Camp Kern

Program Spotlight

Star Wars Camp

Through a creative collaboration beginning in 2009, Camp Kern and Lucasfilm have worked together to create an outstanding themed camp resource surrounding their Star Wars movies, and the animated series on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This resource has resulted in hundreds of camps and thousands of children participating in themed programming hosted at www.clonewarscamp.com.

Star Wars Week at YMCA Camp Kern is a fully-themed week based on this collaboration! Campers begin the week as Padawans who are preparing to begin their Jedi training. Throughout the week, these Padawans are challenged through daily Star Wars activities, and through training missions.

Star Wars Week Activities Include:

• Jedi Trials – Follow the path of the Light Side, and learn what it takes to truly become a Jedi.  You and your fellow padawans will work together to complete challenges and to learn the code which guides all Jedi.
• Jedi Temple- Spend time together each evening at this place of community and inspiration.  Take your next steps in your training, and work toward a higher calling.
• Pod Racing- You loved it in the movies, now is your chance to do it for real!  Work as part of a team to guide your Pod Racer safely through the caverns and flats of Tatooine.
• Where you stay is an adventure! Sleep in the newly completed Wilderness Yurt Village part of camp. Not only are the cabins like nothing you’ve ever seen, you will have your own section of camp to explore while you hang out in the awesome Wilderness Pavilion.
• And many, many more! Rock Climb, ride the Mineshaft, work on your Lightsaber technique, challenge your aim at the Blaster Range, cool off in the Pool, and enjoy many other sections of Camp Kern.

Star Wars Week is only one of the many Summer Camp programs at YMCA Camp Kern! Take a look around www.campkern.org and see photos, videos and descriptions for all of the programs available.

Camp is fun.

Getting outside, meeting new people and playing games for a week builds skills and memories for a lifetime. However, many families struggle with the decision to send their children off to Summer Camp. Worry about a child’s health and well-being combine with an uncertainty of the value of camp for a child, and make it a difficult decision.

At YMCA Camp Kern, we are dedicated to providing a safe environment for our campers through a combination of great staff and training, along with excellent policies and procedures. RN’s are always on-site during Summer Camp programs, and everyone follows the standards of the American Camp Association throughout operations to make sure each and every child is healthy and happy.

As for the values of camp, well, here are 10 great outcomes from a week spent away at camp:

1. Exposure to diversity

Camp connects kids to those who they may not normally meet. Kids learn the world is a big place with lots of people, who might do things differently than they’re used to. That includes other kids from all over the state and beyond – and the camp’s counselors and leaders, who serve as positive role models who can leave a huge impression. They’re not seen as strict “law enforcers” but older, “cool friends” who care about them. Camp Kern staff and campers come from all over the tri-state area, and throughout the world. Not only counselors, but campers attend from international locations such as Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and more.

2. Self-esteem boost

When kids are at camp, they don’t have mom and dad there to help them approach people and make connections. They have to put themselves out there. Learning how to canoe or developing archery skills also makes a child realize how capable he or she is to learn and grow. According to the American Camp Association, 92 percent of kids who attend camp say that the people at camp helped them feel good about themselves.

3. Attune to nature

Camp gets children outdoors, and helps them enjoy nature. Kids today spend much less time outdoors, causing a “nature deficit” according to many reports and a popular book on the issue, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. But camp reconnects them with nature, seeing things like frogs and trails in person and experiencing swimming in a lake or biking along a path. Camp Kern opens up 485 acres of wooded land with access to the Little Miami River, and an on-site lake. Children run and explore all over the property!

4. Develops independence

Kids are empowered at camp to take care of themselves, with guidance from camp counselors. Bedtimes are set and schedules are packed,

but children still have to get themselves up and ready, make their camp beds and find their way to the dining hall. And kids a little too attached to mom and dad can learn how to trust themselves to make decisions and take care of themselves. All of the programs at Camp Kern are designed to promote independence, and the Taste of Kern and First Camp Programs are even more intentionally built for just that!

 

5. Instills leadership skills

Because camps allow kids to make choices and direct summer projects, they’re natural leadership training places. These kids are less likely to be affected by peer pressure and more likely to set the pace and tone for other kids – and feel empowered in tasks they take on throughout their lives. Leadership qualities infuse everything Camp Kern does, and the Leaders in Training and Counselor in Training programs take it to the next level.

6. Gives magical memories

Kids have tons of memories of the good times, silly shenanigans and fun activities. It’s a time of discovery and self-improvement that stays with a kid long into adulthood. At Camp Kern, our themed Big Games are a great way to stretch imagination and have amazing memories of interacting with your favorite movie and book characters!

7. Helps them make friends

This offers a unique opportunity for your child to branch out in the buddies he or she has. Navigating and building these friendships over the summer also teaches children how to be more socially confident – something they can take back to school with them in the fall. From sitting around a campfire on a cabin overnight, to playing imaginative games with friends, everything at Camp Kern is geared toward building friendships.

