Here’s how it works. Usually at breakfast or at dinner the night before, the rock climbing staff will announce a trip they have planned. Like for all of our adventure trips, the campers can then decide if they want to go. They make their own decision weather to go.  It means giving up their regularly scheduled activities, and that can be a hard choice if you really love horseback riding or archery for example, but it also means enjoying the thrill of getting up on the rock. It helps to have experienced the fun of rock climbing to realize these trips are worth signing up for, but even after just one outing, campers learn how much of a treat they are. Some of these trips are short hikes up to a couple of the routes on Castle Rock, while others will be all-day adventures to one of the climbing areas on Looking Glass Rock.

The Rockbrook Camp rock climbing program is a big part of the adventure activities around here. Hey, let’s go climbing!

We’ve received another winter wonderland photo submission! Camper Anna Grace, an Atlanta resident, sent us a photo of her winterized hometown. How beautiful are those clouds? That sunset is pretty spectacular too! This photo reminds us of Twilight time after dinner, when you can play games and hang out on the hill with your friends before Evening Program.

What’s your favorite time of day at camp? Is it early in the morning, when the air is cool and you’ve got a day full of fun ahead? Or is it Free Swim, when you’re speeding down the water slide into the lake? Or maybe it’s whenever your favorite activity period is– Riflery? Pottery? Tennis? Whatever you choose to do on any given day at Rockbrook, you’re going to find yourself exploring new things, mastering new skills, and most importantly, having a ton of fun.

First of all, the IRS document that spells this out is Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses. It identifies who can claim the credit, how to calculate it, and most importantly for us, what sorts of childcare providers qualify. The question is, does Rockbrook qualify as a childcare provider? If so, and assuming you qualify in other ways (e.g., both parents working), you may be able to claim between 20% and 35% of your allowable childcare expenses— up to $3,000 per child or $6,000 per family.

Unfortunately, it appears that Rockbrook does not qualify as a child care provider for a rather simple reason. We are an overnight, sleepaway camp. The IRS is clear on this; while “the cost of day camp may count as an expense towards the child and dependent care credit, expenses for overnight camps do not.” I suppose the logic here is that this deduction is meant for child care expenses accrued because both parents are working (or looking for work), and hence a day camp is legitimately providing childcare during working hours. Yes, overnight camps provide that too, but what they charge also covers childcare when the parents are not working, i.e. at night. Perhaps a portion of overnight camp expenses should qualify as “work-related,” after all Rockbrook is taking care of your children while you work in the summer, but that is not how the current tax code reads.

Again, we are not tax experts, so please do not take this as advice. Your tax professional may have a different point of view (if so please share that in the comments!), and certainly there may be exceptions and other restrictions to consider.

Here is a good article published in Forbes to consider, and another from CBS News. Both do a nice job of discussing the restrictions, and both mention overnight camp expenses not qualifying.

What better way to learn weaving than making a woven potholder at summer camp!? You take simple tools– a square weaving frame and crochet hook –and a bag of colorful cotton or wool “loopers.”  After a short time learning the basic idea, you’ll be weaving.

And the technique is easy too! First you select colors of loopers and stretch them across the frame to form the “warp” of the project. In this photo the warp is the different colored vertical strands. Then you weave another looper, alternating over and under each strand of the warp to form the weft.  Adding one (in this example, white) looper at a time, and alternating which strands go over and under, a dense colorful pattern begins to form. As you add more and more loopers, you’ll probably need a long crochet hook or other wire hook to pull the last couple of loopers into place.

This is real weaving.  Sure it’s a simple example, but that’s good when you are just beginning to learn.  The next step is varying the colors and weaving pattern of the strands.  There are even different shaped frames to make things even more interesting.  We also like starting with these potholder weaving projects because they don’t take too long to finish.

With the basic concept of weaving understood and practiced, campers can move on to one of the tabletop looms or even the wide floor-standing looms for their next, larger and more complicated, weaving projects.  Down at Curosty, the fiber arts activity cabin at camp, Rockbrook girls are learning to weave!

“Sending kids to camp allows children to grow and learn good citizenship, social integration, personal development and social development, exploring his or her capabilities and being in a safe environment where they can grow, gain independence and take risks.”—Troy Glover, the director of the University of Waterloo’s Healthy Communities Research Network

It’s pretty easy for those who have attended camp to speak enthusiastically about how much it’s meant to them. Campers themselves are full of glowing stories about their summer camp experiences, but even adult camp alumni, many years later, can trace aspects of their personal success back to their time at camp.

