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It’s a new year and it’s time to get down to business! Not that we haven’t already been down to business. But now the countdown begins. Over the next several months, we’ll be working to hire the most amazing staff. Every year we say that and, honestly, we leave camp doubtful that we could ever top the staff from the summer that just ended. But our staff members who are responsible for hiring new counselors each season are truly awesome! They just keep finding the best professionals in camping. We’re also hard at work making sure each and every program offers the best and most diverse options. We like including a few new surprises every year, but we also like making all of our existing activities even bigger and better each summer. We spend a lot of time thinking about how we can do that and then pull out all of the stops making it happen. We have a lot of fun planning all of those crazy days and whacky nights we have at camp. Each wrestling ring 
or kiddie pool filled with shaving cream or slime, each awesome break for Spirit Days, College Days, or Olympics, each crazy game show, every themed day…Don’t you wish you had our job? It’s truly one of the most fun in the world. From the cereal on your breakfast bar to the alternative offerings at dinner, menu planning is another task we take very seriously this time of year. We want to make sure we offer the best, most balanced meals for our campers and that no matter what the dietary need, there are sufficient offerings at each and every meal. Let’s not forget all of the planning that goes into our camp shows each season! If you’re already excited, don’t worry, we’ll also be hard at work over the next several months keeping you up to date via newsletters, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, so be sure to check all of them often! We’re counting down…
Top Five Reasons Why Fruit Break is Wicked Awesome
As part of our current focus on nutrition, the following guest blog is courtesy of Camp Laurel and was originally posted to the Camp Laurel blog (http://www.camplaurel.com/blog) on December 16, 2011:
5. A break between activities, sports, 
and programs to refuel, relax and laugh with friends in the shade.
4. An apple a day might not keep the doctor away, like the saying goes, but studies have shown that with the right amount of fruit and vegetables a day, it is undeniably great for your health and immune system. One apple qualifies as one of the five to ten servings of fruit and vegetables recommended by the American Cancer Society to help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stoke.
3. Just one serving of fruit revives your system with essential vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and water to help you keep going while climbing the rock wall, swimming in the lake, or volleying in tennis.
2. Eating fresh fruit gets you in the habit of eating something more nutritious for a snack instead of choosing one that is unhealthy and filled with sugar. This habit will lead to a better, healthier, and happier life.
1. Nothing beats the juicy goodness of a peach or plum and the crisp first bite of an apple or pear!
The Social Network–Summer Camp Style!
Our guest blog this week is courtesy of Patrick at Camp Starlight…
If most Camp Starlight
campers were asked to close their eyes and think about camp, their minds would be flooded with memories of times in the bunk, at campfires with their friends, winning a Wayne County game, or shaking their napkin in the dining hall. If you asked most Camp Starlight campers about their world outside of camp, most would likely at least mention their use of technology such as computers, video games, or cell phones. The fact of the matter is the era that we are living in is a revolving door of technology. Almost everything is done by computer, involves the Internet, or can be done from the tiny keyboard on your cell phone. By joining the Starlight community during the summer, campers and staff are given an opportunity to be a part of a real live social network away from computer screens and cell phones.
Summers at Starlight give campers and staff the break from all of the technology, therefore creating camp’s own social network. Instead of writing on a friend’s Facebook wall for their birthday, we cheer as they are called to raise the flag at line-up and then join them for canteen during rest hour! Conversations over text are replaced with face-to-face interaction throughout the day. And boy’s side chants and jeers as the sports’ scores are reported to a rapt audience instead of being read from a glowing computer or television screen.
By no means is technology an unfavorable benefit to today’s society. However, at Camp Starlight, we create an atmosphere all our own where campers can step bac
k from the sometimes consuming world of technology. They engage with others around them, creating friendships and bonding through old-fashioned conversations and shared experiences. These experiences bring life to the basketball courts, at project tables in arts and crafts, while helping others learn their lines for the upcoming show at the Starlight Playhouse, and many more every day. This social network buzzing through the grounds of Camp Starlight is fun and exciting while it is also a great way our campers develop stronger social skills and interact with other campers and staff. Countless memories are created without any form of technology, and it is a nice break from the busy and often times impersonal world in which we live.
At the end of the day, campers climb into bed without worries of charging gadgets or shutting down their computers. They close their eyes and drift off to sleep with the excitement for what the next amazing day at camp will hold for them!
–Patrick
Camp is a Summer Home for Nutrition Too!
