As parents, you want to teach your child the importance of hard work, patience and help them achieve the priceless feeling of accomplishment after a job well done. You want to raise your children to work hard so they can play hard. What better way to start this concept than by rewarding your hard working and dedicated child with a summer camp experience of their dreams?

By having a goal in sight, your child will have something to think about, focus on and strive for throughout the school year. Kids who are passionate about athletics can look forward to fine-tuning their skills through intercamps, skill clinics and recreational programs. Future movie stars will be itching at the chance to shine in various acting classes and musicals. Whether your child is a music aficionado or adventure seeker, animal lover or athlete, the Laurel Camps have specific activities and programs geared toward your children’s favorite activities. Whatever it is that gets your kids excited, they can focus on those activities while at camp. When kids have something to look forward to, they are more likely to stay on track, complete their responsibilities and make good choices. When they are working toward something, they truly appreciate the end result.

If you’ve been thinking about giving your child the gift of an unforgettable camping experience, a great time to start talking about it with your child is at the end of summer vacation. As your child starts to get excited about the upcoming school year, take some time to talk about your expectations for them. Let them contribute to the conversation by listing what goals they have and what expectations they have of themselves. Introduce the idea of summer camp, and there is no doubt your child will be through the roof with excitement at the prospect of unlimited athletics, water sports, camping, hiking, and the vast activities summer camp has to offer. Together, come up with an agreement based on what is expected of your child that will enable them to experience camp. Write down the expectations and keep them somewhere for you and your child to look back on throughout the year.

When the excitement of the new school year dies down and your child falls into the routine of school, a simple reminder of the thrilling ropes course or the opportunity to sail, wakeboard and fish on the beautiful lake can be just the boost they need to stay focused and meet their goals. A countdown on the refrigerator is a great visual reminder to keep kids excited about how close they are to a summer they’ll never forget.

By letting your child be a part of the goal setting process, they learn that hard work pays off, and by putting in the time and effort now, they will reap the rewards in the future. This is an excellent skill for children to have, especially in a world of “I want it right now.” Prolonged satisfaction makes for hardworking, patient and determined individuals, qualities that every parent wants to instill in their child.

If you are ready to help your child experience the priceless feeling of working hard and earning something on their own, get them involved in goal setting and give them something to look forward to. Their reward is not just a summer away at camp; their reward is new friends, new experiences, and learning things about themselves that they will use for the rest of their lives. And as a parent, THAT is something to look forward to.

“Screen time” is a common buzzword. It describes the time that we spend looking at and using electronic screens – phones, tablets, computers, televisions, etc. With the steady rise in screen time usage, there has been extensive research on how this is affecting our children.

A recent study published by UCLA, “In our Digital World, are Children Losing the Ability to Read Emotions?” outlines how our kids are falling behind in their social skills due to extended screen time. The study used two groups of middle school students and tested their ability to read other boys’ and girls’ emotions. One group remained in their typical habitat, engaging in screen time as desired, while the other group went to a summer camp where electronics were not allowed. The difference in results were significant, with those at camp being able to read others’ emotions almost 33% more effectively after only five days away from screens. UCLA professor Yalda Uhls says the results are clear: “If you’re not practicing face-to-face communication, you could be losing important social skills. We are social creatures. We need device-free time.”

Significant results were achieved in a five-day period; imagine the boost in social skills children achieve through weeks at summer camp with hundreds of their peers!

A child’s time at camp allows them to grow in so many ways, but one way that’s increasingly important is disconnecting and engaging in social settings. Campers have face-to-face interaction with their peers around-the-clock for weeks at a time.

When campers return home from the summer, parents know their children will rave about their experience, but one thing they may not expect is how much more engaging they are. Camp teaches children how to successfully navigate social interactions.

Of course, a summer in Maine is memorable, but what may be even more impactful is a camper’s increased social growth without electronic devices by their side.

That’s always the question when everyone starts school: What did you do this summer? And it’s always hard to answer with a simple: “I went to camp,” because camp means so many things to so many people.

Lots of kids go to camp. In fact, more than 10 million children across the country go to some kind of camp during the summer. It could be scout camp for a week; day camp for two weeks; baseball camp for a month; or even chess camp at the local elementary school. We think spending the   summer at camp is the very best way to spend the summer for any child. It teaches children how to spread their wings, navigate differences, make good choices and grow into healthy and independent young adults.

