The Importance of Evening Activities at Camp

Last updated di

The typical image of evenings at summer camp involves campers sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows and singing songs. While campfires are an essential part of the camp experience and some camps enjoy campfires nightly or weekly —  they’re only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to after dinner activities. While some nights, particularly those following busier than usual days, are “chill” nights at camp during which campers watch a movie, enjoy a camp show or, yes, sit around that infamous campfire, on most nights when the sun goes down at camp, the action heats up and things get crazy—sometimes really crazy—and maybe even a little goofy.

Whether it’s a dance, an evening of games or a scavenger hunt, it’s important to dress for the occasion and costumes are often encouraged. Acceptable attire often includes tutus, crazy hats or wigs, temporary tattoos and face or body paint. When competition is involved, dressing in team colors is also a must. Friends or even entire bunks/cabins often try to mirror each other with matching outfits, and showing team spirit typically becomes a competition within a competition. Clever cheers (often involving inside camp jokes), singing, and loud encouragement provide the soundtrack to a night of activities designed to help everyone let loose, be themselves, and, most importantly, have fun. So what is the point of so much silliness after a full day of activities? It’s simple. Play. Play has long been touted by child psychologists as crucial to social and cognitive development. At camp, however, the kind of play that happens during evening activities takes on a much bigger role as an avenue for inspiring campers and staff alike to embrace camp values and put them into action.

At least one of these three key words consistently appears in camp mottos: “tradition”, “family”, “friends.” All three are emphasized during evening activities at camp. Whether it’s to win a competition or a race, playful evening activities are a fun way for campers to come together as a family to achieve a common goal. More importantly, individual age divisions often spend time together during evening activities. During the day, campers go in many different directions, depending on their interests and program schedules. In the evenings, however, they come back together as a group. In the midst of lighthearted moments, friendships are born and strengthened.

Sleepaway camp traditions don’t begin and end with campfires and sing-alongs. They are evident—or sometimes born—in even the wackiest moments of evening activities. Those activities become perennial favorites to which campers look forward all year. They spend time during the winter contemplating ways in which they can enhance tradition and future memories by building upon previous experiences of those activities. They communicate with each other, brainstorm ideas and even make plans. In short, through play, campers take ownership of their camp experience as well as their camp traditions. In doing so, they embrace camp values.

Access all of our blog archives here

From Where Do Weequahic Campers Come?

Last updated di

If you’re wondering about the geographic regions campers call home during the winter, the guest blog this week from Camp Weequahic offers up a pretty good picture of the diversity of campers at many camps, including America’s Finest Summer Camps.

Most families ask a great question when learning about camp: From where do your campers come?

We are blessed at Camp Weequahic to have campers from 20 states and 10 countries. Rather one particular zip code or region getting up and coming to camp, we have pockets of campers from all over – up and down the East Coast as well as California, Colorado, Ohio, and Texas. We also have a small but vibrant population of campers from countries such as France, Switzerland, Venezuela, England, Spain, Russia, Mexico, China, Brazil, and Chile.

This diversity provides a couple of great benefits for our community. First, it allows children to get to know about other cultures both inside and outside of the US while all having a great time at camp. Campers not only enjoy keeping their camp friendships going with those in their local area but also across great distances.

The second major benefit of a diverse population is that new campers have a much easier time becoming an integral part of our community. Those first few days are so important and coming into a bunk with everyone except you coming from the same spot in the country can be daunting. With children coming from so many different spots for the first time, it makes those first few days much easier in terms of building friendships.

We are thrilled to continue to grow our diversity at Camp Weequahic while keeping everyone focused on building friendships, new skills, and having the best summer of their lives!

 

The Hard Part of Working at Camp

Last updated di

A popular question that a lot of prospective summer camp counselors ask recruiters is about the difficult aspects of the job. After hearing about how much fun they will have, about the amount of time they will get to spend outdoors, about all of the friends they will make, and how much money they can save, it all sounds a bit too good to be true. Candidates want to know, ‘So, what is the hard part?’ It’s a good question because, while it’s true that a simple internet search will produce article upon article about all of the great aspects of working at a sleepaway camp, few highlight the difficult parts of the job. In the name of bucking the status quo, this blog is going to take a stab at it.

