Book: Homesick and Happy by Michael Thompson, Ph.D.

By Sandy Schenck on May 28, 2012

While researching his book Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow, Michael Thompson, visited several summer camps on the East Coast including Green River Preserve. During his stay here he led a training session with our counselors.  Homesick and Happy book cover

 

From the book site: 

 

In Homesick and Happy, Dr. Thompson shares a strong argument for, and a vital guide to, this brief loosening of ties. A great champion of summer camp, he explains how camp ushers your children into a thrilling environment-an electronics-free zone, a multigenerational community, meaningful daily rituals like group meals and cabin clean-up, and a place where time simply slows down. In the buggy woods, icy swims, campfire sing-alongs, and daring adventures, children have emotionally significant and character-building experiences. They often grow in ways that surprise even themselves.

 

They make lifelong memories and cherished friends. Dr. Thompson shows how children who are away from their parents can be both homesick and happy, scared and successful, anxious and exuberant. When children go to camp-for a week, a month, or the whole summer-they can experience some of the greatest maturation of their lives, and return more independent, strong, and healthy.

 

Also, Dr. Thompson was recently **interviewed on Charlotte’s public radio station WFAE **mentioning Green River.

 

Sandy Schenck
Sandy Schenck

An economics major from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sandy also holds an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Sandy fell in love with summer camps when he was a teenager and dreamed of one day owning his own camp.