Grieving Kids Are Still Kids: A Week at Grief Expressions Summer Camp

There was music. There was movement. There was art, building, performing, laughing, making new friends, and probably more than a little mess.

There was grief, too.

At Good Grief’s Grief Expressions Summer Camp, those things don’t have to be separate.

For four days this summer, campers came together for a week designed especially for children who have experienced the death of someone important in their lives. They arrived with different stories, different personalities, different interests, and different ways of experiencing and expressing grief.

But they shared something important: no one had to explain why they were there.

A Place for the Whole Child

When a child is grieving, it can be easy for the adults around them to focus on the grief.

But grieving children are still children.

They still need opportunities to play, laugh, be loud, make things, try something new, get frustrated, be silly, make friends, and feel proud of what they can do. They need spaces where grief is welcome without requiring it to be the focus of every moment.

That is part of what makes Grief Expressions Summer Camp so special.

Throughout the week, campers had opportunities to express themselves in all kinds of ways. They made music and art, moved their bodies, built and created, performed, and they played (HARD!)

And when they wanted to, they talked about the people in their lives who died.

There were loud moments and quiet ones. Silly moments and meaningful ones. Sometimes all of those things existed together.

Because that’s how grief often works, too.

The Power of Not Having to Explain

One of the most meaningful things about bringing grieving children together isn’t something you can necessarily see in a photograph.

It’s the understanding that already exists in the room.

Children who have experienced a death can sometimes feel different from their peers. They may encounter questions they don’t know how to answer or moments when their experience suddenly sets them apart.

At camp, that part of their story is already understood.

That doesn’t mean every camper has experienced the same thing or grieves in the same way. Far from it. But there can be freedom in spending time with other kids who know something about what it means to miss someone who died.

There is room to talk about that person.

There is also room not to.

Creativity, Connection, and Courage

Over the course of the week, we watched new friendships form. Campers encouraged one another, experimented with unfamiliar activities, stepped outside their comfort zones, and discovered new ways to express themselves.

These moments remind us that supporting grieving children doesn’t always look like sitting in a circle and talking about grief. Sometimes it looks like making music together. Sometimes it’s creating something with your hands, moving your body, laughing until your stomach hurts, or discovering that someone else gets it without needing a long explanation.

Making Space for Kids to Be Kids

Grief Expressions Summer Camp is possible because so many people choose to make that kind of space for grieving children.

We are deeply grateful to the staff, volunteers, teaching artists, community partners, and supporters who brought their time, creativity, energy, and care to this year’s camp.

And most of all, we are grateful to our campers.

Thank you for bringing your creativity, courage, humor, memories, curiosity, and whole selves to Good Grief.

You reminded us all week that grief and joy can share the same space and that one of the most important things we can offer a grieving child is the freedom to simply be a kid.

About Good Grief, Inc.

Good Grief is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build resilience in children, strengthen families, and empower communities to grow from loss and adversity. With centers in Princeton and Morristown, New Jersey, Good Grief provides free, open-ended support to children, teens, and young adults after the death of a parent or sibling. Through school and community programs across the country, Good Grief helps children and their communities build resilience to overcome loss and adversity.