The Summer Camp Society Blog

Presenting, The Facilitator Elevator: Sharing and Growing in Community

Presenting, The Facilitator Elevator: Sharing and Growing in Community

Level up your facilitation skills with the Facilitator Elevator! This game-changing tool helps camp trainers engage their teams, deliver impactful sessions, and build confidence in even the toughest training environments. Elevate your camp staff training with ease and energy.

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Smartphone Scrapbook: An Easy Icebreaker for Summer Camp Staff Training

Smartphone Scrapbook: An Easy Icebreaker for Summer Camp Staff Training

Looking for a simple yet powerful way to kick off your camp staff training? This icebreaker activity gets your team energized, laughing, and connecting within minutes. It's perfect for breaking down barriers and building the trust you need to tackle the summer ahead

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White is the default at camp: Let's work to change that

White is the default at camp: Let's work to change that

Black Lives Matter at Camp.


Yes, and: This statement needs to be viewed more as a call to action than as a declaration. Because the work of dismantling white supremacy culture at camp (and in our greater society) can’t simply be “accomplished”. In some spaces, or many spaces, it hasn’t started. This call to action drives members of the camp community to start and continue the process of building an equitable camp community where everyone can thrive. It’s recognizing that it’s a lot easier for white kids to thrive at (or even attend) most camps, because, as Nelson Strickland has noted, white is the default at camp.

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Camp Kiko Crisis Challenge: A Simulation Activity for Camp Leaders
Staff Training, Camp Operations & Management Sarah Kurtz McKinnon Staff Training, Camp Operations & Management Sarah Kurtz McKinnon

Camp Kiko Crisis Challenge: A Simulation Activity for Camp Leaders

For this reason, I have developed a new simulation activity that camp leaders can use for an in-service training: The Camp Kiko Crisis Challenge. In this challenge, you will pretend you run a camp where four campers have gone missing on a field trip. Allegations of drug use swirl and transportation to the field trip location (a remote island) make things even worse. What will you do in the face of these issues? Test your skills by trying out our new exercise

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September Networking Goals: Strive for Five
Other, Leadership & Staff Development Sarah Kurtz McKinnon Other, Leadership & Staff Development Sarah Kurtz McKinnon

September Networking Goals: Strive for Five

But ultimately, networking is the way that we can get things done. It’s the process of starting relationships that are beneficial for not just the person we are networking with, but also ourselves and for our camps. We do good work, and networking is the way that we can share what we do as well as find resources to make what we do even better.

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