T.I.G.E.R. and "Pay it Forward"

Meadowbrook's unique T.I.G.E.R. program helps us build a strong community at Camp and teaches our Campers what we believe are 5 important, life-long values that are crucial for success.


We positively re-enforce demonstrating these values at Camp in a variety of ways:  T.I.G.E.R. stickers; T.I.G.E.R. "Warm & Fuzzies"; T.I.G.E.R. Camper of the Day in each Group; Weekly T.I.G.E.R. Camper in each Division; and the T.I.G.E.R. Cup which is awarded to the Divisions that does the best job demonstrating T.I.G.E.R. qualities each week.

While we are strong believers in positive reinforcement of good behavior throughout Camp, the ultimate success is when those in our Meadowbrook Community (Campers, Parents, Staff) practice T.I.G.E.R. qualities even when they think no-one is watching.  Our goal is for everyone to get to the point where you don't do it for the positive reinforcement...you do it because it is the right thing to do!  Some refer to this as "Pay it Forward."  I often speak with member of our Meadowbrook Community about this topic, both in terms of re-enforcing positive behavior and discouraging negative behavior   I remind them "you never know who is watching, so with everything that you do, assume that someone is watching you do it, even if you don't think anyone is...."

Check out this nice "Pay it Forward" video: "If you give a little love you can get a little love of your own"...

Pay It Forward Video

Life Skills at Camp!

Jed at Camp Weequahic 1971

Last week, 14 members of the Meadowbrook Leadership Team attended the American Camp Association Tri-State Camp Conference in Atlantic City.  It is a great opportunity for our staff to share and earn with thousands of other Camp professionals.

In the spirit of sharing, here is a blog post from another Camp...this one from my Alma Mater, Camp Weequahic.

At Meadowbrook, we are very focused on teaching important life skills to our Campers.  This blog post is a great perspective on some of those life skills that we teach at Meadowbrook, skills like Resilience  Sportsmanship, Teamwork, and Self-Esteem.  Check it out...and let us know what you think!

 Learning to Lose at Camp

Don't Take My Word...

I often write and speak about the amazing benefits that Camp offers Children.  But you don't have to take my word for it...check out this great article from Cigna about the Benefits of Summer Camp!

Summer Health: Benefits of Summer Camp

See you at Camp!!

Unplugging at Camp

Earlier this week, we wrote about Learning Life Skills at Camp.  At Meadowbrook, this is a significant and intentional focus of our program.  We also provided a link to the p21.org website for additional information on 21st Century Skills.

Today we have the pleasure of sharing with you a great 11 minute Tedx video from our friend and colleague Steve Baskin talking about "Unplugging our Kids" and how these 21st Century Skills relate to all that we do at Camp.

Unplugging at Camp

Enjoy....and let us know what you think!

Learning Life Skills at Camp

This past Sunday, we held our first Open House of 2013.  It was a great day with lots of families coming to learn all about Meadowbrook and meet many members of our fantastic Leadership Team.

One of the things we spoke about extensively during the day was the role Meadowbrook plays in teaching Campers what we call LIFE SKILLS.

So what are life skills?  They are the"soft skills" that unfortunately have been lost in a world where schools are pressed harder to teach to standardized tests and technology has usurped 'free play" with children spending more and more time in front of computers and television sets, playing video games, using social media, and communicating via texting and messages with a maximum of 140 characters.

This is where Meadowbrook comes in!  At Camp, we are very focused on teaching our Campers the skills that are necessary to succeed in the 21st Century.  These include (but are not limited to): Decision Making, Independence,  Problem Solving, Resilience, Leadership, Teamwork, Patience, Perseverance, Self Confidence,  Goal Setting, Communication, and many more.  We do this in all areas of Camp...from our Athletics Program to Creative Arts;  from our Lake Activities to our Challenge Course; from Lunch to Swimming to Special Events to our T.I.G.E.R. program.

The beauty of it all is that our Campers are learning these important life skills in an incredibly safe and fun environment.

For more information on 21st Century Skills, check out the website p21.org.  For more information on how Meadowbrook teaches these skills, call us in the office anytime!