Camps for Confidence

By Jeff Turner, Director of Co-Curricular Programs, Summit School

I recently had a conversation with a parent of young children who was concerned about her daughter’s lack of confidence and low self-image. The mother was trying a variety of solutions to help her daughter improve in these areas of concern.

I was reminded of a helpful concept I learned from Mrs. Bekah Sidden, Summit School’s Lower School Assistant Director of & Counselor.  In a talk titled Raising Resilient Children, she encouraged parents to develop their children’s “Islands of Competence.” This term was coined by Robert Brooks, Ph.D., an author and psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.

While reflecting on the negative self-talk of many of the children (and adults) in his practice, Dr. Brooks writes,

“‘Many of these children and adults seem to be drowning in an ocean of self-perceived inadequacy.’ This image remained with me for a few moments, but was soon replaced by another, namely, ‘If there is an ocean of inadequacy, then there must be islands of competence – areas that have been or have the potential to be sources of pride and accomplishment.’ Continuing with this metaphor, I recall thinking with some excitement, ‘We must help children and adults to identify and reinforce these islands so that at some point they become more dominant than the ocean of inadequacy’. If we can find and reinforce these areas of strength, we can create a powerful “ripple effect” in which children and adults may be more willing to venture forth and confront situations that have been problematic.”

I turned my conversation with the mother to her child’s areas of interest and skill. I suggested some resources including camps and classes we offer at Summit.

With that experience as my inspiration, I encourage Triad parents to focus on their child’s strengths through summer enrichment. Summit School has been offering summer day camps for 30 years. We have camps for all kinds of kids with all kinds of talents and passions.

For the Techy/Engineer kid, who enjoyed taking apart your old VCR, consider a camp like STEAM Around the World with Dr. Sirena Hargrove-Leak.Each day will focus on an exploration of engineering in a different part of the world and culminate with a design and build experience. Other options include Drone Zone, Robotics, Maker Shop or Tinker Time.

For your Geek/Gamer who loves RPG sign up for one of our new role play game camps. In Role, Play, Action! students will explore the magical worlds of theatre and role playing and discover the parallels between them. In Tabletop Adventures, students will go on an adventure using a variety of rule sets including Star Wars, Stranger Things, Marvel Comics, Ghostbusters, and Lord of the Rings.

For your Outdoorsy/Adventurer who thinks dirt is just a fact of life, camps like Fishing and Archery would be enjoyable and challenging. Or consider Extreme NC Adventures which includes hiking, kayaking, and a trip to the NC Whitewater Center.

For the Environmentalist/Save the World kids we have two new camps: Creek Week is a fun, hands-on camp to learn about sustainability, conservation, and other earth-friendly practices through experiences with our local waterways. The Energy Design Challenge camp will delve into the world of sustainable and renewable energies through hands on projects including designing and building in Summit’s Maker Spaces and Winston’s MIXXER.

For the Sporty/Athletes who can’t get enough sports, we have lacrosse, volleyball, flag football and basketball camps. We have a Comedy camp. There’s a Songwriting camp. Summit even has a camp that explores the entrepreneurs, leaders, spaces and places in downtown Winston-Salem called DTWS!

Summit Summer offers over 80 enriching, challenging and fun day camps for three-year-olds to rising 10th graders. Summit Summer is for everyone. In 2018, 59% of our campers attended schools other than Summit.

Learn more about these and other camps at www.summitschool.com/summer. Register soon because all camps have enrollment limits. Triad Moms on Main readers receive a 10% discount on camp tuition by using the coupon code TMOM10 before April 1.

*Sponsored by Summit School