Camp Arowhon
Skills Building
From Camp Counsellor to Prime Minister
From this weekend’s Globe and Mail article introducing Canada’s new “First Family”: Before entering politics, Justin Trudeau – who worked as a teacher and a board member of the Katimavik youth program founded by his father’s government – had a long career working with youth, including the summers he spent as a counsellor at Camp […]
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Supporting Anxious Kids
By Mara Kates, Assistant Director At camp, we get a unique epidemiological perspective on childhood afflictions. I am not a scientist but I would hazard a guess that rates of childhood anxiety are on the rise. Whether a kid has a clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder or is simply afraid of the dark, children (and their […]
ContinueStop Googling. Let’s Talk.
COLLEGE students tell me they know how to look someone in the eye and type on their phones at the same time, their split attention undetected. They say it’s a skill they mastered in middle school when they wanted to text in class without getting caught. Now they use it when they want to be […]
ContinueWhy is camp so good for kids?
I love my iPhone. I fondle it. I can’t seem to tolerate a nano-second without its electronic stimulation, so in lineups (waiting to pay for almost anything) or even the most minuscule of downtimes, I’m on my cherished device. Sound familiar? And we’re immigrants to the internet. Imagine how much more addictive it is for […]
ContinueCalming Down Kids Who Catastrophize
To Connect With Kids, Just Call ’em Like You See ’em by Dr. Chris Thurber As a parent, I sometimes find myself contradicting what my kids say. My 10-year-old son Sava, for example, has a tendency to catastrophize. When the LEGO structure he is building collapses, he’s likely to say something like, “I hate LEGOs. […]
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HoCho in Jo’s
At lunch today we announced that all juniors and inters who had signed up for windsurfing in the afternoon should go to Arts and Crafts instead because it was too cold. On my way out of the ML, a group of Inter Girls surrounded me BEGGING to go windsurfing because “it’s not thaaaat cold and […]
ContinueSkills learned at camp create successful career grownups
Peace-makers At Work: PsychTests.com’s Research Reveals The Benefits Of Social Values In The Workplace PsychTests.com’s latest study indicates that proponents of social values perform better at work. Montreal, Canada – April 08, 2014. Many companies seek employees whose values match those of the organizational culture, but how does a person’s individual values affect their work […]
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What do DisneyWorld, Zappos and Camp Arowhon have in common?
I heard a radio documentary about training incredible staff. They talked about the superb staff at DisneyWorld, and how Disney’s staff training is the best there is – Every single staff comes out of that training living the Disney ideals (like that or not). They also talked about Zappos, the internet clothes and shoes giant. […]
Continue10 Reasons Why Businesses Should Hire Former Camp Counselors
From the American Camp Association, by Anne Archer Yetsko: When I speak with friends who work in other industries, I always tell them that if you have an applicant who has been a camp counselor and has a positive reference from that camp, they should move to the top of that pile of applications that […]
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Regulating Emotions – a Life Skill our kids need
Regulating emotions is a dry expression used by psychological professionals to describe being able to calm down and not freak out for too long when you’re upset. It’s the difference between a five minute cry over a boo-boo (physical or emotional) and an hour-long drama. Nobody likes the latter. When grownups do it, it’s appalling […]
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