First, camp ends. That’s probably the hardest part. From an outsider’s perspective, a couple of months never seems like a long time, certainly not long enough to form any permanent bonds or attachments. What a lot of people fail to consider, because it’s just such a foreign concept to most people, is that those two months aren’t 9-5, 5 days per week months. They’re 24/7 months—including meal times. That’s roughly 1,344 hours of constant interaction with campers and co-workers compared to the 320 hours those people who just do that daytime thing get. A little basic math establishes that’s roughly eight months of regular work time crammed into two. Eight months is the better part of a year and plenty of time to get pretty attached to new friends as well as campers. That’s why tears are usually inevitable when it comes time to say goodbye. Goodbye is always hard. But it’s even harder when you know that you may never have the opportunity to see some of the people with whom you’ve just spent the equivalent of eight months of your life again.

Second, you have to be comfortable around children. This sounds like a no brainer, but if you’re used to spending most of your time around adults, spending most of your time around children requires a bit of an adjustment. It goes without saying that interacting with children requires a filter of sorts. Obviously, you don’t share everything with children that you would with other adults. Interacting with children also requires a great deal of discretion. They’re looking at you for answers. Not only knowing what answers to give but when to give them is important. Knowing when it’s not your place to answer but to escalate the issue is even more important. Also, successful interaction with children is all in the presentation. You have to be a good salesperson to a certain extent. Before signing up to work at summer camp, think about the fact that convincing at least one camper to do something he or she does not want to do and to have fun while doing it is likely going to be a daily occurrence. If you’re a person who is quick to lose patience, summer camp may not be the right fit for you.

Third, stepping outside of your comfort zone is difficult. Think about it. When you’re feeling like pizza, do you pick up the telephone and call a different restaurant to order each time or do you call that place that you know makes a killer pie? There is nothing wrong with comfort. It certainly makes life (and decisions) easier. But leaving friends and family and going to a completely foreign environment to live and work for two months is definitely taking a giant step out of the comfort zone for most people. A lot of first year staff members arrive at camp thinking they’re prepared…and then reality sets in. Just accept that you will feel disoriented for a few days and definitely out of your comfort zone, which is hard. But if you stick with it, you’ll find that stepping out of your comfort zone to work at camp is one of the best hardest things you will ever do.

Finally, working at camp is exhausting. Seriously. You need some serious stamina—both mental and physical–to make it through the summer. The days are long. The sleep is short. You will likely be given one day off per week, on which you will still find yourself spending time with the same people with whom you’ve been working for the past six days and with whom you will work for the next six days. Obviously, if you’re a person who values a lot of alone time, you might find working at camp a bit hard.

There you have it. The hard part. The fine print. The ‘What’s the catch?’ If you’ve read all of that and are ready to take on a bit of difficulty in exchange for a whole lot of fun, then a summer at camp just may be the right fit for you.

My Summer Home

Last updated di

If the cold weather has you exploring summer job options or you’ve been considering working at sleepaway camp this summer, this week’s guest blog is for you. It was contributed by a Starlight staff member and originally posted to the Camp Starlight blog on January 6, 2014.

I’ve spent the last three summers at Starlight as both a counselor and assistant division leader. It’s hard to remember who I was before I came here, considering how much being at camp has changed me. As cliché as it sounds, I have truly grown as a person and met some of the most wonderful people while doing so. Every summer, since making the decision to join the staff, I’ve had opportunities to do other things, but never really considered being anywhere else….this is where I am supposed to be.

I have talked my friends deaf about my experiences and attempted to share with them the magic that Starlight holds, but it is something that needs to be seen first hand to fully grasp. The want for everyone to have this experience I have been blessed with has made me one of the biggest advocates for my peers on both trying and returning to camp.

We use the term “summer home” quite a bit, but it is for good reason. As soon as I venture up the camp road for that first entrance of the summer, I immediately check any stress and outside pressures at the door. Starlight is where I am with my friends, amazing campers, and a community of once strangers who I now consider family.

-Banner W.

