Published: March 31, 2009 03:15 pm      

Add some colorful memories to their summer this year

Summertime and the living is easy. No more homework. No more cramming for tests. No more getting up early and rushing to catch the bus. It’s all about fun. While many

Hamilton County youth fill their summers with sports leagues, trips to the pool, family vacations, and just hanging out, for many, summer camp is always at the top of their to-do lists.

Summer camp is somewhat of a rite of passage for many children. It’s often their first extended time away from mom and dad – their first taste of independence. A good summer camp experience sets the tone for the rest of their year and often makes for lifetime memories. There are church camps, 4-H camps, scout camps, and more, but two of the larger

resident camps in Central Indiana are Camp Crosley near Muncie and Camp Tecumseh near

Lafayette. Both offer a variety of activities and experiences in a

Christian atmosphere.

Camp Crosley has been hosting area children for more than 90 years. It offers camps for boys and girls ages 7 to 15 with activities such as swimming, tubing, sailing, canoeing, water skiing, kayaking, archery, drama, soccer, horseback

riding, tennis, cheerleading, arts and crafts, and more. There is a mini camp for children ages 6 to 8, a pathfinder camp for those ages 7 to 9, an explorer camp for those ages 10 to 12, a challenger camp for students ages 13 to 15, and a SEAL’s camp for teens ages 16 and 17. While meeting new people and fostering lifetime friendships are a huge part of the camping experience, attendees of Camp Crosley may request to be put with a friend.

Richard Armstrong, executive director of Camp Crosley, has been with the camp for the past 14 years. He says helping parents make the right choices is the most important thing he and his staff can do. “They’re leaving their most valuable possession with you,” he said. “I think that it’s important, that if they can, to make sure that they have a chance to visit. If not, they need to look for a camp with ACA accreditation. They should call and interview the staff and ask questions. “We see it as a partnership and we want to make sure that they are partnering with the camp. They need to know that the camp will keep them informed if there are any problems or issues.

“Will they be able to get the camp director on the phone and be able to talk to them? If they call and talk to somebody on the phone, that should be the same person they’re going to see when they’re at camp– the person who is going to be

supervising the care of their child.”

Armstrong says there are three specific areas that put Camp Crosley above the rest.“One is our

location,” he said. “We’re on a beautiful lake with the ability to do every kind of watersports and the family that is our main donor provided the land across from the lake as a nature preserve.” That land, he explained, is used for

nature classes as well as recreation.

“The children love watching the

sunset over that wetlands area,” Armstrong said.

The second benefit he mentioned is the camp’s experienced staff. “That experience has helped us be a leader in programming,” he said. “We do surveys to see if there have been any increases in the asset level of our

campers so we can actually prove that they are benefiting from the programs.”

He also listed the facility itself as being one of the camp’s

assets. “We have a very strong tie to our founding family, and their foundation and board have been very successful in

raising money,” he said. “We just have a beautiful facility. Last year we were able to build facilities

focusing on teens and their

specific needs. We built all new buildings for them and that is just a real blessing.”

Camp Tecumseh is on 500 acres of woodlands and

features both riverfront and lakefront property. It offers a summer camp experience for boys and girls. All

summer camps are co-ed and this camp also allows campers to come with a friend. Camp Tecumseh offers a

resident camp for children ages 8 to 15, an equestrian camp for those ages 11 to 15, adventure trips for teens ages 13 to 17, and a leadership training camp for students who have completed their sophomore or junior year of high school. Offerings include fishing, canoeing, crafts, ceramics, basket weaving, archery, riflery, climbing, tennis, cricket, dance,

drama, music, and more.

Vince Pattengale, associate executive director with Camp Tecumseh, has been with the camp for more than 20 years.

“We’ve found that mom is the number one decision maker

when it comes to which camp the children go to and so safety is one of the big issues,” Pattengale said. “Not only will they be physically safe, but mentally and emotionally safe also.” He praised the staff and added they are very proud of their ratio of two counselors per cabin, with about

10 children in each cabin.

Pattengale said Camp Tecumseh is also ACA rated and that is one of the things that parents should

always look for in a resident camp as it shows that the camp and its staff are meeting strict guidelines. “We focus on the belonging aspect,” he said. “They (the campers) have a sense of belonging. They have a chance to put away all of the stereotypes from school and build friendships here. It’s they’re camp and they’re accepted here. We have a very high return rate.”

In addition to resident camps, Hamilton County and the surrounding area offers a variety of other

summer camp experiences for those wanting to keep their youngsters a little closer to home.

The Fishers, Carmel, and Noblesville parks and recreation departments all offer a host of

summer activities for children and teens. Area YMCAs also offer day camps, the Indianapolis Children’s Choir offers a choir camp, and

Indianapolis Civic Theatre offers a drama camp.

In addition to those, there are a variety of camps offering everything from pottery to

sailing, karate to horseback riding, and religious studies

to paintballing. There truly is something for everyone and all are within a short drive from home.Now is the time to start

planning your child’s summer camp

experience as many camps fill up quickly and early. Check out this issue of Highflyer for contact information on a

variety of camps.