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Outdoor Skills & Independence: Letting Kids Do Hard Things
Outdoor Skills & Independence: Letting Kids Do Hard Things
As spring approaches and families begin planning for spring break and summer adventures, many parents find themselves asking an important question: How can I help my child become more confident and independent?
One of the most powerful answers is surprisingly simple, give kids the opportunity to do hard things.
Outdoor experiences like hiking, survival skills, and hands-on challenges provide children with real-world opportunities to develop grit, resilience, and self-belief. These are not just camp activities, they are life-building experiences that shape how children approach challenges long after the trail ends.
Why “Hard Things” Matter
In today’s highly structured and achievement-focused world, children often have fewer chances to struggle productively. Many challenges are either removed for them or solved quickly by adults. While this support comes from a place of love, it can unintentionally limit a child’s opportunity to build independence and perseverance.
Outdoor skill development changes that dynamic. When a child learns to read a trail map, build a shelter, filter water or complete a long hike, they experience a powerful internal shift. They begin to realize: “I can figure this out.”
Research and thought leadership from youth development professionals including insights shared in Camping Magazine’s discussions on building grit through challenge, emphasize that appropriately difficult outdoor tasks help children develop:
• Problem-solving skills
• Emotional resilience
• Self-confidence
• Adaptability in unfamiliar situations
These experiences teach kids that effort matters more than immediate success.
The Confidence That Comes from Competence
One of the unique benefits of outdoor challenges is that they produce visible, tangible accomplishments. A child who hikes to a scenic overlook or successfully lights a camp stove doesn’t just feel capable, they have proof.
This sense of earned confidence is very different from praise that comes without effort. It is grounded in real achievement and tends to stick.
Outdoor skill development also encourages teamwork and leadership. Children learn to support peers, share responsibilities, and contribute meaningfully to group success. These social-emotional benefits are just as important as the physical skills they gain.
Spring Break: A Perfect Time to Start
Spring break presents an ideal opportunity for families to introduce more outdoor independence. Whether it’s a day hike, a backyard camping experience, or practicing basic survival skills like knot-tying or navigation, small steps can make a big impact.
Parents don’t need to plan elaborate trips to foster growth. What matters most is allowing children to take ownership of age-appropriate challenges. Let them carry their own pack, help plan the route, or solve minor obstacles along the way.
These moments build the foundation for long-term confidence and resilience.
Preparing Kids for the Future
Ultimately, outdoor challenges prepare children for more than just camp or recreational activities. They help young people develop a mindset that embraces effort, persistence, and curiosity.
When kids learn that discomfort and difficulty are part of growth, they become more willing to try new things in school, friendships, sports, and life.
By encouraging children to step outside their comfort zones this spring, families are not just planning activities, they are helping shape capable, confident, and independent young people ready to navigate whatever paths lie ahead.
Alpiner Cup!
This week at camp, we had our Alpiner Cup competition (former known at Color Wars)! For those of you that don’t know what our Alpiner Cup competition is, it is the most hilarious and fun series of games, ever. The campers were split into their teams with Georgia leading the blue and white team, Lo leading the pink and black team and Joseph leading the red and yellow team.
The teams battled it out, to be claimed the 2016 Alpiner Cup champions (part one). Check out the video below to see who was victorious!
Camp: it’s not Just S’mores, it’s a Cultural Exchange as well.
Every summer an influx of international counsellors arrive at Mountain Camp Woodside, with wide-eyes and a lot of enthusiasm; excited to be working in the beautiful Portola Valley. Recruiting counsellors from all over the world is an intentional decision. We believe that the unique atmosphere created by this cultural exchange, adds to the camp experience. However it is not just the counsellors that fly in from all over the world to experience California, the campers do too. Just this week we had children from Italy, Egypt, Ethiopia and China to name a few.
In today’s interconnected world, it is important to prepare children and educate them about other cultures – the world has got smaller and employers are looking for globally aware candidates that can work in this new world marketplace. Having counsellors and campers from all over the world, provides an opportunity for children to enjoy cultural exposure through play, in a safe environment. By interacting with people from across the globe they are learning to appreciate and communicate with other cultures, not only learning cultural sensitivity, but also igniting a passion and curiosity to enjoy cultural diversity.
Learning about other cultures at a young age makes children more accepting as they go through life. It improves their social skills and opens up their eyes to the big world that lies just outside of their home bubble. It is a great opportunity for the kids to see how other people live and broaden their minds, allowing them to see things from other people’s points of view.
Aside from making children more accepting and well-rounded people as they grow up and preparing them for work in the global environment, having exposure to other cultures and travel has been found to improve children’s growth in other ways. A study from the US Department of Education showed that international travel contributes to cognitive growth and achievements in math, reading and general knowledge. Children exposed to foreign cultures develop higher empathetic understanding, which results in higher grade-point averages and higher-order reading comprehension skills.
Being immersed in other cultures is an amazing opportunity for kids to experience at a young age, not only that, but it is extremely fun. The kids love asking the counsellors all the weird words they say different and about the funny accents they have. They especially like finding out if the English counsellors are friends with Harry Potter! Check out our latest video the CIT’s helped with – looking at Culture.
