I know it’s pretty easy to do on the last day of camp, but our oldest campers had me in tears for most of the afternoon.

When we set up for carnival, it’s a free-range event; the kids play a variety of games which the staff are running in exchange for tickets to spend at the prize booth. Since the campers are free to roam around within the carnival space, we pair up bigs and littles so that the littles have someone to help them with the games and keep track of their tickets.

But that’s not quite what happened.

Instead, we saw Heartwood campers who were not just helpers, but completely devoted to their Sprouts:

Bigs and littles having a snack together.

I watched pair after pair of campers sitting down in the snack area to share a bag of popcorn or other treat and having a chat.

I saw a big helper who didn’t spend any of his tickets on himself, except for a few to buy a freezie. The rest of his tickets all went to buy his Sprout anything his little heart desired – including numerous snacks, “rockstar glasses”, two glow in the dark wands, and a wind-up robot.

All smiles! These Heartwood girls were so excited to buy a special prize for their Sprout.

Another Sprout had a meltdown when he realized the prize he was after had already been sold. The Heartwood camper who bought it immediately offered to resell it, and two others pooled their tickets to pay him back for it. (The kids had the whole issue solved before the staff even knew what happened!)

Two campers knew their Sprout was desperate to win the only PlayDoh set, so they conspired to pool their tickets together to buy it for her.

The best part of watching the Heartwoods take care of their Sprouts was not just that they were so generous with their tickets; it was the obvious joy they took in making our youngest campers happy. No one ever even suggested that they should spend their tickets on someone else; yet it came naturally and beautifully to them , and their faces were glowing as they did so.

Perhaps the most magical part of this whole story is that it wasn’t a last-day anomaly – our campers really are this nice to each other – but the format of carnival just highlighted it in an extra-beautiful way.

Parents of Heartwoods: You should be seriously proud of these amazingly caring, generous, selfless kids.
Parents of Sprouts & Shoots: Please know how loved your kids are by the older campers. As your monkeys get older, they’ll have some fantastic shoes to fill.

We are raising some seriously special kids here, people. These kiddos are giving me hope for the world.

LITs aren’t LITs anymore

Maple Key first opened in 2009. Right from the beginning, we were committed to helping kids in Lanark County develop leadership beyond what they were able to experience with us as campers. We wanted to continue to change the world through these amazing kids. And we wanted to provide a way for our long-time campers who love MKDC to continue to be a meaningful part of their camp community.

That’s how our Leaders-In-Training program was born. And we really meant “leaders” and we really meant “training”. We wanted the program to stand for something.

We really meant “leaders”
– We created an application process, so that only teens who were truly committed to the process would be accepted.
– We created a set of standards to which all LITs would be held accountable.
– We reserved the right to dismiss an LIT from the program if they were not behaving in a way that demonstrated positive leadership (but we always exhaust all efforts to help them first).

We really meant “training”
– We created a schedule that allowed LITs to receive an hour of formal training every day (we didn’t just ask them to “help out” and then call it training).
– We gave counsellors an evaluation form to use as a meaningful way of tracking the LITs progress during their weekly “placements” so that ongoing feedback would be part of the norm.
– We implemented a long-term attendance requirement, because we recognized that leaders are not built in a week.

The integrity of the LIT program has always been extremely important to me. I didn’t want Maple Key LIT “graduates” representing us out there in the community if they didn’t exemplify our leadership standards. I didn’t want to start handing out recommendations and certificates like candy – I’ve never been part of that “everyone gets a trophy” mindset. We’ve never guaranteed a “certificate of completion”. We wanted our LITs to be very proud of their recommendation letter, because they knew that it was something that they had truly earned, and not something they were merely entitled to.

I named the program “Leaders-In-Training” after the other camp programs that I witnessed in my early camp career. I was inspired by the high quality and structure of those programs. At the time, I am relatively certain we were the only day camp offering a “Leader-In-Training” program in all Lanark County.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so they say. Over the past few years, there has been an upsurge in “leaders in training” programs in the area. That’s great – I am very much in favour of having as many leadership opportunities as possible for our soon-to-be-adults. But these programs are all very different – despite the fact that they share a single name. Many of these programs would be more accurately described as a volunteer program, or are designed for a much shorter time commitment. I feel like it’s watering down what leadership training is really supposed to be.

