What To Pack For Camp: Backpack/daypack

10 tricks you didn’t know you could do with your food.

By Blossom

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

How to Annotate Literature

Many times language and literature classes require students to annotate the books that are given to them, but in many cases tips and advice on how to do so is lacking. I will be sharing my personal strategy for efficient and successful annotating that will not only help your understanding of the text but also gain the love of your teachers! The tips have been divided into 5 components, each with their own explanation. Sticky Tabs are Your Best Friend

I don’t know how I would manage to annotate without my sticky tabs. They help me organize and navigate the book before the reading, remind me what to look for while i’m going through the text and help me find whatever I may need once I get to further analysis for the class. 

Create a key for your tabs, personally I use five colors each having a few specific purposes based on where I place them in the book. Most stickies are accompanied by a specific note that will remind me of what I wanted to point out, these stick out of the right margin. 

Pink- Anything to do with characters, be it development or certain traits to remember. It can also be used for when you have questions about character related aspects of the text.

Orange- Refers to setting, in plays it is also applicable for stage directions.

Yellow- Is used for literary devices and use of language (tone, diction, patterns) and syntax, if there is a particular word the author used or a structure you want to take note of, this is the color to use. 

Green- Applicable to any important plot events, notable scenes or things that you think will be significant later in the story.

Blue- Themes and context of said ideas, anything to do with time, place and space in which the text takes place. It can also relate to how your context (a student reading a book for a literature course) impacts your perception of the text.

These are the things teachers usually look out for and it is certainly useful in any kind of further task! 

The top and bottom margins can be used to divide the book in to sections, such as chapters or scenes, mark the most important pages and to also highlight text to text connections. These colors you can pick yourself! I do not recommend having more than 5 sticky tabs per page, otherwise it gets too crowded and they lose their purpose! (but you will still need to buy aaa lloootttt)

This is my key for the book I am currently annotating, Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. 

Don’t Overdo it With the Highlighter

Find one color highlighter that you like the most and use it to mark explicit words or phrases that catch your attention, you can also use them in correlation with you sticky tabs!  I prefer to use a yellow highlighter because it seems to bleed the least, and I usually use it in relation to the the yellow and blue tabs because those are the ones that relate to the most detailed and minute parts of the text. Once again you can find your own preference! But don’t overdo it, otherwise, like the tabs, the highlighter will lose its function to highlight important points. 

This is an example of how much highlighting I usually do. For non-fictional texts or parts of a book (like in the introduction you see here) I reserved highlighter for dates and names. 

Have a Conversation With the Author

This is one of the first tips that my high school teacher gave me and it’s really one of the most important ones to remember. And I know, it may sound kinda silly, but I find that it really helps me in developing my ideas and remembering exactly how I felt about a certain aspect of part of the text. 

Whether the text is fiction of non fiction, anything in between, you can always do these few things

Ask questions- As if you were going to get an answer, ask questions, write them down and write down as many as you want. Writing things down helps people remember so then it is more likely that in a class discussion you will be able to recall your queries or wonders. 

If you don’t like something, or you’re surprised by something, write it down! Use exclamation marks, use words that you would use in a regular conversation. I always write ‘WOW!!’ or ‘OMG’ when i’m especially impressed, and having such vocal- well written vocally- emotions will bring you closer to the subject of the text. 

Talk to the characters as well, if you are questioning a character’s actions ask them and provide an explanation as to why you speculate they may have acted a certain way. Not only does that further contribute to your involvement (also making things more entertaining) but it also deepens your thought!

What i’m trying to say is write down anything that comes to mind, your first response is your true response, and it is a valuable addition to your notes! And if you want to write a whole essay in between the lines… Actually, i’ll come back to that later! 

Pens, not Pencils 

I used to make notes completely in pencil but my approach changed when I realized that overtime the pencil would rub off and get illegible. I think it was because I used my book so much, but having switched to pen I realized that it helps me in quite a few other things as well. 

The good thing about pen is that you can’t erase it and let’s say you started writing down a note, scan down the page and realize what you are taking a note of is completely wrong. That’s ok! That’s actually really good! Don’t scribble out what you just wrote down, but instead continue and explain why you may have thought a certain way and what your understanding is now. That relates really closely to the previous note.  Evidently pen also appears darker on the page, then there’s no possibility of it ever disappearing. It also won’t smudge or bleed as long as it’s ballpoint! That’s a good thing when drawing arrows between lines, underlining in addition to your highlights and circling/boxing whatever you deem necessary.

Time, Effort and Commitment

It’s clear that this post took me a while to make, and it took me a while to develop this system with all of the things that I have considered. So it must be self evident that using this type of annotation won’t be quick. It might get tiring at some times, and for me it really does, but at the end I find that it always pays off! You have to stay committed to this technique, you have to put in the same amount of effort for every page, which means you need time. So here are a few final general tips I will leave you with.

Don’t procrastinate! As goes for any task, and this one more than any, don’t waste time getting to it! I advice you check how many pages you have in total and make sure that you do a certain amount per day (usually 5-10 pages a day is good!)

If you go off on massive tangents in the side bars, make sure that you don’t get too distracted by them because they will take up a lot of your time. But one now and then may be good! Be sure to mark it for later reference!

Play mind games with yourself. This one is actually pretty interesting but it personally gets me a long way. If you have 20 pages left, don’t look at it as 20 pages but instead as 4 times 5, then the amount will seem a lot more manageable! It’s a kind of self encouragement!

That can also be said by looking now and then at how far your bookmark has moved through the book and giving yourself a pat on the back for all of you hard work!