5 motivi per cui i bambini non smettono di parlare dei campi estivi

Last updated di

Quest’anno… e in questo momento dell’anno, chi tra voi si è trovato in questa situazione, alzi la mano. Proprio quando credi – finalmente – di aver sentito tutte le possibili storie sul campeggio, ecco che ci siamo di nuovo. Magari si tratta di un video sul campo estivo, di una riunione organizzativa… o di un invito a ritrovarsi al campo. Qualunque cosa sia, riguarda il campo estivo e ti ricorda che ci hanno trascorso metà dell’estate. Magari si tratta del racconto di quando ha fatto sci nautico o giocato a baseball. Certo, è la trentesima volta che lo senti. Se ti chiedi come mai, ogni estate, poche settimane possano avere un effetto così profondo su tuo figlio tanto che, tra i rigori dell’inverno, ne sta ancora parlando come se fosse appena accaduto, alza la mano. Forse non te lo chiedi nemmeno, sei semplicemente contento che il tuo investimento per il campo estivo sia stato un successo. Qualcuno, però, potrebbe ancora avere qualche dubbio. Ecco, allora, alcuni aspetti di cui tenere conto:

1.) Al campo estivo, i partecipanti passano l’intera giornata con i loro amici.

Prima che tu dica che succede anche a scuola, pensaci: ai campi estivi, oltre a stare con gli amici, hanno la possibilità di interagire con loro. Se ci rifletti, le interazioni con gli amici a scuola si limitano principalmente alle conversazioni in classe, alle lunghe ricreazioni tra le lezioni (per i più piccoli) e all’ora di pranzo. Naturalmente magari possono arrischiare qualche parola mentre sono in classe ma, nella maggior parte dei casi, quando c’è l’insegnante (e questo avviene per la maggior parte del tempo) in generale non è permesso parlare tra studenti. In confronto, il campeggio è più come dormire a casa di qualche compagno o partecipare a un evento collettivo che però dura alcune settimane e ogni giorno i campeggiatori svolgono attività straordinarie con i propri amici. Sotto il profilo del divertimento, è evidente che non c’è paragone!

2.) I bambini al campo possono rilassarsi. Non è che al campeggio estivo non ci siano delle regole, ma si tratta spesso di regole che favoriscono un’atmosfera rilassata. Sono molto più indulgenti rispetto alle norme scolastiche e anche quelle richieste nelle situazioni sociali sono più rilassate rispetto a quelle che i bambini devono rispettare negli altri dieci mesi dell’anno. Per esempio, la maggior parte di ristoranti (e i relativi clienti) di solito non sono molto felici se i bambini cantano mentre sono a tavola. Invece questo nella maggior parte dei campi estivi è permesso e incoraggiato.

3.) Ai campi estivi, i bambini possono imparare a essere indipendenti. Non è che tuo figlio non ti voglia bene o non ti rispetti, ma gli piace anche fare cose per suo conto. Per la prima volta, al campo estivo, sarà fiero dei suoi sforzi. I bambini saranno molto orgogliosi (naturalmente con il sostegno dei loro compagni, dei consulenti e di un gran numero di campeggiatori… anche se loro pensano di avercela fatta tutto da soli, non importa). Questo dà loro un senso di fierezza, perché non hanno bisogno di mamma e papà per ogni cosa.

4.) Quello del campo è un ambiente giovane. Il campo è un ambiente fatto apposta per i giovani. Anche il personale è giovane di spirito. Sembra una cosa da nulla, ma considera per un attimo il mondo dal punto vista di un bambino. Sostanzialmente, i bambini sono persone costantemente controllate dagli adulti e a cui viene detto di continuo che potranno fare tutto quando saranno più grandi. Invece il campo è un posto particolarmente bello per i bambini, un luogo in cui gli viene costantemente ricordato quanto è bello essere bambini.

5.) I bambini hanno modi diversi di considerare il tempo ai campi estivi. Sul serio. È davvero diverso. Comincia la scuola e comincia anche il loro conto alla rovescia dei “mesi che mancano alla fine”. È un conto alla rovescia che sembra non finire mai e i bambini pensano che ci sia sempre tempo prima che finisca. Quando inizia il campo estivo, comincia invece un conto alla rovescia diverso. Questo serve a contare “quante settimane sono già passate”. Al campo estivo, i bambini non vogliono sprecare il tempo che passa. In altre parole, sanno che il loro tempo al campo estivo è limitato. Dal momento in cui arrivano, cominciano a sfruttare al massimo ogni minuto e questo aumenta l’intensità dell’esperienza. Ecco perché le storie che senti e risenti e ti sembrano noiosi aneddoti del campeggio, infarciti di “avresti dovuto esserci” eccitano tanto tuo figlio quando le racconta. Di fatto, mentre lo fa, rivive l’esperienza di quel momento che non dimenticherà mai. Difficilmente ciò potrebbe avvenire anche con i compiti di matematica.

