“HEY! MY NAME IS STORMY, I’M FROM DETROIT, MICHIGAN AND I’LL BE YOUR PROGRAM DIRECTOR THIS SUMMER!”
And thus was my introduction to campers for summer 2011. My name is Stormy, and for better or worse I will be your author here at On the Loose. I am, or at least I try to be, a “camp professional.” In reality, I’m more of a professional camper.
Previous to working for the Girl Scouts at various camps I worked for a co-ed teen leadership camp sponsored by M.A.D.D. For the Girl Scouts I have worked for three different camps in three different councils, and volunteered at a few others. This summer I’m hoping to make it four and four, but we’ll see what happens.
My first summer with the Girl Scouts actually paying me to camp and not the other way around, I was the CIT leader and leadership director. The camp was very small, my CIT’s were few, You could count the unit staff on your hands, and it turned out to be the last summer the camp would host resident camps. It was, nonetheless, an amazing experience.
The next two years I spent my summers at camp as a Nature Specialist and camp photographer, as well as an all-around fill in for the ad-staff. I absolutely love my experiences there. I attended my first ACA conference, was certified in Project Learning Tree, and grew as a staff member exponentially. I absolutely adore teaching ecology and nature and other sciences at camp with experiments, studies, and games. Night hikes are my favourite camp activity to lead to this day.
This last summer I moved south and worked in an unbearably hot climate, and yet still never got a proper tan. What gives? I was a Program Director, which was my first “official” job involving the supervision of other staff members. I also was the creative force behind campfires and all-camp activities. I became a logistical mastermind at a GS camp that usually hosted around 200 campers and around 50 staff members. Ever try to plan a game to be played fairly on 400 acres of land while evenly dividing 200 girls and 40ish staff, planning around staff breaks, time constraints, and when the Brownies have to go to bed or they will be cranky? I have. It was both thrilling and aggravating. (Ever plan that game and then get thunderstormed out, thus ruining an afternoon of work? Yeah.)
Previous to working for the Girl Scouts at various camps I worked for a co-ed teen leadership camp sponsored by M.A.D.D. For the Girl Scouts I have worked for three different camps in three different councils, and volunteered at a few others. This summer I’m hoping to make it four and four, but we’ll see what happens.
My first summer with the Girl Scouts actually paying me to camp and not the other way around, I was the CIT leader and leadership director. The camp was very small, my CIT’s were few, You could count the unit staff on your hands, and it turned out to be the last summer the camp would host resident camps. It was, nonetheless, an amazing experience.
The next two years I spent my summers at camp as a Nature Specialist and camp photographer, as well as an all-around fill in for the ad-staff. I absolutely love my experiences there. I attended my first ACA conference, was certified in Project Learning Tree, and grew as a staff member exponentially. I absolutely adore teaching ecology and nature and other sciences at camp with experiments, studies, and games. Night hikes are my favourite camp activity to lead to this day.
This last summer I moved south and worked in an unbearably hot climate, and yet still never got a proper tan. What gives? I was a Program Director, which was my first “official” job involving the supervision of other staff members. I also was the creative force behind campfires and all-camp activities. I became a logistical mastermind at a GS camp that usually hosted around 200 campers and around 50 staff members. Ever try to plan a game to be played fairly on 400 acres of land while evenly dividing 200 girls and 40ish staff, planning around staff breaks, time constraints, and when the Brownies have to go to bed or they will be cranky? I have. It was both thrilling and aggravating. (Ever plan that game and then get thunderstormed out, thus ruining an afternoon of work? Yeah.)
My goals for this blog are to share programming ideas, games, and staff information. I hope it will not only b a blog for others to enjoy, but also be a small bit of my own personal summer staff handbook. I want to discuss issues that affect the camping community, the business side of camps, and also share ideas for ways to keep camp fun and thrilling for campers in a “technology age.”
No comments:
Post a Comment