A Child-Centered Community
Camp Kamaji enjoys an atmosphere of fun, friendliness and informality. We encourage and expect positive interaction with and respect for others. Kamaji campers and staff work together to create a community where consideration, responsibility, kindness and play are central. What you will never see at Kamaji is a camper hanging back, watching from a distance, feeling left out . . . what you will see at Kamaji is a camper who’s fully engaged in all that is happening, who feels a part of Kamaji.
Diversity All Around Us
Kamaji, working towards achieving a camp community that is as diverse as the society in which its campers live, is enriched by its diverse population — religiously, culturally, racially, socio-economically and geographically. Different people with different beliefs, different hopes, different dreams, Kamaji’s campers most definitely learn to respect and celebrate, rather than fear, differences.
Everyone Is Unplugged
We all likely agree that kids are overly connected to their social networks, their email accounts, their Apps, the Internet, their cell phones. They are used to the constant buzz-ping of each new text message as it arrives. Being unplugged from technology at Kamaji allows campers to connect with each other. With no electronics of any kind permitted, rather than ‘tune out’, Kamaji campers ‘hang out’ with real-life friends.
No Bullying Zone
Each person at Kamaji — campers and staff alike — is expected to treat all others as she would wish to be treated — with care and respect. No more . . . no less!
Life Lessons & Skills
Kamaji balances out what a camper learns during the academic year by providing her essential life lessons and skills — self-reliance, self-confidence, exploration, respect, responsibility, conflict resolution, leadership, cultural awareness, communication, teamwork, etc. – necessary for life success. Much of Kamaji’s philosophy promotes the development of lifetime character-building skills and social skills of positive interaction so that, as adults, Kamaji’s campers can live life well.
Leave the Hairdryer at Home
Girls get many messages about how they should look and behave. These not-always-healthy-and-yet-powerful messages start when girls are very young and are told that what matters is how hot, or how sexy they look or dress. These messages are evident on TV and across the Internet, in song lyrics and music videos, in movies, electronic games and clothing stores.
At Kamaji campers can relax and not worry about their clothes, their hair, their weight, their overall appearance. While we are not lax about hygiene, at Kamaji anything goes when it comes to how we dress. Kamaji’s campers tote old, worn clothing and fun zany costumes when packing for camp. . . and leave the hairdryer at home because there are no electrical outlets in the cabins!
Girls Only
Kamaji urges its campers to try things they might not otherwise try and step up to leadership opportunities they may not otherwise tackle were there boys present. Concerns about clothing, make-up and body image are not relevant leaving Kamaji campers ready to learn new skills or be just plain silly. At Kamaji, girls pitch tents, carry packs and canoes across portages, rock climb, sail E-scows; after a rain they go mudsliding, they make mud pies . . . and then jump in the lake to rinse off; for evening all-camp programs they sport the craziest of costumes and outlandish outfits – all for fun, silliness and joy. Kamaji campers are free to be exactly who they are – their whole selves.
Staff Are 100% Committed
Kamaji’s staff, many of whom have grown up as Kamaji campers, affects, shapes, and defines Kamaji’s campers’ summer. The staff recognize that camp counseling is not only a very demanding job but also a very rewarding one. Kamaji’s staff are 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to provide Kamaji campers with the best summer camp experience of their lives. Guaranteed!
Old But Not Old-Fashioned
Many camps can boast second and third generation campers; Kamaji has fourth generation campers! Kamaji is the oldest continuously-run camp for girls in Minnesota. Kamaji welcomed its first campers in 1914, when the idea of offering outdoor adventures for girls was relatively new, when Victorian fashion was still in vogue, when women did not have the right to vote. The first group of six campers arrived by barge in long skirts and high boots. The girls climbed up a steep bluff picking their way over tree roots to reach Kamaji’s sole cottage (now on the National Register of Historic Places) that was to be their summer home. Steeped in history and rich in tradition, today’s Kamaji campers live in similarly designed cabins, canoe the Mississippi River, sing camp songs that echoed across camp in the early 1900s and participate in Kamaji traditions still in practice nearly 100 years later.
Daughters Grow Up — Just Once
From an adult perspective, one recognizes what an important time of life childhood really is. We believe it should be valued simply for the time it is rather than as a stepping stone towards adulthood. Think about it — if you add up the hours a child spends in a classroom combined with time spent on homework, time spent in extra-curricular activities and sports, etc. — children put in more hours in a day than an American adult works. Kamaji’s campers deserve the very best Kamaji has to offer — in an unhurried, structured, supportive, supervised and positive environment – a child centered environment where they are respected, trusted, encouraged, praised, loved and valued. Kamaji campers fully embrace and live childhood . . . one day at a time.
Girls Discover More
In an era where specialty camps abound, Kamaji ‘specializes’ in girls rather than in any one specific activity. Kamaji’s structured instructional program in over 20 program areas and its wilderness trip program are designed to challenge Kamaji’s campers, help them develop their personal best, and discover more about what they are capable of achieving.
Leading with Care, Honesty, Respect, Responsibility & Trust
Kamaji’s owners/directors since 1980, Mike and Kathy Jay, are hands-on camp directors who are never absent from camp life. With assistant director, Kat Martin who grew up at Kamaji, we really do know each and every one of Kamaji’s campers. Just as important, we partner with and reflect the values of Kamaji’s camp families with caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and trust as our guidelines. We are determined to provide the best Kamaji experience possible for each and every camper; we are genuine, welcoming and nurturing and take very seriously the responsibility that goes without saying when a parent entrusts her daughter to our care.
