by Jennifer Fontaine - 11 year old Kaitlin stood on dry, rocky ground, looking up at the top of the cliff. It seemed a million miles away. Her inner voice was on repeat, “Impossible. Impossible. Impossible!” It was the sixth grader’s third day of rock-climbing, and she still hadn’t reached the top of a single peak. Each day, the new pitches seemed to grow harder, and harder, … [Read more...]
Avid4 Adventure – Boosting Kids’ Confidence at Summer Camp
by Heather Mundt - For many kids, summer means trading school drudgery for summer-camp fun. And if they're lucky, they'll experience an Avid4 Adventure camp, where fun translates to visiting recreation areas and learning to climb, bike, paddle or hike, for starters. Little do these kids know, however, they'll be learning just as much outdoors as they would in a classroom, … [Read more...]
Camp Connections: unique outdoor opportunities for youth far from the mainstream
by Mary Axelson It actually surprised me that connecting with nature could be so darned dirty. My daughter was covered with mud when I picked her up from Laughing Coyote camp near Longmont, Colorado, but she was glowing. No doubt she hoped the natural camouflage would allow an entire tribe of kids to disappear into the landscape and postpone the end of their new approach to … [Read more...]
Weaving a Blanket of Childhood Memories at Avid 4 Adventure Camps
by Jennifer Fontaine As days get longer and the anticipation of summer crescendos, kids everywhere look forward to breaking out of four-walled learning centers and into wide open spaces. The task given us as parents is how to shape their time off into meaningful experiences that may also offer captivating learning opportunities. For many of us, the tradition of … [Read more...]
