Campsick Camp Staff

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Summer camp staff who thought they were just heading off for a summer job a couple of months ago are surprised to find that transitioning from camp life back to “real” life requires a bit of adjustment.  Two months doesn’t seem very long in the context of real life.  Most people in real life get up in the morning, go to work or school and then come home.  Their environment as well as the people and things in it change several times throughout the day.  At camp, however, staff are surrounded by the same campers, the same co-workers, and the same bunk or cabin mates day and night.  The environment is fixed.  This is what many people love about working at summer camp, and it does have many advantages.

In the real world, two months isn’t a significant amount of time to form friendships or lifelong bonds.But sleepaway camp isn’t the “real” world.  It’s very easy to make friends when one spends so many hours of each day surrounded by the same people.  The absence of technology encourages interpersonal communication, which means one gets to know a lot about others in a very short amount of time—more than you ever thought.  Most camp staff also never thought they’d get so attached to their campers in such a short period of time.  But they did.  They cried when they said goodbye to their campers and again when they said goodbye to their co-counselors, now friends.

But now that camp is over and it’s time to live in the real world again for the next ten months, staff members are just starting to realize how much camp fever they caught over the summer.  They find themselves wandering aimlessly  listening for PA announcements or bugle calls to signify what time of the day it is, where to go, what to do, and when to eat.  They walk into a supermarket and wonder what they should buy because their meals have been planned for them all summer, and peruse the aisles amongst surroundings that feel slightly surreal.  Then the reality that they’re not at camp anymore finally hits them.  They’re campsick.

Camp sickness is a common post camp feeling for campers, but many people don’t realize that staffmembers get campsick too.  They get teary eyed when they’re driving along in their cars and a song that was popular at camp during the summer plays on the radio.  They follow the camp Facebook page and remember the fun all over again.  They even wear their staff shirts on occasion.  But maybe the most valuable thing that lives on after camp are the friendships that are formed there.  Even for those staff members who can’t return to camp summer after summer, it’s a great feeling knowing that two months in the camp world was enough to form solid friendships with people from all over the globe.  The camp world is small, but the “real” world feels much smaller too after one has worked at summer camp.

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Home (Parentheses)

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Parents: By now your pantries are empty, your laundry rooms are full, and your television remote controls are affixed to your children’s hands.  The campers are home, and they’re riding a camp high.  They have a lot to tell you.  Get ready to hear a lot of stories about camp (over and over), be let in on a lot of inside jokes that you probably won’t understand because “it’s a camp thing” (laugh anyway), learn everything you could ever want to know and more about new friends (excellent excuse to look at camp photos again with your children), and listen to camp songs and cheers (they’ll likely want to teach them to you too).  Sometime around mid-September, you’ll probably start wagering with your spouse about whether your children will stop talking about this summer before next summer starts (not likely).

You’ll try to start conversations about things other than camp (you’re pretty sure you’ve seen an episode or two of Pretty Little Liars),but inevitably the conversation will come back to camp. (Remember the episode when Spencer realized that she’d been to summer camp with Hannah’s stepsister?  And speaking of camp…) But just when you’re starting to feel camped out, something will happen this fall that will make you remember why you love hearing about camp.  Registration for next summer will open.   You’ll remember that this is the point every year when still hearing about this summer even though it’s time to start thinking about next summer transforms into music to your ears, and the lyrics are your children’s way of telling you that they love camp (even though by that time they’ve said they love camp about a million times).  You’ll think about everything they’ve shared with you about camp, try (and fail) to count how many times they’ve used the word “camp” since they’ve returned home, and maybe even admire some of their arts & craft handiwork as you pat yourself on the back for deciding to give your children the gift of summer camp (then you’ll check the camp website for the Visiting Day 2014 date).

End of Summer

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It’s hard to believe another summer has nearly come and gone, but here we are. In just a few weeks, the camp season of 2013 will be a memory and school buses will once again be a regular sight around many neighborhoods. There is always a feeling around camp at the end of the summer that someone pushed a fast-forward button. Right about now, campers and staff begin reflecting on where the time has gone. But something happens in that reflection; they remember EVERYTHING they did over the summer.

Moments at camp happen so fast. The days are packed full of adventure. When campers and staff begin to inventory their summer memories, they’re often in awe of the amount of things they achieved in such a short period of time. In retrospect, the summer seems endless. There were the big adventures; trips, all camp events, campfires, shows, performances, leagues, College Days, Spirit Days, Tribals, and Olympics. There were the daily activities; swimming, playing sports, arts and crafts, theater, circus, eco science, nature, fishing, etc. Those are the activities that seem to make the summer go on forever. Then there were the moments and events that stick out as really special; being with friends, creating that special craft project, riding a zipline for the first time, hitting a bullseye in archery, making a foul shot in basketball, getting up on waterskis. Those are the memories that freeze time. They’re the ones that make the summer of 2013, “Summer 2013” in hearts and memories. Those are the moments behind teary goodbyes, repeated camp stories, and the countdown for next year. Memories are a great dessert after a filling summer, and like every great dessert, everyone wants more.

