Lincoln Scott is a very social kid who makes a lot of friends wherever he goes.

That does not mean his mother was not apprehensive about sending him to his first week of overnight camp as a Horizons Explorer following his 2nd-grade year. “This was the first time he has ever been away for multiple nights, not at a grandparents’ house.” shared his mom.

This was a pretty big deal for the Scott family. Like all parents of this age group, Lincoln missed out on those first couple years of in-person school because of Covid. These early elementary years are when kids develop friendships and start having sleepovers and other opportunities to be without their parents, but because of Covid, that just was not possible.

“I was so proud of him when he got home,” said his mom. “He had this sense of pride and independence about him. Being out at camp gave Lincoln the opportunity to set his own boundaries and was a turning point for me as a mother. He just seemed so grown up. He talks all the time about how awesome camp was, and how he can’t wait to go back. I am so thankful that when Lincoln was at camp he had this opportunity to be completely unplugged and have all these adventures to grow and just be a kid.”

Lincoln shared that his favorite parts of camp were the counselors, friends he made, stories at the beach, night games, campfires, and popsicles. He can’t wait to attend camp this summer and hopes that some of the friends he met will be there the same week as him.

It’s pretty powerful to think about all the different ways Covid has affected us, no matter what age we are. We are so thankful for the vision and generous support of the Horizons community and Board of Directors to ensure that Horizons was here waiting to help create stories like Lincoln’s. These early years at camp teach us so much about what it means to grow as individuals and develop relationships with others.