8. Gets them active

YMCA Camp Kern does not allow cell phones and computers, so kids can truly take advantage of all summertime has to offer. That means those prone to sit on their duffs and text or play video games are encouraged to get up – and get moving! At Camp Kern, the days start at roughly 7:00am, and end at about 10:30pm. These long days are filled with amazing activity, most of which is outdoors! We love the sunshine, rain, dirt and grass.

9. Develop interests

With so much to do at summer camp (archery, swimming, canoeing, crafts, etc.), there are many fun activities for kids to discover. That’s why it’s the perfect place for your child to tap into an interest that he or she wants to carry on after camp is over. Did your daughter go ga-ga for horseback riding? Perhaps she’s a budding equestrian who would enjoy regular lessons.

Program Spotlight

Kern Challenge

Kern Challenge is an outstanding program for teens who want to do it all! For ages 13 to 16, this program focuses on creating friendships and building memories while participating in teens-only activities.

If you are looking for the perfect place to get outside, be active, create friends, and push your personal boundaries, Kern Challenge your program. Kern Challenge counselors are tuned in to what teens are thinking and feeling, and the program is built specifically to keep teens engaged and excited.

Kern Challenge Activities include:

• Ozone Zipline Adventures – Kern Challenge is the only program to complete the entire Ozone Zipline experience: 12 ziplines, over 220’ high, professional guides, over 1 1/2 miles of ziplining, and a team-focused experience. Nothing matches up to this!
• Overnight canoe trip down the Little Miami River. Spend a day on the river with your best friends as you paddle 12 miles through this amazing river valley. Fun and educational, this day ends with a steak dinner cookout over the campfire complete with baked potatoes and veggies!
• Lazer Kraze – travel to the future and play your friends in Lazer Kraze! Campers form teams and compete with each other in this energetic arena, where anyone can win!
• Where you stay is an adventure! Sleep in the newly completed Treehouse Village part of camp. Not only are the cabins like nothing you’ve ever seen, you will have your own section of camp to explore while you prepare some of your meals over the commercial grill with your friends.
• And many, many more! Rock Climb on Tango Tower, ride the Mineshaft, tackle the High Ropes Course, challenge your aim at the Rifle Range, cool off in the Pool, and enjoy many other sections of Camp Kern.

Kern Challenge is only one of the many Summer Camp programs at YMCA Camp Kern! Take a look around www.campkern.org and see photos, videos and descriptions for all of the programs available.

After the wild success of

the Arctic Dash 2012, Kern is expanding in 2013 to offer The Kern Dash Series – three seasonal dashes, held on the beautiful and rugged terrain of YMCA Camp Kern. Each event is separate and unique, but we guarantee mud, brutal obstacles, and scenic views in each. Those who complete all 3 in 2013 will be eligible for Grand Prizes. Kern Dashes raise money for the Strong Kids Scholarship Campaign. This Campaign provides scholarships which allow kids, whose families otherwise may not be able to afford it, come to Camp.

The Spring Dash will be held on March 30, 2013.

To register, and for more information on each dash, click here!

We are all surrounded by social media. Things like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and others are creating amazing places to connect and share with the people we care about. Let’s share and care together! Camp Kern believes that everyone needs a breath of fresh air, and that compliments and chocolate are two of the greatest things in the world.

Well, we don’t make chocolate here at camp…so compliments it is! If you are a Twitter afficionado, or just want to know that you’ve got some good digital-karmic-action going on

out there, we are here for you.

#CKhi5 (Camp Kern High Five for those of us less twitter-speak inclined) is our way of paying it forward, and lifting up people, places and things that are part of the Kern family. So jump into the conversation! There are a couple of ways to give a #CKhi5…

• Send out a tweet with the hashtag #CKhi5, and it will be part of the conversation! It’s easy, free, and a great way to say something nice, build someone up, and bring a 1990′s high five flair to the 21st century.
• Want us to tweet something for you? We’d love to! Send us some quick info in the form on this page, and it’ll shortly be tweeted to the masses from our twitter handle @campkern
• Send us your #CKhi5 photo. We’d prefer through Twitter (don’t forget to hashtag it so we can find it!), although we’ll gladly take them through email and tweet them for you. Email them to kernsummer@gmail.com.

Help us combat cyber-bullying, encourage and uplift each other, and keep us all connected!

We had an awesome time last weekend hosting our first muddy, obstacle course races! We had a fabulous group of runners come out and put our 4.5K course to the test. We got some great feedback from our group of Dashers on this inaugural event an

d

can’t wait to put on another one! We’re thinking March 2013 – we’ll

keep you updated on the details. Until then, check out some pics from the event!