Kingsley Pines helps children become more positive in their social interactions. Kingsley Pines camp is a place when staff demonstrates through their works and deeds how to be a better friend. By teaching children better listening skills, and how to better phrase their words in a more constructive manner, children learn the skills of being civil with each other. Disagreement is a human activity like any other, but it requires practice to do it well. Our counselors treat each other and campers with respect providing excellent role models of how to get along with others.
The more interactions occur online, the less opportunity there is to develop crucial interpersonal social skills. Responsible online behavior can best be nurtured though direct interpersonal contact where reactions to ones behavior and comments can be more closely observed, and directly responded to. Unfortunately, we are often deficient in the intellectual virtues necessary to engage in productive, respectful discourse. Individuals who are open- minded, possess intellectual charity, and intellectual humility are more civil with aquaintances, friends, and family.
Our camp counselors encourage our campers to be respectful when disagreeing with another person, to create a dialogue, and to repeat what you heard another camper say, before responding. When putting forth information, to verify it fist, and not simply repeat what another person said.
Online communication is here to stay, and can be very helpful; however, there remains an important role for critical thinking, thoughtfulness, curiosity, and respectfulness. Technology can set the menu, BUT at the end of the day, each person must make their own choice.
To have friends you have to be there! Friendships are built from those thousands of shared moments that bond us together. Unfortunately, Covid has deprived our children of numerous experiences and exposure to their peers. I cannot stress how important it is to stay connected. Technology has provided many substitutes for “togetherness”, but nothing beats “being there”.
Most children made their “Best Friends” during their teenage years. It is an age when Friendships begin to be made on VALUES and lifestyle more than activity and proximity. Ask yourself when and where did you make your best lifetime friends? If you went to camp as a child, I can guarantee that it was there.
One of our important goals at Kingsley Pines is to bring out the BEST in one another. We help campers develop the positive aspects of their personality while discouraging negative behavior! It becomes a place where it is SAFE to express oneself, and try new activities in a supportive atmosphere.
Basically, campers spend more time with each other in in a session of Kingsley Pines than to do with classmates in an entire year. Kingsley Pines provides a “Supercharged” lesson in friendship.
Kingsley Pines Camp opened successfully this Summer and provided a fun, and meaningful camp experience for our campers. We would like to acknowledge our 2020 camp parents for their confidence and support. Without their hard work in complying with our rigorous pre-camp guidelines, we would not have been able to keep camp open.
When our owners and administrative staff made the decision to open Kingsley Pines for the summer, we were confident we could provide a safe, fun, and fulfilling experience to children whon needed camp more than ever. The expertise and commitment of our staff, combined with parent support, allowed our entire community to have a truly exceptional summer.
What we were able to accomplish should provide hope to all of us that by working together, we can find ways to foster meaningful in-person engagement for our children even in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
If we can be helpful to any of our campers, families and alumni during the challenges of this Fall and Winter, please contact us. Our staff is ALWAYS willing to reach out to Campers and help them through any rough spots. We truly care about all of you. Please stay in touch with us and your camp friends! Being a friend means helping each other through good and bad times!
We wish our families the best in the upcoming months, and look forward to seeing everyone back at Kingsley Pines Camp next Summer!
Be Safe, Be Smart, Be Kind
Because we take the safety of children so seriously, we wanted to make sure Kingsley Pines Camp could fully comply with CDC and State of Maine Guidelines for opening camp before finalizing any plans. Although the Maine Guideline were only published on May 22, 2020, we have been discussing safety measures since COVID-19 first appeared in late January. We have carefully reviewed our operating procedures to assure that we can make them safe while providing a fun and challenging environment for children.
We are altering our calendar to provide a single session of camp that offers families a choice of 3 or 4 ½ week stay. By being a “single” session camp, we are able to provide a much higher degree of safety for our campers, since “new” children will NOT be arriving part way through the camp season. We will NOT allow visitors during the summer, drop off and pick up will be contained to a specific area, and Staff will stay on our property all summer. In effect, Kingsley Pines Camp will be a quarantine space.
Unfortunately, many children’s summer camps do not find themselves in a position to open in 2020 for various reasons individual to their situation. We believe that children are in desperate need of outdoor activities, social experiences, and just plain fun. We are working hard to make the summer as safe as possible.
Please tell your friends that Kingsley Pines camp is OPEN this summer!! We expect to be fully subscribed due to demand and capacity limits we have established!
Please see kingsleypines.com for rates and dates!
Our motto for the summer is :
They are home stuck inside and facing difficult challenges of isolation, boredom, lack of socialization, and exercise. Too much togetherness can be difficult. We are all hopeful that children’s camps will be permitted to open this summer. After all, children have the lowest risk of catching C-19, and have a statistically insignificant chance of being seriously sick. Camp can be the perfect place to quarantine children away from vulnerable populations (Counselors are generally below 25 years old and camper ages run from ages 8-15).
At camp children can run, play, and socialize in an outdoor environment, all the while being isolated from the general population. They have outstanding role models in their counselors, and have many opportunities to learn new things, and meet new friends.
Joyce and I are very concerned about the negative impact enforced isolation will have on children. They are surviving on TV, computers, and mobile phones. They need interpersonal contact. At Kingsley Pines Camp there are NO electronics. Children develop their imaginations, and interpersonal skills while living in a group. Our counselors are fun, and helpful. The opportunity for children to “run free” was missing in society before C-19, and has only been made worse by “staying at home” orders. We have 100 acres consisting of forests, playing fields, beaches, lake, and creative arts area. Children choose their activities based on their interests.
Kingsley Pines Camp in Raymond Maine (kingsleypines.com) considers the safety of our campers first and foremost. We have consulted with some of the leading experts about how to run a safe camp in our current situation, and comply with American Camping Association guidelines.
A positive outlook is good for your health and your family’s health!
At a time when almost every news broadcast and many emails focus on the Covid-19 Virus and the danger it poses to us, our family, community, country, and world, it is very difficult to be optimistic about anything.
The endless negative news stories and e-mails keep us hyper with concerns. If you want to feel better about yourself and life, reach out to others, and be supportive. Call/skype/WhatsApp someone who is alone and lonely. Send positive notes and emails to neighbors. Use programs like ZOOM to connect with a group like book club, discussion groups, and friends.
Programs that allow you to see people in real time are the most effective. They are VERY easy to use, and create a fuller experience than the telephone. Stay connected!
Through experience and observing role models kids develop wisdom. At Kingsley Pines Camp, our staff demonstrate kindness, caring, and empathy! It is a child-centric place where children are exposed to a new place, people, and activities. The social skills developed at camp, such as meeting new people, improving conversation skills, and developing conflict resolution skills, are invaluable in a child’s development.
The Kingsley Pines Camp community is built around the philosophy of “Doing the right thing!” This is a skill the one best learns through experience. If errors in judgement occur in a caring and supportive environment, a child has the opportunity to make a course correction, rather than becoming defensive or even aggressive.
At camp, we teach judgement and common sense with an emphasis on thoughtfulness and morality. Our staff work as a team to make sure “No Child is left behind.” They are always guiding, role modeling, and being supportive.
Character is the MOST important thing a child can learn at KP. It involves respect for one’s self and for others. Campers learn to ask themselves: “Am I doing the right thing?” Children learn to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons!