Audrey Monke

All Posts by Audrey Monke

4 Ways to Make School more like CAMP

My dream is for my kids to attend a school they love as much as they love camp. Two years ago, when my son started at a new school and was having a difficult time, I wrote Why Can’t School be More Like Camp?, and that quote was how my post started. I went on to share some…

Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills matter more than Grades, Trophies, or “Fat Envelopes,” Madeline Levine, PhD.

Doesn’t the subtitle alone make you want to read this book? Levine focuses on the values and character that are really important to instill in our kids and how our culture is upside down and crazy.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Raising Children of Character in an Age of Indulgence, Dan Kindlon, Ph.D.

In the mid-90s, before Levine’s best-selling Price of Privilege (also a great book) came out with a similar message, Kindlon wrote about how “American children often lack the strong character that is essential for well-being because they are not getting enough TLC-time, limits, and caring.”

The Whole-Brain Child: Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture your Child’s Developing Mind, Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

There’s so much good take-away information in this book. One nugget that stood out to me is why you can’t reason with an upset child. Their brain won’t take anything in at that point.

3 Life Lessons Learned on a Tow Rope

The recreational sports we teach at camp include sailing, water skiing, rock climbing, and many more fun outdoor sports. But these are not the most important skills campers learn. We view the recreational skills we instruct as a means to a much loftier goal – teaching campers important life lessons like overcoming failure, keeping a…

It’s Not All Bullying

A few summers ago, a ten-year-old camper wrote a letter home telling his parents he was being bullied at camp. His irate mother called to let us know. I was very concerned, so I went to talk with the camper right away. I expected to find a sullen boy sitting in the corner of…

Focus on the “Do”s

Next week 100 counselors arrive to spend 10 days learning to lead campers to have fun, make friends, and grow this summer. As I prepare our training sessions and line up guest speakers each spring, I reflect on how all parents should be required to go through camp staff training. Seriously. There is some basic information about…

Should I Make my Kid go to Camp?

I get asked this question frequently, so I’ve created a grid to help you make the decision. Just see what box you and your child fall in, the grid will tell you “yes,” or “no,” and your camp decision is made. Simple as that! Okay, it’s really not that simple. For some families, the camp…

One Important Thing

I overestimate what I can do. Every day. You would think after nearly five decades of living with me, I would know that there is no way I am going to accomplish the 11 items on my “to do” list with the “W” circled for Wednesday. You would think I would assess the situation and…

3 Things to Teach Your Kids about Alcohol

With my oldest daughter’s 21st birthday in just a few days, I am again thinking about deadly traditions around alcohol that are accepted as normal in our culture. Please talk to your kids about the dangers of alcohol, and share this with the kids you love. Earlier this month, a promising young athlete and former…

Why Kids Flourish at Camp

Campers often describe camp as their “happy place”” or “the best two weeks” of their year. And, from my own observation, I’ve seen that kids and the counselors who work with them are obviously happy at camp. They smile a lot. They look relaxed. There’s a lot of laughter. So many fun things happen at…

“Pay it Forward” Day is April 24

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. -Aesop I usually rush through the day thinking about what I need to get done and consumed by all the stuff that weighs on my time and my brain. And yet, being aware of those around me and doing a simple act of kindness can change…

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