News

Welcome Session 2 Campers!

June 30, 2025

We're so excited to welcome our Session 2 campers to camp! This session we have campers here from all over the United States, and even France, Spain, and Mexico! Of these campers... 95 are 1st time campers at GAC 210 are returning campers 38 are 3-year campers 27 are 5-year campers and 1 are 10-year campers! We are so excited for the next two weeks that will be spent hiking, singing songs, waterskiing, campfires and so much more! Make sure to keep up with everything going on at camp through our News section and the Campanion App! What are we eating this week? Check out the week's menu!

Episode 90: The GAC Experience with Punkie

Paige "Punkie" McKee reflects on her five years as a camper and five years (including this summer) on staff at Gold Arrow Camp. She reflects on the impact of her camp experiences and how the independence and adventure she experienced at camp has helped her pursue an equally adventurous adulthood. This summer, Punkie is leading the Media Team (photographers and videographer). We talk about some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into posting all those great photos parents get to see while their camper is at GAC!

Teaching Teamwork

June 25, 2025

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” -H.E. Luccock

In this competitive, self-focused era, learning to be part of a team is a valuable skill that is not often taught to children (or adults!). Kids participate on many sports teams, but often that experience does not end up being a lesson in teamwork. Instead, sports teams often become a competitive experience of trying to get the position or play time they want as an individual. One reason for our focus on non-competitive activities at GAC is so that kids can learn new skills without feeling the pressure to win or be the best. We also want kids to learn to be part of a team (their cabin group) and be better team members. The experience of living with a group of diverse people in a cabin group is the first lesson in teamwork that campers learn. Campers learn to work together to keep their living area organized, do daily clean up, and get to where they need to be (meals, activities, etc.). They also learn to support and encourage each other and help each cabin member do their best at each activity. During the first few days of camp, each of our cabin groups goes through a “Team Building” program led by our trained ropes course staff. During a variety of games ... Read more

Episode 89: WOWs with Bravo

June 23, 2025

Writing "WOW"s, or positive notes and affirmations, is a habit we practice daily at Gold Arrow Camp. In this episode, Sunshine and Bravo talk about how we do WOWs, why we do WOWs, the magic relationship ratio, and the power of positive words! Give meaningful WOWs by using this formula: Person’s Name + Quality + Evidence (what they did and/or how it made you feel).

Resources/Related

The Magic Relationship Ratio, John Gottman (article) The Magic Relationship Ratio, Sunshine Parenting (video) Filling Buckets: Our 2019 Theme (article) The Most Meaningful Words You'll Say this Summer, Camping Magazine (article) 3 Reasons to Give Your Kid a "WOW" Today, Sunshine Parenting (article) The Power of Positive Words, Sunshine Parenting (article) Catch them Doing the Right Thing (article)