Elasticity

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Elasticity is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the quality of being adaptable.”  By definition, elasticity is not merely a description of successful campers and staff, but a description of summer camp itself.  Summer camps have existed for over a century.  And although they’re generally considered an American “tradition,” with well over 12,000 summer camps across the United States alone, and a collective enrollment in the tens of millions, summer camp is anything but a thing of the past.  It’s a strong “tradition” that’s continues to attract families from all over the world.

One might be tempted to ask what quality of summer camp enables it to continue to thrive.  Undoubtedly, that quality its elasticity.  While summer camps are rooted in tradition, they’re also in tune with the needs of contemporary children.  Summer camp was originally a place where parents sent their children to escape from the health hazards posed by the increasing industrialization of cities.  Now, it’s a place where children are sent to escape the automation of society.  Camp is no longer merely a place to reconnect with nature but with each other as well.  Summer camps have expanded their activities to reflect this evolution.  In addition to sports, camps offer activities such as outdoor adventure, which include rope and obstacle courses designed for team building.

Summer camps have also tapped into the rising de-emphasis of the arts in public schools and embraced programs that encourage campers to explore their creative side.  In addition to traditional arts & crafts, many camps now provide campers with options in cooking, music, magic, and even circus art. The generous availability of these programs attracts families who want their children to have the opportunity to explore their artistic sides.

The elasticity of camp also extends to its ability to adapt to aspects of children’s lives that may prevent them from otherwise attending summer camp, such as diet and schedule.  In the past, summer camp schedules and menus were fixed.  Camps are now offering options such as abbreviated sessions for those campers who are unable to invest their entire summers.  International families find this feature particularly attractive, since students in many nations do not have the luxury of a long summer break. Summer camps have also become more sensitive to extreme dietary needs, such as gluten allergies, allowing parents of children with food allergies to send their children to camp without constantly fretting about their nutrition and well-being.

In demonstrating a clear understanding of how campers benefit from attending camp, summer camps have been able to adapt by translating the voids created by advancements in society into meaningful and timeless activities.

Letters Home

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Have you ever wondered about communication at summer camp?  This week’s guest blog is from Camp Weequahic concerning letters home.

Before texting and skype, before emails and faxes, there was a tried and true method of communication called ‘letter writing.’ Putting pencil to paper was one of the most effective ways to communicate for a long time. All that is needed is a piece of paper, an envelop, a stamp and a little bit of effort – no electricity required!

At Camp Weequahic, we certainly enjoy the benefits of technology. Our parents see up to 300 pictures a day. We base our fun and rather intricate daily program on an online data system. We keep in touch with our trips with cell phones and walkie talkies. However, when it comes to our campers connecting with parents at home, we are big time traditionalists.

Campers are required to bring a letter to dinner two nights a week. Their letter is their ticket intothe meal and, yes, we do make sure there is something written in the envelope! Of course, the campers can write as much as they’d like.

While it certainly takes longer to arrive home, these letters become treasured pieces of family lore. We have many times witnessed Mom and Dad bringing out their old camp letters to read when meeting our director, Cole. These letters bring out several laughs and helps prepare the next generation.

We at Weequahic are happy to hold on to a great deal of camp tradition. Regardless of where technology is taking us, we writing letters is as important as Color War to the tradition of camp. Happy writing!

This blog was originally posted to the Camp Weequahic blog on July 23, 2013.

A Whole New World

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At one of America’s Finest Summer Camps, a first year camper, upon stepping off the bus on arrival day for the first time, immediately exclaimed, “I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life!” The awe of that young camper at that moment was very reminiscent of the scene in The Little Mermaid in which the young mermaid Ariel finds herself on land for the first time and, with her new legs, begins experiencing a whole new world.  She is mesmerized by the smallest human things—flatware, trinkets, and mirrors.  For young campers who finally get to come to camp for the first time after sometimes waiting their “whole lives,” there is a sense of wonder in being in a new place with different people and things.  They are surrounded by literally dozens of activities that perhaps they’ve never tried and, sometimes, of which they’ve never even heard.  Like Ariel the mermaid, they sometimes hear about the world of camp from older siblings for years before finally getting to experience themselves.  With that newness and the adventure of being in a place one has dreamed for a very long time comes a sense of openness and a willingness to try new things.  New campers often want to try EVERYTHING!

