First-time camp staffing experiences?

[kmgfineart]

I am sending my son off to staff scout camp for nine weeks and am wondering whether anyone has any good tips or advice for me regarding this. Last year he went to Philmont and did OK. He's pretty familiar with the camp but it's some hours away from home and a long time to be away.

 

Thanks,

 

KG

[dsteele]

KG:

 

I'm not a parent, so it's hard for me to imagine what it must be like to let your son go off to a camp (as a staffer! Whoever thought that day would arrive so quickly?) several hours away for 9 weeks. My guess is that it's probably harder on you than it will be on him.

 

I started out by saying that I've never been a parent. That's true. However, I once was a first-time staff member. Then a second-seventh time staff member, then an Assistant Camp Director for 2 seasons, then a Program Director at camp -- so I know a little something about what's going through your son's head.

 

I'll start by giving some parental assurances:

 

1. He's been to Philmont. He's proven self-reliance and Scouting skills. He'll find camp staff duty pretty darn easy after that.

 

2. The Camp Director wouldn't have hired him if he didn't feel that your son would be an asset to camp, or if he had fears that the Scout wouldn't make it. There are still a whole lot of kids at the first-year staff age who would give there eye-teeth to be on staff, so there's no need to look to hire anything other than the best.

 

3. Your camp director isn't working in a vacume. His Scout Executive, Assistant Scout Executive, Program Director, or whoever is overseeing the camp operations from the professional side is, I'm confident, well-informed of who is filling which positions on staff. He may not know your son personally, but he's made sure he's a quality staff member candidate through the camping committee, etc.

 

4. Nine weeks may feel like you're sending your son off to college or to boot camp. I'm sure you'll miss him and worry about him far more than he will about you. Don't worry. The BSA realizes that staff are youth and they are supervised far more than they realize.

 

Now let's talk about what (I don't know your son, so I'll have to remember what I felt when I was going off to camp as a first-time staffer.)

 

I was excited! On my own, at least in my brain, for the first time.

I was nervous -- I really didn't want to screw up my first job.

I asked a lot of questions that drove the Camp Director nuts, but I wanted to make sure I knew what I was going to teach and that I knew my stuff.

 

I ended up having the time of my life. So much so that I've been either a camp staff member of professional employee of the BSA for over 22 years.

 

Oops, my apologies, KG. Now I've given you something else to worry about . . . your son might become a BSA professional!

 

Relax, in spite of my abnormality, I'm sure your kid will have a great time.

 

DS

[kmgfineart]

Thank you for the encouragement. I know a lot of people who aren't parents but are great people persons and who are an indispensable part of a healthy youth program. Some are in scouting, and some are teachers I know. I think you are right in that it'll probably be harder for me than for my son. He'll do OK, as long as no trees fall on him (that happened to one WI camper last year) ! My concerns: eating right, getting enough sleep and staying on good terms with his superiors over a long haul like that. But your experience seems to be helpful in assessing his response and he'll have lots to tell his friends when he comes home!

 

Thanks,

 

KG

[dsteele]

Yes, there was a tragedy last summer at a camp in Wisconsin. I had only left that council about 30 days previously and knew the kid, the camp director, the council program director and the Scout Executive as well as the officers.

 

They did everything right and still there was a tragedy. A perfectly healthy tree got knocked in half by a brutal wind and fell on a tent. One Scout was killed during his first week of Boy Scout Camp ever. His tent-mate survived.

 

These types of tragedies are very, very rare in the Boy Scouts of America. Don't worry about it too much.

 

As to your concerns --

 

Eating right? I sure didn't. But that was my fault and a bout of constipation taught me the importance.

 

Getting enough sleep? I didn't do that, either. I played Dungeons and Dragons deep into the night. The Camp Director insisted we were all present for morning flag ceremony. I caught naps during the rest period. The lack of sleep wasn't management's fault. It was mine. But once it caught up to me, I learned. I forgot again in college, but I learned.

 

Keeping in the good graces of management? I did that. But only because I cheerfully showed up to where I was told to show up and when I was told to show up and did what I was told to do. Complex sentence, but as long as your son does it, he'll have no problem and will be invited back again and again.

 

Good luck to you and your son.

