2025 Theme: Try Something New
While we always want our campers to Have Fun, Make Friends, and Grow at camp, we also put a focus on one specific character trait or skill each summer by having a Summer Theme. Over the years, we’ve covered a variety of themes. In 2012, we focused on gratitude. In subsequent summers our themes have been: Cool 2B Kind, Creating Connections, Give a Hand, Growing Grit, The Energy Bus, Find-a-Friend, Filling Buckets, Be You, Better Together, Choosing Kindness, Count on Me, and Building Empathy, which was our 2024 theme.
We chose this year’s summer theme, Try Something New, because we want our 2025 campers to challenge themselves to get outside their comfort zones and try new activities and experiences while at camp. For our first-time campers, coming to camp is a great example of Trying Something New!
At GAC this summer, we’ll practice setting goals and taking safe risks by trying new things. And we’ll encourage and cheer each other on while doing so. We want all of our campers to build confidence in their abilities and to understand that it’s normal to feel some discomfort when trying new things.
Our “Try Something New” theme builds on the work we’ve done with campers over the past few years as we’ve talked about getting outside our comfort zones, putting fear in the backseat, and challenging ourselves to try new things.
We’ve noticed more campers in recent summers who are hesitant to try camp activities they haven’t done before, and we want campers to experience the increased fun and confidence that comes with learning and practicing new skills. It is our sincere hope that our 2025 GAC campers will take this theme to heart and continue to explore new activities and grow confidence outside of camp.
During the summer, we’ll talk with campers about all the different ways they can TRY SOMETHING NEW at camp, including:
- Trying an activity they’ve never done before, like water skiing or rock climbing.
- Trying a new food or salad bar item.
- Practicing a new friendship skill, like introducing themselves to someone they haven’t met or asking a friend three questions to get to know them better.
- Challenging themselves to build a new skill in an activity they’ve done before. For example, they might try sailing a bigger boat this summer or signing up for the Will-O sailing trip.
- Learning a new camp dance (like “Tragedy” or “Foot Loose”).
- Overcoming a fear of heights by going up on the ropes course or zipline.
- Overcoming a fear of speaking or being in front of a large group by singing a song with their cabin group or acting in a skit at Big Campfire.
- Telling their cabin mates a story around the campfire.
- Reading a book (if they don’t normally read for fun) or reading a book in a different genre than what they usually read.
- Learning a new craft or hobby, like crocheting, juggling, or guitar, by signing up for a free time activity that you’ve never done before or learning from a friend.
- Starting a gratitude journal or a journal about what you’re doing at camp.
Facing challenges, acknowledging big emotions, overcoming discouragement and frustrations, and learning how to get comfortable pushing ourselves to try new things are all skills that help us – and our kids – grow our resilience and our confidence. These are traits that will help our campers thrive both at camp and in life!
Resources
Homesickness – Gold Arrow Camp – California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children