So, in keeping with the uniqueness of our program, our future leaders deserve a unique program NAME to match. As of now, the MKDC “leaders-in-training” program ceases to be, and will be unveiled under a new name. I don’t want there to be any confusion about exactly what we do – and the new name for our program will make things crystal clear.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog post, when I unveil the new program name…

Finding safe and positive ways for children to expand their real-life social network can be a challenge. For over ten years Lanark County, Ontario’s Maple Key Day Camp has been doing this to rave reviews.

MKDC is giving away 10 weeks of camp to celebrate 10 years in business. Do you know an event or fundraiser we could sponsor with a week of camp?

Lanark County’s Maple Key Day Camp specializes in building kids’ confidence through highly creative nature-based programming. In their own facility since 2016 and recently passing the decade in business milestone, the camp is more well-loved by the community than ever and are returning that support with a special give away of ten weeks of camp to local community organizations that support children.

“It’s been a long, stressful road to get here,” says Kristen Widenmaier, the owner and director of Maple Key Day Camp. “To finally be operating in our own beautiful facility after 10 years is a dream come true, and we want to give back to the community that has so lovingly supported us.”

Maple Key has pledged to donate a free week of camp to a kid-centered community initiative for each year of they’ve now been in business. “We’ve already committed a couple of weeks,” says Widenmaier. “Jumpstart is an important source of funding for many of our campers, so when we heard that Peter Larmand had chosen them as the recipient of the proceeds of his kids’ fishing tournament, it was a no-brainer for us to donate a week of camp to support it.”

There are still some free weeks available before they meet their target, so charities and fundraisers are encouraged to contact the camp for more details.

Maple Key’s program serves campers aged 4 to 12 and also provides an intense leadership training program for kids 13 to 15. They strive to provide an experience as close to an overnight camp as possible without the added stress of living away from home.

Maple Key Day Camp is also very proud to provide quality employment for young people in the surrounding area who are interested in pursuing a career in a related field such as education or social work.

Both parents and children continue to praise the camp for its ongoing positive nature.

A parent of a 2017 attendee, recently said in a five-star review, “Maple Key is more than just a place to send your kids. It is outdoors. It is community. It is creativity. It is challenging. It is original. It is confidence-building. It is FUN! Maple Key is a family who cares about every single child that comes through their doors.”

For more information about the “10 for 10” free program for community groups or to enroll a child for the summer visit https://maplekeydaycamp.com or call Kristen at (613) 464-2468.

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Baked Oatmeal

• • 2 cups rolled oats

• • 1/3 cup brown sugar

• • 1 teaspoon baking powder

• • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• • 1/2 teaspoon salt

• • 1 cup walnut or almond pieces (or just leave them out)

• • 1 1/2 cup frozen fruit {any mix of berries or peaches work well}

• • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can leave these out if you’re trying to be healthy or whatever)

• • 2 cups milk

• • 1 large egg

• • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

SEND MKDC SOME LOVE!

If you are a happy camp family, one of the best ways that you can support Maple Key is by leaving an honest review online for others to see.

Did your camper love their time at MKDC? Do they hero-worship the staff? Are they counting down the days til their return? Have they picked up a new hobby or developed increased confidence as a result of being at camp?

Your honest reviews help other families find us, and help us share the magic of camp with new campers.

Review us on Google

Review us on Facebook

Review Us on Yelp

Camp should be about quality, not quantity

When most parents choose sleep-away summer camps, they research several camps, ask for recommendations, and choose the best program for their child. Then their kid attends one camp for the duration, and likely will attend from year to year. The focus is on long-term connection.

But when a lot of parents start planning summer day programs for their kids, they compile a list and then book a different program for each week of the summer. Gymnastics one week, boating one week, arts one week…etc. The focus becomes to just keep kids busy.