Quindi, quando arriva la lettera o l’email di promemoria per il prossimo campo estivo e salta fuori un’altra storia, ricordati che per chi ha fatto questa esperienza è come se fosse un messaggio che arriva da un mondo fatato. Un cartolina di saluti dall’isola che non c’è.

The Laurel Camps’ Melting Pot

Last updated di

The guest blog this week was originally posted to the Camp Laurel and Camp Laurel South blogs on January 1o, 2014, and speaks to the tremendous diversity of the campers who call sleepaway camp their summer home.

Walking around the Laurel Camps on a typical day, you may not notice the vast geographic diversity of Camp Laurel and Laurel South.

We welcome campers from all over the United States and overseas. In 2013, The Laurel Camps welcomed campers across 16 countries, 5 continents and 42 out of the 50 states in the U.S. (Yes… 42!!)

Not only do we have campers from every US region, there’s vast diversity within each region. Take the Empire State of New York: we have campers from 34 different towns and cities. And from the sunshine state of Florida, campers hail from as far south as Key Biscayne all the way up the interstate to Gainesville! The northeast often leads the charge in terms of critical mass, but we also welcome campers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Colorado, California, Arizona, Texas and Ohio – to name just a few.

And what about staff? In 2013, our staff represented 43 of the 50 states. Not a bad representation!

Our geographic mix impacts the camp experience in so many ways.

We’re a break from “the neighborhood” and any prior stigmas. It’s a community where you can explore new interests and make new friends with less preconceived notions of who you are “supposed to be.”

Our campers and staff have a chance to learn the necessary skills to successfully get along with others from different cultures.

And of course, Laurel’s vast geographic diversity allows our campers and staff to make lifelong connections with friends across the world.

Camp provides so many different life skills; independence, problem solving, self-confidence – the list goes on and on. Let’s add encountering and embracing diversity to that list.

Looking through Camp Photos…Again.

Last updated di

Admit it. During the summer, you just scroll through the camp photos looking for any part of your child—a pose with friends, a smiling face, an arm, a shoe, a finger—anything that you can bookmark and study intensely to see what information you can garner using every technique you’ve ever learned from Law & Order. But have you ever gone back through the photos months after camp ends and just browsed at large, not just at your children, but at camp at large? If you haven’t, you should.

Camp photos aren’t just random shots caught by the camp photographer as he or she casually passed by. They tell a story. The story of camp and how the summer unfolds. The camp photographer is, undoubtedly, one of the hardest working people at camp. In fact, the work is so difficult, that many camps employ more than one, plus a videographer or two. Camp photographers are some of the first people out of bed each morning and some of the last to go to bed each night. Daily, they are charged with capturing the spirit of camp in pictures. If that sounds easy, try making around several hundred acres to capture about twenty activities happening simultaneously. On top of that, you’re taxed with trying to capture images of each and every camper each day. It’s a task. But a valuable one. Because, at the end of the summer, what a camp photographer leaves behind are images of the best moments at camp.

If you look back through the camp photos, you see friends enjoying time together in arts & crafts, sports teams in action, candid shots of campers living in the moment of whatever activity in which they are participating, being reflective, or just taking it all in. You also see moments of true surprise, awe, joy, and even disappointment. You can literally relive the summer by looking through the camp photos. If you want to know what your child is up to, scroll for the photos of our child. But if you want to know what is happening at camp, take the time to look through the camp photos…again.

Home Away from Home

Last updated di

If ever anyone could ever spell out why camp why camp is awesome, it is Camp Weequahic camper Jenna H., this week’s guest blogger.

18439 is the zip code that has become my second home for five summers.  Starting at the age of six, I learned many core virtues at Camp Weequahic in Pennsylvania.  Summer camp has absolutely changed my life.

Living and sleeping in a cabin with different girls and no parents involves plenty of responsibility.  Everyone has to clean their bunk and the bathroom everyday with only a little help from the counselors.  Also, each camper has to create his or her own schedule of fun activities planned.  In addition, I have to be accountable for brushing my teeth and folding my laundry.  Responsibility is important, but cooperation is also a big part of the camp experience.

At sleep away camp, cooperation is used everyday no matter what.  All campers must cooperate completely during their activities by including everyone. By cooperating with my fellow bunk members, we can accomplish chores and activities more quickly than doing it all alone.  In competitions, different teams have to cooperate in order to win.  When the entire camp breaks into different tribes, girls and boys work together creating songs, competing in relays, and answering trivia questions.  At times, I can be a strong leader in my bunk or for my tribe.

