Can You Post A Really Good Packing List? Including Some Fun Items Or Things I Would Never Think Of. Thank

Things To Do/Not To Do Your Break

All staff are required to have daily breaks, as well as a weekend or days off between sessions in most cases. At my camp (a girl scout camp) we get a two hour break every day, and then Friday nights, Saturday, and Sunday morning off. 

When it comes to being a counselor and working with groups of children all day everyday, you only have so much patience and love and time to give. I like to call this ‘counselor juice’. Its your fuel for the day, and as the day goes on you run lower and lower and until you crash, but hopefully that’s not until bed time. This is why we have breaks during the day, to recharge our battery and fill the tank again. With this in mind, the lists begin! 

Things to doo:

start your laundry, eat foods, take a nap, and hydrate <– all the obvious things. these are important to maintain healthy and happy and to stay clothed throughout the week.

color! coloring can be v relaxing and honestly spending an entire break coloring is so peaceful. coloring books are NOT just for kids! 

leave camp. okay so not everyone can leave, some camps have a no leaving policy if the nearest town is an hour away or something cuz people often come back late and that’s not good. but if you’re allowed to leave camp then go thrifting or get ice cream or rent a movie or something fun! just make sure to scrub the dirt tan off first ;D

watch a movie/binge watch a tv show! i like to download a bunch of movies so i have options and don’t have to worry about having wifi. 

hangout with other staff and complain about your kids. it’s okay to complain about your campers. its okay to  eat your feelings in stickers. these things are okay, just make sure you don’t do it within ear shot of any campers. 

have a mini spa! use a smell good foot scrub, exfoliating face mask, and munch of some cucumbers! it’s important to treat yourself and keep your body healthy. 

practice religion/spirituality. this is v important to some people and just because you’re at camp doesn’t mean you have to neglect your faith. take time to pray and worship whatever it is you believe in. not everybody choose to or have the opportunities to work at a spiritual camp, but they still want to feel connected to their faith. and on the same note, DON’T JUDGE PEOPLE FOR PRAYING OR CHANTING OR WHATEVER THIS COUNTRY IS ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DONT BE A MEANIE. 

eat ice cream/popsicles/other cold summer foods. it’s too hot to live off corndogs and mac n cheese all summer. cool down your body with something sweet and frozen!

write letters like you promised! write to your mommy and tell her you loves her much and you’re not dead yet. she’ll appreciate it :)

go for a walk or hike. i know you’re walking around all day, leading games and going on hikes with your kids, but going by yourself and taking your time can be really relaxing. you don’t have to lead any songs or count your campers every 5 minutes. you can just enjoy the sounds of nature.

Things NOT to do:

hangout with your campers. i know you love them to pieces and you’re probably actually not all that tired or needing space, but you do. please take your break. 

hangout with someone else’s campers. you love kids! that’s great! so do i! but just because they aren’t your assigned kids that week/session/whatever and you don’t technically have to be in charge, it’s still not a good idea. you’ll end up using all your counselor juice (ability to stay calm and cool and not grouchy, you only have so much for a day) on kids who aren’t even yours and then you’ll have not much left for your kids, who need it all! go take your break away from children

call your significant other. if your boo is not keen on you being away as it is, and you are sort of in a fight, don’t call them on your break! there are a few reasons why: you don’t have that much time and you probs have more to do. fighting is stressful and you don’t wanna come back from your break to be more stressed than when you left! you and your kids don’t deserve that! cell reception at camp suuuuuucks and if you get cut off that can makes matters worse. and lastly, fighting with a time limit is no way to fight. 

eat a massive meal. okay sooo if you struggle to eat on the camp’s schedule and you tend to skip meals maybe you should eat your meals differently, and breaks are a good time for that. however, if you DO eat with everyone else, don’t eat big bowls of soup or a whole sammich during your break! eat all the candy you want and drink all the juice you can get your hands on, but if you eat a lot during your breaks you won’t want anything at the next meal and that’s no bueno, plus stomach aches suck!

