For many elementary school students at be.Living, camp is one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year. The anticipation of days spent away from the daily routine, the close interaction with peers, and the adventure of being away from home in a place that sparks curiosity can evoke a wide range of emotions: from excitement to anxiety, and from curiosity to insecurity. Thus, the camp experience goes far beyond a time for socializing and having fun; it is conceived and experienced as a powerful educational tool, designed to enhance the fundamental learning essential to children’s development.
According to Gabriela Fernandes, the elementary school’s academic coordinator, the initiative is directly linked to two central pillars of the school’s work: attitudinal and procedural objectives. “Camp is an educational tool that fosters growth, development, and learning progress. It focuses particularly on skills that prepare children for the real world: getting along with others, taking care of themselves, making decisions, dealing with challenges, and completing tasks independently,” she explains.
In practice, this means engaging in hands-on experiences that encourage children to take an active and responsible role in the world. Making the bed, packing a suitcase, taking care of one’s belongings, maintaining personal hygiene, choosing an activity, managing time, and dealing with minor setbacks are all part of a sequence of actions that involve planning, execution, and reflection—that is, skills directly linked to the development of executive functions. “The child goes through this process of learning to do: they plan an action, carry it out, and bring it to a close. We’re talking about everything from making the bed to taking care of personal hygiene on her own. “This provides a foundation for very important learning experiences for this age group,” Gabriela points out.
These experiences take place under the constant supervision of the school’s teaching staff and the camp counselors, ensuring that every challenge encountered becomes a real-life learning opportunity. In this learning process, there is one essential aspect: temporary separation from the family. Carefully guided, this time away from home offers children the opportunity to experience other forms of independence, to put into practice what they already know how to do, and to discover new ways of acting based on different points of reference.
“When we remove a child—even if only for a short time—from that familiar environment, they have the opportunity to experience different ways of doing things and to see themselves as capable through the eyes of others,” says the coordinator. This experience also strengthens the bonds between peers. Children observe one another, learn together, support one another, and build bonds of care and affection in real-life situations where they face shared challenges. “It’s really beautiful to see how they form caring relationships, because they’re all experiencing similar emotions. We are experiencing a very intense process of community building.”
Although it takes place outside the school setting, the camp is grounded in the principles that guide life at be.Living: active listening, equity, inclusivity, and collective building. In a new environment, faced with different challenges and a routine that breaks with the expected, children encounter experiences that broaden their understanding of themselves and the world.
According to the coordinator, this process mobilizes intense emotions, and this is also a fertile territory for learning. Being away from home, sleeping in a different environment, dealing with new experiences, and managing expectations create valuable opportunities for children to recognize their fears, identify their discomforts, and discover the inner resources they need to cope with them. “Children experience emotions, and with the support of their teachers, they are able to reflect on them. “When we think about emotion, it becomes a feeling, and learning to deal with feelings underpins the entire learning process,” explains Gabriela.
When difficult feelings arise, the school’s role is not to eliminate or avoid them, but to help each child develop a healthy relationship with what they are feeling. By listening attentively, educators are able to address each child’s needs in a personalized way, developing concrete strategies to help the child navigate that emotional challenge with security, confidence, and support. Rather than offering ready-made answers, the process aims to build up internal resources so that, over time, each person can find their own ways of dealing with discomfort, fear, and the unexpected.
That’s why the experience begins long before the trip. In the weeks leading up to the camp, the school works with all classes to help them prepare both emotionally and practically, taking into account the specific needs of each age group. Conversations, references to the camp experience, and activities designed to help children process their feelings help them reflect on their hopes, fears, and expectations. “Our role is to encourage choice, taking some of the pressure off the family’s decision and helping the child understand how they feel and what they think about this experience,” she says.
Families also play a role in this process, especially during the first year, when the school provides guidance on activities at home that help build independence, such as bathing, organizing belongings, and self-care. Knowing how to make choices, organize, make decisions, reflect on challenges, and find ways to overcome them are skills that are developed over time. It’s all part of a process that gains momentum both before and during the camp.
In fifth grade, this preparation takes on a whole new dimension. As part of a rite of passage into the second cycle of elementary school, the children help design the program, choosing activities and elements of the shared experience. But taking the lead is something that happens at every age: it shows up when a child chooses between activities, decides whether or not to participate in an activity, manages their own daily routine, or takes responsibility for their own belongings.
“When children learn to make decisions and find ways to cope with challenges, they develop skills that apply to all areas of learning,” Gabriela points out. From the school’s perspective, these skills are not separate from academic development; on the contrary, they underpin it. “When a child knows how to navigate the world, take care of themselves, and make good choices, they will do the same when faced with a math problem or when writing an essay. It is all deeply interconnected,” says the coordinator.
At the end of the experience, what remains are fond memories of an adventure we shared, as well as quiet achievements—such as personal discoveries and the tangible growth of our ability to navigate the world with greater autonomy, presence, and confidence.