Much has been made recently about the meals that our children consume in places such as school cafeterias and summer camps. A general sentiment that these types of establishments place cost and convenience over nutrition and well being seems to be developing. In the world of summer camp, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, so dedicated are some summer camps to providing meals and snacks that combat bad eating habits that we’ve decided to dedicate an entire series of blogs to summer camp menus. In this first blog, we’ll introduce you to the basic concept of camp nutrition and menu compilation. In future blogs, we’ll discuss special diet, snacks, and the strategy behind the compilation of camp menus.
Most reputable camps offer a deliberate, carefully planned menu to campers and staff alike. Many camps employ the assistance of nutritionists 
when planning menus and select food based on the heightened physical activity of campers during the summer. All of America’s Finest Summer Camps, for instance, offer extensive yogurt and fruit bars at breakfast as well as salad bars at lunch and dinner. At breakfast, several different kinds of yogurt are available as well as fruit such as oranges and bananas. Hard boiled eggs, bagels, and cheese are also typically available. For those with lactose intolerance, lactose free as well as soy milk are often on hand. At lunch and dinner, salad bars offer everything from basic staples like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, olives, cucumbers, and carrots to more progressive offerings like garbanzo beans, tuna, and marinated vegetable combinations, along with several dressings from which to complete the dish. Almost all camps offer vegetarian selections at mealtimes.
Increasingly, special diets are being taken into consideration as well. With many camp leaders and directors themselves learning to live with gluten allergies and diabetes, camp leaders have looked inward when planning menus and are becoming increasingly sensitive to special diet needs. More and more, menu options are being added with these considerations in mind.
Planning camp menus is a special challenge for camp directors. With so many campers and staff dining at each meal, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. However, there are other considerations when planning menus. Children are very active at camp—often considerably more active than they are at home. Physical activity begins in the morning and often continues into the evening. Many camp menus have been criticized for being heavy in carbohydrates. However, there is a nutritional basis in this. Diets heavy in carbohydrates are recommended for children who engage in heavy physical activity, as carbohydrates convert to sugar very quickly and help replenish energy. While it’s true that many camp foods are high in carbohydrates, it’s also important to consider that such a diet at camp is also responsibly balanced by ample servings of fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
Food allergies are also a prevalent consideration when planning camp menus. Nut allergies are the most common, although there are many others. Since food
allergies tend to reveal themselves through various levels of sensitivity, it’s not only important to consider what campers and staff might consume when planning menus, but with whom and what they might come into contact during the course of a summer camp meal.
The preparation of food, particularly food that is fried, is another key target of critics. The fact is that even though many camps offer such traditionally “fried” fare as hamburgers, french fries, and cheese sticks, many of these foods, when prepared at camp, are not fried. Hamburgers are often grilled while fries and cheese sticks are typically baked to minimize the use of fatty oils.
In case you have ever suspected that your child’s nutrition takes a back seat to fun at summer camp, we hope this brief introduction has helped put your mind at ease. And if you’re still not convinced, we invite you to continue visiting this blog as we continue our series about camp menus.
The Countdown to Summer 2012 Has Begun!
This week’s guest blog is from one of the top recruiters in the world of summer camp, Alyson Lee Goldstein of Camp Starlight:
It’s officially 2012! And that means the countdown to camp is even closer! As we look ahead to the summer, we realize that there is still a lot to do before our campers arrive! Although we have a great number of staff returning for another summer, one of the great parts about working year round is the fact that we get to meet almost all the new staff we hire before camp! How do we do this? We travel to THEM! This winter, we have over 10 trips planned to meet and interview potential counselors! Around the world in 90 days! As for the next 3 months, we are on the road to Toronto Canada, Manchester England, Puebla Mexico as well as Kansas State and University of Kansas. From there, we jet off to camp fairs at Indiana University (Alyson’s alma mater) and Purdue (Patrick’s alma mater and where we first met him!). After that we head to the Pacific Northwest to go to Oregon State University, University of Oregon and University of Washington in Seattle. Also on the docket is a spring trip to University of Texas and a stop-over in Ohio if we aren’t filled by then!
We love the idea of meeting our staff in a face to face interview, and when we speak to them and they get excited you can just feel the energy. 
For so many, you know automatically it’s going to be a great fit! The veteran staff love when we stop by their campus and are always there to lend help and plan mini reunions. We have also found that we have been able to get a few more staff members to commit to another summer after a stop at their college (and a personal reminder of camp life!). It’s a great way to see old friends, reconnect with counselors from previous summers, and meet some of our new staff. We find this works so well for us, and we can feel the buzz already in those places as they get ready for our arrival!
The Fun Doesn’t Stop after 5PM!
