6 Myths About Working at Summer Camp - First Class Counselors #32

Don’t listen to the movies - working at Summer Camp is nothing like it - it’s much more real, and much better!

The mythos of camp is one filled with legends and mystery. While much of it falls in the realms of you just need to be there to understand or it’s locked away in the secrecy of never can tell games there are a few things we can bust for you today. What is true and untrue about some myths you have heard about camp?

Our Podcasts are usually specifically geared towards camp counsellors, and are usually pretty skill-based, but we’re doing this for Camp Directors and Camp staff who want to recruit other staff to work at camp.

If you’re listening to this because a Camp Director or friend told you to listen to this - welcome! It’s great to have you.

We’re excited to help share some way to tell people what camp is really all about.

Bonus Links:

First Class Counselors Podcast Episode: Camp IS a Real Job! With Kim Aycock

First Class Counselors Podcast Episode: Camp Counselor Financials

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: Campfire Cooking. The Campfire Cookbook: 80 Imaginative Recipes for Cooking Outdoors

Matt: Finger Calculator Game (Add’em up)

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

This Will Make You A Better Camp Programmer - First Class Counselors #31

Every camp counselor is, or will be, a programmer someday. No matter how basic your session is, there are a few things that you can do to make them the best they can be

Programs.

At most camps you are going to end up leading a program. It could be guitar, swim lessons or archery There are honestly hundreds of programs camps can offer. Some require special training or are an established skill you should already know how to do. But for many counselors it is your first time teaching, leading or instructing.

Being an incredible athlete or artist will not guarantee greatness in your program period. But these simple skills, tricks and techniques might. Today we are specifically covering programs campers sign up for and repeat throughout the week or are coming to for an extended period of time. 

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: Theme your days. Start a group text with your camp friends and link a calendar. On that calendar put a bunch of random themes that you would normally have at camp and send each other pictures of the day. 

Matt: Use a role-playing game 20-sided dice to gamify your camp experiences!

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Camper-Friendly Language - First Class Counselors #30

A camp counselor’s words can change a child’s life. Here’s how to handle that incredible responsibility with care, grace, and skill.

You are a hero to your campers.

Whether you like it or not, those kids are going to think you’re the coolest thing since sliced bread and want to be just like you. This means that we always need to make sure that through our words and actions, we’re teaching them, by example, that what we say and do matter.

This episode, Matt and Oliver cover the words part. They put their heads together and break down how the language we use with campers can lead them, comfort them, correct them and inspire them.

So untwist those tongues and put on your thinking caps, because this episode is a good one!

Links from this episode:

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: The Plant Project - Take a plant, smash it, and bring it back to life with a new pot. Great nurturing practice for camp!

Matt: Team Body Project Workouts

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Humble Brags and Future Endeavors - First Class Counselors #29

Let’s purposefully reflect on 2020 and prepare for the year ahead.

We’re posting this as 2020 comes to a close.

If you’re viewing this from the future, congrats, you’re still here!

2020 was a weird year, but COVID certainly didn’t stop the learning, growing and changing that would happen any other year.

So for this episode, the last of the year, Oliver and Matt reflect on the 2020 year, look forward to 2021 and talk a little about goal-setting through the eyes of a camp counselor.

Tune in to hear about:

  • Oliver and Matt’s personal and professional wins of the year

  • Their resolutions going forward

  • Some big, ambitious goals for camp staff in 2021

  • What goes into creating a successful resolution.

Links from this episode:

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: Use The Pomodoro Method to GET STUFF DONE.

Matt: Make it a new year’s resolution to learn how to play Ukulele!

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

10 Things You'd NEVER Expect A Camp Counselor Does at Camp - First Class Counselors #28

Camp Couneslors do whatever needs to be done to give campers the best summer camp experience they can.

“Other duties as required”. It's a short sentence at the end of a job description that means an awful lot. Today we are going to share some of our stories that fall into this jurisdiction. These are the stories where it is the job that just has to get done, the weird tasks we have had to perform and the unexpected flexibility needed from counselors who are doing their best.

