Pick a Camp-Read a Blog

Getting a good feel for a summer camp is not all that easy, checking out a camp blog can help. Here are just a few things you might find at Swift Nature Camp’s Blog.

Jef & Lonnie Lorenz, are Directors of Swift Nature Camp a Non-competitive, Traditional coed overnight summer camp in Wisconsin. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15. enjoy Nature, Animals & Science along with adventure camping.

We at Swift Nature Camp believe that your child’s safety is the most important part of camp. That is why we have a strict Lifejacket rule. Everyone must wear a PDF when in a boat. No exceptions, staff and campers alike. THis is true if on a river canoe trip or on on our own camp lake. Water is so much fun and kids love it but it is dangerous and we must be prepared. We even have a special “titanic test” to ensure that our lifejacket fits nice and snug in case of an emergency. Campers learn this the first day of camp.

It seems as if we are learning more that Summer Camp helps children grow into mature adults. A new British study finds that most modern parents overprotect their kids. Half of all kids have stopped climbing trees, and 17 percent have been told that they can’t play tag or chase. Even hide-and-seek has been deemed dangerous. And that dreaded stick…”will put out someone’s eye”. It is easy to blame technology for the decline in outdoor play, but it may well be mom and dad. Adrian Voce of Play England says ‘Children are not being allowed many of the freedoms that were taken for granted when we were children,’ ‘They are not enjoying the opportunities to play outside that most people would have thought of as normal when they were growing up.’ According to the Guardian, “Voce argued that it was becoming a ’social norm’ for younger children to be allowed out only when accompanied by an adult. ‘Logistically that is very difficult for parents to manage because of the time pressures on normal family life,’ he said. ‘If you don’t want your children to play out alone and you have not got the time to take them out then they will spend more time on the computer.’ The Play England study quotes a number of play providers who highlight the benefits to children of taking risks. ‘Risk-taking increases the resilience of children,’ said one. ‘It helps them make judgments,’ said another. We as parents want to play it safe and we need to rethink safety vs adventure. The research also lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees. Summer camp provides an excellent opportunity for children to get outside take risks and play, all while still while being supervised by concerned young adults…we call counselors. See how Swift Nature Camp can put Adventure back into your childs life.

So what can you do a camp that you cant do at Home? How bout shooting guns? Yep, one of the fun activity at this kids camp is riflery. This is one area at camp where there is no clowning around. We take teaching riflery very seriously. It may be a tradition at many summer camp. But we are very proud that our riflery range is our safest area at camp. At Swift Nature Camp we only shoot at targets and we shoot from the prone position (thats lying down) , our guns are single shot .22 caliber rifles. Our campers try to earn our camp Marksman awards. Often parents ask why have rifles at camp? The answer is …we want to teach children how to properly and safely operate a gun. Campers also learn life lessons, like you need to practice and as you do practice bit by bit, you improve and before you know it you are loving Riflery.

When most folks think of a science they think of school and all those books and studying. However, Swift Nature Camp is all about having Fun while helps children to learn how and why to become good stewards of the environment. It is through direct experience and hands on activities that we inspire kids to be environmentally conscious when they return home. Our first goal is to be a kids summer camp but it is so much more,, it’s our dedication to the environment. Swift Nature Camp is fun with a purpose.

Jeff & Lonnie Lorenz, are Directors of Swift Nature Camp a Non-competitive, Traditional coed overnight summer camp in Wisconsin. Boys and Girls Ages 6-15. enjoy Nature, Animals & Science along with adventure camping.

Tags: Home and Garden, Kids, games

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