It’s January. The kids just returned to school after their winter break, from which you’re still exhausted. You’re already thinking about summer. Entertaining them for two weeks was hard enough, let alone two months! Maybe it’s time to start thinking about summer camp. Yes, it’s January. Yes, this is the time of the year when most of us start monitoring the morning radio and news reports for school closings and delays. But summer is closer than you might think and now is the ideal time to start choosing a camp.
Summer camps come in many sizes and lengths from around one hundred campers all the way up to several hundred and sessions that last a from a few weeks up to seven. There is truly a summer camp for every preference and budget. No matter what type of summer camp you prefer, they all have one thing in common: the fun doesn’t stop after 5pm!
Summer camp doesn’t just occupy your children during those summer hours when they’d 
otherwise be at school. It’s a place that entertains them well into the evening hours as well. In fact some of the best times at camp happen after dinner. Sure there is plenty for campers to do during the day; play sports, pursue a hobby, swim, boat, play games, make new friends. But the evening is when some of the deepest bonding moments of the summer take place. After dinner at summer camp, children don’t retire to the living room sofa to watch television or flip on the Wii. There are no cell phones in which to engage themselves for hours playing Angry Birds. At camp, campers may find themselves taking part in a sing along, acting in a camp show, playing crazy games, or watching a magician or hypnotist. It could be drum circle night or there may even be a campfire with s’mores in store. Maybe it’s a swim or a dance party…or both! It could be a sleepover or a night making special treats or craft projects. Maybe it’s just a night to chill with the bunk or cabin No matter what the activity, it’s fun and two words that are NEVER heard at camp: “I’m bored!”
Much of the support for summer camp revolves around the skills children develop during daytime programming activities. The value in summer camp evening activities is often underrated. However, a great deal of planning intended to extend camp spirit and tradition into evenings. Camps employ entire teams of people whose sole responsibility is to plan and execute evening activities and special events that enhance the overall camp experience. While having fun at their evening activities, campers also continue to learn how to shine as an individual, to be part of a team, and to develop their creativity in ways that benefit them as well as others. At the same time, some of the most prevalent and pervading summer camp memories are made at evening activities.
An investment in summer camp is not just an investment in keeping children occupied during their summer days. It’s a 24/7 investment that also includes evening entertainment that further develops the skills that are honed during the daytime. So now and during their next break from school, when your children proclaim, “We’re bored,” think about summer camp.
Are You One in a Million?
According to the American Camp Association (ACA), nearly 1.2 million people take on the adventure of working at camp each summer. They come from all over the world and all walks of life. Some of them are former campers while others have never experienced summer camp at all. Their educations are as diverse as their backgrounds and many of them choose summer camp over a traditional internship because of the unique, well-rounded work experience it provides. Whether the winter weather already has you thinking about what you’ll be doing this summer or you’re just browsing summer employment opportunities, it’s worth asking yourself, “Am I one in a million?” :
- Summer camp staff come from all over the world. Increasingly, as summer camps recognize their
unique position to promote a global community in a fun, relaxed environment, they are recruiting staff from near and far. The ACA reports that within the last decade “there has been an increase in the use of international staff to expose campers to different cultures.” If you live outside of the U.S. and you’ve been wanting to travel to the USA, summer camp is a great way to earn some cash while getting to intimately experience life here. If you’re an American and a trip abroad just isn’t quite in the budget, you need go no further than a residential summer camp to make new friends from all over the world—and pad your bank account while doing it!
- If you think that being a former camper is a pre-requisite to being a great camp counselor, think again. Many camp staff members who return to camp year after year never even set foot on a summer camp campus prior to working at one. Like many of their colleagues, that one step was all it took. They were won over and continue to return each season.
Summer camp employment isn’t just for education majors and coaches. Increasingly, those with majors in the social sciences, sciences, math, engineering, and even medicine and nursing are finding a summer home at camp as an alternative to the traditional internship. Summer camp provides many unique experiences that one can gain nowhere else, such as a 24/7 commitment and the opportunity to simultaneously work with children and adults in a close-knit family type community. Summer camp also develops a diverse range of core skills valued by employers today. As a camp staff member, one must make split second decisions, be an efficient negotiator, use creativity to sell ideas and concepts, resolve conflict, solve problems, be an effective leader, know how to prioritize, be extremely flexible, accept change, and be awesome when it comes to multi-tasking. If it sounds like a big order, it is. But almost all who take on the challenge report that it’s also one of the most fun and rewarding experiences upon which they’ve ever embarked.
- If you are an education major or a coach, have you thought of summer camp as an opportunity to build experience working with
children ages 7-15? Working at summer camp develops many of the same skills that are often used in the classroom or on the field. Many educational institutions view summer camp experience as some of the most valuable on a potential educator’s resume.
