Can you believe it? Camp has officially begun! Today, we're welcoming our June Specialty & GACpacking campers to Gold Arrow Camp. Our June Specialty campers will enjoy an action-packed week of waterskiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding, while our GACpacking campers will enjoy a week of backcountry hiking skill building. Shaver Specialty is held on our island outpost in the middle of Shaver Lake, where campers sleep under the stars after spending fun days on the lake.
June Shaver Specialty MenuGACpacking Menu
Want to learn more about June Specialty? Click here.
Want to learn more about GACpacking? Click here.
One of the highlights of each session is our camp dance.
Dances feature favorite group dances, like Footloose and Tragedy. There's also our photo booth for some pictures with friends, special snacks and drinks like the "Soy Rogers" and "Shirley Chipmunk," as well as a wide selection of games for those campers that prefer playing games over dancing.
Each of our dances has a theme, and campers and staff are encouraged to dress up to match the theme. Some people bring costumes from home, while others improvise using their clothes or making something at Arts & Crafts. Whatever you choose to do, we know you'll have a great time at our dances.
This year's dance themes are:
June Shaver Specialty: Hollywood
Come as your favorite celebrity or dress to impress as one of your favorite movie characters for this fun SoCal themed party!
Session 1: Pirates
Shiver me timbers matey! Session 1 campers will be walking the plank to fun with their peg-legs, eye patches, and other pirate accessories.
Session 2: Groovy Hippies and Tie-Dye
Let's have some far-out fun in Session 2, when we enjoy the dance with our best hippie costumes, or your tie-dyed favorites.
Session 3: Halloween
Having a hard time coming up with a costume for Session 3's Halloween dance? Any costume will do as we celebrate the one night of the year when people love costumes as much as we do on dance night.
Session 4: Winter Wonderland
It'll be the end of August, but we're going to dress like a ... Read more
We are so excited to be back at camp for another summer of fun, friends, and growth! Our staff is a big part of what helps make camp the special place that it is! Check out our Meet the Staff page to learn a little bit more about all of our counselors. Be sure to check back often as more staff members continue to join the team!
Be sure to also follow us on Instagram and Facebook for fun content! Every Monday is "Meet the Staff Monday" where we feature a few counselors and a little information about them. You can also find all of the past featured counselors on Instagram in the 2021 Staff highlight bubble in our profile.
Every child has to practice being independent and every parent has to practice letting his or her child be independent.
-Michael Thompson, Ph.D., Homesick & Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow
Most kids feel some apprehension before going on their first adventure away from home without parents. Many parents are also nervous about the separation from their child, especially if your camper is expressing anxiety about going away to camp. The biggest source of parental concern is often how your child will handle the separation from you and if they will experience negative emotions, often referred to as “homesickness,” while at camp. While most kids do not feel extreme symptoms of homesickness at camp, many experience emotional challenges during their first (and subsequent) experiences at summer camp and other away-from-parent experiences. These feelings are normal and are something that we have helped many campers work through. Campers feel a great sense of accomplishment when they successfully overcome the challenge of homesickness, and we encourage you to view this experience through the lens of the long-term positive outcomes for your child.One of our favorite resources for first-time camp parents is Michael Thompson, Ph.D.'s book Homesick and Happy. Parents will find this book helpful not only as you prepare to send your child to GAC this summer, but also as you think about and prepare your child for other future adventures away from you (like college!).
We know many ... Read more
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