We hope for first-time counselors this may identify the responsibilities of being a counselor. For those who have a few summers under their belt these are some great stories that may help you down the line. 

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: 

Simple bets- small and don’t let it escalate. Be a good judge of if your cabin can handle it, but it can be a lot of fun. 

Things you can bet

  • A push up (at anytime)

  • A bouquet of grass

  • Door manager for the day

  • 10 tree hugs

  • A list of names for my future children

  • A portrait of me

  • 5 compliments before bed

Matt: Nature game - Find a Tree

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Being an Ally to Women in Camping - with Rachel Kent and Ruby Compton - First Class Counselors #27

It’s time for the men of the camping industry to step up, step down, and better support our women colleagues in camp.

The camp industry, as a whole, participates in structural inequality. Period.

It’s easy to get caught in the trap of believing that because we create the separate, magical and intentional community at camp, that we are too insulated from the crap of the outside world. In some ways, we definitely exist in a bubble, but that is not the case when it comes to structural racism, sexism and other forms of inequality.

In this episode of First Class Counsellors, we begin a series on using our privilege, power, and knowledge of the camp industry to look at issues of inequality from the ground up - and that means starting with camp counsellors.

To start, Oliver and Matt are joined by Go Camp Pro podcast pros Ruby Compton (of Camp Code fame) and Rachel Kent (of Beyond Camp fame). Together they talk about their experiences being on both sides of sexism and how our young, male counsellors can better support their female-identifying co-workers.

Finally, Rachel and Ruby share about their involvement with the Women in Camp Summit and the work the conference and movement does to empower, educate and foster the growth of women in the camping industry.

Together, our four hosts cover:

  • Their counselling experience and how their genders impacted their time at camp.

  • From a counsellor's scope, where do / have we seen inequality between men and women at camp exist?

  • What can male camp counsellors do to be better allies to their female co-staff? 

  • How the Women in Camp Summit began and what this year’s summit will look like

  • Why were the “allies event” and “allies fund” created for this year?

  • Much, much more!

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver: Fairy Letters (check out the video for this one to see it)

Matt: Heads or Tails, 2 minute elimination game

Ruby: Fairy House turned into mini ninja training ground

Rachel: Eco Police - Giving campers the task of looking out for camp’s environmental impact.

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Camp Counselor Financials - First Class Counselors #26

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Should you spend your own money on camp stuff? No. Well…sometimes…well…okay, just listen to this episode!

This one has been a bee in our bonnet for a long time. Camp counselors make so little money, but often spend so much of it on things they use at camp and we’re here to stand on our soapbox and say NO MORE!

Granted, there are some times to invest in gear, games or self-care, but at the end of the day you should never have to spend big bucks to be a First Class Counselor!

Tune in to this episode to learn about:

  • How does pay work in the summer camp world and why is it generally so low?

  • What are some of the benefits of working at camp beyond the pay?

  • What should you NOT spend your hard-earned pay on? When may it be okay?

  • Hear about Matt and Oliver’s most shameful camp purchases so you don’t have to make their mistake!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Bonus Material - Thanks for reading the show notes!

 
Matt as Captain Planet
 

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Oliver:

Put it on a graph, chart, infographic

  • Is cereal a soup

  • Is water wet

  • Most popular questions google is asked

  • Most common thoughts of dogs

Matt:

DIY Disc Golf Course

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Sensational Storytelling - First Class Counselors #25

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Being able to spin a great story: A skill for every First Class Counselor to learn. Joe Richards, Camp Director, Podcaster and Storytelling Wizard is here to teach you how.

Telling a great story is much more than sitting down on a stump, shining a flashlight under your chin and telling a story that you’ve memorized.

If you want your stories to draw campers in, transport them to another world and hang on your every word, it takes a lot!. As with any hard-skill like this, it’s going to take both knowledge and practice to get it right. So First Class Counselors is here to give you a great start on the knowledge piece.

Joining Oliver and Matt is Joe Richards, Executive Director at Pearce Williams and co-host of the CampHacker Podcast. Joe’s experience in storytelling is deep and wide, beginning from his time as a counselor and carrying through a University thesis on the subject and now in his work teaching other staff at Pearce Williams.

