Nov 23, 2016
Camp Counselor Perspective: Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is Paramount One of the counselors at Camp Colley this summer was a graduate student pursuing a Master of Social Work (MSW) at ASU. She shares her insight about youth development through participation at Camp Colley. Learning happens on two levels at camp. There are skills that campers know they are learning through participation in each day’s activities. These include shooting an arrow at the target, paddling a canoe correctly, and making a bird feeder. Although campers may not realize it at the time, they are also developing life skills. Through these same camp activities, youth are transformed as they learn to work as part of a team, cope with new challenges and adversity, assess risks and analyze possible outcomes. This social-emotional learning will help them be successful in all their endeavors throughout life. One example is teaching boating safety. Skills to participate in the activity- such as paddling, positioning, and three points of contact are taught alongside the lifelong skills that are naturally incorporated such as teamwork, sharing the spotlight, cooperation, and patience. Incorporating social-emotional learning into activity instruction is a natural fit and one of the reasons the nature experiences youth have at Camp Colley are impactful for life-long learning and success. Connect disadvantaged youth to what they need to succeed. Donate...
Jun 29, 2016
by: Kristen Whiteman, Research Intern There is a game that my daughter and her friends like to play called “Never have I ever.” The person in the middle of a circle of people tries to get other people out of the circle by listing activities that they think the other people have participated in but the person who is it has not. It is funny to hear what some of these activities include and how creative the players have to be because so many of the kids have had such rich experiences in their lives and have done so much. This game would not have been so entertaining though with some kids that I lately had the opportunity to spend time with, as there were many activities that they have never participated in. Recently I had the good fortune to spend a weekend at Camp Colley with a group of families who were there for a horseback riding weekend. One of the families I had the privilege to meet had never been to the mountains before. Imagine how fun it was to watch this dad looking at the trees in wonder and taking deep breaths of the mountain air as he exclaimed how beautiful it was. And, the kids couldn’t seem to calm down when it was time to get settled in a tent because they were so excited to sleep in a tent, in sleeping bags; two more things that were new to them. Of course we made s’mores around a campfire that first evening and again these kids experienced a first when they toasted marshmallows over the...
Nov 24, 2015
Did you miss our end of year report about the programs at Camp Colley this summer?...
