Making New Friends and Having Fun at Summer Camp?

Make lifelong or just summer-long friends while having a blast outdoors at overnight summer camp. Days are chock-full of amazing activities, from water-front adventures to challenging rope course events and exciting games, while nights offer ghost stories around the campfire, boisterous sing-alongs and hilarious skits.

Having Fun

From learning to swim to catching your first fish, stepping up for some line dancing or perfecting your tennis serve, camp is most of all a place to have fun. Sure, you’ll probably learn a lot about yourself and the natural world, but along the way you’ll be playing games, participating in goofy contests, acting in skits and just hanging with pals in your cabin.

In and on the water are two of the favorite spots to be at sleepaway camp, whether diving for pennies in the pool, exploring hidden coves by canoe or learning the fine art of sailing. Taking risks to achieve personal goals is exciting too, and part of the fun of camp is advancing in swimming levels, acquiring new boating skills and checking out thrilling new sports like water skiing. Trying new sports and activities in the company of friends and favorite counselors means you just might find that you actually are coordinated enough to maneuver on a wind-surfer, artistic enough to create an awesome skit backdrop and strong enough to get to the top of the climbing wall – using the hard route.

Making Friends

A cabin-centered camp structure means campers form a really tight bond, building their own little

community within the larger community of the camp. And don’t worry; you will indeed make friends, whether they last for one summer or your whole life. Even if you’re a little shy or scared of talking to new people, it’s so much easier to get to know other kids when you’re living, eating and playing together all day. And if that’s not enough, camp counselors are experts at easing the way socially for all campers. Just try introducing yourself to people around you; it may be easier and far more fun than you think, and you may find out you’re not as shy as you think. You’ll have a whole new band of friends in your cabin mates, talking, playing, laughing and sharing the super summer camp experience.

All this awesome socializing will also help you forget you’re missing your dog, your mom and dad or your neighborhood friends. It’s hard to stay homesick when you’re engaged in the fun-filled teamwork required for winning that game of Capture-the-Flag, learning a cool dance routine for a campfire skit or completing a challenging goal on the high ropes course.

Another friend you’ll get to know better at camp is yourself. Yes, away from mom and dad, teachers and the school friends, you may just find out a lot about your own character and values. Camp gives you a chance to take some healthy risks that help you learn more about who you are as a person and who you may become. At the end of an awesome summer, you’ll be healthier, fitter, more independent and more resilient, and you’ll carry this new, improved you off to school and then back to camp next summer. You’ll be a better friend to others and to yourself.

Play Your Part in Theater Production with Fellow Campers

Plays and skits are a big, funny part of super summers at overnight summer camp. So whether you prefer to be the star, the director or just an active audience participant, step into the spotlight and enjoy making magical, theatrical memories with your camp pals.

Let your child have the summer camp experience at Camp Walt Whitman, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Learn more at http://www.campwalt.com

Discover Forest Treasures at the Ultimate Kid's Nature Camp

Let your child experience the magic of the woods this summer at sleepaway camp, where new discoveries, new friends and new experiences are the real treasures of the forest. Guided by experienced counselors familiar with forests, fields and lakes, campers play, explore and learn, surrounded by the wonders of nature. From hiking trips in the mountains to canoe excursions into secluded coves, nature-themed overnight summer camp offers kids incredible outdoor adventures. Guided treks through the woods offer up such secrets as how to identify animal tracks, which mushrooms are safe to eat or how to blaze a trail, all the while surrounded by the happy company of fellow campers.

Many kids today may just view nature as another abstraction, something seen on a TV show or a You-Tube video; in fact, studies have shown that kids average over five hours a day glued to some kind of electronic device. Letting kids run free in neighborhood fields, woods and playgrounds is no longer viewed as safe, and parents are more likely to keep kids close to home. All these factors make experiences like sleepaway camp more important than ever, as organized, supervised summer camp gives kids a safe way to experience the joy of connecting with the natural world.

For many children, the woods and lakes surrounding sleepaway camps are like an enchanting foreign land, full of unfamiliar creatures, sounds and smells. Imagine your child catching his first fish, learning how to blaze a trail through the forest or experiencing the daring thrill of holding a (harmless) snake. All these experiences open a whole new world for many youngsters, meanwhile fostering a true appreciation of the natural world.

Not only do youngsters have a blast in nature’s amazing playground, but counselors have a knack for instilling a love and respect for the natural world. The nature lessons learned at camp can last for a lifetime, whether it’s learning how to use a compass in the forest, how to spot an impending storm in cloud formations or how to identify the paw prints of a fox.

Getting out and enjoying the great outdoors is also known to have so many benefits for kids, from reducing stress to promoting a love physical exercise. Energetic activities like hiking, camping, horseback riding are not just healthy, they also promote self-confidence, independence, problem-solving skills, creativity and self-discipline.

When is the last time your child was free to explore the summertime woods, listen to the wind howl through tall stands of trees or lie still at night and watch the billions of stars undimmed by city lights? All these wonders of nature are the gifts of sleep-away camp, and all the more precious for being experienced with amazing new friends.

When the moon shines through the pines and the mysterious nighttime noises of the woods begin to rustle about, kids love to gather around the campfire toasting marshmallows, listening to ghost stories and giggling with friends. Even youngsters who have never been out of the city learn to identify the nighttime residents of the forest, from ghostly owls to swooping bats and cheery peep frogs. Imagine your youngster experiencing the old-time summer magic of catching fireflies, watching the moon floating in the glimmering lake waters or taking that first gooey bite of s’mores.

Your kids can enjoy the benefits of sleepaway summer camp at Camp Walt Whitman in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 

Learn more at http://www.campwalt.com