Why don’t we put the same expectations on day camps that we do on overnight camps?

If a single camp can’t hold your kid’s attention for more than a week, then maybe it isn’t worth sending them to at all. Even without an overnight component, a quality camp should offer much more than just entertainment.

Social connection takes time. Self-confidence is not built in a week. For most kids, it takes a good portion of the first week just to become accustomed to the people, surroundings, and the routine of a new place. For children who have more difficulty adapting to new situations, changing camp every week can be downright stressful.

According to studies completed by the Canadian Camping Association, a camper’s self-confidence and emotional intelligence increase in relation to the length of time they spend at a single camp – whether that is from session to session, or from summer to summer.

It’s not until your child has gotten settled, and has made connections with their cabin-mates and counsellors, that they feel comfortable enough to try new things and take healthy risks.

As a parent, you have a choice to make

You can allow your kiddo to continue in one comfortable environment long enough to increase their confidence, or immediately bounce them off to the next thing, and start over somewhere else.

Of course not everyone is able to send their kids to camp for the entire summer. But if you are being strategic about when and where your kids will attend, you can maximize the benefits of their experience, and make less work for yourself at the same time.

In a world full of social media and instant gratification, summer camp is a place where deep, lasting connections are still possible. The best way to foster those connections is to choose fewer camps, and give them ample time to grow.

Monday, February 18th is Family Day!

Here is your cheat sheet to what’s happening in and around Lanark County for the Family Day Weekend. Whatever you choose to do, have a great day with your kidlets!

Make Breakfast Together

I love baking with my kiddos! Here are two of my favourite breakfast recipes:

• Baked Oatmeal
• Bacon Cookies

Get Outside

• Go Ice Fishing For Free – Ontarians can fish without buying a licence this Family Day weekend, February 16-18, as part of Family Fishing Weekend.
• Winterlude – Family Day is the last day!

• Perth Civitan Winter Family Funday (Ice Fishing Derby, Skating) on Sunday, Feb 17

• Wolf Howl Fishing Derby on Saturday Feb 16 (Westport)
• February Frost Fest @ Ferguson Forest Centre (Sunday Feb 17)

Go Swimming

• Monday, Feb 18: Carleton Place Pool: Public Swims 1:00-2:30 pm, 6:30-8:00 pm
• Monday, Feb 18: Perth Pool: FREE Public “Beach Party” Swim 1:00-3:00pm

Visit a Sugar Bush

• Wheeler’s – go for a hike or snowshoe on one of their lovely trails; then you’ve really earned your pancakes! (And don’t forget to visit the animals, too)
• Fulton’s Pancake House – Horse drawn rides, musical entertainment and much more!

Go Skating / Watch Hockey

• Monday Feb 18: FREE Family Day skate at the Lanark Arena, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
• Monday Feb 18: FREE Family Day skate at the Perth Arena, 12:00 – 2 pm
• Monday Feb 18: Settlers Charity Hockey Game at the Smiths Falls Arena, 12:30 p.m. puck drop

Other Fun Stuff

• Carleton Place Comic Con – A fundraiser for the food bank. 9:30 am t0 4:30 pm at the Carleton Place Arena.
• Free Family Day @ Lower Reach Park (Smiths Falls) – wagon rides, face painting, colouring, cookie decorating 10:30 am – 2:00 pm
• Movie Weekend at Station Theatre
• Rideau Candy Shoppe’s 5th annual Candy Carnival

Looking for more ideas for family outings?
Check out the Perth/SF/CP Family Activity Map

Berry-Smash Muffins

Ingredients

Directions

1. If you are using frozen berries, let them sit out the the bowl you will be using for about half an hour, just long enough for them to be smashable. (You don’t want too much of the juice to run out as this will make the batter runny).
2. Heat oven to 425 F.
3. Put a paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease just the bottoms of 12 muffin cups. (Or use the silicone ones)
4. Slightly smash strawberries in large bowl, using fork. (If you’re letting a little person do this, a potato masher is a fun accessory)
5. Stir in sugar, yogurt and eggs until mixed.
6. Stir in other ingredients just until moistened.
7. Spoon batter into muffin cups.
8. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown or toothpick poked in center comes out clean.
9. Cool 5 minutes.
10. Loosen sides of muffins from pan if needed, and take them out of the pan.