 

DS

[AK-Eagle]

KG,

First congrats to you and your scout. This may not fall under the terms of eating right but it will help his and your morale during his time on staff... a "care" package prehaps timed to arrive on hump week with cookies, and/or his favored treats, make sure to pack plenty as he will become suddenly more popular when the contents are known. bear in mind chocolate most likely won't make a good choice unless shipped in a insulated box. Other stuff to pack in it is toiletries i.e. shampoo, soap, perfume, etc if you choose to pack stuff you know will embrass him well that is up to you ;-)

[MrMic-O-Say]

He'll be fine...

 

I went away at 16 to camp staff. My first week was a little tenuous as I learned what I had signed up for. It helped that I had friends that I cabined with and I knew some of the other staff from School, etc.

 

Letters from home were nice the first few years and the food ladden care packages are a good way to make new friends. By my last year on staff, mom kissed me good bye and I didnt see her again until camp was over. (After 10 years of coming down for visitor's days she announced that she didn't plan to go back until there were grandchildren to visit.)

 

When I got married, it wasn't old school friends or childhood friends that were standing next to me. They were all friends I made in my years on staff.

 

He will have a great time and grow in ways that no one can anticipate. I wish him (and you) luck...

 

[kmgfineart]

Any suggestions as to what to send up/ not to send up in "Care Packages"? Son wants me to send lots of soda; not so sure that's such a good idea. Besides, it's heavy! Maybe lemonade mixes?

 

Thanks,

 

KG

[Overtrained]

KG,

 

I served on staff for several years, including camp director. Most snack type things (pop, candy bar, etc) were available at camp. My staff had one night off and would usually go into town for pizza and/or a movie.

 

One parent starting sending small gifts to all the staff for a "Christmas in July". Most were just little trivial cracker box type things, but appreciated. This continues today with staff exchanging small gifts. Ask the camp director if they have any such traditions. Maybe some movie ticketsif they go to town, copies of his favorite magazines, a phone card to call a freind. Some homemade cookies or brownies were always a hit. The moms would send them up with a troop that was going to camp to deliver them.

 

Have fun with it. Whatever you send, he'll appreciate it.

 

OT

[LauraT7]

Things to send in the CARE packages -

 

anything he would not like to "waste" his OWN money on, or things that might not be available at Philmont - batteries, film, disposable /waterproof cameras? soap, laundry soap, a roll of quarters for the laundry? sunscreen? bug spray? a bandana later on when he's lost/worn out his? snacks that 'keep' when sealed - chips, those tuna/chicken salad mixes that don't have to be refrigerated (if he likes them), peanut butter and crackers, anything "home baked", or a local treat or delicacy from your home town? a phone card to call home, a new music tape or book, one of those battery operated fans? wrap them up in the "funnies" from home - the comics page somewhere else are different -

 

but be assured - he will find the pop SOMEWHERE and get it himself (even if he never has any clean socks!)! LOL!

 

I was never at Boy Scout camp but I did spend many years as a camp counselor in girl scout camps.

 

as far as food and sleeping - that he has to learn himself - it's the only way it gets thru.

 

Advice?

 

*PEOPLE and PERSONALITIES are the biggest challenge in almost any job. Accept people's good qualities and let their bad ones slide - unless it puts someone in danger or becomes a major difficulty.

 

*When in slightest doubt - keep quiet and LISTEN and OBSERVE before making any decisions or commitments.

 

*ACT cheerful even when he doesn't feel like it - and sometimes by acting cheerful you can change your own attitude.

 

* Every job has grunt work. Any part of the job he DOESN'T like - do it quickly, pleasantly and move on. It isn't gonna go away, so get it over with and move on to the fun stuff.

 

* HAVE FUN! enjoy his summer and keep a sense of humor - happiness is contagious, and it comes back ten-fold! If HE's happy, the boys he works with will be happy, his boss will be happy - and so on.

 

i hope he has a great time!

 

LauraT

 

 

 

 

[dsteele]

Care packages. Hmmm. Thinking like a 16 year old, and it's been a while, but it hasn't been that long.

 

Here are a few different suggestions:

 

1. Baked goods from Mom. It doesn't matter if you bake them or if they come from Mrs. Archway (as in Archway cookies, get it? If he/she is used to them, they'll go a long way toward a much deserved smile.

 

2. Pre-paid phone cards, with the understanding that he/she doesn't have to use them to call home. There may be a special "crush" they want to call. Hey, you let them get this far, why not let them call their special friends?

 

3. Cash for their "night out" or however your camp works it. If they can get out for a Big Mac and a Movie at your expense, they'll be greatful. I guarantee it! If they can't, they'll use it for soda that you don't have to pay to ship. Win-win.

