This summer, 10 million children are enjoying time at camp — half at one of the more than 2,400 accredited by the American Camp Association.
Self-Determination at Summer Camp
Parents spend a lot of time trying to motivate kids. We use chore charts, checklists, reminders and rewards to get them to feed the dog, clean their rooms and complete schoolwork. But these techniques don’t change behavior long-term. Real motivation must come from within.
5 Ways Summer Camp Helps Your Child Prepare for Adulthood
Kids learn to make decisions at camp. Camp experiences grow confidence and develop good decision making skills — especially when times are tough. He also learns who to accept guidance from, in a world that’s filled with some pretty bad advice on TV, in movies and among some friends.
Should I Be Sending My Children to Camp?
Some six million children in the United States are preparing psychologically to go away to sleepaway camp. Whether these departing children are camp veterans or nervous rookies, they are mentally rehearsing being away from mom and dad, their comfortable beds, their pets, favorite meals and, of course, their beloved iPhones, Facebook and video games.
Adventure and Fun – The Joys of Being a Summer Camp Nurse
Combine Adventure and Fun in Your Nursing Career
Are you a nurse seeking a summer filled with adventure and joy? Working as a summer camp nurse offers a one-of-a-kind experience where you can blend your nursing expertise with the thrill of camp life. From hiking and campfire songs to connecting with young campers, you’ll find immense joy in being a part of the camp community.
A Playground of Adventure
Imagine spending your summer surrounded by nature’s wonders, participating in camp activities, and embracing the spirit of adventure alongside campers. As a camp nurse, you have the opportunity to explore the great outdoors, engage in thrilling adventures, and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Fostering Laughter and Joy
Summer camp is a place of laughter and joy, and as a nurse, you’re at the heart of the fun. From organizing themed health workshops to participating in camp-wide events, you’ll be part of creating an atmosphere of happiness and positivity for campers and staff.
Building Lifelong Friendships
Working as a summer camp nurse means becoming a part of the camp family. The friendships you form with fellow nurses, counselors, and campers are genuine and lasting. Sharing laughter, stories, and adventures will create bonds that continue beyond the summer.
Embracing the Magic of Camp Traditions
Camp traditions and rituals add an enchanting element to the summer experience. As a nurse, you’ll be part of treasured traditions, such as the opening campfire, color wars, and closing ceremonies, creating a sense of belonging and nostalgia that is truly magical.
Rediscovering the Joy in Your Nursing Career
Working at summer camp rekindles the passion and joy that drew you to nursing in the first place. The rewarding interactions with campers, the sense of community, and the fulfillment of making a difference in young lives remind you why you became a nurse in the first place.
Summer camp jobs in America
What is Summer Camp in the USA?
Children between the ages of six and sixteen can learn new skills in a fun, safe environment away from the confines of a school setting at an American summer camp. Adventure sports and a variety of arts are included in the activities, which are held during the summer.
CNN reports that 26 million kids are anticipated to attend summer camps across the USA this year. Additionally, it discovered that 14,000 day camps and residential camps had been established overall, many of which had a strong emphasis on athletic, cultural, or educational advancement. Nearly half provided specialized programs for people with disabilities.
What types of Summer Camps are there?
While there are many different kinds, the following camps frequently accept international students for the summer:
- Day camps
- Private sleep-away camps
- Religious camps
- Not-for-profit camps
- Girl scout and boy scout camps
- Special needs camps
- Sports camps
- Specialty camps, such as dance, horseback riding and cooking
What types of summer camp jobs are available?
The support staff, which includes cooks, maintenance workers, and nurses, is necessary to ensure the safe and smooth operation of a camp. Roles for teachers, college students and international students on their gap year typically fall into three categories:
- Activity instructor / activity specialist – You’ll get to coach the kids and plan group activities if you are skilled and experienced in a particular sport or hobby, like swimming, tennis, or rock climbing.
- Camp counselor / cabin or bunk counselor – Your responsibility will be to make sure that campers enjoy their time at camp by being available, fun and supportive from dawn until dusk.
- Support staff – behind the scenes, support staff are those that help make the time enjoyable and seamless for the kids and year-round staff. Cooks, nurses, maintenance staff and security staff are typical support staff roles.
Why should you work at a summer camp?
Accepting such an immersive experience, where you’ll get to live and work at the camp and be given charge of groups of kidsm, typically ranging in age from six to sixteen, has many advantages. This would be perfect if you wanted to become a teacher!
Whatever your motivations are, working abroad at summer camp will help you meet people from all over the world, grow more independent, and pick up new skills that you can use to boost your CV while maximizing your summer vacation.