Tune in to this episode to learn about:

  • Are scary stories okay at camp?

  • Why are stories so connected to the camp experience?

  • Where do you start if you think you have no storytelling skills?

  • What tricks do you use to capture attention?

  • What resources do you use when trying to find or even make a great story?

  • Hear a great example of a story from Joe!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Bonus Material - Thanks for reading the show notes!

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E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Matt: Never-Can-Tell: Snaps

Oliver: Rory’s Story Cubes

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

6 Essential Skills for All Camp Counselors - First Class Counselors #24

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If you can master these 6 skills, you’re probably a First Class Counselor!

Let's cut to the chase. These 6 skills are absolutely essential for a camp counselor to have.

In this episode, Oliver and Matt break down the skills and how you can work on them.

Here are the skills:

  1. Saying Yes

  2. Asking Questions and Listening Properly

  3. Be Prepared, but Be Flexible

  4. Sight on Safety

  5. Support on the Sideline

  6. Practice Positivity

Tune in to this episode to learn about these skills and how to develop them before next summer.

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Bonus Material - Thanks for reading the show notes!

  • SMEAT - The ultimate safety acronym

    • S - Sharp & Dangerous Objects

    • M - Mass, anything heavy or that will be affected by weight

    • E - Energy - what is the energy level required to participate safely

    • A - Area - is the activity area well defined and clear of hazards, distractions or other dangers

    • T - Temperature - Is the material hot or are the weather conditions acceptable to participate

  • Beyond Camp: Toxic Positivity

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Matt: Dragons and Knights (also known as Grilled Cheese)

Oliver: 3 Blind Card Game (heads up, there’s a curse word in the actual title)

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Creating Wonder and Magic for Campers - First Class Counselors #23

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With this skill, First Class Counselors create an extraordinary world to welcome campers into! Let’s make it magical!

Do you ever wonder why some counselors are next level, you could almost say first class?

  • How do they create wondrous moments and stories that campers remember for years to come?

  • How do they make star gazing incredible?

  • Cabin cleaning an event to look forward to? Or themed days completely immersive?

In the industry, we call it camp magic.

In this episode, Oliver and Matt define and share ways to be magical.

We like to say we are in the memory-making business. What can you do to make sure campers remember their inexperience at camp?

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • What does “camp magic” even mean?

  • What does camp magic look like? Why do some people say it’s invisible?

  • 14+ tips on how to create wonder and magic for your campers this summer

  • How to make these magical moments actually happen?

  • Much, much more!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Bonus Material - Thanks for reading the show notes!

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Matt: Camp Song - Ticky Tack (give this episode a listen to hear it!)

Oliver: Improv Game - Questions Only

Host Links

What is First Class Counselors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Camp and Back to School (in a Global Pandemic) - First Class Counselors #22

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You’re back to school and we’re back to Podcasting. Welcome to First Class Counselors Season 3!

It’s so great to be back.

Now we’re excited to be back to the podcast…but you may not be so excited about being back to school. We get it and we hear you.

So in our mission to keep talking about the things that matter most to camp counselors, we’re here to talk about how the skills that camp teaches can help during tough transitions like back to school.

To help us unpack this we welcome Thomas Dewar, a staff member at The Cairn Family of Camps in Ontario. Thomas is a music student at Western University in London, Ontario. He was a virtual camp staff during the summer of 2020, and is now in full back to school mode.

We’re so grateful to get Thomas’ perspective on how camp has given him the skills to manage back a normal, and this not so normal, transition.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

E.G.E.L - Ever Growing Ever Learning

Games, songs, and other super-practical tips that you can use at camp next summer.

Thomas: The Dinosaur Song (video coming soon!)

Matt: Game: Change 3 Things Game

Oliver: Write a letter to foster some of your social circles.