 

4. Their regular pillow from their bed at home. If they were't smart enough to take it with them, they'll be more than ready for it by day 5 of staff week. This treat will be their's alone and pity the fellow staffer who tries to take it from them. First of all, it won't "fit." Secondly, "it's their's daggone it!"

 

DS(This message has been edited by dsteele)

[Campaholic]

I know that Girl Scout Camps and Boy Scout Camps are fairly different in the fact that many Girl Scouts begin to go to camp when they are five, where as Boy Scouts start around 11 or 12, but I was so excited when I started at camp as staff.

I am also not a parent and I feel my parents were a little worried about sending me away when I was 15 to start working for 5 weeks at camp, but my second summer I begged them to let me stay the 8 weeks that I was offered and now it's more like 10 that I stay because they extended our camp season due to such high camper enrollment.

As for care packages. Stay away from the random things. Boys, especially, will ignore them...I know I've gotten things like tablets and pens...I am perfectly fine with my weathered loose leaf and bic pen. As for a phone card, that's a wonderful idea. You may find you send one and get minimal phone calls, but it's a great way to keep in touch with friends as well, which will, in fact, make him feel more comfortable at camp.

Finally, I do not think he would chose to go to camp if he didn't think it was something he really wanted to do. A new staff member may find they do not like camp as much as they thought, but usually they can make it through their time period they are there.

[CharityAK]

We did that this summer too. My (then) 15yo son was cinematographer for 9 weeks. Fortunately, camp is only about 30 minute from our home. I managed to find something to do for the camp that kept me visiting about 2x a week (providing saddles for the Leatherwork merit badge class) I baked goodies on a regular basis and brought them with me for son to share with his friends. This helped his social status immensely. I soon had a steady line of staffers willing to haul my saddles for me and putting in their orders for the next goodie delivery. A neat bunch of kids. I enjoyed getting to know them and if I didn't have a younger child still at home would be signing up to be a commissioner in a heartbeat.

 

As far as food and rest...as you've probably found out by now...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!! My son lived on junk food and stayed up all hours playing games. It was like a summer-long slumber party. I didn't mind. I figured it wasn't going to kill him on a short-term basis. He was able to come home on Saturday nights and we let him sleep in and fed him extra healthy on the weekends.

 

The only safety issue that came up...While at camp he developed a small tumor on his scalp. When he got home we noticed it and scheduled surgery to remove it. There was some concern that it might have compromised a major artery (it turned out okay). Because of the size and location on the artery, he had to be under full anesthesia, intubated, the works. He developed some complications after surgery. Sometimes I wonder if he had been home if we wouldn't have caught the tumor earlier when it was smaller and surgery would have been less complicated.

 

However....He enjoyed the experience tremendously and can't wait to go back next year. He was thought well of by the other staffers and his "bosses". This was his first real job and I was delighted his experience was such a pleasant one for him.

 

Charity

 

[OutdoorThinker]

I survived my first camp staffing experience this summer. I served as a director at a Boy Scout Camp that I had only visited once before moving in for nine weeks. I am a Venture Crew member, and although I was a Girl Scout all my life, my gender prohibited me from being a Boy Scout as a youth. Not only did I have to get used to living in an unfamiliar place for nine weeks, but I was emerged to a culture (the Boy Scout culture) that was entirely foreign to me.

 

I survived. I did, so, however, by thriving on mail -- both letters and packages from my family and friends. Nothing made me smile more on a stressful day than an envelope with familiar handwriting on it. In addition, the staff became a second family and we supported each other on our low days.

 

I know that this string was started at the beginning of the summer, KMGFINEART, I hope your son enjoyed his camp staffing experience, as much as I did. I know I am looking forward to reapplying. I miss camp already!!

[OldGreyEagle]

Well, Well, OutDoor Thinker, I'll bet before the camp season was over, you were the Princess of the camp. To have someone as outstanding as you in a crew must mean you have excellent and truly superb adult advisors and an incedible dad. Good luck to you

[OutdoorThinker]

OGE (see, I am getting the hang of this informality thing.)

In my unbiased opinion I do have the best Venturing Crew there is. I've had the same two awesome advisors since we chartered almost four years ago, you can't find two better advisors anywhere, no offense to all of you who are advisors. I can truly say I wouldnt be here or had spent my nine weeks at camp without them and their influences.