Robbin Zrudlo, the Kemptville Forest Camp Director, has created a new local camp which is a combination of traditional forest fun while at the same time working on mindfulness and intuition building techniques for children.
The first purpose of this camp is to give children the opportunity to explore, experiment, and play in nature. They will build a shelter, build campfires with flint and steel, safely use a small knife and whittle. They will explore as much of the forest as possible looking for life. They will get lost and use a compass and map to get back. They will explore the creek for frogs. They will make crafts, learn knots, tell or read stories, and learn a couple of songs. Good old regular summer camp fun!
The second purpose of the camp is more subtle, yet so important in our society. It is fully recognised that children today are immersed in a world that is greatly focused outside of them. With screens of all sizes, and constant external pressures capturing a lot of their attention, we end up with very stimulated kids. Meanwhile, there is abundant research showing the incredible value in teaching children how to be mindful and the amazing results that come with it.
The various camp activities will naturally help bring in their focus and attention toward mindfulness. This will be done in several ways. Through mitigated risk – such as building fires or using a knife, getting “lost”, and generally being immersed in nature. Also, Robbin will teach specific techniques that can bring their focus and attention inside themselves. By doing this, they can explore mindfulness, and find out how to better access their intuition. Throughout the week each child will have the opportunity to develop these skills and techniques so that they can learn how to better self-regulate their emotions, manage their stress, lengthen their attention spans, and possibly apply it to any situation.
Camp Dates: July 24 – 28, 2017, 8:30 – 4:30. The camp runs from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Cost: $175 per child ($165 for any extra sibling). This camp is for children ages 7-11 years old only. For registration information, email: Kemptvilleforestcamp@gmail.com or call 613-263-2554.