Funny letter prompts:

  • “A podcast I listen to told me to do this…”

  • “Wanted to let you know I want to hang out more often”

  • “I found this restaurant that is a nice place to meet up” 

  • “I always wanted to skydive but I need you buddy”

  • “If school sucks send me a letter back and I will rescue you when you least need it”

  • “Here is a list of transcribed pick up lines so you can make new friends. I know you are lost without me”

  • “I am not desperate. But i did write this by hand, find an envelope, relearn how to address a letter, purchase a stamp and drop this in a mailbox to talk to you when I could have sent a text.”

Host Links

Guest

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Setting Goals for Summer 2020 and 2021 - First Class Counselors #21

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Thanks for the season, friends! Let’s recap and set some goals for whenever your next summer at camp will be.

Welcome to the season finale of season 2 of First Class Counsellors!

At the end of every summer, it’s important that you, as a counselor take some time to reflect on the many lessons that you learned from the summer.

It’s equally important to think about those lessons in the context of whatever is next.

That was the plan for this episode. We wanted to reflect on our entire season of episodes and think about what stood out as some important lessons or trends as we talked.

Then we planned on using those lessons and trends to help you set goals for the summer of 2020 at camp.

Then - COVID happened. Both Oliver and Matt’s camp communities have been directed to close overnight programs for the summer.

So, as any First Class Counselor would, they adapted and thought about goals that would apply in 2020 whether or not camp was running in 2020 and then how to think ahead to 2021.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • Matt and Oliver’s favourite episodes from Season 2 of First Class Counselors

  • Some of the most practical skills for counselors in camp and as they think about what’s next

  • Some of the biggest trends they spotted in the process of producing this season

  • Thoughts on how COVID is going to impact this summer for camp staff

  • Goal setting for 2020 and 2021

  • News on Season 3 of First Class Counsellors and how to stay in touch over the summer.

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills.

Goals for 2020 and 2021

2020 - If camp is open

Matt: If camp is open, be the best team-player. Camp is going to look different this summer, but it’s your job to have the most fun, ever in the process.

Oliver: You are front-line safety supervisors. You have an incredible amount of responsibility to keep kids safe while still bringing the camp spirit. Treat that responsibility seriously. We thank you for this role you are taking on.

2020 - If camp is closed

Matt and Oliver: Treat this summer as a sabbatical. Work hard to grow your skills and learn more so you can come back without missing a step in 2021.

2021

Matt and Oliver: Come back. Do everything you can to not lose that camp spirit and come back in 2021. Camp, and the kids, will need you.

Bonus Resources

Things we mentioned in the episode:

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

How to Receive (and Give!) Feedback - First Class Counselors #20

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First Class Counsellors show their maturity when they are able to receive and follow through on feedback. Here’s how to do it.

Welcome to episode 20 of First Class Counsellors!

Feedback. As a counselor you get a lot of feedback. Most of it is typically tough to hear or difficult to adapt to.

You are ultimately responsible for your behaviour and there are some things you may need to change.

How you receive that feedback and interpret it is important.

We are mostly going to talk about the tough conversations today but we want everyone to know that feedback is all positive because it is all aimed to get better. If you keep that growth mindset these conversations will not only be productive but a lot easier.

On this episode of First Class Counselors, we give you the tools to both receive and give feedback in the most productive was possible.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • What’s it like for the person giving feedback?

  • Tips for listening to feedback so you get the most out of it

  • How to make the change that the feedback is asking you to make

  • What changes when it comes to evaluations?

  • How to give feedback to a co-counsellor?

  • What about positive feedback? How do we give and receive it?

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Draw a picture of your favorite camp song, send it to your director
Matt: The Crisis Text Line offers text-based support in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the US. Services can also be accessed via Facebook Messenger. This service was just expanded to Canada and Ireland so your stakeholders may not be aware of it.

Check out the access numbers here https://www.crisistextline.org/.

Please note that it appears that parts of the website indicate that service hasn't launched in Ireland yet. But there is a contact number for Ireland on the landing page, so it looks like service is available but not fully ramped up yet.

Crisis Text Line is also looking for volunteers in all the countries they service and this could be a great opportunity for your staff and volunteers to support their communities at this time.

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Be the Best Co - First Class Counselors #19

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Learning how to be a great co-counselor will be one of the most important life skills you take away from camp. Here’s how to do it.

