Blog
End of Summer 2023: What an amazing summer!
It’s impossible to describe the summer of 2023 in just words. We have tremendous gratitude to our campers and their parents for choosing Camp Wekeela. As Directors, we were able to watch our campers and staff grow daily. Wekeela is a beautiful place where our campers can truly be themselves, foster their independence, and make connections and friendships. A Wekeela summer is filled with fun and energy. Now that your child is back home and, in some cases, beginning their new school year routine or soon to be, they may still feel a wide range of feelings about camp such as excitement, delight, and enthusiasm to be home and/or tearfulness and intense sadness because camp ended only a few days, or a few weeks ago. These feelings may fluctuate day to day or even hour by hour. Don’t worry; your child is just reacting to a major transition and transitions are hard. However, kids are adaptable. These changes and feelings build up your child’s resilience. And thanks to you, our campers are awesome!! 
Don’t be surprised if while sitting down to family dinner your child starts performing a hand-clapping game or other Wekeela cheers and traditions. A Camp Wekeela meal is nothing like a quiet family dinner. Engage with curiosity around the games and traditions that occur at mealtime – it’s a great way to learn more about the summer. Best of all, your child may be more confident after trying a whole host of new things, more independent after doing so much on their own, more sensitive and patient after living in close quarters with peers, and more resilient after learning they can do hard things. Embrace this growth in your child. It’s what Camp Wekeela is all about!
You have over nine months to let the stories of this past summer unfold. Resist the urge to fire with questions and instead let things come up over time. Throughout the school year, you’ll find that something will trigger your child’s memory and you will learn new stories from camp. By waiting to follow your child’s lead, you let them be the narrator of their summer story. We encourage you to be nostalgic about camp all year long – looking at photos and the Legacy yearbook (sent to US families next month) together can be a great tool to learn more about camp as well as following Wekeela on social media platforms such as: TikTok and Instagram: @Camp_Wekeela 
Camp friends are unique. The bonds formed in the camp bubble are so strong that even 10 months apart can feel like no time has passed. For some children friendships are the draw of camp; for others, it’s the activities, the traditions, the spirit, and the beauty of the environment that is the shores of Little Bear Pond that brings them back year after year. Thus, if your child loved camp, but didn’t come home most enthused by relationships, that’s okay. There are lots of ways to be a camper. Please support your child in making connections if they are interested and rest assured that there’s nothing wrong if they’re not.
Parents, we wish you all wonderful reunions with your campers and hope that it was a great summer for all!
Have a great rest of the summer and a terrific new school year. We hope to see many Pioneers throughout the year. The countdown to 2024 is underway. Here’s to our 28th year and Wekeela’s 102nd!!
