Thunderbird Headcannons

What is your favorite thing to do with campers to pass time?

What to bring to camp: clothing/ bedding

* Please note: this is based off my own experience at my camp, which is in the midwest so we have pretty hot days, rain, and occasionally some cooler nights. Campers arrive on Sundays and stay until Friday afternoons when they go home, and we sleep in cabins with beds throughout the week. Counselors get Friday nights, all of Saturdays, and a few hours on Sunday mornings off before a new group of campers arrive. Counselors also get a two hour break on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Counselors also have access to free laundry facilities on camp, or if you are local you can go home to do laundry if you want to. You may need to altar this list depending on your camp’s schedule*

** Also note that my camp has rules about how we bring out clothes to camp. Everybody, campers and counselors included has to bring all clothes and bedding in mesh laundry bags so they can be heated to kill any potential bed bugs. After the heating process, counselors are free to keep their belongings in suitcases, or plastic drawers if they choose (I like plastic drawers). They also have rules against open toed shoes, where you can only wear them if you are going to or from the river or pool area, or are at the river or pool area, so that is why I don’t have things like Tevas on the list.**

> 7 t shirts (my camp provides uniform t shirts after staff training, so if yours does and you are local 4 of these can go home after you get your uniform shirts)

> 7 athletic shorts

> 1 pair of cargo/ khaki shorts (my camp requires them for drop off/ pickup days)

> 2 weeks worth of socks

> 2 weeks worth of underwear

> 1 week of sports bras (if applicable)

> 3 pairs of leggings/ jeans

> 2-3 jackets/ hoodies (I include a rain jacket as one of these)

> 2-3 nights worth of sleepwear

> 2-3 swimsuits

> 3-4 towels

> 2 pairs of running shoes

> 1 pair of easy dry water shoes/ flip-flops

(the next part of the list is optional, but I recommend them)

> 1-2 colored shirts for team games (if you have consistent teams and, you already know your team color)

> 1-2 white pieces to tie-die (depending on how often your camp does it, mine is not very often)

> 1 pair of rain boots

> 1 pair of random shoes (i.e. converse, vans, toms, or something of the sort)

> 2-3 shirts for time off (you can use the 3 remaining shirts from the first line of the list, or you can opt for slightly nicer shirts, but nothing fancy)

> 2-3 shorts for time off (again you can use athletic shorts if you want, but I like to have some jean shorts for fun)

> baseball cap(s)

> 2-4 simple dress up items (i.e. cape, flower crown, funny hat, tutu, etc)

(I am also including bedding materials because I feel like this is where they will best fit)

> 1 pillow

> 1 pillow case

> 1 sleeping bag

> 1-2 blankets (or 1 comforter)

> 1 set of sheets (optional but recommended)

Please let me know if you feel I forgot anything that you would consider important

Some Ilvermorny headcanons

First and foremost, every day is cranberry pie day

While students do have robes, the clothes they wear underneath the robes are not uniforms. There is an eclectic mix of tastes, from the very serious horned serpent who wears button-downs and ties every day, to the wampus who has enchanted their graphic t-shirt to move, to the thunderbirds and pukwudgies who mutually exist solely for sweater weather.

Every year on James Steward’s birthday, there is a school-sponsored cranberry pie bake-off. Pukwudgie house nearly always wins. Once, thunderbird won and good lord you would think it was the civil war all over again

There are a lot of local professors, of course, so you get some really thick Boston accents, but there are also professors with southern belle accents who serve iced tea in class, professors with Canadian accents, professors with midwest accents, several Native American professors with smooth, lulling accents, and some Mexican professors who slip into Spanish when they get super excited about their subject. There was a visiting professor from Ireland once, and 96% of female students (and some male students) had major crushes on him.

Wampus house is where you go to get body-crushing, soul-lifting hugs

Horned serpents may be scholars, but they are also some of the keenest observers. They watch the whole school from afar and quietly play matchmaker to all of their friends. No one suspects them because - what, horned serpent? No. They don’t know about emotions. Meanwhile, the house president makes a killing on the bet she made to predict the homecoming king/queen. 

