Lac du Bois (camp)


Lac du Bois is a French language and culture camp at the Concordia Language Villages based in Minnesota. As with the other Concordia Language Village programs, it is a language immersion program. The Lac du Bois experience is offered on two sites: one in Bemidji, MN and another in Hackensack, MN. A third site, Voyageurs, provides similar language learning with a different curriculum and structure. All Concordia Language Villages programs are accredited by the American Camp Association.

General program content

As with all Concordia Language Villages, the Lac du Bois mission is “to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community”. It is also structured around the values and practices of the CLVway, or the four precepts representing key attributes of responsible global citizenship:
The program emphasizes French culture in France and throughout the Francophone world. Countries explored include Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa, the United States, Vietnam, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. Village programs include music, games, traditions, film, clothes, and food from all regions. A villager might listen to rai music from North Africa, eat boeuf bourgignon, play in a "world cup" soccer game, learn to play an African drum djembe, make fondue, and participate in a Mardi Gras celebration, all in French. Each day has a theme ; activities and cuisine are aligned with the day's theme so that villagers can delve in depth into an area of the world or a question each day.
Lac du Bois is a total immersion program, and counselors and staff communicate exclusively in French. Lac du Bois is appropriate for villagers of all language proficiency levels. Beginners find that the French spoken is easy to understand thanks in part to the use of gestures, skits, and modeling. And fluent speakers find the topics are engaging, offering a chance to practice rare vocabulary and higher-level conversations. Villagers are in mixed-level groups for much of the day and are in leveled groups for 2–3 hours of the day.
Lac du Bois values other areas of learning such as practicing new ways of thinking, leadership, adaptability, collaboration, empathy, creativity, etc.

Staff

Lac du Bois staff come from all over the United States and the French-speaking world. Business and meetings within the village are conducted exclusively in French. Since all staff members are successful second language learners themselves, whether they are native French or English speakers, they are able to provide an empathetic, patient, supportive and challenging environment for villagers learning their first foreign language.

Program types

Youth, Family and Adult Sessions

Elementary-aged kids can attend a one- or a two-week session.
Middle schoolers can attend a one-, two-, or four-week session..
High schoolers can attend for one, two, or four weeks.
Four-week high school aged credit villagers can earn either the equivalent of one year of high school French or one class of college credit. These intensive courses are somewhat non-traditional since they are conducted in a camp environment and the time is highly condensed. This program is offered as a residential program at both Lac du Bois locations, and as a hybrid Minnesota/Europe program. Credit is given by Concordia College, which sponsors the Concordia Language Village program.
Families can attend family camp sessions that include pre-school and adult classes. One-week family sessions take place in the summer, and weekend sessions are offered during the academic year.
Adults can attend one-week sessions offered during the academic year.
Many of these programs run alongside each other during the summer. Villagers in youth sessions are housed with other villagers of their age and gender. Families are housed together in private or semi-private cabins depending on the site.

School Groups ("Village Weekends")

Hosted at Skogfjorden's permanent site outside Bemidji, Minnesota, the French Language Village offers short term programs for school groups and teachers. This program has welcomed eager learners of French for exploratory weekends throughout the academic year since the early 1970s. Each year a new theme is explored in depth through music, art, meals, skits and of course French. Though the Lac du Bois magic of the summer program lives on through these Village Weekends, the structure and activities are geared towards groups of students rather than individuals. Past themes have included l'Acadie, le Maroc, le Sud de la France, le Moyen Age, la Revolution Francaise, l'Afrique and les Caraibes. Village Weekends host school groups from across the country who are interested in short term experiences in language and culture within the United States.

Locations

Permanent site

The permanent Lac du Bois site is located on Turtle River Lake with several other Language Villages near Bemidji, Minnesota. The site is designed to be as authentically French as possible, with French style architecture, including three sets of cabins named Corse, Bretagne and Provence and with details that reflect the appropriate region of France. The cabins themselves are named after major cities within those provinces. The main building is called Paris. There is also a regulation pétanque or boules court, and a small store that sells authentic European candy and treats.
A notable addition to the Bemidji site is a traditional African Round House, called a "Boukarou".
This is a Concordia Language Village Evergreen Award presented to Karen "Nicole" Anderson, a longtime Dean of Lac du Bois, for 25 years of service to the organization.

Camp Holiday

Located near Hackensack, Minnesota, Camp Holiday is the oldest site still being leased by Concordia Language Villages. The Camp Holiday site was originally a camp for girls built in the 1920s and many of its buildings still date from that era. The pristine lakes and traditional camp feel of Lac du Bois, Hackensack offers a home to many villagers and staff summer after summer.
The geography of Camp Holiday includes two hills which are called respectively France and Franco. It is located between Mann and Baby Lakes with part of the main road separating the two by just a few yards. Of all the Concordia sites, it has the most waterfront.
The program at Hackensack is known for its emphasis on Francophone cultures, particularly those of West Africa as well as an emphasis on nature, pioneering the Aventure Nature program which operates like a “scout” group practicing canoeing and outdoor living skills as well as French language.
Lac du Bois, Hackensack-Holiday is the longest-running French site of Concordia. It also hosts the Italian Language Village "Lago del Bosco".