Welcome to episode 19 of First Class Counsellors!

One of the best parts about camp is that we get to live and work with people that can become our nearest and dearest friends.

However, to get to that point, you have to understand that it takes work, and it’s not always easy.

The camp job can be hard. Working and living with the same people is sometimes HARDER. This isn’t a group project. You may have 2 whole months with these people and even when it gets hard, it’s still your job to be good to each other.

A good co-counseling relationship will inevitably mean that the campers have a good week, and of course, that’s what we want.

On this episode of First Class Counselors, we give you the tools to not only be an incredible co-worker at camp, but a great co-worker for the rest of your lives.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • How to support the mental, emotional and physical health of your Co

  • How to support your Co in their big moments to step up and take leadership

  • Tips for keeping each other accountable for doing the best possible job you can

  • What do you do if you don’t like your Co? What if you HATE them?

  • How to support the rest of your co-workers in the everyday places at camp

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

-

If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 100 Humans on Netflix - Oliver’s Make My Day Resource
Matt: Discover your Love Language! Take this simple quiz!

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Super Supervision - First Class Counselors #18

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Being a great, active, engaged supervisor is what really sets a First Class Counsellor apart. Here’s how to do it.

Welcome to episode 18 of First Class Counsellors!

When you hear the word “supervise” it may conjure up a picture of a parent sitting on a park bench watching their kid play on a jungle gym.

Let’s get this straight. That is NOT what we’re talking about here.

When a “First Class” camp counsellor is “supervising” campers, it’s almost like they are using a superpower. They can spot problems before they even happen. They are connecting with kids. They are supporting their colleagues. Is this amazing skill something counsellors just KNOW?

No! But it’s one of those things that usually has to come with a bit of experience.

On this episode of First Class Counsellors, we hack the supervision superpower and give even brand new counsellors the keys to unlock their inner supervision superhero.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • What are the different levels of supervision? What’s the difference between “zone” and “person” coverage?

  • The DARLING supervision framework (h/t to James Davis and the Summer Camp Society for this idea)

  • Where are the most important areas for stellar supervision at camp?

  • How to make supervision engaging for both you and the campers you are caring for?

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

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If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Mark Rober, a Youtuber who makes learning STEM activities extremely engaging! - (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg)

Matt: Pick up a new instrument NOW! You won’t learn when you’re at camp unless someone offers staff lessons (which there likely won’t be time for) and if you know the basic chords, and have a capo, you can play most camp songs and go from there.

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Health and Hygiene at Camp - First Class Counsellors #17

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Be the cleanest (and the coolest!) counsellor this summer!

Welcome to episode 17 of First Class Counsellors!

This episode was recorded in mid-March, 2020. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we thought that it would be the right time to address something that will definitely be useful this coming summer and every summer after it.

Camp is a dirty place - and sometimes that’s part of the fun! Who doesn’t love jumping in mud puddles, rolling in the grass and blowing off that questionable amount of dirt that fell off your pancake you dropped on the ground on a canoe trip.

Even so, especially in the summer following the COVID-19 outbreak, there is a necessity to keep each other safe, by monitoring our health and keeping hygiene in the front of your mind.

It’s something that EVERY camp director thinks about, but as a new counsellor, you’re focused on SO many things, you might not always consider something like this. That’s why we’re covering all things health and hygiene in this episode of First Class Counsellors.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • Why health and hygiene is important at camp, not just when we’re in the middle of a pandemic

  • All of the different places where you should consider health and hygiene this summer

  • How the camp medic/nurse can help, and how you can help them to keep camp clean and people healthy

  • A bunch of ways to make cleaning and saying healthy fun!

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

-

If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 

  • Wash your hands - no seriously! Find a great camp song that lasts for 20 seconds. Wash your hands while singing the song. You can even record it and send it to your director for their social media!

Matt:

  • Learn some fun no-touch icebreakers! You can find a bunch of them in books like this one - https://amzn.to/3aem2bm

Bonus Resources!

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

How to Make Friends at Camp - First Class Counsellors #16

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How to make the type of camp friends that will be in your wedding party.

Welcome to episode 16 of First Class Counsellors!