Growing Leaders – Cultivating Confidence and Leadership Skills at Summer Camp!
Empowering Young Leaders
Summer camp is more than just fun and games; it’s a breeding ground for future leaders. Through various leadership opportunities, campers learn to take charge, make decisions, and lead by example. These experiences empower children to step outside their comfort zones and embrace leadership roles with confidence.
Cultivating Communication Skills
Effective communication is a vital skill for any leader. At summer camp, children engage in team-building exercises and group activities that demand clear communication to achieve common goals. As campers learn to articulate their ideas and actively listen to others, they become better communicators, setting a solid foundation for leadership success.
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
Leadership often involves making tough decisions and solving complex problems. Through challenges and initiatives at camp, kids learn to think critically and strategically. They develop the ability to analyze situations, weigh pros and cons, and make informed choices, which are invaluable skills both in and out of the camp environment.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
Nurturing Empathy and Compassion
Great leaders possess empathy and compassion for those around them. Summer camp fosters an environment of inclusivity and support, encouraging campers to understand and empathize with others. As they work together, children learn to celebrate differences and embrace the strengths of their peers.
Giving Back to the Community
Campers at summer camp often participate in community service projects, giving them a chance to make a positive impact beyond camp boundaries. Engaging in acts of kindness and service fosters a sense of responsibility and citizenship, nurturing compassionate leaders who are mindful of the needs of others.
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.” – Simon Sinek
Building Lifelong Leadership Skills
The leadership skills developed at summer camp extend far beyond the campfire circle. Children carry these skills with them into their academic endeavors, extracurricular activities, and future careers, becoming confident leaders who can inspire and influence those around them.
Summer Camp Jobs on the East Coast
Working at a summer camp is a great way to get a taste of the spectacular East Coast, USA. Get a job at a camp as an activity leader, counselor, or support staff member while having the greatest summer of your life!
What is Summer Camp on the East Coast?
Children between the ages of six and sixteen can learn new skills in a fun, safe environment away from the confines of a school setting at an east coast summer camp. Adventure sports and a variety of arts are included in the activities, which are held during the summer.
CNN reports that 26 million kids are anticipated to attend summer camps across the USA this year, with the East Coast being one of the top regions for premier summer camps. Additionally, it discovered that 14,000 day camps and residential camps had been established overall, many of which had a strong emphasis on athletic, cultural, or educational advancement.
What types of Summer Camps are on the East Coast?
While there are many different kinds, the following camps frequently accept summer job applicants:
- Day camps
- Private sleep-away camps
- Religious camps
- Not-for-profit camps
- Special needs camps
- Sports camps
- Specialty camps, such as dance, horseback riding and cooking
What types of summer camp jobs are available?
The support staff, which includes cooks, maintenance workers, and nurses, is necessary to ensure the safe and smooth operation of a camp. Roles for teachers, college students and international students on their gap year typically fall into three categories:
- Activity instructor / activity specialist – You’ll get to coach the kids and plan group activities if you are skilled and experienced in a particular sport or hobby, like swimming, tennis, or rock climbing.
- Camp counselor / cabin or bunk counselor – Your responsibility will be to make sure that campers enjoy their time at camp by being available, fun and supportive from dawn until dusk.
- Support staff – behind the scenes, support staff are those that help make the time enjoyable and seamless for the kids and year-round staff. Cooks, nurses, maintenance staff and security staff are typical support staff roles.
Why should you work at a summer camp on the East Coast?
Accepting such an immersive experience, where you’ll get to live and work at the camp and be given charge of groups of kids, typically ranging in age from six to sixteen, has many advantages. This would be perfect if you wanted to become a teacher!
Whatever your motivations are, working at a east coast summer camp will help you meet people from all over the world, grow more independent, and pick up new skills that you can use to boost your resume or impress prestigious Universities while having the summer of your life!
Summer Camp Jobs in Maine
Working at a summer camp is a great way to get a taste of the spectacular Maine wilderness. Get a job at a camp as an activity leader, counselor, or support staff member while having the greatest summer of your life!
What is Summer Camp in Maine?
Children between the ages of six and sixteen can learn new skills in a fun, safe environment away from the confines of a school setting at a Maine summer camp. Adventure sports and a variety of arts are included in the activities, which are held during the summer.
CNN reports that 26 million kids are anticipated to attend summer camps across the USA this year, with Maine being one of the top states for premier summer camps. Additionally, it discovered that 14,000 day camps and residential camps had been established overall, many of which had a strong emphasis on athletic, cultural, or educational advancement.
What types of Summer Camps are in Maine?
