Going on school camps are a great way to help kids build life skills, resilience, and strengthen their friendship skills. For some kids, it’s their first time ever being away from their parents and they are forced to lean on their teachers and their friends. Kids naturally feel a little anxious about all of the unknowns and are desperate to be with their closest friends. Who will I share a cabin with? Will my best friends be in my group? What if I have no friends in my cabin? Who will I sit beside on the bus? What if I’m scared at night? What if kids are mean to me? What if I’m all alone?
Developing new friendships and strengthening existing friendships are a big part of the school camp experience. While we want to encourage kids to step out of their comfort zones, we can help our students feel a sense of comfort and calm by empowering them with friendship skills in preparation for camp.
This lesson, created by a brilliant teacher at one of our URSTRONG Schools (Amy Craig at Trinity College North School), will help kids apply the core principles taught in our Friendology curriculum to the camp experience.