Shaila Saint: Camp B Rocks!

I had the pleasure of spending a peaceful and reflective Wednesday afternoon a couple weeks ago at Camp B in Long Beach.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Camp B, the “B” stands for Brunner, as in John Brunner, my son’s beloved third grade teacher at Lowell Elementary School.  

Like many other campsites, Camp B has  tents, knapsacks, camp stories and silly camp songs.  But unlike other campsites, Camp B is located on the front lawn of Lowell, and serves as Mr. B’s classroom for three days.  And that’s what makes it such a special  place.  

Camp B is a wonderful illustration of the yogic concept of “getting off the mat.”  This concept of getting out of the expected way of doing things, can help us gain insight in a variety of ways.  Sometimes “getting off the mat” helps us to see the habitual ways we react and respond to challenging situations.  In my Mindful Parenting classes, for example, I occasionally ask parents to get off their yoga mat to do a walking meditation or balancing posture while exploring various parenting issues.  If we are discussing compassion or acceptance and we do a balancing pose off the mat, we observe what thoughts/feelings come up when we lose our balance.  Is it compassion and acceptance of the fall?  Or judgment, frustration, and self-crtitcism?  Then we reflect upon the insight these reactions give us into how we respond when we, or our children “fall out of balance” while facing real life challenges. 

“Getting off the mat” can also help us gain a different perspective to something familiar.  And that’s what Camp B is all about.  It gets children off the mat of the classroom, to see learning from a new angle.  When I asked Mr. B. about his goals for Camp B, he said one goal was to have the children do their schoolwork outside in nature in order to see how their classroom subjects relate to the real world.  Many activities that are done at Camp B are the same as any school day--reading, writing, math and science--except they are done outside, sitting on the grass or sidewalk, or on the benches near the learning garden. 

During my morning there, I observed the children count the butterflies that flew overhead and group the ants that crawled over their backpacks during math time.  I heard them discuss the varying degrees of light and shadows the big tree cast over their camp books during the writing exercise.  And reading in a tent?  What a whole new spin that gave to silent reading time!

Mr B. said his other goal is to cultivate and practice teamwork. This was clearly on display with the tent pitching.  Each team was assigned a tent and the task of putting it up together.  And here it was apparent that not only does Mr. B. value teamwork, he also values and trusts the childrens’ competence. Throughout the activity he offered little direction, lots of encouragement, and continually acknowledged the children’s hard work and problem-solving abilities.  He also gave them plenty of space and time (two things in woefully short supply in our fast-paced world) to figure it out.  The result was five perfectly pitched tents, and a shared sense of accomplishment that comes from working and overcoming challenges. 

Camp B, like yoga, reminded me that when we create space and move out of our usual way of being, we are often able to see, feel, and experience things with a new perspective, awareness, maybe even wisdom.  

So as the school year winds down, and summer plans heat up, I invite you to think about this concept of “getting off the mat” when making decisions about family vacations, summer activities, maybe even how to spend  those long, unscheduled afternoons together. 

You might want to consider the wisdom of the children’s favorite things about Camp B when making your plans:   “I like Camp B because it’s relaxing, and we sing silly songs.” “We get to drink water from our water bottles whenever we are thirsty.”  “I love getting to see the sky and watching the birds.”  “I read more pages in my book because I got to lie down in the tent.”  “I like resting and laughing.”

Reading, laughing, silly songs and bird watching? No wonder even my Wii-loving, competitively sports driven, nine year-old son appreciated the value of the week, when giving me his one simple, yet poignant proclamation, “Camp B Rocks, Mom!”