When parents reunite with their camper at the end of camp, they can’t get enough of the stories, even though they may not understand half of what is being described. The name of the location, the strange title of an event or tradition, or something that truly could only happen at camp. Parents often tell me they don’t understand all the specifics, but they can feel the joy and excitement coming from their child in a way they don’t always see at home.
They also tell me that their child has grown. Not just that they are taller, but that there is something different in how they carry themselves. They seem more capable, more confident, more independent.
I often tell parents that my goal each summer is to return their child to them as a slightly better version of themselves than when they arrived. That, to me, is the magic of overnight camp.
It’s not about how many games of kickball they played, how many Shabbats they celebrated, or how many times they climbed the climbing tower. It’s all the other little, less obvious things that are often much more impactful.
If you picked up your camper this summer, you probably know what I mean. And if you’re a parent who hasn’t quite decided if your child—or you—is ready for overnight camp, here are all the amazing things that are in store for you when you make that leap.
10. They will be more capable.
I can’t guarantee that your child will suddenly clean the bathroom, make their bed, put away their laundry and straighten their room. (I wish!) But I can guarantee that they are more capable of doing those things after camp, and you can expect more from them.
At camp, campers are responsible for themselves in ways they aren’t always at home. I remember the first year my daughter came home and I stopped putting away her clean laundry. I told her that I knew she was responsible for putting her clean laundry back in her drawers at camp, so she could start doing it at home too.
9. They may be more willing to try new things.
I can’t promise that your incredibly picky eater will suddenly eat everything in sight, but campers have fewer choices at camp than they often do at home. Sometimes the social setting of the dining hall is enough to encourage a child to try something new.
The same is true of activities. Camp gives kids lots of opportunities to say, “I’ve never done that before. I’ll try.”
8. They learn that you aren’t the only person they can count on.
As parents, we are our kids’ everything, and rightfully so. But at camp, your child has to learn to trust new people.
Who is a good listener? Who can help solve a problem? Who gives a great hug when they’re sad? Who can make sure they get something else to eat?
Having other people to depend on is an important part of growing up. It doesn’t mean they need you any less. It means they’ve learned that there are other people who can help them, too.
7. They learn to advocate for themselves.
At camp, you aren’t there to speak up for your child, so they have to learn to do it themselves.
Maybe they need help finding their activity, need something from their counselor, have a problem with a friend, or don’t feel well. Campers have countless opportunities to practice speaking up and getting their needs met.
This is a skill you can continue to encourage at home. The next time your child has a problem with a teacher or coach, give them the opportunity to speak up before you jump in. I know it can be hard. But the confidence they gain from doing it themselves is worth it.
6. They get really good at communicating face to face.
The screen-free environment at Tevya is one of the greatest gifts we can give our campers. There is no hiding behind a screen. Kids have to talk to each other.
They learn how to work through a disagreement, tell someone how they feel, invite someone to join in, or ask to join in themselves. Our staff are there to guide them, but campers get to practice these skills every single day.
These are skills our kids don’t always get enough opportunities to practice during the other 10 months of the year. Encourage your child to step away from the group text and talk about it with friends in person at school, or maybe Facetime or call a friend instead of texting back and forth.
5. They remember how to play.
Our kids have very full lives. School, homework, sports, activities and commitments can leave very little time for simply figuring out what to do.
Camp is structured, but there is also intentional time for campers to choose what they want to do and who they want to do it with, during Free Play after dinner and rest hour after lunch. And somehow, they rarely have trouble figuring it out.
Over the past few summers, our 6th grade boys built an incredible fort out of tree branches found near their bunk. Our 7th and 8th grade boys created a “backyard” space to hang out in and explore behind their bunks. Our Dalia campers (3rd & 4th grade girls) built a fairy garden and spent time rearranging and playing with it every day.
It’s the good old-fashioned kind of play many of us remember from childhood. Give kids some space, some friends and an imagination, and they will figure out the rest. Camp is the perfect place to do this.
4. They do things they (and maybe you) never thought they would do.
Maybe your child loves the spotlight. Maybe they would rather do anything than get on a stage. At camp, even the reluctant performers, athletes and kids who would never normally volunteer to perform find themselves in front of 400+ people at an all-camp evening activity. And the best part is, they are having a blast. They also see this modeled summer after summer from their bunk counselors. Watching campers and staff get up on stage with their friends, often in costumes, singing and dancing is priceless. Where else but camp?
3. They practice resilience.
Kids today need opportunities to practice resilience. That doesn’t mean putting them in a constant state of struggle. It means allowing them to experience some discomfort or disappointment and then helping them figure out how to move through it.
Maybe they don’t get the bunk they hoped for, the dining hall table they wanted to sit at, or the elective they were excited about. Maybe they fall off the waterskis nine times before they finally get up on try number ten.
Resilience is a skill, and like any skill, it gets stronger with practice.
At camp, kids get to practice it in a supportive environment, surrounded by friends and lots of people who care about them. As a parent, I recognize that watching your kid struggle or “figure it out” or cope with disappointment can be really hard. I also know that in the long run, we are building stronger human beings who are ready for the world and all it will throw at them.
2. They grow their Jewish identity.
One of the most meaningful ways campers grow at Tevya is in their Jewish identity. It happens naturally through the everyday experience of camp: singing together at Shabbat in the Pavilion, learning Hebrew songs and prayers, singing Birkat Hamazon three times a day in the dining hall, talking about what it means to be Jewish, and spending the summer surrounded by a diverse Jewish community.
Campers meet Jewish friends and staff from different backgrounds and places and begin to see that there is no one way to be Jewish.
For many of our campers, this is the one time of year when they are fully immersed in Jewish life-not just learning about Judaism, but living it. Over time, those experiences build on one another. Campers leave Tevya knowing more about Judaism, but more importantly, feeling more connected to it and more confident in who they are as young Jewish people.
And we hope some of that comes home with them: lighting Shabbat candles, singing Birkat after a meal, or simply knowing that they have a bigger network of Jewish friends who understand what it means to be part of the Tevya community.
1. They become better people.
At the end of the day, this is what matters most.
As parents, we hope to raise good people…people who know the difference between right and wrong, who stand up for others, who are kind, who are good friends.
That work starts at home, of course. But camp is an incredible place to reinforce those messages and, more importantly, give kids the chance to practice them under the guidance of amazing young adult role models.
At Tevya, we talk a lot about our values: community, kindness, leadership, respect, integrity and inclusion to name a few. But these aren’t just words. Campers practice them every day. They include someone who is new. They work through a disagreement. They take responsibility when they make a mistake. They step up when someone else needs a leader.
When I think about what makes Tevya so special, it really isn’t any one of these things listed above. It’s all of them happening at once. It’s the friend who helped your child through a hard day, the counselor who encouraged them to try something new, the disappointment they worked through when something didn’t go their way, the song they learned, the new responsibility they took on, and the moment they realized they could figure something out without you there. These experiences add up. And that is why, when you pick your child up at the end of the summer, you may not understand every story they tell you, but you can feel that something has changed.
Because that is the part of camp that stays with them long after the summer is over.
Lauren
Director, Camp Tevya
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