start your break early/end your break late. this is sooo uncool of you. it does happen on accident, especially if you decide to nap during your break, BUT THIS IF WHY YOU HAVE A WATCH AND PHONE. SET AN ALARM AND DON’T BE LATE CUZ THERE ARE OTHERS WAITING ON YOU. 

make important phone calls. okay so this might sound silly but here’s why i avoid making important phone calls on my breaks and try to save them for the weekend. with importance can come bad news and if your break is only an hour and you get bad news (your pet died/you didn’t get the job/your bf left you) that is NOT enough time to be upset and grieve and then be okay! you need more time! be kind to yourself and leave the Real World stresses right there in the Real World.

do only your laundry or shower. so you should do things that make you feel good on your breaks. laundry is great and 110% necessary, but if shouldn’t do it everyday break every day. try to do laundry once, maybe twice a week, and spend the rest of the time doing something more fun and relaxing! same for showering. don’t spend you entire break showering. 

spend your entire break swimming/rock wall/achery/etc. i love camp activities as much as the next dude, HOWEVER kids are most likely gonna be doing those activities and like i’ve mentioned before, you don’t wanna spend your breaks with other children! doing this once a week or every once in a while isn’t terrible, especially if your week is ‘lightweight’ and your kids aren’t as aggressive or whiny. if you’re really itching to go swimming see about going when a small group is going or when the CITs are. CITs are like slightly younger cousins who are actually kind of cool to hang with, and so are their counselors! 

do what’s right for your mind and body. if you’re not well, you aren’t able to give your all to your kids and they miss out. 

do you boo, do you.

-Sulcata

Camp staff discussion

What strategies do you use to manage your mental health at camp? Reblog with comments/tags or reply to start the discussion.

I like to talk things over with people, have a good cry, take breaks when I need them, and try to relax on days off.

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

Thins I Learned at Camp

Have a copy of OH! The Places You’ll Go wherever you go

If you have a voice after a game, your doing it wrong

The people you meet at camp are the greatest in the world

Be open to everything, don’t knock it till you try it

Always have a water bottle with you

Keep a small notebook with you at all times

Duct tape and WD40 fix everything

Dance like you’re at camp wherever you go. People will look at you funny, but you will be having more fun

It’s ok to cry at what seems like even stupid things

Everyone is different, and those differences should be celebrated

Take 15 mins every day and sit somewhere beautiful and get lost in your thoughts

Promises can be made and kept with a pinky

Everyone deserves a chance

Take camp with you wherever you go

A guitar is like the holy grail of music

Camp is the greatest place on earth. Anyone who says otherwise has never been to one.

Submit your own “Things I Learned at Camp” :)

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

Logic Games for Camp Counselors

Counselors love to use these logic games as a way to pass time and keep campers engaged and having fun during down time. All of these are mind games in which the rules are ‘hidden’ from the players, that is, until they figure it out! Make sure to instruct them not to yell out the rule once they figure it out (unless the game calls for that), so as not to ruin the game for others. Depending on the game, make sure that you let campers ‘run it,’ state the phrases, try the actions, etc. once they begin to figure it out so they don’t get bored. If no one is figuring it out, try telling a person or two to get the ball rolling. Have fun!!

STICKS

Sitting in a circle on the floor, grab a bunch of sticks or wood chips. Tell campers that you are going to do something with the sticks and they have to guess the number your are thinking of based on your actions. Make a picture with the sticks (a house, a number, a letter, a pile, etc.). The number you are guessing is revealed by how many fingers you are holding out once you complete your stick picture. I like to sit criss crossed apple sauce and then place my hands on my knees. If I hold out two fingers in each hand, the number is 4, or one hand with five fingers and the other with none is five, etc. Have campers guess the numbers and tell them if they are right or not. If you think they have figured it out, let them try being the one with the sticks. 

