Tuesday, March 10, 2020

What is Free Swim and WHHHHY is it so Important!?

Take a moment and imagine the bugle has just blown and it’s the start of Free Swim. Your son is feeling tired from the morning’s activities but wants to hang with his friends. He meets up with everyone outside the cabin and a couple of his friends suggest going to the climbing tower. Your son knows he doesn’t have the energy to climb the tower. He is flooded with different emotions, about being the one who says no to the activity and not wanting to miss out on the fun but also really not wanting to go.  What does he do? How does he handle it?...

At William Lawrence Camp, Free Swim is the time each day where the boys experience absolute control over how they spend their time. After spending the morning and early afternoon in instructional activities and knowing that their evening already has a plan, Free Swim is their opportunity for two hours of unstructured activities. The boys can go from one area of camp to another at a whim. They can hang with one group of friends then join another or even meet someone new. This unstructured time is vital for their development. 

Katie Hurley, LCSW, writes in her article Summertime Solutions: The Benefits of Unstructured Play, “…unstructured play increases executive function skills such as organizing, staying focused, initiating tasks, self-regulation of emotions, and self-monitoring or the ability to keep track of what you’re doing.” Think back to your son standing with his group of friends debating whether to go to the climbing tower or not. He’s learning to regulate his emotions and check-in with his body. Hurley also says, “Through the context of unstructured play, groups of kids learn to share and verbalize their ideas, work together, and resolve disputes.” Your son is going to voice his thoughts and the boys are going to work together to decide what to do. We can provide evidence of that on the ball field, outside the cabin, down at the waterfront, just about anywhere on camp, campers are gathering in small groups and increasing their executive functions while figuring out what to do during Free Swim.

I know there are some parents out there thinking to themselves, “2 hours of free swim? But what if my son gets bored?” Our response to that is, “excellent!” In the Time Magazine article, How We're Endangering our Kids' Imaginations, Melissa Berstein says “…they desperately need more free time to ignite their imaginations, develop a sense of wonder, and discover their passions and purpose. Inventiveness occurs when kids have time for curiosity and exploration.” By allowing the boys to be bored for a few minutes, we are asking them to use their imaginations and creativity to entertain themselves. The Time Magazine article The Secret Power of Play says, “Children who can entertain themselves, or play with one another, are unconsciously learning how to adapt themselves to challenges they’ll face further down the road.” With no structure for two hours, WLC boys need to decide what they want to do and then make it happen, a concept that will be recurring in their lives.

We believe that Free Swim may just be the one of the most important times of growth for your son. Walking around camp during Free Swim you will observe a small group of boys sitting together at the green chairs sharing books, you will see the shy boy challenging himself on the climbing tower, two friends figuring out how to play tetherball, a parade of boys walking down to the waterfront, an exuberant game of gaga, boys lounging on sail boats and paddle boards in the middle of the lake just chatting and enjoying each other and the weather. Wherever you look you will see boys growing, developing and experiencing life. Your don’t have to take our word on how important this is; Alison Hail writes in her article What The Power Of Play Truly Means For Your Child, “Free play has the potential to significantly reshape and strengthen neural circuits of the brain, leading to increased perception and intuition, as well as to greater recall.” And who doesn’t want that for their child!?

Articles Referenced in this blog post:
https://www.kidskintha.com/power-of-play-2/

Written by Jessica Dawson, WLC Camper Development Coordinator