Thanksgiving at Ilvermorny is a spectacle that has to be seen to be believed. It’s almost bigger than Christmas. The thanksgiving feasts at Ilvermorny put Hogwarts to shame. Turkey, ham, real cranberry sauce, pies - oh my god so many pies. They’ve got cider, and tea, and cocoa like you wouldn’t believe. There are New English dishes and Southern dishes and Native dishes and Mexican dishes and Canadian dishes and West Coast dishes - essentially it’s a gigantic continental potluck, and it goes on all day long. Also, their pumpkin juice tastes 1000 times better.

While things like dueling and fighting with wands may be frowned upon at Hogwarts, at Ilvermorny it’s kind of just assumed that stuff happens, and the profs are very chill about it. “Just don’t kill each other okay” “just take it outside” “no casting destruction spells indoors” “bring some band-aids with you” “if you break your nose don’t bleed on your homework”

Pukwudgies are a pretty agreeable house over all, if not a bit salty and surly around the edges, they’ll still help you with your homework and bring you soup when you’ve got a cold. But all bets are off when they step onto the lacrosse field. Maybe its a pride thing, but pukwudgies are frikkin animals when playing lacrosse.

Wampus beats pukwudgie at lacrosse fairly often. They don’t actually practice that much, they just kind of win.

This fact has fueled a sports rivalry - friendly in wampus’ eyes, bloodthirsty in pukwudgie’s eyes. 

At wampus/pukwudgie games, horned serpents sell special blends of popcorn. Thunderbirds purchase, hoard, and eat 89% of this popcorn.

Horned serpents and pukwudgies often, though not always, end up having an unspoken rivalry in potions class.

Contrary to popular belief, wampus is not full of athletic jocks. However, they are the most body-positive of all of the schools, and, somewhat ironically to the stereotype, will never judge anyone for their athletic ability. They want everyone to be able to enjoy athleticism and bravery and adventure in the ways they are most able and gifted.

That being said, they do have the kind of student body who, if called upon, could become a minute militia.

When there is a freak hurricane or tornado headed headed for the school, it will be a wampus student who is patrolling the halls and telling students where to go for safety. If there is a bully in school, you had better bet your bottom dollar that s/he will be beaten to a pulp by the next day, and it will be a wampus student sporting mysteriously bloody knuckles.

Pukwudgies are the ones who patch up the bully; they might accidentally wind the bandages a little too tight.

Thunderbirds love a good game of hide-and-seek. They have a tradition of, every halloween, playing hide-and-seek in the dark in the woods.

Horned serpents are the students least often caught for sneaking in contraband into school. Caught being the key word. Most students learn at some point in their education that if you want a nice stiff drink, you go to horned serpent. During secret designated holidays, horned serpent common room turns into a speakeasy. 

Unexpectedly, it is pukwudgies who carry the most weapons and dangerous materials on their person at any given time. If a group of Ilvermorny students were going through a security check, it would be the pukwudgies held at the line while they emptied their pockets (bigger on the inside, of course) of various poisons and weapons. When asked, they would just shrug and say “just in case”.

The town around Ilvermorny is home to several franchised chain restaurants that, although they are no-maj brands, have been taken over by Ilvermorny alumni and thus serve predominantly wizarding patrons. Cups levitate to customers in the Starbucks, there are magic-only options on the menu; the chik-fil-a floor sweeps itself; at dominos the pizzas assemble themselves while the one clerk waits, bored, at the register. There are in-house cues for magic patrons whenever a no-maj walks in. The clerk rings a bell or taps loudly on the counter, or yells out an order than is actually a code word for stop doing magic stuff. It’s like red light green light.

There are some old service tunnels beneath the school left over from WWII and the Cold War. They’re like a labyrinth, and Thunderbird has a monopoly on the maps to the tunnels. Some of the more obscure tunnels have large rooms that are perfect for parties and impromptu speakeasies (lookin at you, horned serpent). Thunderbirds will rent out these rooms to fellow students at a fair and competitive rate.

Unlike hogwarts, Ilvermorny students are more apt to use modern technology. Electrics can be weird around witches and wizards, but they still enjoy a lot of no-maj programming. They use computers instead of quills (but still have to print off their essays, ugh,) and listen to music, and watch TV.

