The William Lawrence Summer Camp Dining Hall is a Hootenanny Like a Classic New England Clipper Ship Galley
Songs, Chants and Folk Carols: Our Overnight Camp Program at William Lawrence Includes Free Musical Fine Arts Lessons! (Sort Of)
The Premier New Hampshire Sleepaway Camp Joyfully Shares the Long New England Legacy of Maritime Sea Shanties but Also Schoolyard Songs, Sports Arena Anthems and the Inherited Hymns of the Past
By alumnus Isaac S. Peterson (1987-1995)
Boston, Connecticut and Maine have a long maritime tradition from whaling fleets to "lobstahmin" (lobstermen), fishing and trading vessels. The tech free environment of months at sea--no tablets, no wifi--got monotonous (or the drudgery of hoisting the anchors and sails got difficult), and the men had fun with raucous sea shanties. Summer camps have always had a "camp song" (you can find William Lawrence's official songs on our page), but this overnight camp has many, many more of them.
Originally, sea shanties emerged as work songs used by sailors to synchronize their efforts while performing laborious tasks on ships. Whether it was hauling ropes, hoisting sails, or turning cranks, these rhythmic songs helped keep the crew in sync and maintain a steady pace. However, at William Lawrence, they are the paradoxically informal ritual defining meal time, and they signify the joy of getting-to-not-have-to-sit-down-or-be-so-quiet boyhood this camp encourages.
When your son learns the different melodies and the sometimes complex call-and-response cheers at William Lawrence, he never forgets them.
William Lawrence Camp | Confidently Pursuing Fun at this Boston Area Summer Camp
Hobbies for Boys--How Fun Transforms into an Interest Which Becomes a Skill at Summer Camps
By alumnus Isaac S. Peterson (1987-1995)
Summer Camps in Boston and Surrounding Areas of New England Have Rich Summer Programs, but William Lawrence Overnight Camp Has Experiential Learning Seasoned Heavily with Fun
There are numerous niche, academic enrichment or related camps for kids ages 5 to high school students. There’s space camp in Texas, comedy troupe camp in Kansas City, the arts classes or a puzzling Lord of the Rings-themed camp in Vermont (that appears to be gone now). Single-interest camps have always been a summer option for kids.
But those one-track camps hint at the classic struggle of raising boys: there are very few things boys want to do for a very long time. They'll look outside at the grass and get ideas. That's the case even if they excel at their single-activity camp.
This thirst for novelty and movement will not be a problem at William Lawrence Camp.
Summer Camps Can Teach Boys Life Skills and Success Like Keeping it Clean | William Lawrence Camp
Summer Camps Can Teach the Boys Life Skills Success Like Keeping it Clean; Plus Insights on that First Week Fear of Homesickness
By alumnus Isaac S. Peterson (1987-1995)
"No, WE'RE the cleanest cabin!" and a Data-Backed Glance at Homesickness
One immediate practical benefit for sending boys to summer camp? A cleaner house and room (at least for a little while). Michael Thompson, PhD., Boston's international child psychology expert and author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys, noted, “ ‘Camp directors have drawers full of letters from parents thanking them for sending back a child who is suddenly willing to do chores.’ ” That is according to a quote from Maclean's positive review of Thompson's 2012 book on summer camps, Homesick and Happy. The child now puts errant socks in the hamper and “ ‘. . . helps with dishes, the parents write, suggesting that there has been some kind of magical transformation.’ ”
A boy who's better at cleaning up. That's great for when they get home. But when they leave for the first time, that's tougher for the caregivers and the boy.
In this post, we'll look at the camp tradition of "inspection" and how it adds a tool to the toolbox by forging the skill of self-control and self-directed order. Then, we'll look at the social dimension of that first week at camp and that universal challenge of homesickness.
William Lawrence Camp is Preparing for the 2023 Overnight Summer Camps in New Hampshire | William Lawrence Camp
William Lawrence Camp is Rallying into Place for the 2023 Overnight Summer Camps Season
We're mustering the staff, clearing away the winter leftovers from our miles of trails, stocking the tackle boxes, and (since it's a boys' camp) ordering an army’s worth of food
By alumnus Isaac S. Peterson (1987-1995)
Lower Beech Pond in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire, hosts non-stop raucous, splashy summer fun every June, July and August. At William Lawrence, kids ages 8 to 16 are being the noisiest and rowdiest (but safest) of summer guests on this small rural New England pond.
And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Up the waterfront trail (past the famously butt-shaped rock, because, boys) from the pond, past the archery range, the soccer field, the tennis courts and the huge barn for rainy-day rambunctiousness, is the lively dining hall where the chants and folk carols of 110 years of tradition ring through the surrounding ancient birch forest.
This summer camp is a bustling hive of wholesome boyish good times. But it takes an awful lot of work to put that honeycomb together (every year), as it were.
It's May, so Executive Director Nat and Associate Director Jessica are busy as bees, for sure. Having this much fun at one of the oldest NH camps takes a lot of planning.
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