Camp Woodland Blog

I think it is safe to say that our campers have made their “back to school” debut for the 2024-25 year. Backpacks filled with a beach towel, sweatshirt, tennis raquet and riding boots from the summer have been traded in for one that carries lunch, completed homework, a calculator, and a binder or two. It is exciting to dive into the topics that each grade will explore for the new school year. Let the learning begin! Or, should I say, let the learning continue?!

So often, we hear about the learning loss that occurs during the summer from having too much time away from school. As a teacher who has spent 35+ summers at camp, I would like to propose that children who go to summer camp, actually experience just the opposite. Kids who spend their summer at camp have a learning surplus. While I do not have any scientific data to back this claim, I can share with you what your campers reported learning during the recent summer.

STRAIGHT FROM THE MOUTHS of our CAMPERS: 

Towards the end of camp, each girl had the opportunity to share her thoughts on the activity “they learned the most” (all campers whose form we received are included here). Based on the wording of the question that was asked, their responses are (mostly) activity based; however, there are a few campers who recognized other kinds of learning that occurred in the Open New Doors in ’24 summer. Campers also shared the camp activities they wish they could do at home – it is interesting to see the differences in the “favorites” from cabin to cabin.

Sunrise

Jacinta: swimming (front/back crawl and elementary backstroke); Milly: gymnastics (lots of skills on floor, beam, and bars); Sloane: sailing (parts of the boat); Reggie: swimming (sidestroke); Fiona: tutoring (becoming a stronger reader and writer); Mara: swimming (elementary backstroke)

Activity I wish I could do at home: arts & crafts (2), sailing (2), tennis (1)

Silver Birch

Liza: riflery (how to safely shoot a gun); Georgia: riding (you can steer a horse with your legs and without using reins); Audrey: tennis (game of touch-the-fence); Amelia: swimming lessons (sidestroke); Lucia: tennis (queen-of-the-court game); Luci: swimming/arts & crafts (Jackie taught me strokes during swimming lessons); Eleanor: tennis (game of touch-the-fence); Lizzy (CIT): drama (patience and teaching when stressed!).

Activity I wish I could do at home: riflery (2), sailing (1), fishing (1), drama (1), arts & crafts (2), archery (1)

Starshine

Maria: riding (put your heels down); Evie: sailing (parts of the boat); Dani: archery (learning how to shoot to get qualifying targets); JoJo: riding (always post while trotting, otherwise, the horse thinks you want to canter); Jaclyn: archery (how to shoot to hit the target consistently).

Activity I wish I could do at home: gymnastics (2), riding (2), archery (2), rec swim (1), riflery (1)

Sunnyside

Lia: arts & crafts/sailing (how to make a pillow and make a mooring); Clara: sailing/riding (I now know the race rules in sailing); Emilia: riding/sailing/tennis (all kinds of cool stuff!); Elyse: swimming/riding (how to do a stride jump and trot better); Indira: sailing/arts & crafts (parts of a boat); Alice: archery (how to hold the string in the first crevice of your fingers; Julia: sailing (parts of a boat); Masyn: gymnastics/swimming (I can now do a front limber/walkover); Mojo: riding/sailing (what to do when you run aground).

Activities (this cabin listed multiple!) I wish I could do at home: rec swim/swim (2), riding (3), sailing (4), water-skiing (1), archery (3), riflery (2), fishing (1), tennis (1)

Driftwood

Ana Roberta: tennis (grab the raquet or follow the ball); Casi: sailing (rules of the road and how much fun it is); Ren: swimming/tennis/sailing (parts of a boat); Olivia: fishing (how to fish); Maggie: gymnastics/riflery (front walkover and how to shoot a gun); Delia (CIT): sailing (learned how to teach sailing to others)

Activities I wish I could do at home: sailing (2), rec swim (2), riflery (1), archery (1), gymnastics (1)

Treetops

Maria: swimming (different ways to swim/strokes); Amelia: riflery (how to shoot); Maddie H: arts & crafts/swimming (how to make flowers); Hannah: sailing (what a gunnel/gunwale is on a boat); Olive: riding (how to do a sitting trot); Maddie B: drama (finding your mark or where you stand on stage and how you should say your lines)  Lou (CIT): sailing (mentality and attitude)

Activities I wish I could do at home: archery (1), arts & crafts (1), archery (3), drama (1), riding (2)

Hilltop

Norah: sailing (how to rig a boat); Julia: sail race (terminology and how a sail race works); Sydney: swimming/sailing (parts of a boat); Karen: tennis (how to hit the ball correctly); Clara: riding (improving my previous skills); Taylor: tennis/sail race (US Olympic sailing rules); Regi: drama (practiced stage presence); Phoebe: riding (how to be more efficient and do things in the barn)

Activities I wish I could do at home: sailing (3), sail race (2), archery (2), riflery (2)

Tamarack

Mariana: sailing (hard to pick just one thing!); Ana Lau: tennis (how to play the game); Katherine: sail race/riding (how to use the wind to my advantage); Izzy: riding (how to jump while on a horse); Elizabeth: sail (better racing tactics); Ivana: sailing (advanced knowledge); Amalia: sailing (rules of sailing); Stella: tennis (how to properly serve a tennis ball); Vale: sailing (terminology and how to go faster)

Activities I wish I could do at home: sail race (1), sailing (4), water-skiing (4), riding (2), archery (1), riflery (1)

Aquarius (these girls are BUSY at the end of camp, so we didn’t get everyone’s form!)

Ivana: dance (how to dance to harder songs and choreographing); Robs: archery (how to shoot properly); Lilah: riding/tennis (learning how to make the switch from the horse fearing you and not you fearing the horse)

Activities I wish I could do at home: riflery (1), archery (1), tennis (1)

As you can see, there is no such thing as learning loss while spending an amazing summer at camp! The typical day at camp is packed with learning experiences that are EVEN BETTER than a typical day at school (and without homework or grades!). And that is coming straight from the keyboard of a math teacher!!!

ENROLL for SUMMER 2025

To continue the learning curve during the summer months, now is a GREAT time to enroll your camper/s for 2025 and reserve your spot/s. Sign up HERE: https://cwtp.campbrainregistration.com