Star Trek has long been a school cult favorite. Pukwudgies have adopted Bones as their pop culture mascot; Kirk is Thunderbird’s, Spock, horned serpent. Wampus vacillates on which of these three they like most, though it must be said, when they start watching Next Gen, many wampus students find themselves enamored with Worf,

There has only been one no-maj to ever make it past the magic shields of Ilvermorny unaided. This instance was in 1985. His name was Chad, who at the time was 1) stoned out of his mind and 2) delivering chinese takeout to a horned serpent pulling an all-nighter. School admin found out later, and there was hell to pay. They never did track down Chad to wipe his memory.

Pukwudgie house does have more than its fair share of healers, so they are definitely the ones to go to for cold remedies, home made soup, the best cures for menstrual cramps, and really good back rubs.

However, they are also the ones to go to for less medical remedies: the best hot cocoa, the most gourmet teas, and home made food.

Each house has a class president who is elected for a two-year term (unless they’re a final year student, in which case they will serve one before being taken over by their VP). They have some influence within their houses, but never as much as they’d like. For instance, the thunderbird president once attempted to institute mid-day dancing parties, but school admin said no.

Pukwudgies are usually not super athletic, but are often very good at things like darts, archery, and waterbaloon fights.

Wampus takes ultimate frisbee very, very seriously.

Thunderbird hosts an ongoing scavenger hunt throughout the semester.

The women of horned serpent blow off steam and the stuffy acadmic pressures of their house by making pillow forts and watching rom coms with each other.

Back in the eighties some wizard created a magic version of D&D, and it has become a weekend favorite of many students across all of the houses.

After graduation, instead of having a class ring, it has become tradition for Ilvermorny students to make a pendant out of their golden cloak buttons.

Ilvermorny may be separated by inter-house squabbles much like at Hogwarts, but at the end of the day, they all leave school wearing the same blue and cranberry robes, sporting the same skill with a wand, raised to the same scrappy, witty, mod-podge tenacity that American witches and wizards embody so well.

Packing List 2.0, Part 2

Previously we covered what clothes to bring to camp. Here is a suggestion of what else to bring:

A rubbermaid tub - to keep all of this and your clothes in

A sturdy medium to large backpack. Not a sinch-sack (the square ones with string straps), they will wear into your shoulders towards the end of a long day and they don’t hold much.

2 or more water bottles, 20 ounces or bigger. I actually suggest 1 liter bottles like Nalgenes, especially if you do a lot of sports activities or go on longer hikes. I generally have 3 water bottles at camp.

A bandanna/headbands/hair ties

Personal hygiene items - toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush/comb, shampoo, conditioner, lotion (trust me on the lotion) 

Clipboard - I personally like my opening clipboard, which has been thoroughly decorated.

Mess kit - I use one of those clamshell-esque plain aluminum

Hat - wear what you like. Most staff wear baseball caps. I wear a bucket hat covered in SWAPS.

Headlamp and flashlight

2 towels - one for showers, one for waterfront

Bed kit - sleeping bag, sheet to go under it (twin fitted sheets are like $5-8 at Walmart), blanket, pillow. Trust me, bring a real pillow. 

Sunglasses, with UV protection

Laundry bag

Multitool - like a larger scale Swiss army knife

Kleenex pocket packs

Journal

Sharpies

A watch and battery-operated alarm clock

As with the clothes, you don’t need to get the fancy, top of the line stuff from REI. Walmart has pretty much everything on this list. Kroger and Target are also great options. 

The only thing you may want to step up on is the backpack. I used to have an old Jansport, which was fine, but then I got a sweet Osprey in 2017 with a Camelback and I LOVE it. It is my favorite backpack and I use it in my personal life as well. Many camp staff are also outdoorsy and therefore already have a good hiking backpack. But a lot of people just use their old school backpack, like the no frills kind canvas not the laptop kind. Which can usually be found at Walmart/Target. Also thrift stores.

Post about theme day accessories to follow.

The different things I did as a counselor that are the reason my alignment includes “chaotic”:

Accidentally made a 3-4 foot flour dust fire ball in our lodge using a fire starter in a metal cookout pot.

