Toys at Camp?

August 22, 2012

Toys at Camp?

Many programs frown upon allowing their campers to bring toys with them from home. For several reasons, some of which might be: "the kids only play by themselves if they have a special toy" "they won't join the games and won't share their toy" "the other kids will be upset they don't have a toy" "it will isolate the camper" etc. Well, at Learning on the Log, we deal with this issue on a regular basis. Kids struggle to let go of a toy they had in the car or were playing with at home and they are "stuck" on  "needing" to keep it with them throughout the day. We have found a way to use this to our advantage though, and end up with great group games. If a child has a toy they want to bring to camp, we too struggle to teach them to share or want to come out of their isolation to play in group games. So, instead of fighting against it, we decided a long time ago, to either help the child learn to negotiate the use of their toy within our games, communicate "why" they "need" their toy with them that day, or we incorporate their toy INTO our games that day. On this particular day, we had a child that did not want to leave his "Thomas" behind in the car and there was a big melt down when other children asked to play with him. This offered us an incredible opportunity to sit the group down and talk about what was going on, why kids were upset, and how we could turn those feelings around and use them in productive ways. So, the group then worked together to build an obstacle course FOR "Thomas" where all the kids got to be involved and they shared and they had a blast. They learned cooperation, negotiation, communication, and creative thinking. 

What are some ways you have learned to be creative with your child, to allow them to express their interests and needs, and avoiding a power struggle?