Unpack What They Bring Back From Camp

Unpack What They Bring Back From Camp

As summer days become memories and kids settle into the back to school routine, we hope the bathing suits have finally made it out of the laundry pile, alarm clocks are reset, and kids are back to their regular sports and activities. But there are a few things the kids bring home that can’t be pulled out of their bags.

For many campers, traveling on a ferry to Catalina Island Camps is one of the first times they’re traveling away from their parents. They enter a new environment and realize that this experience is totally theirs. There are always counselors and a whole camp community supporting them, but when Mom and Dad aren’t there to help with every decision, campers start to do it themselves. They make choices, they keep track of their things, they speak up when they need something, and they learn to live alongside other people. This independence doesn’t disappear when they get back home—it starts to show up in small ways. Maybe they’ll do something without a reminder, handle a problem at school or practice on their own, or try to figure something out before asking someone to help them. Catalina gives kids a chance to practice all of this in a safe environment where making mistakes is okay.

Camp has so many firsts. 

First time sleeping away from home, first time wakeboarding, first time having a roommate you’ve never met. Not every new experience is comfortable, and that’s part of why camp is so important for a well-rounded childhood. We encourage our campers to discover what they’re capable of when new situations come up. This growth is noticeable when they get back home. New teachers, harder classes, joining a club they’ve never been in—it’s not so scary anymore.

Little moments of courage add up here at CIC.

With real opportunities to take risks and accomplish things outside their comfort zone, kids can’t help but grow alongside their fellow campers. Not only do kids arrive at Catalina Island Camps from different places, but this blend of personalities and interests makes for unique living situations. They’ll eat together, hike together, sail together, and develop a friendship differently than they would back home, even if they’re thousands of miles away from each other.

Before they know it, camp comes to an end the same way it began: with a ferry ride across the water. We’re proud to say that the kids headed back aren’t exactly the same as the ones who arrived. Maybe they’re a little more independent, a little more self-assured, or happy to have discovered a brand-new hobby during their time here. That’s our favorite part of camp.