What’s up, Woodworkers?

Woodworking is essential to our daily existence—everyone alive likely uses something made from wood every single day! Most folks spend their days within the wooden walls of their home. It’s kind of hard to avoid! Whether you’re making a birdhouse or constructing a house for people, you’re sure to get a great sense of pride when you reach the fruits of your labor!   

People have been using wood as material to create useful tools and beautiful objects throughout all of ancient history and back into prehistoric times as well. This natural resource has stood the test of time and shown us its value even in our modern era of steel skyscrapers and plastic tools. It is, however, an artform that’s not as common as it was back in the day.

The Benefits of Woodworking for Kids:

Creative Outlet
Making a physical object with your hands gives kids a place to focus their creative efforts. It may not be thought of as a common art medium (as opposed to visual art, music, or dance), but woodworking is just as creative and artistic as any other form of art!   

Figuring It Out
The challenge of working with wood confronts kids with flaws in the design or a process of trial and error. Woodworking aids kids in sharpening their problem-solving skills and builds confidence with more hands-on experience.

Measure Twice…
There are absolutely mathematical skills involved in the art of woodworking. Planning a design and making things out of wood is a great tangible way of teaching kids counting and measuring skills.

The Right Stuff
Woodworking gives kids experience with the proper tools for carpentry such as a tape measure, a speed square, a screwdriver or a hammer. For most people, especially with an activity like woodworking, experiential learning is the dominating means of gaining knowledge and confidence.

If your child is interested in Woodworking, then I recommend you look into a summer camp that offers it as an activity. If you already have a camp in mind, call them up to ask about their program. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hello, Young Yogis out there!

All across the nation, the practice of Yoga is becoming more and more popular and summer camps are just as hip to that as any zen master. That’s why you’ll see Yoga being offered as a choice summertime activity which is great because there’s no age that’s too early to take in the breath of fresh air that is Yoga. 

Yoga and meditation are technically the same thing, so their histories can be difficult to distinguish, however, the traditional idea of Yoga essentially goes back just as far as traditional meditation practices anyway which is more than 5000 years ago with Buddhist monks.

Lots of people find peace in their practice of Yoga! Check out what you can expect to get out of the experience if you want to participate at camp.

Lessen Pain
You might think you don’t need to worry about lessening pain until you’re an old person, but it can’t hurt to start when you’re young and prevent yourself from ever leaving your body susceptible to diminishing strength and resilience.  

Breathe Easy
Stretching and contorting your body into certain positions and deep-breathing is a refreshing experience that aligns your body in a number of different ways. The regular implementation of the Yoga practice creates an abundance of healthy benefits from the inside out including improved respiration, energy, and vitality!

Reduce Insomnia
Regular Yoga practice allows your body to be better in tune with itself. Tap into your body’s own circadian rhythm—your own, internal, biological clock—that will queue your body’s particular optimal time to fall asleep as well as the best time to wake up.

Mental Benefits
Similar to the way meditation will bring about mental clarity and peace of mind that allows individuals to manage stressful times, Yoga too helps us achieve an unclouded mental state that aids us better as we navigate through life.

If you’re passionate about Yoga, then I recommend you look into a summer camp that offers it as an activity to boost your techniques and skills on your Yoga mat. If you already have a camp in mind, call them up to ask about their Yoga program. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Soldiers!

Capture-the-Flag is all fun and games, but don’t you dare let me catch you in my territory! I kid, of course. But this is one game that can feel incredibly intense…almost as if it isn’t actually a game at all! How does a children’s game get to feel so real? Well, other games can feel just as intense (Monopoly’s a good example) and they likely have ties to the real world.

And what do you suppose the origin of Capture-the-Flag is?

An unlikely place to inspire a game, it’s actually the medieval battlefield that Capture-the-Flag is mimicking. The signal of a victor on the battlefield was signified with a captured flag of the opposing side.

So how do you play a game that’s based in medieval warfare? The playing ground is divided in half with both sides having a Flag (or an object that signifies one). Then, as the name would have you think, the objective is to capture the other team’s flag and bring it back to your own territory. It’s pretty much as simple as that.

Things can get complicated when a member of the enemy team tags you inside their territory. This means that you’ll be taken to an area that the opposing team has designated as their jail.