Thought of the Week | Get Outdoors
Following on from last week, our CIT kids helped put together the next ‘Thought of the Week’ video. This week we decided on the theme ‘outdoors’. See what our campers and staff had to say about the outdoors!
Wacky Wednesday at Mountain Camp Woodside
Wacky Wednesday. If you have been to Mountain Camp Woodside, you will have been subject to one of the most fun days ever! It is a day when normal camp activities is put on hold and for one afternoon only there are an array of exciting and some slightly random, activities on offer. It is also the day that the kids and counsellors get to dress up. Each week is a different theme and we take it pretty seriously here at camp, especially Director Jim – who always out does everyone with his costumes!
The Activities.
The Wacky Wednesday activities do change quite often, but to give you an idea of the activities here are this week’s activities.
- Slip n Slide
The longest slip n slide this side of the Mississippi (we think). Slip n Slide is one of the most popular activities, especially on a hot California day. Pretty self explanatory, slip n slide is where the kids get to slide down a slippy water slide.
- Rock Climbing
Another popular activity that makes an appearance every week is the rock climbing wall. Brought in specifically for Wacky Wednesday, the kids can race to the top to push the button.
- Larping
A relatively new activity to MCW, Larping is Live Action Role Play. This basically means that the kids enter a real-life video game, with princess’ and wizards, and they have to complete a quest.
- Outdoor Cooking
This again is a huge favourite. New for our recipe book this year is the ‘Campfire Cones’, delicious waffle cones filled with fruit, chocolate and marshmallows, roasted on a campfire. For the recipe to try at home click here!
- Zumba
Everyone has heard of zumba! The fun dance craze has taken over camp, as well as the rest of the world!
- Spa
Spa is a hugely liked activity, not just with the girls. Checking into the MCW spa lets the campers paint their nails, get their hair braided, get a face mask and even paint some of the male counsellors nails too.
- Mad Hatter Tea Party
New for this week, is the Mad Hatter Tea Party. The kids will discover party etiquette, design a tea cup and have a mad old time with the mad hatter.
- Wizardry
The wizard activity, although relatively new, does extremely well with the kids. In wizard class they will learn spells, potion making, quidditch and get sorted by the sorting hat.
There are a lot more activities on offer for Wacky Wednesday, check out our video below for an in-depth look at everything that goes down on the day!
Kids Talk About Friendship | Thought of the Week
We love making friends at Mountain Camp Woodside, so we thought we would talk to some of our campers about friendship. They had some interesting ideas on what friendship means.
Campfire Cones | Outdoor Cooking
We love a bit of outdoor cooking at camp! Every Wednesday we have some delicious delicacies for the kids to cook at camp. This week we had Campfire Cones – here is our secret recipe so you can try them at home.
Ingredients:
- Tin Foil
- Waffle Ice-cream Cones
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate Chips
- Kiwi and Strawberries (cut up into small pieces)
Instructions.
- Place into the cones the; chocolate chips, then the fruit, then the marshmallows on top.
- Wrap the cones in tin foil.
- Place on a campfire (or in the oven if you don’t have a camp fire handy) for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Let them cool for a few minutes, so you don’t burn your fingers unwrapping the foil.
- Enjoy!
Staff Training at Mountain Camp Woodside.
Staff training week is over and camp has officially started! Training is very important to us at Mountain Camp Woodside and we had an awesome week getting our new counsellors, ready for the campers arrival. It has been a hectic five days of training, covering all aspects of camp in our comprehensive staff program.
We pride ourselves on having the best staff in the world, having hand-picked them based on their experience, enthusiasm and their ability to be an excellent role model. This year our counsellors are from; England, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Wales and from all over America. We believe that the unique atmosphere created by this cultural exchange, adds to our camp experience. Our highly qualified staff is truly the heart of the program.
So we thought that you might want to have an inside look into our staff training program! To see just what the new staff gets up to in staff training, check out our staff training video here.
Packing for Summer Camp.
It can be hard deciding what to pack for summer camp, I know I always pack too much in my bag. So we thought we would help you guys out and share with you our packing list for campers.
Clothing
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 1 set of pajamas
- 3 pairs of shorts
- 6 T-shirts
- 2 pairs jeans/ sweatpants
- 1 jacket
Swimwear
- 1 beach towel
- 2 swimsuits
Footwear
- 6 pairs of socks
- 2 pairs of athletic shoes
- 1 pair of flip flops/ sandals/ water shoes
Bath
- 1 bath towel
- Toiletries (toothbrush/paste, soap, shampoo, condition, sun block, lotion, lip protection, & carrying case
Bedding
- Sleeping bag/ comforter
- Fitted sheets (twin bed)
- Pillow
Optional
- Book
- Reading materials
- Journal
- Musical instrument
Welcome to our new Blog!
Awesome, you found our brand spanking new blog! Go you! We are extremely excited to be updating you all through this new platform this summer.
The blog will be the place; where we update you on all the exciting camp news, give you our camp tips, find out more about our campers or counsellors and where you can hear from our director.
We are looking forward to an amazing summer for 2016 and we can’t wait for it to get started! Make sure you keep checking back for the latest news, or give us a follow to keep up to date!
