First Year Camper Program at Summer Camp

[purcelce]

Thanks guys...

 

Got meeting with Camp Director on Friday...I'll keep you posted

 

[ManyIrons]

Purcele,

 

Lots of good ideas here. The only thing I would add is to invest some time to teach the counselors how to teach (or in military parlance: train the trainer). Ill admit complete ignorance on how the counselors are prepped for summer camp, but in my experience they appear to be looking at the material for the first time when theyre attempting to teach it. We usually attend camp during the first session so that may be a factor.

 

If the training isnt a feasible option Id suggest sitting them down and making objectives/goals of your program crystal clear. Next, ensure you are an ever-present director. Every first-year program I've ever seen was taught by counselors who seemed less than interested and appeared "deprived" of a motivating influence. Perhaps they felt as though they were thrown to the wolves -- we all know what a handful those exhuberant 11 & 12 year olds can be. They can be a tough crowd for adults and are often doubly so for the camp counselors. I guess what I'm trying to say here is to be visible enough to let them know you're keeping an eye on things and are available for guidance/assistance if it's needed.

 

Side note, slightly off the trail, at summer camp last year I sat in on several merit badge classes. One counselor in particular stood out because he was teaching the class from prepared notes. This young man had actually read through the MB booklet and mapped out the requirements and answers. Was it the most interesting MB class Ive ever seen? No, but I was impressed with his level of interest and commitment -- something I have seen very little of at most camps. I made a point of telling him personally what a great job I thought he was doing and then I hunted down the camp director and let him know what a great job this young man was doing. Grousing about the camp staff is pretty common, so by all means go out of your way to commend those who are doing a good job.

 

Okay, I'll just slip these soap-box slippers off my feet and call it a night.

 

[purcelce]

Many,

 

One of my goals is to have a motivated staff. I want staff members who want to be a part of FYC program. I plan to be in the mix this year, with the exception of my afternoon nap and or headed to the chow hall for my coffee

 

 

Other thoughts you had are good also.

 

[ManyIrons]

I know you'll do well.

 

4:49 AM ?!!!!

 

Looks like you've had enough coffee and naps!

[blaster531]

Purcelce,

 

Our camp's fyc program is laid out like so;

A schedule is posted for the week in one hour blocks. 3 hrs in the am and 3 in the pm each day.

Each session has a theme; cooking, knots, first aid, 2nd class, tenderfoot and such. There are no registrations for these classes just walk-ins. Classes are taught by revolving staff members. (nobody gets STUCK with the newbies for the whole week) Scoutmasters are STRONGLY encouraged to attend and assist. The sessions are taught at least twice during the week, once in the am and once in the pm. This allows a great deal of flexability in scheduling. The scouts can attend when they want and work on those things they need help with. On Friday, the afternoon hours are left open, this lets the scouts come in and work on whatever they need a little more instruction on. The councilor doesn't sign off on any task but will send a note to the SM detailing what has been taught.

 

In my troop the scout would have to come back to our campsite and get with his PL and/or other more advanced Scout or ASM and demonstrate his new skills. Then his book could be signed. Each FY was expected to be at at least 3 sessions a day, this gave them plenty of time to do a MB or two and still have a bunch of time for fun at the lake or whatever.

 

I hope this helps

Good Luck

[Nathan]

Maybe it's a little late to offer any advice now, but seeing as it still is some ways until summer...

 

I'm the first year camper director for Camp Olmsted (we call our program TrailsHead), and the number one most important thing you can do is to know every single scout's name in the program. If you know their name, the scout feels better about himself and is going to have a lot better time at summer camp (this is especially important as a great number of first year scouts are homesick). Knowing the scout's name also impresses the adult leaders and makes them feel a lot more confident in you.

 

As a number of people here have stated, fun is very important in a first year camper program. But you don't need games necassarily; you just need to make the material fun to learn. This can be hard to do since some of the stuff does not lend itself easily to games, but when you teach the scouts, don't start talking in a monotone. Be energetic, move around a lot, make jokes, and even go off on tangents. Scouts also love sharing and listening to stories.

 

And make sure your staff is well trained. First year, I made the mistake assuming they already knew everything (I was working with life scouts). But, I was wrong, and for the rest of that summer I found that I was having to do a lot of their work. So in your staff week, go over everything and make sure everyone knows their stuff inside and out. And don't take their word on anything; make them prove what they know. Also, you should cover how to teach scouts during staff week. For example, no speaking in monotones, no harsh comments, stay cheerful, and be funny.

 

You also have to have accountability in your program. At the end of the week, each troop should get a list back of what their scouts have learned and what they haven't learned. Preferably, you should have each scout demonstrate to you their knowledge of a skill before you go and check them off on it.

 

But, in the end, it's a great job if you got the mindset for it. You gotta be a goofball, willing to put up with the thousands of annoying things scouts do, and you gotta know absolutely everything about boy scouts (from Baden Powell to the J-stroke). It might be the hardest job in summer camp simply because the first year camper director has to personally deal with so many scouts, but it's also the best job at summer camp to have.

[tazteez411]

I would really appreciate if i would get a job at a camp.

[TheScout]

ok . . .

 

Maybe you should do something about it.

[John-in-KC]

Mr Tazteez,

 

You start by calling your Council service center and asking for a camp staff job application. Fill it out, get your references together (usually your SM is a MANDATORY reference), and turn it in.

 

Of course, since most Scout Camps have staff week in two weeks, you may be a bit behind the power curve.

 

Wish you well. My son starts his second year as a staffer soon enough His Director and PD were part of his EBOR last year