Packing the Ultimate Camp SuitcaseHi! My name Hope Blaszczynski and the Assistant Camp Director, Program, at Camp Southern Ground. Growing up, camp was something I looked forward to all year. I had countdowns starting from the day I left camp for how many days until I...

While we may not count down to Earth Day as we do other holidays, it’s still one of the most important days of the year. It's a day when the world comes together for a common goal: appreciating and protecting our home planet. Getting kids engaged and actively...

Summer is just around the corner, and I find myself remembering the excitement, anticipation, and, if I'm honest, anxiety that came along with sending my neurodiverse (ND) child off to camp. Amidst all of those emotions, one thought kept me grounded: my child is just...

Here’s a challenging statement that I’m finding more and more to be true: If what we truly want is for our children to be happy, we as parents need to stop focusing on their happiness. Seems counterintuitive, right? The trouble is that happiness is not a destination...

Reading is powerful. Quite simply, reading is mental exercise. It builds neural pathways in the brain, it improves concentration, it encourages curiosity and most relevant for What Different Can Do, it can make kids more empathetic. The more diversity we see in books,...

Being different isn't always easy, especially for kids. In a world where children can be teased for almost any reason, standing out can sometimes feel like a burden rather than a gift. And with the constant pull of screens and the overwhelming stimuli bombarding them...

Scavenger hunts are a simple way to create a day’s worth of entertainment for children of any age—from preschoolers to teens. With a little imagination and some common items, you can design your own scavenger hunt for kids. Not sure where to start? No worries! You can...

To say that I am a fan of summer camp is not only an enormous understatement, it is also a little off the mark. Having spent the last 32 years in some way involved in working at or running summer camp programs for children and families across the country, I guess you...

Thank you to Sarah Stearns for this easy tutorial for beginners. Below are Sarah's essential tips and tricks for making all sorts of tie dye designs, including that perfect rainbow spiral, right at home. Before you start dying, gather some supplies and materials....

Summer camp can be an exciting and rewarding experience for any child, but for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) it can be even more impactful in terms of building a positive self-image and increasing social skills and interactions. It can also be...