This is an extremely popular activity played at summer camp that, unlike other activities such as Archery or Horseback Riding, doesn’t necessarily have a laundry list of health benefits it delivers. But you can certainly pick up a thing or two on the battlefield—err…playing field.

If anything, I suppose you could credit Capture-the-Flag with a cardio workout. But this is a game that requires its players be patient, observant, sneaky, fast, and clever. But overall, Capture-the-Flag is FUN. It’s an incredibly engaging way to get a group of any size involved and creates an environment for friendships to flower!

If you played Capture-the-Flag this summer, I hope you enjoyed the intensity involved with this traditional camp activity. You can play this game with as few as two people; I have many fond memories of playing this game with my neighborhood friend growing up. If you love this game, find some other friends to play with and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Pedalin’ People!

Mountain Biking is a popular activity found at summer camps all across the nation. Maybe you’re just returning from a great camp experience where you got a lot of Mountain Biking time in. Keep the fun going post-camp and hit your local biking trails! Nothing hits the spot like a rugged ride through a woodsy park trail or the sights along a rocky terrain! Strap your helmet on and get out there!

While mountain bikes are certainly designed to endure the tough trails they’re made to travel, they aren’t actually necessary for the sport of Mountain Biking. All it takes for this sport is off-road riding on a bicycle of any sort actually.

So, knowing that, the history of Mountain Biking goes back to the invention of the bicycle which—believe it or not—goes all the way back to 1817. Of course, it probably took people a while to muster up the courage to traverse any rough terrain on these early bicycle designs.

Mountain Biking is an exhilarating ride that gets your blood pumping and makes you feel good! Why is that exactly? Well, here’s a quick look at some of the boosting benefits that comes from Mountain Biking:

Heart
Regular exercise is known to improve cardiovascular fitness. Mountain Biking requires lots of oxygen which makes your heart work steadily and builds heart fitness.

Joints 
Mountain Biking puts less stress on your joints as opposed to other activities such as running. Cycling offers seated aerobic exercise taking the pressure off your joints!

Immune System
Consistent, moderate exercise strengthens the immune system and keeps you healthy. Mountain Biking typically doesn’t push you too hard and is habit-forming!

Sleep
Mountain Biking decreases a hormone in us that keeps us awake called cortisol. Lowering this hormone brings you regenerative sleep!

Mood
Mountain Biking entices your body to release natural endorphins and boosts serotonin—the body’s way of feeling good, getting more energy, and feeling happy.

In conclusion, how better to experience the gorgeous majesty of Mother Nature than taking a seat as you cruise along her beautiful sights while also getting some exercise in?! Mountain Biking is the perfect activity during and outside of your summer camp experience. Enjoy hitting the trails and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Painting People!

Summer camps all over recognize Painting as a choice camp activity. Across the country, they’re offering Painting in their activities to encourage all the young painters out there. Camps provide all the Painting supplies for your camper to explore their creativity with a paintbrush and hone your artistic skills.

The history of Painting goes back to our time as cave dwellers when our ancient ancestors first discovered the ability to create images by dragging certain materials across the cave walls. And voila—a new art form was born!

Lots of people are drawn to Visual Art and use Painting as a preferred medium. What’s the attraction to this interesting camp activity? Here’s what Painting does for people:

Cultivates Creativity
A blank canvas makes a painter’s imagination run rampant, grow, and ponder on the best way to execute their vision for the finished work.

Builds Hand-Eye Coordination
Detailed adjustments to the angle of your wrist and the perfect amount of pressure to apply as you move your brush across the canvas achieves incredible hand-eye coordination.

Relieves Stress
Focusing on putting the paint on the paper in a specific pattern is a powerful tool to relax our bodies and minds and reduce stress levels.

Induces Positivity
Something about working in colors to give yourself creative and artistic outlet tends to leave us with a positive demeanor.

Furthers Emotional Maturity
Putting your own internal dialogue or messages that are important to you expressed through paint is a fantastic way to process your emotions and grow.

If you’re passionate about Painting, then I recommend you look into a summer camp that offers it as an activity to boost your techniques and skills with a brush. Check out Painting With a Twist camps by clicking here. Or, if you already have a camp in mind, call them up to ask about their Painting program. And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John