Wisconsin Youth & Family Center

  1201 McKenna Blvd.

  Madison, WI 53719

  Time for all Immersion Camps:

   9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Mon. - Fri.

  Before & After Camp Care:

   7:30-9am / 4-5:45pm ($20 per

   week each)

Enter a Whole New World - Within a Safe & Supportive Camp Environment

                                                  Express Yourself - With Confidence, New Skills…and a New Perspective

Counselor-In-Training

To be rescheduled soon!

Ages 14-17

The purpose of our Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program is to provide participants with training in how to use effective leadership skills throughout their lives and how to work effectively with children at camp and in many other settings.

Leadership Skills

The leadership skills include communication; teamwork; setting goals and making plans to achieve them; making decisions; developing strong relationshipswith others; developing increased confidence, caring, responsibility, respect, organization, and creativity; and handling conflicts and solving problems. The leadership skills that will be learned can be used in all parts of life, including home, school, sports, youth groups, work, and in the community. Participants receive frequent feedback and evaluations, do self-evaluations, and keep a “Leadership Log” journal to help them get the most from their experiences.

Camp Counseling Skills

The skills for leading children include communicating with children, with a special emphasis on listening and teaching positive behavior and values; handling undesirable behavior and conflicts in positive ways; leading games and activities; teaching skills in sports, crafts, and other areas; presenting in front of small and large groups; earning respect from others; working on a team; creativity; and problem solving. Participants will also learn about how a camp operates, the roles and duties of camp administrators and staff, and how camps serve children. The skills for leading children can be used in any work that participants ever do with children, in any part-time, full-time, or volunteer work throughout their lives, including: camps, education, mentoring, recreation, psychology, social work, child care, religious youth groups, and organizations. Plus it will help them be better aunts, uncles, and parents if they have children of their own

The CIT Program
Camp is about learning by doing, so participants learn these skills in a safe environment through a variety of fun and challenging activities, workshops, and discussions. They will have opportunities to work directly with campers under the mentorship of camp staff. They will get practice in leading groups and teaching games and skills. They also get to create, plan, and present their own special events and programs for other campers and staff

Are You Ready?
This program is for young people who are highly motivated, ready to work and play hard, and who demonstrate additional responsibility in accepting the challenges of leadership. Unfortunately, we have a limited number of spaces in our program; not all who apply are accepted. Young people who register for the program will fi ll out an application and be interviewed in person or by telephone.

Circus Arts Immersion Camp

July 28-Aug. 1, Aug. 4-8

Ages 7-15

Spend two weeks exploring modern circus arts!

We will dabble in low-flying trapeze, stilt walking, juggling, pantomime, clowning, acrobatics, tightwire walking, costuming and set design. We’ll finish our first week together with a trip to Circus World Museum in Baraboo, where we’ll get to see, hear about, and touch bright and colorful artifacts from the rich history of the American Circus, and see a live circus performance!

During our second week, we will focus on preparing a performance of our own, developing skills and working together to create performance acts. We will showcase these skills for families and friends at a spectacular end-of-camp performance on Friday afternoon.

Our Circus Arts Immersion Camp is staffed by professional performers who wish to share their love of the circus with the next generation.

World Language Immersion Camps

World Language Immersion Camps will explore the target language, customs and cultures in an interactive classroom. Students will develop vocabulary, and apply their knowledge of the target language through games, songs, dances, crafts, sports, stories, and dialogs. Students will have opportunities to eat and cook authentic foods from countries where the target language is spoken, and discover how daily life is spent in these countries. Each day will include an intensive theme-based session in the target language to develop the vocabulary necessary to carry out activities centered around the theme either at camp, in and around the community, or as part of a fieldtrip. Campers are encouraged to use only the target language whenever possible including meals, breaks, and fieldtrips. Camp staff are fluent in the target language and will primarily use the target language in communicating with campers.

Spanish Immersion Camp

August 11-15 & 18-22

Ages 5-12

Students will prepare a traditional Mexican Lunch

Going Shopping at a

Mexican Market

Students must bring a
lunch from home