Alumni Jack Angelo’79 Directs Holiday Film

Looking For A Film Full of Holiday Spirit?

“The Christmas Spirit,” a movie written and directed by Keewaydin’s very own Jack Angelo ’79, premiers on Sunday, December 1 at 7 p.m. on the Hallmark channel. It will also run throughout the month. Congratulations, Jack! We look forward to seeing it!

movie

http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/thechristmasspirit

Calling All Boat Partners To Tell Your Story!

Have a funny, dramatic, or poetic story of your camp boat partner experience?

Share your story and it may be featured in the upcoming Northwest Wind!

Looking for memories, anecdotes, and photos from various decades to be remembered for many years to come!

Share here or e-mail [email protected]

 

Celebrate with Keewaydin in NYC

You are cordially invited to attend 

The 2013 Keewaydin Alumni Reception

 Highlighted by Presentation of the Keewaydin Service Award to

~ John F. “Jeff” Schneider ~

Monday, October 21, 2013 6-8 p.m.
Cocktails, Hors d’oeuvres and Keewaydin Cheer
The Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Ave (Lexington and 47th St.)
New York, NY 10017

Attire: Business Casual 

Please RSVP to Keewaydin prior to October 11th.

[email protected] or 802.352.4247

Songa Staff Hike Long Trail

This fall five Songadeewin staff have hit the trail, hiking the oldest long-distance hiking trail in the United States. The Long Trail runs the length of Vermont; beginning near Massachusetts and ending on the border of Canada, totaling 272 miles. These women are only part way through their journey, with 134 miles to go! To see more photos and check up on the status of these intrepid hikers see Songa’s Facebook page!

Ella Davidson, Lolo Cappio, Charlotte Gutfreund, Emily Burton, Tacie Moskowitz
Ella Davidson, Lolo Cappio, Charlotte Gutfreund, Emily Burton, Tacie Moskowitz

Songadeewin Director on Vermont Public Radio

 

Ellen Flight, Director of Songadeewin and President of the Vermont Camping Association, joined Jane Lindholm on the Vermont Edition of Vermont Public Radio to discuss summer camp traditions, lessons, and adventures. Listen to the show and share your experience at one of Keewaydin’s camps!

Campers who attended Keewaydin Dunmore in the summer of 1957 prepare for a paddling adventure.
Campers who attended Keewaydin Dunmore in the summer of 1957 prepare for a paddling adventure.

 

 

 

Advice For A “Homesick” Parent

A recent article in The Atlantic gives some wonderful advice for parents who
are feeling “homesick” for their child.  

A Summer Camp Lesson: Good-bye, and Go Away,
Thank You Very Much

Dropping a kid off for camp can test a parent’s resolve. But standing back to let a child develop autonomy is one of the most important things a parent can do.
By Jessica Lahey

Three years ago, when he was eleven, my son Ben set down a very specific parental code of conduct we’d be expected to follow at summer camp drop-off. We could say our goodbyes at home, but once we arrived at camp, any displays of affection, attempts to make his bed, arrange his things, or force premature familiarity with his cabin mates would be strictly prohibited. We could hang around during registration, watch while they check him for lice, help him lug his bags to his cabin, and shake hands with his counselor, but after that, our parental duties were complete. We were expected to say goodbye, and go away, thank you very much.

My husband was taken aback by Ben’s request, but I was not. I totally understood his yearning for independence. I went to camp as a child, and as much as I adored my parents, I, too, looked forward to the autonomy I found during those glorious summer months away from home. I missed my parents, of course, but in their absence, I passed my swim test, dove off the high dive, ran my first 5k, spent three nights alone in a dark forest, and shared my first kiss.

The fact that Ben is eager to watch me walk away from him is a sign of strength — both of our bond, and of his sense of self. According to psychologist Michael Thompson, childhood requires an endpoint, and it’s a parent’s job to raise children who can leave, children secure enough to turn away from the safety of a parents’ embrace and look toward the adventures and challenges to be found beyond.

In his book Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child GrowThompson writes,

…in the final analysis, there are things we cannot do for our children, no matter how much we might want to. In order to successfully accomplish these tasks, to grow in the ways they need to grow, children have to do it on their own, and usually away from their parents, sometimes overnight, sometimes for days or weeks or even months.

He goes on to list the eight things parents cannot do for their children, no matter how desperate we are to do so:

1. We cannot make our children happy.

2. We cannot give our children high self-esteem.

3. We cannot make friendships for our children or micro-manage their friendships.

4. We cannot successfully double as our child’s agent, manager, and coach.

5. We cannot create the “second family” for which our child yearns in order to facilitate his or her own growth.

6. It is increasingly apparent that we parents cannot compete with or limit our children’s total immersion in the online, digital, and social media realms.

7. We cannot keep our children perfectly safe, but we can drive them crazy trying.

8. We cannot make our children independent.

Thompson’s list of developmental milestones — critical, essential milestones every child is going to have to navigate — is terrain our children must traverse on their own, and parents who believe they can span those uncomfortable gaps with lovingly made bridges woven of organic hemp and allergen-free twine are kidding themselves. Despite all our parental worries, these gaps are not deep, dark, places of danger where there be dragons and creepy Stephen King clowns; they are places of wonder, filled with adventure, and excitement, and the promise of untold successes. If we allow our children to head out into these uncharted territories on their own, they will get there and back again, and when they return to us, ready to tell their tales of adventure, they will be much more competent and capable human beings.

So when I drove my son to camp today, we did not have to review his rules. He knew I would remember and honor them. We parked, he was checked for lice, I met his counselor, and while the other parents moved about the cabin, making their children’s beds and suggesting where to store their flashlights and extra sunscreen, I quickly took my leave with a wave and a good-bye.

On the way back to the car, my younger son slipped his hand into mine, something he hardly ever does anymore.

“I think I’d like to come to camp next year,” he said.

“Really?” I said, picturing him running around among these hulking adolescents.

“Yep,” he nodded. “I think I’ll be big enough next year.”

And with that, he let go of my hand and ran ahead to gather up a pile of pine needles he’d spotted just off the path. As I watched him attempt to stuff two handfuls of the needles into his pockets, I realized that next year, he’d be almost as old as his brother was the first year he went to camp. So just maybe, if I do my job right, he will be big enough next year. Big enough to want me to say goodbye, and go away, thank you very much.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/06/a-summer-camp-lesson-good-bye-and-go-away-thank-you-very-much/277145/

The Excellence School Featured on 60 Minutes

Keewaydin Camps Partner with the Excellence School

The Excellence Boys Charter School of Brooklyn was recently featured in a 60 Minutes story about the Robin Hood Foundation of New York. Keewaydin connected with the school in 2012, enabling two scholars to attend Keewaydin Temagami last summer. Those boys’ experience, combined with a presentation by camp Director Bruce Ingersoll, helped cement a partnership between Keewaydin and the Excellence School. This summer, the partnership will enable five boys from the Excellence School to attend Keewaydin camps; three at Keewaydin Temagami and two at Keewaydin Dunmore.

Robin Hood

50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 3/4

There is nothing quite like getting outside after a long winter; the sun on your shoulders, the smell of freshly cut grass, the sound of birds singing. The British National Trust recently came out with a list of 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 3/4. This list of family fun adventures is completely Keewaydin approved and are activities inherent to Keewaydin’s summer camp programs. But, since we want to encourage kids to get dirty, be silly and enjoy the wonders of the great outdoors year round we thought we’d share this list with you.

50 things to do before your 11