Personal Growth Program

Some parts of the Camp Buckskin program are quite ‘visible’ while other aspects are not as easily ‘seen.’ The campers progress through the levels in the main daily activities, and their choices of which activities to enjoy in the evening or on the weekends, are all quite obvious. But the great majority of our parents are probably most interested in helping their children improve social skills and take greater responsibility for themselves.

Our Personal Growth program, unique to the world of camping, addresses these ‘less visible’ areas in a deliberate and practical manner. However, this component of the overall camp program is much less apparent to the participants than other parts of the program. We want ‘camp to be camp’ so our campers will be more open to the many opportunities to improve their various personal and interpersonal skills.

Goal Attainment Form

Because camps’ role is to help our parents help their children, the Personal Growth program is based on information supplied by the parents. The Goal Attainment Form identifies a variety of areas such as peer relations, problem solving, boundaries, initiative, task completion, interpersonal communication and several other that we work on at camp. Our parents are asked to prioritize areas most needing attention. Specific goals are then set, addressed, and monitored each day in a non-intrusive manner.

Campers don’t just work on these areas for an hour or so each day, but for the entire waking day, as the Personal Growth program is part of the daily camp experience. We believe it to be crucial – as it’s more effective – to use life’s “teachable moments” when they occur, because opportunities to learn don’t only happen at certain times of the day.