While there are many different kinds, the following camps frequently accept summer job applicants:
- Day camps
- Private sleep-away camps
- Religious camps
- Not-for-profit camps
- Special needs camps
- Sports camps
- Specialty camps, such as dance, horseback riding and cooking
What types of summer camp jobs are available?
The support staff, which includes cooks, maintenance workers, and nurses, is necessary to ensure the safe and smooth operation of a camp. Roles for teachers, college students and international students on their gap year typically fall into three categories:
- Activity instructor / activity specialist – You’ll get to coach the kids and plan group activities if you are skilled and experienced in a particular sport or hobby, like swimming, tennis, or rock climbing.
- Camp counselor / cabin or bunk counselor – Your responsibility will be to make sure that campers enjoy their time at camp by being available, fun and supportive from dawn until dusk.
- Support staff – behind the scenes, support staff are those that help make the time enjoyable and seamless for the kids and year-round staff. Cooks, nurses, maintenance staff and security staff are typical support staff roles.
Why should you work at a summer camp in Maine?
Accepting such an immersive experience, where you’ll get to live and work at the camp and be given charge of groups of kids, typically ranging in age from six to sixteen, has many advantages. This would be perfect if you wanted to become a teacher!
Whatever your motivations are, working at a Maine summer camp will help you meet people from all over the world, grow more independent, and pick up new skills that you can use to boost your resume or impress prestigious Universities while having the summer of your life!
Working at Summer Camp Can Be More Than Fun and Skill Development
Original article by Robert P. Warner and Victoria Povilaitis for the American Camp Association blog.
In this blog, we briefly summarize some of our recent findings related to the seasonal camp staff experience and our work as part of ACA’s National Impact Study.
Working at camp can be a blast and a great opportunity to make lifelong friends while learning skills useful to life beyond camp. Although a great deal of camp research has focused on understanding the benefits of attending camp for youth participants, we know less about what this experience is like for the staff who make the programs happen. Do not fear! Research about seasonal summer camp staff experiences does exist (see Warner et al., 2021 for a review) and more is on the way!
What We’re Learning
- Camp can be a complementary setting for young people’s development. In a recent study (Povilaitis et al., 2021), we looked at how the things first-year staff learned at camp compared to what they learned in school and non-camp work. We found that camp employment can be a great setting for young adults to learn relationship skills, leadership, and appreciation for being present in the moment compared to other settings throughout their lives. Our findings suggest that camp employment can be a fertile setting for development that complements learning in school and non-camp work.
- Working at camp is meaningful work. In a recent study (for abstract, see Warner et al., 2020, p. 124, full article in press), we wanted to know if camp staff viewed their work at camp as meaningful work, and if so, what about the work experience made it meaningful. Across two groups of staff (first-year and returning staff), we found that young adults think of camp employment as meaningful and that it was meaningful because they could see the impact they were having on youth, their meaningful relationships with coworkers, and opportunities for personal development. We also found that working at camp was more meaningful than non-camp summer work. Finding meaningful work is important to young adults’ career development and our findings suggest that camp can be a great place for young adults to experience it!
- Camp employment can contribute to young adults’ career development. In a recent study (Warner & Povilaitis, 2021, p. 63), we wanted to know how working at camp shaped young adults’ work values — or what they desired in their future work. Through interviews with 76 participants who had worked at a summer camp for at least one summer, we found that camp employment was influential in shaping young adults’ work values. We found that the unique characteristics of camp employment (i.e., social setting, impactful work, live-where-you-work, variety) helped young adults’ understand their desires for doing work that makes a difference, that has a supportive work environment and offers opportunities for meaningful relationships with coworkers, work-life balance, personal development, and variety. Our findings suggest that camp employment can be a setting that nurtures young adults’ career development.
- First-year staff return to camp because it’s engaging and they feel like they belong. In a recent study (Warner & Sibthorp, 2021, p. 67), we wanted to know what about staff’s experiences working at camp their first summer were related to their return to the same camp for a second summer of work. We found that staff that were highly engaged and felt like they belonged were nearly three times and two times more likely to have returned, respectively. We also found that staff who did not return to camp for a second summer did not return due to pay, different work, and educational opportunities. By looking at staff’s experiences their first summer and their actual return to camp, our findings suggest that creating engaging experiences for first-year staff and helping them feel like they belong can be critical to getting them to come back for a second summer.