Matt here - I usually write these posts in the 3rd person, but this episode really hits home for me.

99% of my closest friends are camp friends.

I had a rough high-school experience. I wasn’t able to find a solid group of friends and never really felt like I had a group of people that loved me for who I really was.

Camp changed everything for me. Because of camp, I found out what I was missing in those relationships at home. Those people got me. Over the course of one, maybe two summers, I felt like I had a community of people that supported me and that I could turn to whenever I was in need. We stayed connected in the off-season and grew closer and closer with every year.

Fast-forward 13 years. Every person in mine and my wife’s wedding party was a camp person. We spend every new-years together and talk in a group message almost every day.

I’m truly blessed.

Now, not every person’s camp experience will like mine. I had the privilege of being the best friend of the director’s son and I was a long-time camper before becoming a staff member. I wasn’t an international staff member and didn’t have to understand both the culture of camp AND the country I was in.

My privilege aside. I truly believe that camp is one of the best places to make lifelong friends and that’s why we did a whole podcast episode on it.

Tune in to this episode to hear about:

  • Why the conditions at camp are perfect for making friends

  • How to make friends at camp this summer

  • Ways to have great camp friends and still prioritize your job

  • A whole lot of other ideas on how to form lifelong connections this summer

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

-

If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 

  • Get a BUNCH of high-quality stickers! People love putting them on their water-bottles and you can use them as rewards for people remembering their water-bottles.

Matt:

  • Get yourself a good backpack for this summer. In Matt’s camp bag, you’ll always find:

    • A mini first aid kit

    • A GOOD raincoat

    • Deck of cards or small board games

    • Hackey Sack or small ball

    • Waterbottle & Coffee Mug

    • Extra socks

    • Granola bar if you’re allowed

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Inspirational Initiative-Taking - First Class Counsellors #15

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Every all-star camp staff we know is an excellent initiative-taker. Here’s how to learn it, and do it.

Welcome to episode 15 of First Class Counsellors!

A raised hand. Someone picking up garbage. A voice, calling out in the darkness, “what else can I do?”.

A Camp Director’s dream!

How have we not talked about this yet!?

There may not be any studies to back this up, but it definitely wouldn’t be outlandish to say that any camp staff that would be called “great”, is likely great at taking initiative.

Staff who know what needs to be done, do it, and ask what else can be done is so incredibly valuable for any organization. When you have a camp staff full of people that take initiative, it means that things are always kept clean, that camp programs are always being made better and that in general, that people are making good decisions.

For you as a counsellor, having an initiative-mindset is like having a superpower. The intuition to see and solve a problem, or better-yet anticipate a problem and get ahead of it will make you a dream employee wherever you go.

That being said, if you’re still working on this superpower, fear not! It, like many all-star qualities, takes time to develop.

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to wait for the summer to hone your initiative skills?

Well, wait no more! This episode is for you!

Tune in to this episode of First Class Counsellors to hear Oliver and Matt discuss how to develop this critical camp staff skill. You’ll hear about:

  • The definition of initiative in the summer camp context

  • Common places at camp where all-star camp staff know to take initiative

  • How to be appropriately recognized for the great initiative-taking that you will do

  • How to positively affect your camp’s culture by encouraging others to take initiative

  • Many more practical ways to strengthen your initiative-taking muscles this summer

We hope you enjoy this episode, and most importantly, find it useful!

-

If you have any feedback, or a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 

  • Make a list of the behaviours you want to see from yourself this summer and make a plan on how you’ll work on those. Make an action plan 10 items per behaviour and keep that list on you in the summer. Behaviour change takes time!

Matt:

  • Make a personal packing list for camp. Then share it with your friends, share it with camp to give to new staff, maybe even make a video of yourself packing for your camp to share on social media!

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Working Well with Teens - First Class Counsellors #14

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Being the “cool” counsellor really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

Welcome to episode 14 of First Class Counsellors!

One of the best things about producing a podcast is when you get to hear from your listeners.

Even if it’s just a “hey, thanks!”, it really is appreciated to hear someone “talk” back after hours of us talking into our unresponsive microphones!