- How many traditional internships pay you AND provide you with room and board? In addition to a stipend for the summer, almost all residential summer camp positions offer room and board as part of their employment packages. What this means to you is that, potentially, everything you earn throughout the summer goes straight into your pocket…or your bank account, as the case may be. Even if you allow yourself a bit to splurge on sightseeing around the local area (many of America’s finest summer camps are located in some of the most beautiful parts of the country), it’s still possible to take home a substantial amount of cash at the end of the summer. This is particularly appealing when one considers how much rent and food can add up to over a summer.
If you’re looking for the summer job to beat all summer jobs, summer camp may definitely be your cup of tea. At summer camp, everyday will be a new adventure that takes you both indoors and out from sunrise to sunset. There are no cubicles, no computers (aside from computers available for staff to use on their free time), and no time clocks. And…there are beautiful surroundings, a camp full of campers who depend on you, a slew of challenges you never knew you’d face (and enjoy), and a circle of lifetime friends waiting to meet you. If you’re one in a million, what are you waiting for? If you are a college or university student, check your college’s upcoming career fair lineups. Many summer camps travel to universities to recruit this time of year. It may be possible to meet the first member of your future camp family in person. If your college days are behind you or there are no summer camps scheduled to visit your university, you can apply directly through most camp webpages or through one of the many camp sites that allow you to simultaneously apply to several camps at once. Some sites to help you get started:
www.camplaurel.com
www.campstarlight.com
www.weequahic.com
www.laurelsouth.com
C’est l’heure de choisir une colonie de vacances
Les feuilles tombent des arbres et le temps commence à se rafraîchir, mais il n’est pas trop tôt pour commencer à réfléchir où vous enverrez vos enfants en colonie de vacances l’été prochain. Les colonies de vacances aux États-Unis ne manquent pas et trouver le bon endroit pour vos enfants est essentiel à leur succès. Vous devez prendre en compte de nombreux facteurs et c’est donc le moment idéal pour commencer à réfléchir à ce que doit offrir cette colonie de vacances.
Les colonies de vacances traditionnelles sont un bon moyen d’introduire vos enfants aux colonies de vacances parce qu’elles offrent un large éventail d’expériences harmonieuses. Les enfants qui sont encore à la recherche d’un sport ou d’un passe-temps favori rencontrent de nombreux succès parce qu’ils ont la chance de participer à de nombreuses activités durant tout l’été.
La durée de la colonie de vacances que vous choisirez est également importante. La plupart des colonies en pension complète acceptent les 
enfants âgés de sept ans ou plus. Pour bien choisir une colonie, vous devez prendre en compte le style de vie de votre famille, les autres activités et engagements de vos enfants et vos enfants eux-mêmes. Une grande partie des parents choisissent une durée de sept semaines parce que cela leur évite de devoir réfléchir aux nombreuses activités qu’ils devront mettre en œuvre pour occuper et distraire leurs enfants durant les vacances d’été. Cependant, les colonies de plus courtes durées deviennent de plus en plus populaires. Les familles qui ont un budget limité ou un emploi du temps incompatible et ne peuvent donc pas se permettre d’envoyer leurs enfants durant tout l’été, peuvent ainsi toujours tirer parti des colonies de vacances traditionnelles. America’s Finest Summer Camps offre des colonies de vacances allant de trois semaines aux sept semaines complètes.
Considérez également la distance à laquelle vous souhaitez envoyer votre enfant. Alors que certains parents préfèrent envoyer leurs enfants à quelques heures de route de chez eux, d’autres considèrent que ces colonies sont une belle occasion de leur faire découvrir le monde et les envoient à l’étranger. Cette tendance se développe en Europe, où les parents européens souhaitent que leurs enfants acquièrent l’expérience d’une colonie de vacances traditionnelle aux États-Unis. Mais ce choix ne se cantonne pas à l’Europe et de nombreux parents à travers le monde n’hésitent pas à suivre ce pas. De nombreux parents américains pensent que les belles colonies de vacances de la Nouvelle-Angleterre et du nord-est de la Pennsylvanie possèdent une solide réputation et offrent un décor naturel époustouflant et y envoient leurs enfants d’aussi loin que la Californie, la Floride et bien d’autres états.
Vous devrez aussi faire attention aux programmes offerts. En grandissant, la plupart des enfants préfèrent décider de leurs activités 
quotidiennes et de nombreuses colonies de vacances américaines leur offrent cette possibilité. Cependant, les plus jeunes d’entre eux et surtout ceux qui participent à ces colonies pour la première fois, préfèrent un programme plus structuré où l’on prend à leur place toutes les décisions concernant leurs activités quotidiennes. Pour les enfants indépendants ou aguerris qui savent ce qu’ils veulent, il existe des colonies de vacances qui acceptent les enfants de tous âges et les laissent choisir leurs activités au quotidien.