Instead of telling kids not to bully the girl who believed in fairies, I hid a fairy house in the woods and told them fairies were real.

Got the herpetology (reptile) club to come to camp and “paid” her with a walking taco and a s’more.

Brought a friend’s bearded dragon to camp for the critter care rotation and then kept it warm by keeping it on my shoulder while doing paperwork.

Dressed up in an owl costume, including mask, to run camper check in on the (public) road. Also made owl noises and motions while doing said check-in day.

When a child couldn’t sleep, I sang her the lullabies I knew. They were from a play I did about the holocaust. 

And this is just in my two years as a day camp counselor. I had four more years after this.

CBM Essentials

Our list of popular items that aren’t on the main packing list!

Chaco’s- this is by far the most important item on the list. Chaco’s are worn all day, every day by almost everyone aside from that one weird staff member with a pair of Teva’s. Why? They’re the most comfortable and versatile shoes out there. Just make sure that you give yourself a few weeks before camp to break them in to avoid blisters.

Flannels- Flannels are also very important to bring because of their many uses. They’re perfect for when it gets cold at night and in the morning, and for a wide variety of dress up days. The possibilities are endless.

Knee socks- Perfect to wear with your Chaco’s in the morning and make any dress up day outfit stand out in a crowd. Make sure that you have them in different colors for color war!

Nike Shorts- Jean shorts and fancy clothes are not necessary at camp besides services. You’ll need double what you think you need when it comes to nike shorts. You go through them super quickly since the dirtiness of camp doesn’t make re-wearing clothes too easy.

A decked out Nalgene- One of the marks of a super cool camper or staff member is a Nalgene covered in stickers. It just is. The more, the most different the better.

Long Sleeve Shirts- Perfect for nighttime activities and mornings. Always worn with nike shorts, never anything else. Theres nothing comfier than an old long sleeve shirt to keep you stylish and cozy.

Bandanas- Bring bandanas and bring lots of different colors. Having a variety of colors and patterns makes everything easier when it comes to color war and dress up days.

Patriotic attire- In the world of summer sleep away camp, patriotic and red white and blue is certainly not just for the fourth of July. An ENO- This is the second most important item on the list. No explanation needed whatsoever.

Clothing Packing List 2.0

I’ve done packing lists before (or reblogged them, idk). But here’s some general guidelines:

Basic packing list

6-7 short-sleeved shirts (such as t-shirts)

1-2 long-sleeved shirts, preferably a wicking material, such as polyester

1-2 sweatshirts/fleeces

1-2 pairs of jeans/long pants

1-2 pairs of shorts/capris

1 pair of leggings/sweat pants

6-10 pairs of socks

6-10 pairs of underwear

However many bras you need for 10 days, if you wear those

Raincoat

2 pairs of everyday shoes (hiking boots, tennis shoes) - something with ankle and arch support, not converse/vans

PJs

Specialty items: hot/muggy areas

Wicking material short-sleeved shirts - either substituted or in addition to t-shirts

Extra shorts

Zip-off pants - highly recommend if you’re in an area that cold in the morning and hot during the day such as low elevation mountains

Specialty Items: high elevation/cold areas

Extra long sleeved shirts, such as cuddle duds

A thicker jacket - maybe not a winter coat, but something between that and a sweatshirt

A non-cotton sweater-ish thing, such as a fleece. Fleece retains heat when wet.

Boots, kept in your car.

Wool socks - warm but wicking

Basically, I would suggest that you have enough clothes for 6-10 days, or however long in between your laundry cycles. You may want to pack more if you work a longer duration of time or if you have a living situation with a bit more space. Layers are your best friend because camps are often cold in the morning and at night but hot during the day.

Outdoor Fabrics

Cotton - the general fabric, what most t-shirts are made out of. Pretty versitle, fairly lightweight. Doesn’t retain heat while wet, takes a medium amount of time to dry out. Medium durability but easy to craft/customize.

Nylon/ polyester - a good base layer. Stretchy and thin. Some varieties are warmer than others (think cuddle duds vs Nike). Often found as sportswear. Dries quickly. Wicks moisture (draws it away from the skin). Insulating when used in layers.

