At Camp Confidence, students have been venturing outside of The Wolf School to expand on lessons and explore their community. From weekly field trips to the YMCA for fun group activities to visiting a local animal shelter to drop off homemade treats as part of a community service lesson, getting our students outside and into the community provides a number of benefits both personally and academically.
Community experiences can empower Complex Learners as they find unknown talents and strengths and reflect on these new positive experiences. A trip to Wheaton College helped students explore a variety of employment opportunities as they toured the campus and spoke with different employees like mail carriers or librarians. Campers practiced their social skills with these new adults by preparing questions and engaging with these new friends!
Weekly classes through PeaceLove have helped our students tap into their creative side as they explore new ways of thinking and discover another way of effectively communicating. This provides a critical outlet for students with language issues. A visit to the East Providence Fire Department helped push our younger students outside of their comfort zone in a safe and educational way by presenting new sensory experiences like listening to the loud alarm or climbing into the firetruck.
Our community has also provided some exciting adventures to our students! Each group will have the opportunity to head to Newport and learn the basics of sailing with Sail to Prevail and have a chance to learn surfing with Gnome Surf! For Complex Learners, these moments to try something new and tap into strengths and bravery they didn’t know existed increases self-reliance and opens new worlds!
Camp Confidence Program Director, Meg Sutton, knew how valuable these community outings would be during the planning process and is thrilled with the results. “Our students have been discovering newfound confidence as they’re learning new skills and finding different interests.” Sutton continues, “The benefits from these community activities are really tremendous for Complex Learners and most importantly, our students are loving getting a chance to get out and explore new places!”
Take a look below to see all of the community connections our campers have made this summer! Thank you to all of the community members and organizations who have made these valuable opportunities possible!