And why not?  What better way to discover which things one loves than at summer camp, an environment in which many new campers are awayfromtheir parents for the first time?  There is no sideline pressure from over-zealous parents and coaches at camp sports.  There are no teachers to mark right from wrong.  Instead, new campers are surrounded by supportive counselors, staff, and friends, many of whom are also first time campers and that natural empathy creates an atmosphere conducive to bonding and the formation of lasting friendships.

As campers maneuver the new world of camp, they share like experiences.  Whether big, like taking on a high ropes course for the first time as a cabin or bunk, or small, like learning how to bait a fishing hook, learning what camp is all about becomes the foundation for the transformation of the new world of first time campers into the special world of camp. Because the menu of camp activities constantly expands and evolves, there is a perpetual newness to the summer camp experience.

Big Things in Small Moments

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This week’s guest contribution comes from the Camp Starlight blog:

One of the best parts of camp is observing moments when campers could teach grown-ups a thing or two. One of them is the way in which campers are able to capture a moment. There are lots of big events at camp.  We write about those all of the time.  Arrival Day, the divisional shows, SWF, trips, the Olympic Break, and the list goes on.  But sometimes the best moments to be part of at camp aren’t those that involve the entire camp.  They’re those special blips in time when one happens to be near a Senior camper who just got a callback for a show as a after spending her entire camping career wishing for a callback, a camper who just scored their first goal in a soccer game, or a few campers who just returned from a surprise hike to Oz.  As small–and potentially insignificant–as those moments may seem, seeing the grins on campers’ faces and how animated they are as they share, it’s easy to see how these small moments are sometimes the ones that make a summer for some campers.  These moments may not be big for the entire camp, but they’re just as big as any “big” camp event for the campers who experience them.  These are also the moments for which campers and staff alike come to camp because they’re moments that only happen here.  And that’s befitting, of course.  Summer Camp is about discovery, and it’s in these small moments that even seasoned campers discover there is ALWAYS an element of surprise in camp.

Healthy Competition

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“Healthy Competition” is a term that is often used at summer camp.  While they also offer a wide selection of niche and hobby type activities, traditional summer camps focus heavily on sports.  The emphasis, however, is more about encouraging campers to be active and improve their skills.  This is not to say that campers do not participate in sports matches.  In fact, many camps not only facilitate game play through intra camp leagues, but inter camp leagues as well.  Thus, “healthy competition”, as it is used at camp, is an expression to describe contests with positive encouragement, regardless of the outcome, and not merely a synonym for “no competition.”

Po Bronson, co-author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing believes that the camaraderie that results fromh healthy team competition encourages children to learn at a faster pace and alleviates the stress of learning a new skill or attempting to improve existing abilities on one’s own.  Another aspect of camp competition that makes it healthy competition is that it’s limited in scope and time.  It takes place only as long as camp lasts and does not extend beyond the camp environment.  This, according to Bronson, is a key element of “healthy competition, “In finite games, you compete and then you let it go, and you have rest and recuperation – that’s actually really important for kids,” said Bronson. “It’s the continuous sense of pressure that is unhealthy for them.”

The stress of not making a team or of underperforming is not a pervading force in camp athletics.  Says Bronson, “What kids do need to learn is losing is not that big a deal. They need to learn to lose and go ‘Oh, whatever,’ and move on and keep playing…You want to get them to turn up the work ethic in order to win.”  At camp, losing is not a big deal, because every summer is a new summer–new tryouts, new teams, and new possibilities.  The constant rearrangement of groups also helps campers shrug off losses.  Another day brings another activity and a new group with which to compete.  A loss in one activity does not translate to a closely monitored record that eventually defines a team and, sometimes, individuals.  The teams are constantly changing and so are the competitions.

The break between summers also makes growth measurable for campers.  When children constantly train and participate in a sport, it’s more difficult for them to see themselves improving, even when they are.  The ten month gap from one summer to the next provides campers with the time and distance necessary for improvements to be noticeable.  The distinct parameters of camp that restrict it to a single season—summer—also remove the constant pressure of advancing skills as quickly as possible so as to always be able to perform at peak level.  Every summer is a new summer–new tryouts, new teams, and new possibilities.  As a result, campers tend to maintain a healthy attitude about camp sports, which makes them naturally receptive to the idea of genuinely healthy competition.  At camp, it’s not so much about winning and losing as setting goals and measuring one’s progress from summer to summer.

“What kids need more than anything is not to win or lose but a close race, a fair competition where everyone feels like they’ve got a fighting chance,” says Bronson.  “Where everyone feels like they have a fighting chance” is exactly what summer camp is, and why it’s an environment naturally conducive to healthy competition.