MAGICAL UMBRELLA

Start by saying the riddle “um. I have a magical umbrella. It’s *insert color or pattern here* and when I spin it around it turns *insert different color or pattern here.* What color does it turn next?” The key is to say ummmmm before saying the riddle (magical UMMbrella) Have campers guess, and tell them if they are right or wrong. Then let them try ‘holding the umbrella.’ Play around with crazy patterns like purple with green dinosaurs on it, orange polka dots, etc. 

GREEN GLASS DOOR

Campers try to guess what can or cannot go through the green glass doors. Say “I can bring puppies through the GGD but not dogs.” The key is that words with double letters can go through (kittens but not cats, apples but not oranges,  boots but not shoes, etc.)

FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

This game starts with a certain number that eventually breaks down into the number four. The goal is figure out how the numbers are being broken down. “twelve is six, six is three, three is five, five is four.” The next number is the # of letters in the previous number. The word twelve has six letters, six has three letters, three has five letters, five has four letters. Every beginning number eventually breaks down to the number four. 

PICNIC

This is a simple game, but can be difficult to catch onto the rules. Can also be fun to play as a name game as you get to know each other and remember names. Start by saying “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing a *insert object that starts with the same first letter as your name*.” (Emma and eggs, Courtney and cookies, Samantha and sandwiches.) Have campers try this one and tell them whether or not they are able to bring the object the say until they figure it out. 

THE ROSE 

This game can be played many ways with different objects. Say “If I have a rose and I give it to Courtney and she gives it to Samantha and she gives it to Emma, who has the rose?” The person who has the rose is the first person to speak after you finish saying the question. So if you ask the question, and Courtney says “it’s _____,” then you could say “no it’s you Courtney.” This one can be a little slow at first until a few people pick up on it, but then it’s super fun! One of my favorites!

PAY ATTENTION (or LISTEN)

Say “Pay attention. If those (point to them) are shoes, and those are shoes, and those are shoes, are these shoes?” Point to a few pairs of shoes, and then for the last object, you can either point at shoes or anything else. The key is to say the phrase ‘pay attention’ before you speak. If you do, than the answer is yes, if not, the answer is no. So if you finish by pointing at a real pair of shoes, but you don’t say ‘pay attention’, then they are not shoes. But if you point at a tree at the end and say ‘pay attention’, then the tree is shoes. 

GHOST CHAIR

This one is a bit difficult. Set up chairs like musical chairs. Pick a chair to assign as the ghost chair, but don’t tell anyone. Explain that there is a ghost in the room. Have everyone sit in a chair. Mentally note who is sitting in the ghost chair. Have everyone move to a new chair. Ask who the ghost is standing in front of. Let them guess, and tell them if they are correct or not. The ghost is standing in front of whoever was sitting in the ghost chair before you all moved chairs. 

JOHNNY WHOOP 

Hold your hand up. Make a specific pattern of touching your fingertips and sliding your finger along the curve between our forefinger and thumb. When touching the tips of fingers, say “Johnny,” but when sliding along the curve say “Whoop.” When you are done, drop your hands and clasp them together.  Remember the pattern you made, and do it the same way every time. Have campers try to copy you and tell them if they did it right or not. The key is not to correctly replicate your patten but to clasp your hands after finishing it. 

RIGHT PARTY 

Say “I’m throwing a party, but it’s not just any party, it’s the right party at the right place at the right time with the right people and the right snacks and the right clothes.” Then explain what you will be wearing to the party. Have campers try and tell them if they are allowed to wear it to your party or not. The clothes allowed to the party are whatever the person to your right is wearing. 

ONE UP ONE DOWN 

Only one of three phrases can be said. But only one of them is correct at a given time. Both up, one up one down, and both down. It depends on how your arms are positioned when the phrase is being said. So if the person’s arms are both hanging down, the correct phrase is both down, etc. Have campers try and guess which one to say and tell them if they are allowed to say it or not. 