That’s all I have for now! If you have any further questions for advice or explanation please message me and I will be more than happy to help! And I hope that this helps some people out too! (I’m counting this as 21/100 days of productivity as all I did today was related to annotating.)

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

What I want to teach my CITs

This is the earliest post in my drafts, started way back in September of 2015, when I first started this blog. And I wanted to share it with you now, with some new additions. 

There are some things I want to teach my leadership girls while they’re at camp.

1. Camp is where girls go to escape the real world. Let them.

2. It’s ok if you are at camp to escape the real world too.

3. It’s ok to be overwhelmed. Just try not to let your girls see.

4. It’s ok to be confused, to need to ask questions. You will learn something everyday, no matter how long you have been at camp. 

5. You will wonder what you are sending your kids home to. Is it the same love and acceptance of camp? Is it ambivalence? Is it something else entirely?

6. You will wonder because children say things. They trust you and so they tell you things. And because you see things, you watch how they act. And you will wonder.

7. You will never forget your campers. I remember campers from when I was a program aid, ten years ago, and I remember the name of every CIT from this summer (2015). 

8. You will want to share life lessons with your campers, things you wish someone would have told you at their age. But then you realize that it’s camp and you can’t tell them. And so you hope they will learn on their own.

9. You will make mistakes, at camp and in life. I’ve made mistakes, I still make them. You just have to learn from them. 

10. You will change while you are at camp. It is our experiences that shape us and camp is an experience with a shape that isn’t found anywhere else in the world.

11. Camp songs will be stuck in your head forever. 

12. You will work with girls from all walks of life, all different experiences. Learn compassion.

13. You are loved and you are valid. Being a teenager is hard. Being a young adult is hard. But you’re not alone in this world. 

14. Camp is an amazing place. Cherish it while you can because one day, not as far in the future as you may think, it won’t be in your life but will instead be a memory.

Camp Playlist

Every camp staff knows the struggle of finding camp-appropriate music to jam to. So here’s my playlist of camp-appropriate songs (which I play while driving).

“Best Day of My Life” by American Authors

“Pompeii” by Bastille

“All American Girl” by Carrie Underwood

“Bubbly” by Colbie Calliat

“Bright” by Echosmith

“Immortals” by Fall Out Boy

“On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons

“Don’t Stop Believin’“ by Journey

“Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall

“Ho Hey” by the Lumineers

“Whole Wide World” by Mindy Gledhill

“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield

“Home” by Phillip Phillips

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

“Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts

“Brave” by Sara Bareilles

“Geronimo” by Sheppard

“Anthem” by Superchick

“One Girl Revolution” by Superchick

“Shake it off” by Taylor Swift

“Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon

“Firework” by Katy Perry

“Story of My Life” by One Direction

“Renegades” by X Ambassadors

(various Disney songs)

Alright camp people of Tumblr, add on your favorite camp-appropriate songs.

Thunderbird headcannons

- going out in the rain to jump in the puddles

- some students are afraid of lightning and thunder and their housemates immediately take it upon themselves to keep them company with warm mugs of hot chocolate

- a buddy system when exploring

- “picnics and exploration” thats there motto

- trying new things, roller coasters and different foods but its okay if you dont want to bc adventure is only fun if you’re willing

- talking about trips and showing souvenirs “you had the money to go to italy and you brought back a rock” “it has sentimental value” “are you fucking kidding me right now”

- not all the students have the resources to see the world but the entire house gets together to raise money

- bake sales do not work, and all the older students are tired of hearing the first years suggest it “but this recipe is really” “nope, trust me it will not end well”

- no one talks about what happened at the first fundraising bake sale the thunderbirds ever had

- ever

- summer field trips

- “i did not take four years of spanish just so i can watch you play charades with the entire german population” “i know german” “no you really dont, you just think you do“ 

- “why is it always a European country, i actually want to go somewhere where the people don’t think the only language i speak is chinese” “you do speak chinese” “i speak cantonese and they always assume its mandarin, which is annoying and racist”

- “i’m with her, you know how many times airport security has signaled me out, i was put in holding last time” “ you’re right maybe we can all take a portkey to indonesia or something”

- Polaroids, pictures of everything

- selfies with funny faces, landmarks, animals, food, everything is put into a big scrapbook thats shelved into a bookcase in the common room, every trip has its own scrapbook

- learning beautiful languages so they can better understand the world

- reading books and exploring fictional worlds in the place of real ones

- loving different cultures and wanting to be respectful and kind to all

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.

Any tips for taking initiative? I’m always worried that I’ll make a wrong decision, especially because I’m on under-18 staff

Hi friend,

That’s a great question. Taking initiative can be little things that fit easily into your job but put you ahead. Always make sure that you’re doing your job and prioritizing it before your go above and beyond. Some easy ideas for taking initiative:

Be enthusiastic! 

Help tidy the dining hall a little after meals with your kids if you’ve got time. Make it fun by singing songs or playing games.

Talk with the quiet campers.

Walk with the slow campers.

Give campers leadership opportunities.

Offer to lead songs or grace at meals.

Offer to help with campfires or all camp games.

Help unload the vans after a supply run if you’re in the area and have time. The kids can help too.

Help carry heavy things when you see someone struggling.

Make sure your kapers are always done and on time.

Come up with exciting games and activities for your kids beyond the regular camp activities. Play canoe tag or go all out for the color war.

Make sure that you’re always doing your job to your best ability. 

Best of luck and have a great summer!

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.