What It Means for Camps
It’s clear that there’s a bunch of existing and upcoming research out there about working at camp. This is great, but what does this mean for people who are working directly with camp staff? What can you do to help support staff and make sure they understand the value of their experience? Here are our takeaway points for camp directors:
- Help staff recognize they are learning skills. If you have regular staff meetings, ask staff members to identify what they learned that week and share their responses with others. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification and to prompt staff to think more deeply about their responses. For example, if a staff member comments that they learned how to instruct campers in a new version of GaGa, help them identify the skill they learned in this activity (e.g., public speaking, leadership, creativity). When staff hear what skills their peers are learning, they might be more likely to be able to identify what they personally are learning as well.
- Learning and development at camp applies to life beyond camp. Taking this concept of learning skills one step further, ask staff how their newly learned skills will impact them in life outside of camp. For example, in an exit survey or journal reflection, encourage staff to think about how they will use these skills in other areas of their lives. You can also prompt them to reflect on certain contexts (e.g., college, other work, personal relationships) or certain groups of skills, such as social emotional learning skills (e.g., communication, respect, empathy) or career-related skills (e.g., organization, time management, problem-solving). Similarly, you could help staff think about what parts of the camp job they liked and would want in future jobs and careers. For example, if a staff member enjoyed the variety of work and active aspect of their camp job, a desk job might be difficult for them in the future. Alternatively, if they enjoyed how they were able to see the meaningfulness of their work and the direct impact they had on campers, this staff member might want to seek out jobs where they can see their impact.
- Encourage staff to return. Camp directors recognize that sometimes staff need to move on to different summer experiences like internships or study abroad programs. Other staff might benefit from another summer working at camp. To help encourage staff to return to work at camp, think of ways to increase staff member’s feelings of engagement and sense of belonging. Engagement occurs when staff are immersed in and enjoy the work they are doing. This often occurs with a role change (e.g., arts and crafts counselor becoming a theatre counselor) or added responsibilities (e.g., overseeing other junior staff members). In addition, always think of how you can increase feelings of belonging among staff, whether that be through group bonding events, one-on-one check-ins, or creating a multicultural work environment that recognizes and celebrates the unique backgrounds of staff. Given that the summer camp industry at-large is working to become more inclusive and equitable, culturally responsive and sustaining methods may be a useful way to support staff from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences so they feel recognized and valued. Helping staff feel connected and valued can go a long way in motivating them to return.
The National Staff Impact Study continues through 2021, so stay tuned for more staff-based research to come!
This blog was written on behalf of Project Real Job’s efforts to help camps recruit, hire, and retain staff.
Photo courtesy of Oak Hill School Summer Programs in Eugene, Oregon
References
Povilaitis, V., Sibthorp, J., & Richmond, D. (2021). Camp employment as a developmental setting for emerging adults: A national mixed-methods study. Journal of Outdoor, Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 13(1), 64-81. doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2021-V13-I1-10545
Warner, R. P., Godwin, M., & Hodge, C. J. (2021). Seasonal summer camp staff experiences: A scoping review. Journal of Outdoor, Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 13(1), 40-63. doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-V13-I1-10535
Warner, R. P., Povilaitis, V., & Sibthorp, J. (2020). Emerging adults’ perceptions of summer camp as meaningful work. American Camp Association Research Forum Book of Abstracts 2020, 124-127. ACAcamps.org/sites/default/files/resource_library/2020-Camp-Research-Forum-Book-Abstracts.pdf
Warner, R. P. & Povilaitis, V. (2021). Beyond fun and skill development: How seasonal summer camp work impacts emerging adults’ work values. American Camp Association Research Forum Book of Abstracts 2021, 63-66. ACAcamps.org/sites/default/files/resource_library/2021-Camp-Research-Forum-Book-Abstracts.pdf
Warner, R. P. & Sibthorp, J. (2021). Why first-year summer camp staff return and do not return to work at camp. American Camp Association Research Forum Book of Abstracts 2021, 67-70. ACAcamps.org/sites/default/files/resource_library/2021-Camp-Research-Forum-Book-Abstracts.pdf
Robert P. Warner, University of Utah: Robert is a PhD candidate at the University of Utah. He works as a research assistant on projects related to positive youth development through out-of-school time settings, like summer camp and outdoor adventure education. Through his scholarship he seeks to better understand the role of youth recreation experiences and seasonal employment experiences in broader developmental outcomes, as well as increase equitable developmental opportunities for people from a diversity of backgrounds.
Victoria Povilaitis, American Camp Association: Victoria recently completed her PhD at the University of Utah and now works at ACA as a Research Associate. She is a long-time summer camp program director and staffing director. Through her academic work she aims to bridge research and practice and hopes to develop tools and strategies that camp professionals can use when working with campers and staff to facilitate positive experiences for everyone who engages with camp.