Ages 6-15 · Book 3, Confidence · 4,299 places
Summer Camp
A week where a child tries several things badly in front of strangers, which is either the best or worst week of their year.
Built on Ellis Abel and the Magic Triangle — “Turn fear into confidence, one step at a time.” A character series, not a curriculum with a worldview attached.
The five sessions
- Session 1
Read the story and find the wall the child is standing under
- Session 2
Commit out loud, before anybody feels ready — that is step one
- Session 3
Do the reps, count them, and expect them to be ugly
- Session 4
Name what got better, using the count and not a feeling
- Session 5
Confidence is the last step, and it is earned in front of them
Questions leaders ask
Is summer camp in your area a religious program?
No. Ellis Abel is a character series. Each volume carries one named core value — this one is confidence — and the story does the teaching. There is no doctrine in it, nothing to opt out of, and it is used in public schools, libraries and secular programs as readily as anywhere else.
What ages does this work for?
Ages 6-15. The story is read aloud, so a child who cannot read yet is fully in it, and the discussion prompts are written in two bands so one adult can hold a mixed-age room.
What does a your area program need to run this?
A room, an adult, and thirty minutes. No kit, no screen, no prep beyond reading the page before the children arrive.
Can we run it as a drop-in rather than a series?
Yes. Each session stands alone, and the arc is stronger if they come back, but nothing breaks if a child only ever comes once.
The rules that make it work
Confidence is earned, in that order, every time
Commitment, then competency, then confidence. Almost every adult teaches it backwards by trying to install the feeling first, and children can tell.
Ugly reps are the work, not a warning sign
A child promised that practice feels good quits on the third attempt. Say in advance that it will look bad, and the bad-looking part stops meaning anything.
Praise the count, never the talent
"You're a natural" is a compliment a child cannot use and cannot rebuild from. Sixty reps is a fact they own and can do again.
Nobody is compared to anybody
The count is against last week's count. A room where children are ranked teaches the ones at the bottom to stop starting.
Adults commit out loud too
A coach or a parent naming a thing they are bad at and are practising anyway is worth more than any session on effort.
This is a character story, not a performance program
Technique belongs to the coach and the teacher. This handles the part that has nothing to do with technique, and never scores a child on either.
Summer Camp by metro area
Northeast
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- Summer Camp — Portland, ME
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- Summer Camp — York, PA
- Summer Camp — Springfield, MA
- Summer Camp — Waterbury, CT
- Summer Camp — Reading, PA
- Summer Camp — Manchester, NH
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- Summer Camp — Erie, PA
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- Summer Camp — Lewiston, ME
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- Summer Camp — Ithaca, NY
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Midwest
- Summer Camp — Chicago, IL
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- Summer Camp — Bismarck, ND
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- Summer Camp — Springfield, OH
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- Summer Camp — Midland, MI
- Summer Camp — Grand Island, NE
- Summer Camp — Minot, ND
South
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West
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- Summer Camp — Cheyenne, WY
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- Summer Camp — Helena, MT
- Summer Camp — Fairbanks, AK
- Summer Camp — Pocatello, ID
- Summer Camp — Grants Pass, OR
- Summer Camp — Great Falls, MT
- Summer Camp — Casper, WY
- Summer Camp — Lewiston, ID
- Summer Camp — Walla Walla, WA
- Summer Camp — Carson City, NV
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