For others, though, how camp provides these important benefits, and what types of benefits to expect from a summer camp experience, are not apparent. It was this fact —the general public’s unawareness of what makes camp great for children— that prompted a team of Canadian researchers to study and evaluate the impact of a camp experience.

Working with camp directors, staff, campers and camp alumni, the researchers conducted surveys and compiled observations focused on what a summer camp provides and how that affects children over their time at camp. Read about the study, its background and findings, on this Web site.

Confident Risk Taking

There is, of course, quite a bit to explain about each of these areas, so I encourage you to read more about the study’s findings on their site. Also, there is a nice article about the study, complete with great quotes from camp directors, campers and staff members, published in Vaughan Today.

This is exciting stuff! We’ve often discussed the benefits of camp for children, so it’s nice to see this kind of organized, methodical verification. Now spread the word! Let’s help others understand how uniquely “camp is a place for kids to grow.”

This is big news! The Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper just published a story about Charlotte’s new role as president. Here’s a link to read it. Other Board members and staff of the Boys & Girls club are excited about Charlotte’s leadership. “Charlotte brings a commitment to and a knowledge of youth that’s invaluable,” said one, and “Charlotte obviously loves kids and has a keen interest in seeing them progress,” remarked another.

Congratulations Charlotte! There’s a long history, going back to Nancy Carrier, of Rockbrook’s Directors serving the children of our local community. It’s so great to see that tradition just as strong today.

You can learn more about the Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County on their Web site.

These are all very clear differences, each helping to explain the benefits of a sleepaway camp experience for children. But there is another one, and it is community, the very real sense of being included, respected, trusted and loved by a group of people. Camp is, at its core, a special community built on central values like kindness, cooperation, compassion, care and generosity. It is brimming with enthusiasm and encouragement, wrapped tightly by a collective spirit. At camp, and certainly at Rockbrook, everyone is welcomed and included.

How different this feels from ordinary life! Camp is not about individual consumption, getting a grade, standing out as the best, or advancing at the expense of others. It’s not so ego-centric, nor blind to the people around us. At camp, where there is always support from friends, you’re never left to just fend for yourself.

And how wonderful it feels! Partly, I think joining a camp community, and other communities too, provides us such a powerful sense of contentment because it is so different from ordinary American life. Human beings, and especially kids, crave this kind of connection. We need to know wholeheartedly that we belong to something bigger than “just me,” that our “true self” is accepted and valued by those around us, and unfortunately it is all too rare these days. Perhaps we modern Americans are dis-content because we are dis-connected from an authentic community. Perhaps we are suffering from what could be called “Community Deficit Disorder.”

Thank goodness for camp and its ability to be a powerful and effective antidote for this disorder. It may not be the main reason we attend a sleepaway camp, but the joy of joining a camp community is certainly one of the most important reasons why we love it.

But what if you love horses, and you aren’t able to ride much while at home? After riding at camp, what can you do to feed your desire to ride and learn about horseback riding the rest of the year? Fortunately, there are a ton of excellent resources available on the Internet, different Web sites dedicated to all things equestrian. Here are few great examples.

Let’s say you want to just learn some surprising facts about horseback riding. Just head over to Equine Kingdom and dig in! Did you know that the oldest horse on record lived to be 62 years old, or that there are about 75 million horses in the world?! This is a great site with fun photos, videos, articles, quizzes and more. You’ll be able to spend a lot of time enjoying Equine Kingdom.

If you would like to learn about all of the equine resources available in your area, a farrier, boarding farm, or veterinarian for example, you can head over to Newhorse.com or Forequestrians.com. These are two directories, organized collections of other Web sites related to horseback riding, horses and their care, horses for sale, riding games, and more. You can think of these as jumping off points for finding out even more.

So don’t let your interest in horseback riding fade over the winter! We love riding too much for that!

Rockbrook Camp Girl Joanna on Looking Glass Rock

Here’s a photo of a Rockbrook camper on the Nose (5.8).  Rockbrook is located only about 15 miles from Looking Glass.  After topping out our own climbs on Castle Rock, our camp rock climbing program brings girls to Looking Glass, as well as other climbing areas in this region of North Carolina.  There’s a lot of rock to climb around here, and the girls love it!