WITCH WRITING 

You have to have at least one friend playing that knows the rule to get the ball rolling. Tell campers a story that explains how you met a witch and learned the secret language.Send the friend out of the room. Decide with the campers which word you are going to write and try to get the friend to guess. Call them back in. Use the secret witch writing to write the word and have the friend guess. She will get it right, keep playing until campers begin to figure it out. It involved random scribbling and pounding your hands against the table/ground. Vowels are represented by the number of pounds. 1 pound=A, 2 pounds=E, 3 pounds=I, 4 pounds=O, 5 pounds=U. Consonants are represented by the first letter of the phrase in-between pounds. The random scribbling is just to confuse people and has no meaning. Example: the word is ‘guide”. Say “Going to start now” Random scribbling with a pencil. Then pound your hands 5 times.  Random scribbling. Pound your hands 3 times. Random scribbling. Then say “Don’t get confused.” Random scribbling. Then pound your hands 2 more times. 

CROSSED/UNCROSSED (or OPEN/CLOSED) 

This game can be played with sticks or pencils (scissors for open/closed). Have everyone sit in a circle. You are going to pass two sticks to the next person either crossed over each other or just parallel to one another. The person receiving them has to say if they are receiving the sticks crossed or uncrossed. The position of the sticks does not matter, only wether the giver is sitting with their legs/ankles/arms (pick one) are crossed or not. This game works better when siting on the ground than at a table. 

MAN IN THE MOON 

Grab a stick and draw a picture in the dirt while saying “This is a man on the moon. He has a face, a mouth, a nose and two eyes.” (Draw those things) Before doing/saying this, do a small action such as touching your ear, flipping your hair, scratching your knee, etc. Have campers try and tell them if their man on the moon is correct. The drawing does not matter, only that they repeat the same small action beforehand. 

PLATES/CUPS Grab a few cups or plates and a small object that fits underneath it. You need a friend who knows the rule to get the game started. Decide on a code word with the same number of letters as the number of cups you have. (if you have four cups, use the word corn, which has four letters) Share this word with everyone, but don’t explain how to use it. Lay the cups out in a horizontal line. Only the friend will understand at first but the plate to the far left (the friend’s point of view) corresponds to the first letter of the code word, so C. The next cup is O. The next is R. The next is N. Again, the campers do not know this. Send the campers and the friend away or have them close their eyes. Put the small object under one of the cups. Call them back. The friend will guess which cup it is under. She will know because the cup it is under corresponds to the first letter of the first thing you say when they come back. So if the first thing you say is “Really think about it, and tell me which cup,” then the object is under the cup that is R, or the third cup. 

PSYCHIATRIST

This game is fun, but once the participant figures out the rule, the game is over because they have to say it out loud. That is…. until someone new wanders up and wants to play and doesn’t know the rule. Pick a participant and send them away. Explain the rule to everyone else. The person is going to come back and ask them questions. The first person to be asked  a question is to answer with the words “i don’t know” no matter what the question is. After that, the next person to be asked a question is to answer with the answer that corresponds to the last question. Call the person back into the group. Explain to them that they are a psychiatrist and this group has a problem and they have to figure out what it is. They are to go up to people and ask them simple or yes or no questions. When they think they know the problem, guess it out loud. Example: Psychiatrist to person A: Is the sky Blue? Person A: I don’t know. (this will confuse the psychiatrist, tell them to move on to next person) Psychiatrist to person B: What color is a cow? Person B: yes. Psychiatrist to person C: What is  my name? Person C: black and white. and so on. 

ROAD TRIP 

This one is difficult and takes a while to figure out. You are going on road trip and going to tell your campers where you went and how long you stayed there and they are to figure out where you are going next. The answer is revealed by the pathway of your trip. Letters are the first letter of where you went. Vowels are how long you stayed. (A-1, E-2, I-3, O-4, U-5) Example: I started in Delaware and stayed for 2 days, then I went to Nebraska, then Vermont where I stayed for 2 weeks, then I went to Rhode Island. Where do I go next? Answer= Denver. 

