"The physical exercise and emotional stretching that children enjoy in unorganized play is more varied and less time-bound than is found in organized sports. Playtime—especially unstructured, imaginative, exploratory play—is increasingly recognized as an essential component of wholesome child development." Richard Louv, The Last Child in the Woods
I read The Last Child in the Woods in the early years of developing our summer camp program. One of the chapters describes the value of a park. The interior of my local park contains basketball courts, soccer fields, lacrosse nets, baseball fields, and a mile-long bike path. In this place, the rules of the games are defined and the players are expected to learn the rules and follow along.
I read The Last Child in the Woods in the early years of developing our summer camp program. One of the chapters describes the value of a park. The interior of my local park contains basketball courts, soccer fields, lacrosse nets, baseball fields, and a mile-long bike path. In this place, the rules of the games are defined and the players are expected to learn the rules and follow along.
Coaches teach the strategy, players work together to function as a unit, and referees are there to ensure fair play. On the outside edge of my local park is a significant space of wild grasses and just down the hill is a mile-long stretch of river, a flowing irrigation ditch, and a healthy forest of Cottonwood, Spruce, Pine, dogwoods, willows, and occasional fruit trees. In this space, kids make up their own games. They build forts, float twigs downstream, catch water striders, and wade in the cool water. Both spaces, the interior and the outside edge, hold great value for child development, and we work intentionally to provide both structured and unstructured, creative play.
I was working with the 13-14 year-old camp at Twin Lakes on Tuesday, and we took off on a 15-mile bike ride around the lakes. We followed the single-track trail coaching kids to give space between riders, to regroup at intersections, to drink water and snack, to greet and thank hikers who step aside to let us pass. Kids supported each other, paced one another, and we only pushed on to the next stretch of trail once our unit of 15 had reassembled. In loose terms, we were engaged in organized play. After four hours of climbing and descending, navigating rocks, bridges and a significant river crossing, not to mention a few crashes, and mechanical failures, we all made it, a first-ever success for our camp crew! I could feel a sense of pride in each of the kids. They had accomplished something notable, and they felt good!
And then, the magic happened. Back at the campsite, the kids put their gear away, rested for about two seconds, and emerged from their tents without direction to the stream flowing through our campsite. They were building dams in the stream, diverting water this way and that, catching bugs, creating their own play, with their own rules, and their own system of cooperation. For two hours, these kids, on their way into 8th grade and high school, revealed their 10-year-old selves in a precious few hours of creative exploration.
The same strategy exists in our day camp. Organized structured games in the morning (Capture the Flag, Manhunt, Pin Huck, and stations) in which kids learn the value of listening, following directions, honesty, and fair play. And in the afternoons, we head out to the fringes, where they can explore, create their own fun, and become the rule makers in the wild spaces.
We aim to foster healthy, functional kids who know that games are more fun when we are all on the same page together, and who thrive in untamed spaces where creativity and imagination rule supreme.
I was working with the 13-14 year-old camp at Twin Lakes on Tuesday, and we took off on a 15-mile bike ride around the lakes. We followed the single-track trail coaching kids to give space between riders, to regroup at intersections, to drink water and snack, to greet and thank hikers who step aside to let us pass. Kids supported each other, paced one another, and we only pushed on to the next stretch of trail once our unit of 15 had reassembled. In loose terms, we were engaged in organized play. After four hours of climbing and descending, navigating rocks, bridges and a significant river crossing, not to mention a few crashes, and mechanical failures, we all made it, a first-ever success for our camp crew! I could feel a sense of pride in each of the kids. They had accomplished something notable, and they felt good!
And then, the magic happened. Back at the campsite, the kids put their gear away, rested for about two seconds, and emerged from their tents without direction to the stream flowing through our campsite. They were building dams in the stream, diverting water this way and that, catching bugs, creating their own play, with their own rules, and their own system of cooperation. For two hours, these kids, on their way into 8th grade and high school, revealed their 10-year-old selves in a precious few hours of creative exploration.
The same strategy exists in our day camp. Organized structured games in the morning (Capture the Flag, Manhunt, Pin Huck, and stations) in which kids learn the value of listening, following directions, honesty, and fair play. And in the afternoons, we head out to the fringes, where they can explore, create their own fun, and become the rule makers in the wild spaces.
We aim to foster healthy, functional kids who know that games are more fun when we are all on the same page together, and who thrive in untamed spaces where creativity and imagination rule supreme.
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