A Great Weekend To End A Not So Great Week.

Interacting with my mom’s high school students…

Reminds me of why I’m skeptical of teenagers…

Student 1: “Ms! That’s your daughter?!”

Several students: “You have a daughter?” “That’s your kid?!”

Student 2: “You guys! She’s been here like 5 times!”

When people trash talk the Milky Way Unit. My little boys are angelic ducklings and I am their mama duck!

When anyone trashtalks my cabin

Camp Shirts at College

Random Person: Hey I really like your tie dye- where’d you buy it?

Me: *slightly offended* I made it… I work at a summer camp…

Person: “Really? It looks so professionally done!”

Me: “Well, I’ve been going to camps for like 10 years and I’ve been working at them for 4… so yeah…

Were the chacos, running shorts, and camp tee not enough?!

My Camp name is Texas and when kids ask my real name I tell them "Tejas". None of them speak Spanish and they seriously believe it.

on our way to camp out

Camper: Will there be sinks at campout night?

Me: Nope, remember earlier when we hiked up to the campsite? Just a fire pit, no sinks.

Camper: Okay, are we bringing water?

Me: *carrying a jug of water, a jug of juice, s'mores supplies, kindling, water bottle ...* Don't worry, I've got water for you guys.

Camper: Is that the water? *points at purple juice?*

Me: ... is water usually purple?

Camper: Ohhhh is that juice?!

(Camp: teaching critical thinking skills to 6th graders when the school system has failed them)

SLYTHERIN: “Everyone has talent. What’s rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.” -Erica Jong

Waiting for Camp

What Camp Friends think I do:

What Out-of-Camp Friends think I do:

What I think I do:

What I actually do:

Active Listening

Active listening is something I’ve mentioned in posts, usually with the mental health post series, but I think it’s also been in some behavior management posts, but I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to define it. Active listening is an important skill in life and is applicable at camp in navigating camper conflicts, difficult topics, and staff dynamics.

What is Active Listening?

Active listening is a listening skill and communication tool, which may be especially useful when emotions are running high or when something is of particular importance, but can and should be used often.  The combination of positive body language and repetition helps to show you are listening while helping you listen.

Why use active listening?

Active listening has multiple benefits. Two main benefits are that it helps you absorb what your camper or fellow staff member is saying, and it also helps them feel heard. 

How do I do active listening?

Ignoring the terrible phrasing that is, active listening is fairly straightforward. From the CDC, to practice active listening (x):

give your full attention to your [camper]

make eye contact and stop other things you are doing

get down on your [camper]’s level

and reflect or repeat back what [they are] saying and what [they] may be feeling to make sure you understand

Some more guidelines can be found here, and they are more adult communication related.

Reflecting is an important aspect of active listening, and comes in the form of reflecting words and emotions. You could do this by restating the feelings a child said they had, or repeating their words. There’s some examples at the CDC link.

If you’re neurodivergent or your camper is, you may have to make certain adjustments. For example, making eye contact may not be helpful for all people. You can adjust this by leaving the option open, but not forcing it. You can still employ other parts of active listening, such as stopping the other things you are doing.

Writing your resume with camp experience

So a lot of us are (eventually) going to be looking for a real job with only or mostly camp experience. And we all know that camp provides valuable skills, but how do we show that to employers. Well, show them through what you say in your resume. So here are some suggestions of how to phrase your camp experience.

Literally everybody who works at camp:

Managed risk; promoted health and safety of participants

Lead interactive activities on a variety of topics for over (estimation of number) participants ages (whatever ages your camp serves)

Planned curriculum in (relevant topics)

Worked on an interdisciplinary team of (number) staff

Lead activities to facilitate social and leadership skills development

Worked with diverse participants and staff

Worked with CITs? Managed trainees ages (numbers) Been some kind of ad staff? Been a unit leader? Managed/supervised (number) of staff Program director/staff? Implemented specialty activities Did something for staff training? Provided trainings for staff on (relevant topics)

Numbers are eye-catching, and you can use estimates. Check out the web for formatting ideas and use any services your school/university provides to get feedback and strengthen your resume. Don’t lie about your skills, but make them sound relevant to other jobs. For example, if you’re applying for a teaching job, putting that you did behavior management is probs a good idea. Applying for an office job? Probs not relevant. But teamwork is. So go forth and tell the world all the useful skills you learned as a camp counselor.

My reaction when a child uses "I won't be your friend anymore!" as a threat.