Camp MakeBelieve Kids

A social and emotional learning program that builds self-confidence, esteem, self-control...when kids learn to believe in themselves.

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If your child demonstrates the behaviors listed below, Camp MakeBelieve Kids is a tool that can help them.                                                                                    

• Easily frustrated
• Throws regular temper tantrums
• Displays hyper activity
• Disrespects family, friends or teachers
• Becomes stressed easily
• Has trouble expressing needs
• Shows little empathy toward others
• Makes poor choices
• Demonstrates mad moods
• Refuses to take NO for answer
• Does not take responsibility for behavior or actions
• Has a difficult time making or keeping friends
• Bullies others or is a victim of bullying

Camp MakeBelieve Kids is a place where kids learn to believe in themselves. The Camp MakeBelieve program is designed as a series of eight steps, which build from one to the next. The program lasts eight months, and is offered in a structured, safe environment. It addresses and examines childhood issues using innovative and original teaching tools with endearing characters. These characters come to life for Camp MakeBelieve Kids through stories, activities, music and guided imagery.

They are faced with behavioral and emotional challenges that all children face. When children read the stories, they begin to see how negative attitudes lead to negative consequences, helping them to understand their own feelings and avoid unwanted behavior.

Through an organized social group, kids enrolled in the Camp MakeBelieve program position themselves for success in life by utilizing eight proven steps developed through years of research, experience and academic contributions.
The program begins with kids learning about peer connections. Campers focus on peer relationships, and learn how to form and maintain positive relationships by developing strategies within their peer group. They learn about the rules of socially appropriate behavior, how important they are in establishing friendships and how to develop a connection with peers through active listening and eye contact. Children learn about non-verbal communication, and that successful relationships are based on give and take.

During Camp MakeBelieve, kids learn about feelings and how to identify their own feelings, what they mean and how to express them. They also learn the importance of respecting the feelings of others and how feelings are caused.
Campers learn about physical, emotional and personal boundaries. They discover how to define personal space and what boundaries are appropriate for individual situations. They learn to identify cues of boundary invasion, the impact this has on relationships, how boundaries change and how to use them in maintaining relationships.

Camp MakeBelieve Kids are taught about empathy and how important it is to develop empathy for others. They participate in activities that promote tolerance, help them understand bullying and how to deal with bullies. They also learn to recognize the importance of having empathy for people who are different.

Campers get acquainted with the importance of managing moods by understanding the physical reaction to intense feelings and how to deal with those reactions. They learn about what their bodies go through when they feel threatened or angry, how to identify and decrease the intensity of negative feelings and how to reduce or change mad moods.

The program teaches children to understand the term manipulation, its methods, negative consequences and how to defend against manipulative behaviors such as bullying. They study the negativity associated with taking advantage of others and how a person feels when they are manipulated.

Self-regulation, another important attribute, teaches children how to recognize and modify their own thoughts, feelings and behavior according to a given situation. They learn to differentiate between thoughts and feelings, and learn how impulses may drive behavior. They discover how to modulate their own thoughts and feelings and avoid negative consequences, while decreasing impulsivity by looking at difficult situations in a more positive light.

Motivation is the final component in the Camp MakeBelieve Kids program. Children learn motivation through guided imagery that helps them become aware of their positive qualities and be comfortable asserting themselves appropriately in new, frustrating or challenging situations. They learn to step out of their comfort zone to take on new challenges, utilize self-motivation, make better choices in frustrating or unexpected situations and become masters of self control.

Behavioral issues  |  8 Steps to a Well Behaved Child

 Testimony