THE CAMP MAKEBELIEVE EXPERIENCE: PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES

The problems we associate with teen rage — addiction, violence, gangs, rape, pregnancy, STDs, dropping out — are hard to imagine as we gaze into the sweet, young faces of even the most troublesome elementary school child. Yet we know that adolescence, under ideal conditions, is filled with turbulence and drama. The adolescent exaggerates and amplifies every “sin” and hurt he’s ever suffered, and serves them up as grounds for parental and even societal punishment. Children, then, who move on with unresolved and unmanaged anger — especially those who appeared passive, apathetic, or withdrawn during the elementary years — may explode into the teen years with a vengeance.

We also know that early, effective, intervention can make all the difference! We, at Camp MakeBelieve, have seen that even the youngest children can start to learn how to safely and effectively manage their feelings on their way to Becoming Masters of Self-Control.

Camp Make Believe: A World of Difference in Principles, In Practice

The Camp MakeBelieve experience, consisting of the after-school program, workbooks and CDs, reflects the following principles and practices:

The Principles

· In view of increasing stresses and decreasing ethical and social controls, children, parents, educators, counselors, and community leaders, more than ever, need tools and strategies they can use effectively, today.

· What’s best for the child is often ignored in favor of what’s “necessary” for the parent or the “system.” We believe in putting children first. That starts with letting them be children by respecting this stage of development as special and sacred. We further believe that by doing so, families and the community are better served.

· We can’t change the world, but we can change our corner of it, family by family, school by school, community by community.

o We can’t eliminate stress, but we can become aware, diminish, and mitigate some its effects.

o We can teach our children how to be aware of feelings, manage frustration, control their impulses, regulate their moods, keep anger from overwhelming them, empathize with others, and hope.

o We can teach our children direction, limits, how to make appropriate choices, and take appropriate responsibility. We can teach our children to be ethically and morally accountable.

The Practices

Our techniques, strategies, and tools are designed to put into practice the principles above as follows:

· Children may work at their own paces.

· Children are challenged in ways that are constructive and age-appropriate.

· Adults are given materials to help acquaint the child with the world through language, shared activities, in the context of love, comfort, safety, and support.

· The realistic needs of society are combined with the needs of the child through promoting

imaginative approaches to real-life situations. We believe that fantasy, imagination, and play — with the simplest of materials -- are critical to the learning process, as well as helping children deal with confusing or difficult feelings. Play is life preparation.

· Children are encouraged to create reality out of their own experience.

· Limits, boundaries, and rules are demonstrated through the skills provided in the activity sheets.

· Stress-relieving and cool down strategies are explained and provided.

· Attention is paid to a variety of cues — from facial to sensory— to introduce children to a wide range of experience, and to sharpen their ability to “read” feelings accurately.

· Awareness of feelings is a primary focus, as this is imperative to change. We need to recognize anger to get past it. Understanding how we feel gives us the freedom to choose our behavior, which is in and of itself, a de-fuser.

· Awareness of intention is critical to reframing our view of anger, which includes finding the “positives” in those situations that trigger our anger.

· Diversion is often overlooked as a simple way to move children from intensely angry behavior. We teach diversionary strategies for use during intense moments. A child has to become calm before she can hear.

· Expression of feelings through writing, drawing, music, drama, games, stories, and art, is a powerful stress reducer, and a critical element in our approach to anger management.

· Rewards are built-in and reinforced as a positive method for managing behavior.

Through the application of principles to practice, the blending of art and skills, the Camp MakeBelieve program is designed to create a world of difference for you and the children you love. All this is the art of living.