Spirit Days and Tribals: Spirited Traditions

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The guest blog this week comes from not one but two AFSC camps–Camp Laurel South and Camp Weequahic.  Both camps describe two timeless traditions unique to them: Spirit Days at Camp Laurel and Tribals at Camp Weequahic.

Spirit Days 2013

Tuesday started like any other day at camp. Morning activities were going great. All over camp, the sounds of Laurel South spirit filled the air. Just before lunch, Roger called for a camp meeting. As he made his way through announcement, a roar erupted from the lake. The CIT’s, dressed in Blue and Green, announced the arrival of another amazing Spirit Day!!!

For the next day and a half, the Blue Knights and Green Vikings will battle it out in the friendliest of competitions. We’ll play hard, but never lose hold of the fact that even during Spirit Days, we are one big Laurel South family.
Once Spirit Days conclude, we have so much to look forward to: the 4th of July, the action on beautiful Crescent Lake, intercamp games and tournaments, The Lion King & Hairspray. We can’t wait to keep the action going in Casco!

Tribals 2013

“Who are we? Co-Man-Che!”

The sound of the drums echoed through the camp as the 2013 Tribal Wars commenced. With great anticipation, the campers silently paraded from the activities center to the lakefront, led by one of their CW Chief, Kate! Met by Chief Cole at the lakefront, our two Big Chiefs welcomed the three new tribes, Sioux, Comanche and Seminole, who joined last summer’s victor and current holder of the deed, Choctaw.

The CIT team leaders’ opening speeches set the tone for yet another exhilarating three days of friendly competition, contagious spirit and good fun! The bonfire was lit, teams were announced and the excitement began.

The first day was filled with various games, from traditional sports, such as tennis, soccer and flag football to whacky games such as Steal the chicken, Quidditch and more. Later in the day, kids used technical skills in Woodshop and Top Chef to create team signs and decorate cupcakes.

Regardless of the activity, cheers were in abundance as teams supported one another and encouraged sportsmanship. In many instances, two teams join forces in competition, which is a fantastic way to break down any potential barriers among the four tribes. Downtime for the campers is spent learning cheers and songs, all in preparation for the culminating spirit night.

The CIT’s are demonstrating their leadership by collaborating with their peers and counselor leaders to organize the minute details of Tribals- all in the interest of uniting their respective teams to create CW memories that will last a lifetime.

The Anatomy of a Summer Camp

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Summer camp is often thought of as a whole, a single place where campers convene for several weeks each summer.  Few think of summer camp in the context of its smaller parts.  Yet, for campers, the special memories that make up “summer camp” in their minds are not merely the product of a whole, but a collection of memories related to its various parts.  The overall experience of summer camp not only comprises a special place in the heart of campers, but the memories connected to favorite spots on campus.  What are these parts, and why would do campers find them so dear?  They’re places that, without, summer camp just wouldn’t be summer camp.

Cabins/Bunks: Some camps call them cabins.  Other camps call them bunks.  What they have in common is that they are private spaces that a handful of campers at each camp have in common.  They live in their bunks, sleep in their bunks, and attend activities with their bunks.  Every bunk has its own playlist, inside jokes, special nicknames for each other, and unique games that it enjoys.

Dining Hall/Dining Room: At home, the dining room is just a place for campers to eat. But at camp, it’s such an important place that it’s spelled with capital letters.  The camp dining facility is not only a place where the camp convenes for meals, but a place full of song and cheer.

Lake: The lake is the hub of a summer camp waterfront.  It’s the place where campers go to swim, boat,waterski, tube, and socialize.  It’s so special that, at most camps, every camper goes there at least once a day. Lots of friendships are formed andmemories are made on the docks and beaches of the camp lake.

Flagpole/Campfire: Every camp has a special place where the entire camp convenes in the morning and/or evening to officially kick off or end the day.  This is where sports and competition wins are celebrated and special occasions are marked, and each camp does something just a little bit different to inflict personality into its assembly location to make it a memorable place for campers.

Fieldhouse/Rec Hall/Playhouse: This is another facility that goes by a different name from camp to camp, but is home to memories of camp shows, sing-alongs, athletic events, evening activities, and just about a million other activities.  For all intents and purposes, it’s a campus all-purpose building, the place where the entire camp gathers to celebrate activities that are as indispensable to the camp experience as to the camp itself.

Of course, as merely buildings, these locations make up just a fraction of summer camp campuses.  But they’re so full of literally decades of memories that the spirit of the camp emanates from them, and every camper has a nearly endless list of memories that involve them.  Not just summer camp, but the anatomy of it is essential to the summer camp in the making of camp memories.