Finally, I have gained independence every year I have been at this camp. Living 3,000 miles away from home allows me to take care of myself and be independent.  I am in charge of serving others and myself food.  I try new things like cooking, sewing, tubing, and kickball.  I have created friendships with people from all over the world and have stayed in touch with them.

Arriving at camp is the best experience of the whole year.  I am away from my parents but at least I still have my bother there with me.  I learn many things and make many new friends.  All of this creates a remarkable summer experience!

–Jenna H.

The preceding blog was originally published to the Camp Weequahic website on December 19, 2013.


New Year, New Summer

Last updated di

There comes a point for everyone involved with camp when we finally stop wishing for it to still be last summer and begin looking forward to this summer. The beginning of the new year is the perfect time for this. The new year is a time of new beginnings for most people and, although that long list of resolutions most of us start out with in January has already been all but forgotten by the time the first spring blooms begin to peep out of the ground, there is always the promise of camp. January starts that final countdown toward summer. We’re finally in the year 2014, and it is only a matter of months before we arrive at the Summer of 2014.  And a fast six months it always is! We spend cold winter evenings watching our camp videos or reading our camp newsletters. We attend camp reunions and follow our camp Facebook pages. By spring we’ve ordered all of our new camp gear and are eagerly awaiting for it to arrive.  We start to set goals for the summer with our camp friends. Then we blink, and it’s May. It’s time to start packing! School ends and the countdown is down to days…days that seem to take longer than all of the months we’ve waited put together. But it comes, the new summer of the new year, faster than we ever thought it would a year ago.

Like Father, Like Son

Last updated di

This week’s guest blog first appeared on the Camp Laurel blog on December 10, 2013, and is a nice reminder of what a great multi-generational tradition that summer camp can be for families.

In 1977, Ron Scott, the former director of Camp Laurel, visited then potential camper Greg Racz’s father’s office. His mission: to talk about Camp Laurel. “A number of friends from Ethical Culture school already went there,” Greg recalls. It was an easy sell.

That summer, Greg made his first camp friend: Jem Sollinger. As the weeks – then years – passed, Greg grew to appreciate everything about Laurel; his fellow campers, the staff and the beauty of Maine. “Coming from New York City, being outdoors was great and I loved being able to play so much tennis.” As Jem recalls, no one was more consistent on the court than Greg, “He got everything back!”

More than 30 years later, “Laurel has only gotten prettier,” Greg says. He has a good way of knowing: His son, Daniel, is now a Laurel camper too. It seemed like “déjà vu all over again” in the early fall of 2012 when Jem visited Greg’s office to discuss Laurel for the next generation of Racz’s.

“Jem has done a phenomenal job,” Greg says of his longtime friend, now the camp director. “He’s got a great group of counselors.”

“Holly is still there with her husband, Warren,” Greg recalls, referencing 35-year Laurel veterans, Holly and Warren Williams. Amazingly, in 1980, Warren was Greg and Jem’s counselor in the Falcons.

Greg adds, “The waterfront is still drop-dead gorgeous and the many ping pong tables are a welcome addition,” speaking to another one of his passions!

Daniel’s route to camp was similar to his father’s. Daniel’s friends – at the same Ethical Culture school – also go to Laurel. Of course, he’d also heard about Laurel “100 times” from his dad, Greg. Getting off the bus, the first person Daniel saw was Jem. Some things never change.

Daniel’s favorite parts of camp are the sports facilities. “The Fieldhouse (a new addition since his father’s day) is great. It’s so big, with lots of space.”

Does he talk to his dad about the old days? “Yes,” Daniel says. “He likes to talk.”

Daniel’s younger brother Joshua may follow in his brother and father’s footsteps. He loved the water-slide on Visiting Day and Daniel would love to have his younger brother at camp with him, “It would be a lot of fun having a family member there.” That would make Greg doubly happy. “Visiting Day was too short,” he says. “It’s great to get a second chance at Laurel” – even if its just for a day.

And what about the second generation of campers from Laurel South. Founded in 1993, we expect the first influx of alumni campers over the next couple of years. “We can’t wait for the first alumni campers” says Laurel South director Roger Christian. “Family – isn’t  that what camp is all about?” At the Laurel Camps…it definitely is.