“I’m so glad you build into each day plenty of free time.”
Yes, our daily camp schedule includes three different blocks of time when kids can do what they want— right before lunch, right before dinner and right after dinner. Before lunch and dinner we open the lake for a “free swim,” a time when anyone in camp can come down for a dip. Otherwise, kids can hang out in their cabin with friends, play games on the hill, explore the creek by “Curosty,” write letters home, chat with their counselor, prepare a skit for evening program, or just read a book. There are so many options.
This kind of free time is such a welcome relief from the overly scheduled, competitive, pressured life so many kids deal with at home and at school. Grades! Sports! Music Lessons! Home Chores! Since their childhood is almost “job-like” with its extensive commitments and expectations, kids really need a place that allows for their own pace, their own interests, and their own sense of fun to flourish. At Rockbrook, we all enjoy this, every day.
After all, you gotta have free time to really play.
I remember my friends and I used to do everything BUT swim at free swim, such as:
1. play in the creek
2. go down to the camp store
3.stay in our cabin and do crazy stuff with things we brought from home
4.write letters to our parents
5.go down to the dining hall and ask if there were any left overs from snack that we could have ( it was our secret little thing )
and here’s something fun- write a letter to your home adressed to yourself saying what you were doing at camp- and basicly anything camp-related! when you get home it is fun to read and an excellent camp souvenier 🙂
It’s true! Free Time is AWESOME! You can do anything. Go anywhere! Thanks, RBC! 🙂