Each day, campers are encouraged to organize, develop, examine, expand, and explain their creative ideas. As part of our morning sessions, curious young minds will build thinking portfolios, engaging in activities designed to strengthen their cognitive and lateral thinking skills. What does that mean? Simple—there are no wrong answers!

One favorite activity involves taking four seemingly unrelated words and finding creative ways to connect them. Campers are challenged to think outside the box and discover original relationships between ideas. As one principal once described, “These brain exercises feel as good intellectually as a workout feels to your body.”

Campers express their ideas through drawings and discussion-based activities. For example, when asked to “Show someone how you would catch a turkey,” one camper devised a clever trap:

“A turkey was walking, but I saw it on my machine. The holes in my cage grew bigger, letting the turkey step inside to get the oatmeal. Once inside, the holes shrank, so it couldn’t get out.”

The camper’s illustration was then examined, labeled, and discussed—turning a simple prompt into a hands-on learning moment.