Makes 12 muffins.

I’m often asked why I spend my summers off from teaching running camp. The most “in a nutshell” answer is that I want to change the world, but that usually doesn’t help with the whole people-thinking-I’m-crazy thing. Go figure.

So here’s just one of the many reasons: I want to be a booster.

When I think about the non-related adults from my childhood, there are two distinct groups about whom the memories remain vivid.

The first group is unfortunately not so positive. Let’s call them barriers.

• The swimming instructor who made me repeat the same level for three years, simply because I refused to be pushed backwards off the diving board (I think it was supposed to be a “recovery” drill.) When I moved to a different pool I passed two levels above it on the first try. I have never felt confident as a swimmer.

• The local music teacher who picked favourites and despite giving private lessons to most of the budding singers in the area, never “had room in the schedule” for me.

• The drama teacher who type-cast me as a dancer and never gave me the opportunity to try anything different. Years later, despite 30+ theatre credits on my resume, I still feel self-conscious about my acting ability.

Of course I realize there are other sides to these stories that I am not considering here. I am not intending to dig up ancient grudges by mentioning these anecdotes. These memories were made when I was a child/early teen and are coloured by my viewpoint and experience of that time. But what is important to focus on that despite the incomplete picture they may represent, they are the memories as I saw them at the time and they have had a lasting effect on my confidence. What a child is able to see and understand is what is remembered, and what is remembered is what has the potential to shape the future.

But there was another group of adults in my life, too. Let’s call them boosters.

• The dance teacher who recognized my vocal talent and arranged for opportunities to showcase it. Let me emphasize that: that’s right, she was a DANCE teacher. It wasn’t even her area of expertise. But she saw something in me that she thought should be encouraged, and she made it happen. MANY doors in my future were opened when she made that simple choice. (RIP, Maureen. <3)
• The vocal instructor who squeezed me into her schedule (as a result my dance teacher’s – and my mother’s – persistence) so I could get the qualifications I needed to study music at university.
• The teacher I had in grade 4 who listened to me talk way more than my fair share and encouraged my strange obsession with turning my bedroom into a hobbit hole (and even donated some props for the cause).
• The house league soccer coach who took me on as an assistant coach when I was a teenager and taught me how to organize a practice, keep kids busy and happy, and teach them something at the same time. (This is really where my destiny as a teacher was forged.)

In both the barrier and booster stories, the adult involved was in a position of authority, and there was a potential for either fostering or inhibiting growth. The only difference is whether the adult’s actions helped (booster) or hindered (barrier).

In my own close circle of friends there are both parents and (currently) non-parents. Whether they have their own children or not, they are all united by the fact that they LOVE my kids. In the short time that my boys have been alive in this world they have been guided and praised by their own little team of cheerleaders. They have encouraged them as they learned to sit upright, held their hands as they learned to stand, and let them bite their fingers as their teeth came in. As I think about them growing older in this crazy world, I am comforted knowing that they have this team of adult non-relatives who are rooting for them. And hopefully, they will find some other boosters (teachers, coaches, parents of friends) in our community as their own circles widen.

This is one of the main reasons I started Maple Key. In every child’s life there are countless adults who have the power to make a difference. If we’re lucky, we have more boosters than barriers. Camp is a magical place where we have the power to create a culture that is FULL of boosters. (If you haven’t read about the 40 Developmental Assets you need to. It’s important – whether you have kids or not.)

This is what we have to do. We have to be champions for these kids and build them up so that the odds are skewed in their favour. When they go out in the world and encounter people whose actions will tear them down (and they will – it’s inevitable) they will have the confidence and the resilience to ignore them and just keep on truckin’.