Fleece - technically also polyester. Warm and retains heat while wet. Not particularly wind-proof. Excellent for a mid layer in winter or for wearing at night to sleep in. Also great for hiking.

Wool - also warm and wicking. The classic outdoor fabric. Great for socks (10/10 would recommend actual wool socks).

Waterproof stuff - rain gear (pants or coats). Thickness varies, from the super thin to that thick vinyl we all wore to elementary school in the 90s (I also wore this at the day camp, don’t judge).

Basically, t-shirts are fine for your everyday wear but if you’re in funky weather, it might be wise to wearing something different that will keep you more comfortable.

You can get many of these items at thrift stores, don’t feel like you need to go drop $150 at REI for your camp wardrobe. You do you, but you can make your budget work.

Posts about other items and ideas for theme day attire to follow.

Hey! So I just got hired as leadership director at a new camp and I feel super anxious and unqualified for it. I’ve been a uc and a ul but I’m still very nervous to have this new leadership position. Do you have any advice/wisdom/literally anything pls help

Hello anon! Sorry it’s been a bit, I’ve been on a 2200 mile road trip with my best friend. 

First, congratulations! My summer as leadership director was my favorite summer ever and I look back on it fondly. I do remember feeling overwhelmed and underqualified when I started too. I had only ever been a UC at a day camp, so this was a big change. 

I think my biggest piece of advice is to take time and bond with your kids. Learn more about them than their names and where they’re from. And encourage them to bond with each other. Your goal should be to make a community, and you should be part of it. And the friendships they make with each other will last for years. 

One of your jobs is to be a mentor. You’re teaching them things, yes, but they are also learning by your example. They’re going to pick up on the things you do, good and bad. They will know when you are happy, when you are stressed, when you are excited to be somewhere, when you would rather be curled in your sleeping bag instead of chugging coffee in the vain hopes of waking up. So be conscious of that.

CITs are older, so they want to be seen as mature. So being honest with them is really important. Like my year we were all very clear with the CITs that being a counselor, while very rewarding, is stressful. And they learned that first hand, but we didn’t sugar coat it much if at all. When they decided to prank me by making me think one of them cut their hand open (like bad), we had a very frank discussion about why that wasn’t a good choice and what it really feels like when you think one of your campers is seriously injured. When we did night debriefs and they inevitably turned the question back on me, I answered. And when they saw that my eyes were puffy because I had been crying on my break and they asked about it, we talked about that too. Obviously I did not tell them all of the things that happened at camp or were happening with me, but I did try to be as honest as possible with them.

Part of your job that you might not have thought about is that it is now your job to protect your CITs. I love all the counselors at camp and they are absolutely, 110% wonderful. But their priority is their own campers, not necessarily the CITs. So it’s your job to make sure that they don’t get thrown in over their heads because that can happen. We as counselors get thrown into all sorts of situations, but we have admin to help out. That’s your responsibility to your CITs. 

I love the CITs so much and I hope that you will have as great an experience as leadership director as I did. You’re always welcome to message me too. I wish you the best of summers.

Ways to teach a skill

Just as there are many ways to learn, there are many ways to teach. Here are some ways to teach skills at camp:

Say it. Tell the kids what the skill is, describe it.

Show it. Show pictures, diagrams, or other visual aids.

Model it. Do the activity yourself, such as tying a knot.

Learn by doing. Have the kids do the skill, alongside you or after you (or both). This is a great way to engage kids on multiple levels, as you often also need to incorporate some of the earlier techniques (say, show, etc) and this engages multiple learning styles.

Learn through play. An example of this is a simulation game, such as that deer game where you simulate resources (called Deer, Deer, Deer in Ultimate Camp Resource). This can be existing games, or one you made up. Another example is that I made up a simulation of holding hands in different formations to explain how colligative properties work in ice cream in a bag.

Engages the senses. This works well in conjunction with other techniques, but basically bringing in as many of the senses as you can, especially touch/kinestetic.

Since kids learn differently, ideally teach with multiple methods. Teaching is a learned skill that you develop as a camp staff, and everyone does it with their own flair. But these are some suggestions to get you started as you develop your own way of teaching.

I have $24 to last me til Friday, what should I buy with it?