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Girls Camp Director Bethany Wise is back with another dispatch from Miniwanca!

If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone refer to “the real world” at camp, I would be making a hefty donation back to the American Youth Foundation. While Miniwanca is truly one of the most magical places on earth, there is so much “real world” happening every day. Campers come home with incredibly valuable skills that make them even better friends, siblings, teammates, students, and more.

A recent Evening Reflection reminded me of this. Cabins take turns throughout the summer sharing their personal reflections on a topic. This particular cabin shared their lovely thoughts on balance, passing a microphone from friend to friend so they could be heard over the waves of Lake Michigan. One camper held the microphone too far from her mouth – until she received a gentle nudge from her cabinmate to hold it closer so her words were audible. While this is a beautiful metaphor for the magic of camp, it also demonstrates a “real world” skill our campers learn without even realizing it.

Throughout the day, campers are responsible for helping around camp. They clean their cabins every morning for the Inspection Fairies and rotate through cleaning the eating area, Dishland, and setting the tables for meals. They practice time management and prioritizing during free time as they try to finish a friendship bracelet, practice a skit, and hit the beach. They learn conflict resolution skills while living in community and have multiple opportunities for public speaking. They work on teambuilding every day during community time with their age groups, while developing empathy, active listening, and collaboration.

Of course, our campers also come home with new hard skills like how to shoot a bow, catch a fish, embroider, or sail a boat. But no matter what interest group a camper signs up for, they come home a braver, stronger, more confident self, ready to face any challenge in the “real world.” And that’s what is really magical about Miniwanca.