When it rains and we tell our kids to stay inside to build a fort in the living room, we forget about two important things kids need to develop as they grow up - resiliency and wonder. "Children aren’t born with a weather bias, but they can quickly pick up on adults’ negative attitudes toward rain, wind, cold and heat," says Sweedish-American author of There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather , Linda Akeson McGurk . Outdoor play in all kinds of weather does more than just help kids step up to the challenge of feeling a little uncomfortable. It helps them learn to see and feel the world in a ways that expand their curiosity and create bigger picture connections about their place in the world and how it works. The self-management and safety skills that come from learning to overcome a little discomfort are just the icing on the cake. Kids Really LIKE the Rain Kids naturally find rainy weather to be fun and exciting. The world is different when it's raining - sudde
As our camp’s Director my job is all about communication. To keep things running smoothly and safely I make a point to check in with our counselors and their campers as often as I can each day. I also talk with parents. A lot. One particularly gorgeous afternoon last summer, I was hiking to check on the next counselor’s group when I got an unexpected text from a mom. It said simply “I’m here to pick up my kids.” Early pickups are a routine thing; we just request a 20-minute heads up reminder so we can coordinate. We mark any planned early pickups at morning drop-off, and there wasn’t one on the sheet that day. The staff all confirmed that no one had been told about this one. So, as I doubled back along the trail to get her younger son from the group I’d just left, I phoned to let mom know we would be a few minutes. With some concern I added, “We weren’t expecting this pickup. Is everything okay?” “Oh,” she explained, “it’s just that they were uncomfortable at drop off, so I