{"id":2632,"date":"2025-07-25T14:04:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T18:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/?p=2632"},"modified":"2025-07-25T23:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T03:21:12","slug":"campfire-tales-this-camp-these-kids-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/campfire-tales-this-camp-these-kids-this-summer","title":{"rendered":"Campfire Tales | This Camp. These Kids. This Summer (7\/25\/25)"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Aaron Selkow, Owner\/Director<\/pre>\n
Tomorrow morning<\/span>, campers will drag themselves out of bed after a terrible night’s sleep, pack away their special Banquet gift, look once more for their favorite hat that’s been missing since the day that they hopped off the bus, and say goodbye to the place they\u2019ve called home for the past four weeks. There will be tears for some, and more than a few \u201csee you next summer\u201d fist-bumps and hugs.<\/p>\n
After the rush of departures, more than 100 campers will stay behind \u2014 trying to recover from the disappearance of their friends in time to greet their families for Visiting Day. And while there\u2019s still plenty of summer ahead, this moment \u2014 the close of First Session \u2014 deserves to be held up, honored, and shared.<\/p>\n
Because something remarkable happened here these past four weeks. Something real.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
We watched a camper go from sitting quietly during the first lunch of the session to being the main character of their division’s Lip Sync performance (and he brought the house down!). We saw a group of 10-year-old girls leave notes under each other\u2019s pillows \u2014 encouraging a friend who was having a tough day. We witnessed an entire audience stand and cheer for a camper who had just finished their solo at last night’s camp show. And we heard from a parent, midway through the session, who wrote to say:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the happiest I\u2019ve ever seen my child \u2014 and I haven\u2019t even seen him in person yet. I can feel it in his letters.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of magic camp creates \u2014 the kind that isn\u2019t about trickery or spectacle, but about connection, courage, and a deep sense of belonging.<\/p>\n
The talks on the platforms. The walks back from the lake. The \u201cwe got this\u201d pep talks before a game against another camp. The thrill of scoring that one goal, or the sense of pride when tasting your first-ever homemade banana muffin. The pride felt in Tribal, and then the joy of not caring who won at all. These are the small, everyday moments that have added up to something unforgettable.<\/p>\n
As Michael Thompson, Ph.D., author of Homesick and Happy, wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cAt camp, children have a chance to really find out who they are \u2014 to discover a version of themselves they didn\u2019t know existed. It\u2019s one of the few places where they get to do that without the gaze of their parents, their teachers, or a screen.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
We see it every summer. And this session, it was especially clear. We saw it in the way new campers settled in by the end of the first week \u2014 how even the most tentative goodbyes turned into beaming group photos. We saw it in the way returning campers stepped up as leaders, modeling kindness and confidence in quiet, everyday ways. And we saw it on nights like Tribal Rope Burn \u2014 where the fire wasn\u2019t the only thing igniting something powerful.<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/a>As we wrap this First Session, I want to offer four messages \u2014 one for each part of our camp community.<\/p>\n
To the parents:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Thank you. Thank you for trusting us. For sharing your child with us. For believing in this experience even when it meant stepping back. We don\u2019t take that lightly. We hope you see a little extra light in your child\u2019s eyes when they return home \u2014 and we hope you\u2019ll hear stories that make you laugh, feel a sense of pride in your child, and maybe even tear up just a little.<\/p>\n
To the staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n
You did it. You created this. With every game, every bunk chat, every conflict you helped resolve, every late-night laugh, and every early morning Revelie \u2014 you brought this place to life. Camp doesn\u2019t work without you. And the impact you\u2019ve made will stretch far beyond these four weeks.<\/p>\n
To the campers heading home:<\/strong><\/p>\n
You were part of something special. You took chances. You made new friends. You had fun \u2014 a lot of it. But more than that, you helped make this community feel like family. Camp will be here when you come back, and so will we. Until then, carry a little piece of Chestnut with you. You earned it.<\/p>\n
And to the campers staying on for Second Session:<\/strong><\/p>\n
We\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite reflections about the power of camp comes from an essay by educator and camp professional Peg Smith:<\/p>\n
\u201cCamp gives kids a world of good \u2014 a chance to grow independent, to stretch, to stumble, and to soar\u2026 And when camp is at its best, it helps kids become not just better campers, but better people.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
That\u2019s what this summer has felt like. So here\u2019s to the memories we\u2019ve made, the friendships we\u2019ve built, and the courage we\u2019ve witnessed. Here\u2019s to the first-timers who became lifelong campers. Here\u2019s to the camp veterans keeping the spirit alive. Here\u2019s to the bunk cheers, the leaps from the Blob, the late-night laughs, the Pickleball rally, and the moments no one else will ever quite understand.<\/p>\n
This camp.<\/p>\n
These kids.<\/p>\n
This summer.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re so proud. We\u2019re so grateful. And we already can\u2019t wait for what comes next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Aaron Selkow, Owner\/Director Tomorrow morning, campers will drag themselves out of bed after a terrible night’s sleep, pack away their special Banquet gift, look once more for their favorite hat that’s been missing since the day that they hopped off the bus, and say goodbye to the place they\u2019ve called home for the past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":2640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[18,35,3,23,37,22,16,25,24,29,30,27,49,2,44],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2632"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions\/2651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chestnutlakecamp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}