed to camp is more like a family tradition.  Here we are, and we can’t wait for all of you to join us!

With the Old Lake and vibrant green trees outside of my office window it is time to announce our summer THEME:  be bold. Let’s start with the more literal translation of being bold in the context of the Blue Star experience.  We encourage our campers to stretch beyond their comfort zones in trying new activities, reaching out to a new cabin mate to begin a lifelong friendship, and standing up for what they believe.  In addition to the word—bold—in and of itself, we are taking it a step further by turning “b.o.l.d.” into an acronym that represents our three core outcomes (which we have blogged about throughout this off season).

Build community.

Open our hearts (to do good and practice the philosophy of tikkun olam).

Learn to Discover our best selves.

In order to fulfill these core outcomes we all must take a leap of faith.  It takes boldness to extend a hand to a cabin mate who is having a difficult time adjusting to cabin life.  In so doing we might make a new friend or, at the least, share kindness with others.  Along the way we are indeed building community.  That’s bold.

It takes boldness to think beyond ourselves and consider the impact we have on our surroundings.  Every individual impacts in some way on the other people with whom she or he interacts and impacts on our natural environment.  This summer we will launch our Conservation Generation initiative in partnership with Gabi H2O and the American Camp Association as the pilot camp in a creative effort to positively change behavior around water conservation.  Each camper will have  opportunities through this project and myriad other venues to do good.  That’s bold.

Lauren and I believe that it takes boldness to discover what makes us truly happy.  The process of self-discovery can be illuminating and liberating, even if the change it inspires is subtle.  We believe that what is most important about this process is that our campers find happiness.  That is what becoming successful in life means to us.  We think that’s bold.