Girls Singing, Songwriting, Art Camp (www.GirlSing.com) is a five-day, all-day, indoor/outdoor camp with early drop-off, late pickup, and schedule flexibility during the week. Created in 2010, GirlSing camp is designed for girls ages 7-11 to experience musical expression in a supportive and engaging environment that helps them discover their voice, express their emotions, and build a strong sense of self-esteem through musical expression. 

Present-day pre-teens, more than any previous generation, are bombarded with messages and expectations about how they should act, feel or be. Social pressures, school expectations, family challenges, social media comparison and constant stimulation leave little space to feel, process, explore, define and embrace what makes young girls unique. GirlSing Camp aims to provide a supportive space for the girls to grow and express their feelings through song and creative expression.

Unlike other creative camps featuring music games and fun songs for kids six and under, GirlSing Camp goes much deeper. Music Kate (Kate Bryan) describes it this way, “At Girlsing Camp, young girls talk about the meaning of the empowering songs we sing, share the songs they love, and identify what the song lyrics mean to them. They also work on a colorful self-expressive art project where they share their personal passions, and celebrate the unique traits and strengths which inform the way they show up in the world. The girls are also  inspired to start writing their own songs—another empowering outlet for  creative self-reflection.” 

The songs sung at GirlSing Camp are educational and thought-provoking. “Please Don’t Try to Fix Me” is a song that encourages girls to embrace who they are and not let others try to change them or make them be something they are not. “Walk Tall” (sung with a rousing kazoo jam) encourages girls to be proud of who they are, and to stand tall in the face of social pressure, bullying or hurtful teasing. “Everyone Belongs” is a song that speaks to and celebrates our differences and the importance of supporting, listening to and giving everyone a chance to be heard. This song features a rap bridge conveying that “everyone is different in so many ways. Wouldn’t it be boring is we were all the same? Celebrate your culture, your family history.  And when we’re all together, celebrate diversity!” These inclusive messages are important for girls to hear at an impressionable time in their lives, as they prepare for and grow into their teen years.

In Girlsing, all personality types are welcome (introverts, extroverts and everything in between) and will be embraced with equal support. Participating girls also always know they have a choice about how and when they participate and express themselves. A major goal of this small camp (16-18 participants) is to help the girls become comfortable about self-expression, knowing that they are safe to express themselves without judgement. Camp leaders Music Kate (Kate Bryan) and Ms. Trina  (Trina Rainey) and two teen-age assistants strive to ensure that each participant gets personal attention and encouragement throughout the camp. A special effort is also made by camp leaders to ensure that camp isn’t “click-ish.” This is  accomplished through a variety of indoor/outdoor collaborative “get to know you” activities including hikes, free play, music improvisation, crafts and Instrument jams that help the girls develop a wide variety of friendships at the camp.

One of the special features of the camp is a Thursday night program where the girls share their songs and art project with parents, grandparents, caregivers and other people who love them. This optional one-hour Thursday event is an opportunity for the girls to share the songs they enjoyed throughout the week, and to share what they’ve learned about themselves with their self-expressive art projects. The Thursday night program gives families and friends a firsthand experience of how the girls have grown to know themselves better throughout the week. This one of the most rewarding parts of the week for Kate Bryan. “After the Thursday night program, I so enjoy hearing the parents speak to me about how wonderful it is to gain a further understanding about how meaningful and impactful GirlSing has been for their daughters. They often tell me how they’ve seen their daughter’s self-confidence grow with each progressive day of the camp!

Girlsing offers Three camp sessions: June 15-19 (the first week after school lets out), August 17-21, and August 24-28 (the last week before school starts). GirlSing Camps are convenient for parents, offering the option of early drop off (8:30 AM) or late pick Up (4:30 PM) as well as flexible accommodations for appointments or activities outside the camp. Flexible Friday gives families the flexibility to attend or not, depending on their weekend plans. For more information, testimonials and videos about GirlSing Singing, Songwriting and Art camp, visit www.GirlSing.com or contact Kate Bryan (Music Kate) at 406-570-2839