Three Steps to Joy
For the holidays, we’re featuring an aptly themed guest blog about “joy” written by Cole Kelly, Director of Camp Weequahic:
As school lets out and families spend time together at the end of each year, we spend a lot of time wishing ‘Joy’ to one another.
It is a joyful occasion, is it not? Parents who work hard throughout the year take a few moments to relax and connect with their children. Kids are thrilled to be out of school for a few weeks and look forward to the celebration of their family’s holiday. The tv is full of messages of good tidings and cheerful holiday music plays through most speakers.
All of these joyful tidings made me remember what a mentor once said about true joy. He told me about three major points concerning true joy that I’d like to share with you.
First, if you want to be joyful, surround yourself with joyful people.
That is one of reasons I love camp so much. One of the defining themes of camp staff interviews and training is joy – how much counselors have and how willing they are to express it. The best staff members may not be the most talented singers, hockey teachers, or bunk cleaners. They are, however, always the most joyful.
So, how do you handle those ‘joy suckers’ around you? My friend suggested to be kind to them but just don’t hang out with them. Makes sense to me!
Secondly, true joy comes from devoting your life to something larger than your own personal happiness.
Tony (Camp Weequahic Assistant Director) and I were just talking the other day about our most memorable coaching experiences. Both involved helping a young person achieve a level of athletic competence they didn’t think possible. The look on their faces when they did something they never thought they could do was priceless. There was complete joy in their faces and manner. That was the best reward we could have received!
Camp counselors and campers see this every day. Bunks and cabins that truly come together becomes an ‘us’ rather than a collection of ‘me’s.’ And that is when the magic really starts to happen.
By the way, did you know that those who devote themselves to their own personal happiness never truly find it? It will always remain out of reach.
Finally, he told me that joy will always be in spite of something else. 
I love this point. Camp, as much as we would like to make it so, is never perfect. There will always be a few bugs, a meal that is not as good as mom’s, or an evening activity that is just not your favorite. However, if you are waiting for the conditions to change in your life for joy to arrive, you’ll wait a mighty long time.
Karl Barth said “Joy is a defiant ‘never the less!’ It’s not contingent on circumstances. If it is, we are all in trouble.”
Sure, we can be upset by something. However, this moment of sorrow should be temporary and our primary attitude should be that of gratitude and joy.
So, this holiday season, I wish you the happiness which comes from joyful friends and families, being a part of something larger than yourself, and the recognition that, despite the bumps in life, joy is an attitude you can choose to adopt daily.
Happy holidays, all!
Cole Kelly
Director, Camp Weequahic
*This blog was originally featured on Camp Weequahic’s website on December 23, 2011.
Try Something New at Summer Camp
Weequahic is one of the best sleepaway camps in Pennsylvania, we offer a traditional co-ed summer camp experience, soccer, roller hockey, theater, etc–others are learning how to clear a ramp with their boards in the new skate park that made its debut in the summer of 2011 and instantly became one of the most popular programs at the camp. At Camp Laurel South in Maine, campers are learning the great watersport of Crew on Crescent Lakes. Camp Laurel is bringing campers together as part of a Rock Band while Camp Starlight is introducing them to world of giving back through its new Community Service program.
Everyone knows about the traditional fun stuff that summer camp offers—but more and more, non traditional 
activities are gaining popularity with campers. No doubt, summer camp is a world steeped in tradition, but it’s also a world of innovation, offering children a chance to think outside the box and reach beyond the everyday through their imaginations. At summer camp, children can be rock stars, magicians, skate aficionados, ga-ga pros, robot enthusiasts, rocket makers and aspiring chefs. The setting of summer camp no doubt contributes to the ability of campers to try new activities. After all, part of the “spirit” of summer camp, as reported by the American Camp Association, is “play”. Camp is the perfect place for children to place themselves in new situations without feeling threatened or judged. Thus, they’re relaxed being on a skateboard for the first time or being the drummer in a band. Maybe this is why so many campers have reported first trying an activity that eventually became a passion at summer camp.
The fact that summer camps have the resources to offer new, exciting activities to children that their parents may not otherwise be able to let them experience is also worthy of mentioning. Constructing a skate park, a ga-ga pit, or a recording studio in the backyard can be costly. But at summer camp, such programs provide many children with the benefit of being able to explore new areas. So next July give your children the opportunity to try something new on a Tuesday afternoon.