This post is in partnership with Banner Day Camp located in Lake Forest, IL. As always, all opinions are 100% honest, my own, and never influenced by anyone. Thank you for supporting brands that make I Adore What I Love possible =)

Did I spark your curiosity via the title of this post?! I hope so!! Haha! So, in this post I am going to spill all the details to one aspect of Banner Day Camp that will totally shock you – in the BEST way possible!! Basically, Banner is way more than a pretty face. It’s way more than gorgeous grounds. It’s WAY more than your typical average day camp who’s goal is for the kids to be safe and have fun. In a nutshell, character counts at Banner Day Camp and I want to bring to your attention all the details of their coveted STARFISH program!! Why? Because it is SO GOOD and one of the main reasons that sold me on sending my boys there. Ready to hear more? Let’s do this!!

As the Banner website states “We are committed to providing each camper with the building blocks for a lifetime of success through value-based programming.” Well, a huge part of their value-based programming is based upon their Goal of the Week program – also known as the STARFISH program!

The STARFISH program teaches campers that through their actions, they can make a positive difference. Each week brings a new goal that they work towards. In the end, the goals spell out the word STARFISH {see them below!} and kids are recognized for honoring these values with STARFISH tags that they carry on their backpacks.

STARFISH Stands For:

Sensitivity
Teamwork
Appreciation
Respect
Friendship
I Believe in myself
Sportsmanship
Honesty

The amazing Banner staff members and counselors do such a wonderful job passing out these awards on a weekly basis. For the past two years that Brody attended camp at Banner, he has been extremely motivated by the STARFISH standards and was so excited to show me his awards upon getting off the bus!

I think it’s so important that families and parents know about this program because it’s just another thing that really sets Banner Day Camp apart from the crowd. I also love that staff members take the time to call each family every single week that camp is in session updating you about how your child is doing on a daily basis. Communication is everything to Banner and they understand that parents want to know what’s going on when they aren’t around! Again, not all camps do that. In fact, most don’t. But Banner goes above and beyond because they are here to serve their camp families as best they can!!!! {which they do a damn good job at, I might add!}

If you’re new here, over the past few years, I have written a few blog posts about our love for Banner! Check out this podcast-like post where I hopped on the phone with Owner/Executive Director, Stacy Schwartz Kotelov, and Co-Executive Director, Howard Thall. We talked about each of their lives and backgrounds, what Banner means to them, how it’s evolved over the years, what they believe sets Banner apart from other camps in the area and SO MUCH MORE!!

Another enlightening post about Banner that I wrote came before Brody’s first year at camp! I shared 9 reasons why we decided to send Brody to camp at Banner. Read that post here.

---

In other news!

If you don’t follow me on insta, you must!! We have fun over there and I would love to have you join our little mama community!! All it takes is 2 seconds! So, click here and hit that follow button now!

Want to receive exclusive content + get every new blog post straight to your email now? Click here to do so! You will automatically and immediately be sent my freebie with 15 Holy Grail Products that make Mom Life WAY Easier! You won’t regret it! ;)

And last order of business, but not least: will you pleaseeee also PIN this post using the pink buttons below to save for later!!! Also free free to pass this onto anyone local {living in the burbs OR city: Banner does have a city bus!!} you know who is unsure or overwhelmed about where to send their kid{s} to camp! I really hope this blog post helps!! Xox