So, when campers are asked what did you do this past summer, they really can say: “Everything.”

They made friends and made their bed. They swam in a lake and swam in a kiddie pool of jello (If they were in Chaos!) They got up on waterskis and sang songs. They learned how to live in a cabin with five, eight or even 12 other campers…and they learned to share.

They hung out around a campfire and made s’mores. They probably played in some kind of intercamp, tournament or performed on stage in front of the camp. They cheered and ran their hearts out during College Days. And they even found time to write a letter — with an actual pen and paper — to their parents, grandparents or friends at home.

As we fall back into soccer practice, dance class, music lessons, fantasy football, the World Series and the fall holiday season… campers always have much to say about what they did last summer: Camp. It’s a constant. It happens every year. You can almost touch, smell and feel the great memories.

We always tell our campers to hold tight to the memories of camp in Maine. It’s truly the best place in the world to go to camp. And to never forget the clear blue skies during the day, the loons at dusk and the crisp, starry nights.

We can’t wait to see everyone again in 10 short months on the shores of Echo Lake.

After an amazing summer, camp has come to a close. We had an outstanding last week with our traditional end-of-the-summer events:  The Second Rotation Dance Show, Acadia and Apache Hoedown and Graduation, Reprise, Highlights Video and, of course, our Final Ceremony. It was a week to celebrate and reminisce about the summer of 2014.

On Friday, we woke up early and headed to the Dining Hall for goodbyes and hugs to all our friends and counselors.

We can’t thank our campers enough for sharing themselves with us for seven weeks. We can’t thank our counselors enough for their dedication, commitment, hard work and enthusiasm. We can’t thank our camp families enough for continuing to have the confidence and faith in all of us at Camp Laurel. And, most of all, we can’t wait to see everyone in Readfield next June!

College Days came to a close today.  It was five days of excitement, cheering, competition, spirit, enthusiasm and fun.  College Days started at Camp Laurel 26 years ago and has been a coveted tradition ever since.  In 2003, we moved away from staff captains and introduced Super Senior captains.  It’s one of the great honors to be selected as a captain or spirit leader…but every Super Senior takes part in leading a team of 250 campers and 120 staff.

For five days, we played, we cheered, we competed, we swam, we ran, and we had a ball.  Yes, at times the competition was intense.  But it always ended with high fives, handshakes, and a ”good job” for every opponent.

Everyone participated in College Days in some way — or many ways. Some loved the soccer and tennis tournaments while others were more into the basketball games.  Others loved the swim and track meets, while other campers focused on the song, cheer, float and plaque. Everyone loved Silent Dinner, Slam Dunk, Bucket Brigade, Tug O’ War, Rope Burn and Chaos.

Cincinnati won College Days this year.  But as Jem announced the final score, moments later he reminded everyone to go back to campus, take off their colors, wash off their face paint and put on their regular attire and staff shirts so we can all come together as one Laurel family.

Tomorrow we’ll have a much-needed and well-deserved sleep-in, watch the Dance Show, Rec Day activities, enjoy Reprise and Highlights, and of course feast on steak and lobster at the Banquet Dinner.

Thursday is Packing Day and a chance to say goodbyes, reminisce, enjoy each others company and get ready for the annual Final Ceremony.

It’s been a great summer…and we look forward to the last few days together as the 2014 Laurel family.

The Super Seniors met with Jem, Debbie and Keith last night to  announce the College Days teams.  We discussed the “break,” the camper leadership and captains, the next five days together…and we talked a lot about the last week of camp for this great group of campers, many of whom have been with us for six, seven and eight years.

Starting at lunch today, these Super Seniors will lead us through five days of sports, games, activities, events, cheers, relays, slam-dunk contests and more.  They will demonstrate the leadership skills they’ve acquired this summer, and we will watch them grow into true camp heroes.

After the break today (first a fake out at Fruit Break, then a Magic Show and a Water Show…and finally the real thing)  we were all treated to an amazing demonstration of Flyboarding across Echo lake with Flyboard Phil carrying the traditional College Days Banner.

Campers headed to the Upper Fields and the Marquette Blue Eagles and the Cincinnati Red Bearcats were announced as our 2014 teams. The 51 Super Seniors will lead our campers and our counselors through what’s expected to be a great week of fun, spirit and competition.

Let The Games Begin!!