Friday, August 10, 2012
Welcome Home Gifts
Monday, August 6, 2012
Counselors Benefit From Camp Too!
“What have you learned at summer camp?”
So whether you are 16 or 24, finishing your first year as a counselor or are a seasoned veteran, it can be helpful to take a few minutes to consider what new insights you developed over the summer. Personally, two of my most memorable insights this summer may have little relevance in the workplace unless I change my career focus to outdoor culinary arts.
While frogging I received numerous suggestions for the easiest way to remove a leech and now carry a piece of gauze when I head into bogs known for these (sometimes not so small) blood-sucking creatures. And one of my youngest campers introduced me to the culinary delight of bananas roasted plain over a campfire. Wrapping a banana in aluminum foil with marshmallows and chocolate creates a tasty, sugar-filled dessert, however, roasting a banana in 3” sections on a stick is a healthful delight that has the added benefit of creating no trash! Spinning either of these into compelling reasons to hire me might be a bit of a stretch, but either could certainly provide a few minutes of engaging introduction.
However, summer camp counselors do gain a plethora of valuable lessons each year that will be beneficial in classrooms, dorm rooms, and workplaces and yes, even in that far, distant future of parenting. When my camp director asked her counselors to mull over what skills were gained over the summer, common answers were patience, flexibility, organization, staying present—all of which are key for students, employees, roommates, and yes, parents. Although frequently a counselor adds, “and I don’t intend on being a parent any time soon!”
As you consider your college or job application, take the time to explain how you gained these skills and how you will be a better student, member of the college community or employee because you have benefitted from spending your summer as a camp counselor. Create a short story that encapsulates your learning and summarizes the benefits to your potential employer.
One afternoon I was gathering armloads of brush and tossing them into a truck. It was hot and sweaty and time-consuming work. The maintenance man came up to me and handed me a barn fork. A man of few words, he succinctly summed up his methodology, “save your arms for your boyfriend, use this barn fork.” From studying engineering to writing software code to designing business strategies to planning a family weekend, efficiency has been invaluable in both freeing up my time and making tasks more enjoyable in the process. As an employee I can get more done than my less efficient co-workers, and can also create processes to streamline the business overall.
Coupled with efficiency summer camp has taught me the value of assessing a situation before reacting. Hearing the high-pitched screams of campers racing toward me, I briefly wonder whether the Loch Ness monster has been sighted. However, before grabbing my camera and heading for the lake, I calmly request that the least flustered camper slow down and explain the cause of the agitation. Turned out, the camp goat had taken the liberty of investigating an inviting-looking cabin. A short pause for assessment can make the follow-up reaction far more successful. Livestock management to boating, classroom to business—life rarely rolls out as anticipated. Assessing the unexpected before reacting, has been a lesson I have learned and re-learned at summer camp where loose goats, capsized sailboats, and homesick campers are all in a morning’s work.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Making the Most of Visiting Day
Like many parents we are eagerly awaiting our first visiting day with our daughter at camp. After not seeing her for nearly 3 weeks, we imagine her broad smile as she catches a glimpse of me and my husband walking into camp and her racing beneath the pine trees arms outstretched to give us both a big hug around the neck. Ah, the sweetness of daydreams.
I still clearly remember the first time my parents visited me after 3 ½ weeks at camp. I wasn’t all smiles and joy, eager to share with them every moment of my leisurely days by the lake. I felt awkward introducing them to my friends and even felt like they were trespassing on my turf.
We need to remember that we are the foreigners on visiting day. Despite the fact that we raised them, helped them with homework, drove them to countless soccer matches and gymnastics meets, we may as well be just another viewer in the crowd at the Fourth of July parade for all of the attention our campers may chose to lavish upon us when we show up at ‘their’ camps. And make no mistake; it is theirs—their home, their friends, their place, their independence.
Some campers may run up and give mom or dad or grandpa a big hug and eagerly begin storytelling. However, an equal number may sit back and timidly acknowledge us as parents before running off for a game of tetherball without so much as a backward glance.
What to do?
Be Present
You have a great opportunity to get a feel for the place he is living. Be observant, meet his counselor, talk with the director, look around camp.
Be Pleased
One of the benefits of summer camp is the opportunity for a child to gain independence. If your child isn’t running into your arms to ask you to wash her bathing suit or what she should do because her flashlight isn’t working , then perhaps she is starting to gain self-reliance.
Be Positive
When he is ready to hang out with you, listen to the stories he has to share without judgment. Let your child be comfortable that your visit won’t upset his equilibrium. Take in all that he wants to share.
Our daydreams may not materialize on visiting day, but with patience and a positive outlook we can leave our visit content that our child is soaking up the essence of summer camp.
I still clearly remember the first time my parents visited me after 3 ½ weeks at camp. I wasn’t all smiles and joy, eager to share with them every moment of my leisurely days by the lake. I felt awkward introducing them to my friends and even felt like they were trespassing on my turf.
We need to remember that we are the foreigners on visiting day. Despite the fact that we raised them, helped them with homework, drove them to countless soccer matches and gymnastics meets, we may as well be just another viewer in the crowd at the Fourth of July parade for all of the attention our campers may chose to lavish upon us when we show up at ‘their’ camps. And make no mistake; it is theirs—their home, their friends, their place, their independence.
Some campers may run up and give mom or dad or grandpa a big hug and eagerly begin storytelling. However, an equal number may sit back and timidly acknowledge us as parents before running off for a game of tetherball without so much as a backward glance.
What to do?
Be Patient
If your camper is reticent to hang out with you, be patient. Give her time to adjust to your presence in her place.Be Present
You have a great opportunity to get a feel for the place he is living. Be observant, meet his counselor, talk with the director, look around camp.
Be Pleased
One of the benefits of summer camp is the opportunity for a child to gain independence. If your child isn’t running into your arms to ask you to wash her bathing suit or what she should do because her flashlight isn’t working , then perhaps she is starting to gain self-reliance.
Be Positive
When he is ready to hang out with you, listen to the stories he has to share without judgment. Let your child be comfortable that your visit won’t upset his equilibrium. Take in all that he wants to share.
Our daydreams may not materialize on visiting day, but with patience and a positive outlook we can leave our visit content that our child is soaking up the essence of summer camp.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Overlooked Items to Pack for Camp
Here is a short list of essentials for all overnight campers, whether you are heading off for one week or seven. While most of the items, if not all, are on the packing list your camp sends out, these are the items I most often see forgotten.
- Laundry bag—even if laundry won’t be done while your camper is at camp, it’s helpful to have a separate place to throw dirty clothes other than under the cot.
- Sneakers, or to some Tennis Shoes—if your camper will be on a tennis court at all then ensure she has appropriate footwear. At home she may wear sandals everywhere, but at camp she will need sneakers around camp and sometimes court shoes for the tennis courts.
- Water bottle—often you can purchase one with the camp logo, but having a water bottle is handy whether your son is planning on joining in on hikes or just wants to have water next to his bed at night.
- Pre-addressed envelopes—not only does having address labels increase the chances that your child will write you (or his cousin, grandfather, little sister), but it GREATLY increases the odds that the address will be sufficiently legible to make it through the postal system.
- Headlamp—juggling toothbrush, toothpaste and a flashlight isn’t easy. Get a headlamp in addition to or in place of a flashlight.
- Sunscreen and bug spray that your child can apply. If you have a young child then it’s easier to apply stick-based sunscreen on her face, rather than lotion.
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