BLACK MAGIC

One person is sent away. The rest of the group decides on an object among them to be the magic object (a hat, shoe, shirt, backpack, water bottle, etc.) Call the person back. Explain to the person they are to pick an item from a list you give them that is the magic object. They are to figure out that the object is whichever one comes after a black object. The other objects can not be black, because that would disrupt the game. Continue to list off a bunch of items among you, pointing at each, one of them being the object chosen after a different black object. Example: “Is the magical object her shoe, his sunglasses, my foot, his hat (which is black), that water bottle, or the sky?” Answer= the water bottle because it came after the black object.

HOW MANY BEARS?

Make up a story about bears, and finish by asking how many bears there are (have it make sense with the story). The answer is dependent on how many words are used to ask the question. Ex: How many bears are there?-5, What number of bears are there?-6, How many bears?-3, etc. 

THIS CAN HAS FIVE SIDES

This game follows the same rules as the bear game. Grab a can and pass it around, having campers tell each other how many sides it has. The number of sides is dependent on the statement. Example: This can has five sides-5, Two sides-2, I think that this can has 8 sides-8, etc. 

DOES THE BOAT FLOAT? 

This game is similar to the umbrella game. Here’s how it works. Say “Okay,” then grab a stick or use your finger to draw an imaginary boat in the air. Ask “Does this boat float?” Let campers guess yes or no and tell them if they are correct or not. The key is wether or not you say ‘okay’ before you draw the boat. Let them try drawing boats once they think they have figured it out. 

WHOSE TRIANGLE?

This game is almost identical to the boat float game, but draw a triangle between different people as your stand around in a circle. You can also play this game like the rose game, where whoever speaks first is the owner of the triangle. 

FLASHLIGHT DANCE Again, similar to the boat float game. Pick a phrase or acton (saying okay, clearing your throat, flipping the flashlight in the air and catching it, etc.) that must be performed before the dance. Grab a flashlight (this game is obviously for night time) and perform (or don’t) the action and then proceed to do a dance with the flashlight. Ask the campers if your dance was real (performed the action) or made up (did not perform the action). 

What to bring to camp:  toiletries/ general cabin items

* These are things that STAY IN THE CABIN. This stuff should only leave the cabin on very rare occasions.

** I keep all this stuff on top of the plastic drawers I mentioned in my last packing list post. If there is anything you think I messed, please let me know!

shampoo/ conditioner

body wash

razor

shaving cream

hair brush

hair ties/ bands (if applicable)

feminine hygiene products (1 month at a time) if applicable

simple makeup (only a little for when parents are there, or on time off)

hand sanitizer bottle (seriously just have it)

lotion

sunscreen

bugspray

after bite

prescription medication (if applicable, if you are not allowed to keep it with you, keep it with the nurse)

charging cable(s)

cleaning wipes

shower caddy (optional but highly recommended)

hair products like creams, gels, etc (optional)

hair detangler (even if you don’t have long hair, it comes in handy if you will have girl campers who do)

markers (optional)

coloring paper (optional)

cabin decorations (optional)

snack food (keep out of sight of campers)

Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood there occurs in human development an age which is physically and psychologically impossible. It is that unfathomable stage known as the camp counselor, a creature undefined by psychologists, misunderstood by camp directors, worshiped by campers, either admired or doubted by parents, and unheard of by the rest of society. A camp counselor is a rare combination of doctor, lawyer, indian and chief. She is a competent child psychologist with her sophomore textbook as proof. She is an underpaid babysitter with neither television nor refrigerator. She is a strict disciplinarian with a twinkle in her eye. She is referee, coach, teacher, and advisor. She is an example of humanity in worn out tennis shoes, a sweatshirt two sizes too large, and a hat two sizes too small. She is a humorist in a crisis, a doctor in an emergency, and a song leader, entertainer, and play director. She is an idol with her head in a cloud of woodsmoke and her feet in the mud. She is a comforter under a leaky tarp on a canoe overnight, and a pal who just loaned someone her last pair of dry socks. She is a teacher of the outdoors, knee deep in poison ivy. A counselor dislikes waiting in line, cabin inspection and rainy days. She is fond of sunbathing, exploring, teaching new games, an old car named Mrs. Beasley, and days off. She is handy for patching up broken friendships, bloody noses, and torn jeans. She is good at locating lost towels at the waterfront, fixing stopped up toilets, making friendship bracelets, and catching fish. She is poor at crawling out of bed on rainy mornings, and remembering to fill out forms. A counselor is a friendly guide in the middle of a cold, dark, wet night on the long winding trail to the TLC. Who but she can cure homesickness, air out wet bedding, play 16 games of 4-square in succession, whistle “Dixie” through her fingers, carry all the cook-out food, speak Pig Latin in Spanish, stand on her hands, sing 37 verses of “You Can’t get to Heaven”, and eat four helpings of Sunday dinner. A counselor is expected to repair 10 years of damage to Jill in 10 days, make Julie into a woman, rehabilitate Judy, allow Joan to be an individual and help Gertrude adjust to a group. She is expected to lead the most prized possessions of 16 adults much older than she. She is expected to lead them in fun and adventure, even when her head aches; to teach them to live in the outdoors, even though she spends 9 months a year in the city; to teach them indigenous activities when she can’t even spell the word; to guide youngsters in social adjustment, when she hasn’t even reached a legal age; to ensure safety and health, with a sunburned nose, a band-aid on her thumb, and a blister on her heel. For all this she is paid enough to buy the second text in psychology, some aspirin, some new socks, two tires for Mrs. Beasley, and some new tennis shoes. You wonder how she can stand the pace and the pressure. You wonder if she really knows how much she is worth. And somehow, you realize that you can never pay her enough when, as she leaves at the end of the summer, she waves goodbye and says, “See ya next year!”

 Phyllis M. Ford, 1970 (via colours-light)

This is what I aspire to

Connecting with Campers in the Age of Screens, Social Media, and Fortnite

Connecting with campers can be difficult for summer camp counselors now that campers have more screen time than ever.

“Having seen firsthand the way some counselors struggle to connect with their campers — to create money in the bank with them — I have put together the following list of practices that can help you do just that.

Take turns sitting next to different campers at each meal. Change it up so you get to hang out with all of your campers.

Make a point of walking and talking with one, two, or three of your campers together while going from one activity to another. This downtime is often when you hear more from your campers about what is going on among them as a group. It gives you the opportunity to connect with them more like a peer (even though we know you are not their peer). If you tend to walk alone or with other counselors, you are missing an important opportunity to connect with your kids.

Sit with different groups of your campers during rest hour and either talk, play a card game, or engage with them in some other quiet-time activity. Again, especially in the first few days of a new session, this is a terrific chance to connect more informally with your kids. If you tend to sleep during rest hour, once again you are missing a key opportunity to create money in the bank with them.

Make a checklist of things that you know about your campers. For example, do you know the favorite camp activity of each of them? Do you know if they have a pet at home and what their pet’s name is? (Talking about pets, who occupy a special place in many kids’ hearts, is an especially great way to make a more personal connection with most any camper.) Do you know what they are most looking forward to doing while at camp? Did they read an especially terrific book during the school year? What about a movie? A new hobby? A place they went on vacation? All of these are “keys” to connecting with your campers.

After a few days, check your list of “keys” (if you email me, I can send you my version of this handy bunk or cabin group list) to see which kids you seem to know well and which ones you still don’t have much of a connection with. Sometimes, seeing it written out on paper helps to focus where you may need to place more of your attention as a way of getting to know certain campers better.”

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