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summer

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Where was this camp when we were kids?

There’s a wide variety of summer camps out there with activities ranging from classics like bonfires and water balloon fights to the uber niche, ala putting on musicals or prepping for space adventures.

Still, even with the plentiful themes in existence, people are calling one mom’s unique but oh-so-practical camp idea pure genius.

Kaitlyn Rowe , mom of four and content creator in Utah, gave her kiddos a list of super basic, but very important life skills to learn at home throughout summer, in what she calls “ How To Be A Person” camp.
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Our family is heading to the Oregon Coast next month, not far from where an 11-year-old girl died just weeks ago after being pulled out to sea. According to NOAA , thousands of people are rescued from rip currents by lifeguards and around 100 people are killed in them each year. While we're looking forward to our vacation and don't anticipate tragedy, we also want to make sure our kids know the potential dangers of the ocean.

Rip currents can happen in any large body of water that has waves—not just the ocean, but lakes as well . They are sneaky and dangerous, but they can be avoided if you know what to look for before heading toward the water.

Former surf lifesaver Kenny Jewell shared a helpful post on Facebook several years back that contains timeless advice and clear visuals to help families avoid tragedy at the beach. He wrote:

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It's almost May, which means it's almost warm enough everywhere in the U.S. for people to start busting out the swim gear and heading to the lake or the river or the ocean. And that means it's also time for the Annual Body Image Battle a huge percentage of women wage with themselves when it comes to putting on a swimsuit.

Despite social discourse moving more and more toward body positivity and embracing ourselves no matter our size, a whole lot of us still feel self-conscious about our bodies. And nothing amplifies that self-consciousness like putting on a skin-tight swimsuit that exposes most of our skin suit to the world. Unless we are literally bikini models—and sometimes even if we are —standing in front of a mirror in a swimsuit prompts a million mental messages to kick in, with phrases like "muffin top," "saddlebags," "love handles," and "cottage cheese thighs," bouncing around like ping pong balls in our brain.

We are critical of our bodies partly because we compare ourselves to airbrushed bikini models—whether we want to or not—and partly because we fear the criticism and cruelty of other people. The former is something we each have to work through for ourselves, but a new video from vlogger Tiffany Jenkins perfectly illustrates why the criticisms of others shouldn't prevent us from putting on the suit and heading to the beach.

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Northwestern Mutual

Whether it’s chasing frogs, scaling the climbing wall, or arts and crafts, everything about the Albert and Ann Deshur JCC Rainbow Day Camp seems typical — u ntil you learn about the campers.

Summer camp is considered a rite of passage for many children, but we often forget that it can be inaccessible to kids who are sick or living with a disability.

Designed for children with medical conditions that require special attention, like cancer or sickle-cell disease, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, camp keeps nurses and doctors on staff so the kids truly have the best chance at "getting to be a kid for a day" for two days each year.

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