What’s even more appreciate is when our listeners reach out with a show suggestion! That’s where the inspiration for this episode came from. Here’s an excerpt from what we received from a Camp Director:

“We do our best to keep a 3-year age difference between staff and campers, but our youngest staff members still interact with our oldest campers during meals and all-camp activities. And, even a more experienced counselor can make these mistakes. I'd love to hear what you guys think! “

Those types of emails are why we’re here as a Podcast. Oliver and Matt saw this email, dropped everything, and got recording!

Tune in to this episode to talk through boundary-setting with teens, and more:

  • What types of camp programs draw teens to camp? Why do they choose to come to them?

  • What are some of the best parts about working with teens? How about the not-so-great parts?

  • How to set boundaries with teens in a way that recognizes their maturity, but draws a hard line at what is and isn’t appropriate

  • Ways to set teens up for success as they get ready to become camp staff

  • Some ideas for counsellors who want to work with teens someday

And as we always say, FOLLOW YOUR POLICIES FIRST, then try our advice ;)

-

Like our awesome listener, if you have a suggestion for a future FCC show, send Matt an email at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 

  • Are you sitting there wondering if you should come back to camp? Make up your mind now!!! We are in February, but this also makes sense in December or November for many camps. I'm finishing off my hiring and I know some staff are going to be disappointed they don’t have a job this summer, but they haven't applied. Get on it and reach out to someone who might be losing camp in their lives

Matt:

  • Do a social media audit and compare what you see in your posts to your “camp self”. Is this the type of person you would be comfortable showing to a camper or camper’s parent? What messages are you sending out about yourself? Even if it’s a “finsta”, think about if you’re proud of the type of person you are showing off to the world. 

Host Links

Bonus Resource - Because you read the show notes, and you’re awesome!

Awesome things to do that can only be done with teens

Oliver:

  • They prep a program

  • PG 13 movie night!!! Bum bum bum

  • Late nights and sleep-ins

  • Serious challenge activities

  • Talent shows with actual talent

  • Late-night porch talks about the complexity of the universe, life and beyond

Matt:

  • Night Games & Night Hikes

  • Overnights, sleeping in more random locations

  • Boardgame night

  • Competitive Sports

  • Deeper conversations with the camp director or faith conversations with a camp chaplain

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Cleanest Cabins - First Class Counsellors #13

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Cleaning your cabin with campers. It doesn’t need to be as painful and boring as it is!

Welcome to episode 13 of First Class Counsellors!

Don’t you hate it when you watch people litter? Or how about when people leave their shopping cart in the middle of the lot? It probably makes you think, “dang, I bet that person didn’t go to summer camp!”.

One of the biggest lessons that we can teach our campers is the value of serving their community. We have the incredible opportunity to help them understand that their actions have the ability to make other people’s lives easier through simple acts. When we have campers collecting the plates after a meal, doing a camp-wide chore, or even cleaning their cabin, we teach them that they are responsible for taking care of their neighbours and camp through acts of service.

That’s all well and good, but cleaning the cabin can still be the WORST. Right?

We hear you. If parents around the world struggle to get their kids to clean their rooms every day, then we’ve got to muster all of our camp magic and creativity to make it happen at camp. Let’s do this together! First Class Counsellors is here to help.

Tune in to this episode. We’ll guide you through:

  • The standard of clean that every cabin should keep itself to

  • How to get every camper on board with cleaning - even the ones who HATE it!

  • Creative ways to make the cabin cleaning process a little less painful and a lot more magical

  • Some pro tips for deep cleans, things every camper/staff miss and how to keep your local health and fire inspector happy

  • A shout out to MTV cribs - and a super cool program idea for your cabin!

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As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: 

Take time to draw a picture or pictures of camp. Send them on to your camp director and they can post it on social media as a counselor art contest. It can be a game - can you guess what the picture is or which staff member drew it?

Matt:

Get your application and/or paperwork in. This time of year is the time when the keeners can shine. If you can get all your stuff in and even start on any pre-training, your directors will love you for it and know that you are someone they can count on.

Host Links

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!