GATA Webinar – September 9

Our GATA (Gold Arrow Teacher Academy) program had a great turnout for our first webinar and we are so excited to continue on this journey with everyone. There is still time to register for GATA and our next webinar is quickly approaching. Join us on September 9 at 5pm PT/8pm ET as we gather to discuss how to create a positive classroom culture and keep it going throughout the year. We will provide you with strategies for creating a positive classroom culture – a place where kids look forward to going each day and don’t want to leave!

To learn more about GATA and to register for an individual or school membership, please visit https://goldarrowcamp.com/teacher-academy/.

As a GATA member, you will be able to join us for a monthly webinar, engage in weekly teacher chats, and receive no-prep or low-prep connection activities delivered to your email inbox weekly from the experts at fun, friendship, and growth.

To view our first webinar, click here. To access our first PDF which provides you with a list of activities to foster online classroom connections, click here.

Gold Arrow Teacher Academy (GATA)

We know that students and teachers are getting ready to head back to school this fall and many of them will be doing so without actually going to their schools. Distance learning is difficult, and it can be especially challenging to build a vibrant and connected classroom community over screens.

Gold Arrow Camp is here to help! We know that our community includes many educators, as well as parents, who may want their children’s schools to be more like camp. This fall, we’re going to share what we learned about building online communities from the online leadership academies for elementary, middle school, and high school students that we successfully provided this summer. Join the Gold Arrow Teacher Academy (GATA) for a monthly Webinar, weekly Teacher Talks, and no-prep or low-prep connection activities delivered to your email inbox weekly from the experts at fun, friendship, and growth.

To learn more about GATA and to register for an individual or school membership, please visit https://goldarrowcamp.com/teacher-academy/.

 

Early Morning Wakeboarding by Spencer

We love seeing how camp impacts our campers all throughout the year. Whether they are telling us or telling others, it makes us happy knowing the lasting effects that camp has on our campers. Enjoy Spencer’s wonderfully written poem about early morning wakeboarding and the emotions behind his determination.

 

If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.

Why Kids Should Go to Sleepaway Summer Camp by Julia

Have you ever wondered about the importance of sleepaway camp? We have many articles and stats we could share with you about why it is so important, but the best way to know is to hear from campers themselves. Here, longtime camper Julia shares about why summer camp is so important and the things that are learned while being there.

If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.

My Love For Gold Arrow Camp by Wyatt

To put this simply, we have the best campers around! Our campers are so passionate about Gold Arrow and the skills and lessons they take away with them each summer. Summer camp is about more than just having fun, it’s about growing as an individual and pushing yourself to try new things. Each camper takes away from camp something different, but the most important part is that they are each growing as individuals and sharing their discoveries with their families and friends.

Check out Wyatt’s school presentation about his love for Gold Arrow. It is so amazing seeing his happiness while speaking about GAC to his peers.

 

If you or your camper has something they would like to share with the GAC community, please email it to us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com! We would love to hear from you.

Happy Campers at Home

Happy Campers: 9 Secrets That May Help You Get Through This Challenging Year

 

Audrey “Sunshine” Monke, GAC’s Chief Visionary Officer, wrote Happy Campers to give parents encouragement and share research-backed ideas for creating some camp “magic” at home. With most camps and other programs not operating this summer, and many vacation plans canceled, we’ll be with our kids a lot this summer.

Why not try some simple strategies for creating more connection and fun at home? Sign up to get weekly emails (10 total) with tips from the book plus BONUS research and ideas Sunshine has learned since writing Happy Campers.

If you’re on Facebook, Join the Happy Campers Group for more discussion of the topics covered in the book.

HERE ARE SOME FREE DOWNLOADS TO GET YOU STARTED ON YOUR HAPPY CAMPERS JOURNEY:

Free Chapter: Camp Secret #1: Connection Comes First

9-week Reading Schedule

Workbook & Discussion Guide

Sign up for your weekly emails here!

 

Parenting in Place Masterclass Series

Are you stressed about summer and wondering how your family will manage? Are you completely burned out from the demands placed on you as a parent in recent months? Are you craving practical strategies for helping your child (and your family) thrive and prepare for what’s next?

If so, please join us for a special live masterclass series designed to help you this summer: Parenting in Place: Helping Families Thrive in Challenging Times.

This new series comes from a group of parenting experts, therapists, authors, educators, and neuroscientists who’ve come together to share their very best strategies and ideas for how you and your family can thrive this summer. 

Parenting in Place features 9 weekly masterclasses (hosted on Zoom) through June and early August, each focused on a different theme, and each including specific takeaways and strategies. 

Because the event is live, attendees will have the opportunity to ask the hosts questions and communicate with other attendees through chat. 

There is also a bundle of free bonus content (downloadables, templates, webinars) from their speakers, and created a closed moderated Facebook group so together you can keep the conversation going throughout the duration of the event.

Here’s the whole line-up for the live webinars:

Live events will be held on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT, but registrants will have access to replays in case they can’t attend live.  

This event is meant to be accessible as possible and they recognize the difficult position many families find themselves in these days. 

Therefore, they’re offering the entire series— 9-week series of live classes, the bonus bundle, and the closed Facebook community—for only $29. Once the event begins on June 10, the cost will go up to $39.

10% of the proceeds for the Masterclass will be donated to charity to support Covid-19 and social justice-related work.

To register for Parenting in Place, click on this link. It all gets started on June 10!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Parent Debrief

Following the announcement of our heartbreaking decision to cancel our 2020 GAC sessions, we have set up an online meeting for parents next week to debrief, offer support to one another, and find out how we can help you and your family moving forward.

A link to join our parent community on Tuesday, May 19 at 12pm PT, was sent in our announcement email on May 13 and again in a resource email sent May 14.  If you need the details to access the parent debrief next week, please contact us at mail@goldarrowcamp.com or (800) 554-2267.

How to make a GAC Face Mask

Hey Campers,

Here are two different ways to make a no-sew face mask. Use a GAC t-shirt or bandana to show your GAC spirit while you keep yourselves and others safe. Send us pictures of you in your GAC face mask,  and we’ll share here and on social media! Use #gackindness as your hashtag.

Have fun making masks!

P.S. Remember, you can still smile and be friendly, even behind a mask! Practice kindness every day!

Instructions for No Sew T-shirt Face Mask

Time lapse video of Sunshine making a Happy Campers t-shirt face mask

And Sunshine wearing the finished t-shirt mask:

The bandana version

Step by step instructions with illustrations: https://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie

Time lapse video of Sunshine making a GAC bandana mask

And Sunshine wearing the finished bandana mask (Please send in your pics so we can add them!!)

At assembly, Sunshine talked about why we wear face masks during this pandemic. Here’s the graphic she talked about from Worry Proof M.D.:

Wash Your Hands the GAC Way!

In the current health enviornment, we are all acutely aware of how important it is to wash our hands. Here at GAC, we wanted to give you a fun way to make sure you’re washing your hands for the right amount of time. That’s why we put together this handy graphic! Now you can keep your hands clean and think about camp all at the same time!

Download and print GAC Handwashing