Debriefing Your Day At Camp - CampHacker #88

Making The End Of The Day Meaningful

 Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher

 Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher

One of the key practices in adventure and experiential programming is debriefing. The goal of debriefing an experience is to maximize the potential for reflection and a transfer of learning for your participants.

In short, helping people get the most out of something they did or felt in the day.

If we do it after a team-building initiative or a session on the high-ropes, why not do it at the end of the day?

We should.

The camp day is full of transformative moments; sometimes, there’s almost too many to keep track of. By prompting some mindfulness at the end of the day with your campers, it gives them the chance to unpack all of their conversations, moments of growth and feelings and go to bed thinking meaningful thoughts.

This episode of the CampHacker Podcast, prompted by Go Camp Pro founder, Laura Kriegel, is dedicated to the best practices about debriefing your day with your campers. Inside, you’ll find some awesome conversation and pro-tips from 5 seasoned camp directors. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy for this one, you’ll definitely need to do some jotting! You may have heard of the classic (and fantastic) "Rose, Bud and Thorn", but what about "Tweeting the Day?" How about "Char Cloth"? "Key Log"? "Gypsy Jewelry"?

Seriously. Get that note-pad out!

What other debriefing tools and methods would you suggest? Please share in the comment section below. The more ideas, the better our summers will be!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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The Power of the Big Trip - CampHacker #87

Big Trips Mean Big Growth

For most of us, we know that a canoe trip is one of the quintessential ways for kids to connect with nature, challenge themselves and build a special kind of camaraderie with their trip-mates. That being said, when most of us think about canoe trips, we`re thinking 5 days, maybe 7 or even 14.

What happens when you up the stakes and "turn the dial to 11" and start talking about the long-haul trips? 20 days, 40 days, entire summer trips with air-drops, train rides and crossing national borders!

Oh yeah.

This episode of the CampHacker podcast is dedicated to these kinds of big trips and the camps that have them down to a science. Travis is joined by 3 Directors whose camps specialize in these epic excursions. These 4 Camp Pros put their heads together to discuss not just the logistics of these trips (which are super interesting!), but the transformative power that comes from campers and staff immersing themselves into nature for weeks at a time. What emerges from these conversations is that the long trips may be logistically tricky and definitely more expensive when you factor in flying in food and long distance pick-ups, but the pay off in the experience and growth is more than worth it.

For the campers, they get a genuine experience of autonomy as they gain confidence and move from a passive participant to an active player in their, and their peer's experience. For staff, it`s a chance to role model and build relationships in a way that simply isn`t possible on site or on a week on the river.

These things take time - and there`s no better place to take that time than on the water and the trails.

We hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast. If you have any thoughts on, or questions about these types of trips, let us know in the comments below. We'd love to hear them. 

Finding a Full Time Job at Camp - CampHacker #86

How Do I Get a Year-Round Job at Camp?

                      Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

                      Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

If you've been tuning in to the last two episodes of the podcast, you'll know that we're talking all about full time work at camp. So far we've covered, asking yourself if camp is right for you as well as making your full time camp job a sustainable one. This episode, we wrap up the mini-series with an entire episode dedicated to how to find not only a full-time camp job, but the right full-time camp job.

CampHackers Dan, Joe, Gab and Travis all put their heads together to share their experiences and their best advice on where to look, how to apply and some insider tips and tricks on getting your foot in the door.

It turns out that the road to full time work is much more broad than you'd think. Yes, you can look on the OCA, ACA, YMCA and every other acronym'd job board and send out an email, but is that really what's going to set you apart? If you find that you're spinning your wheels just spitting out resumes and cover letters, then this episode is definitely for you.

We hope that you loved this series. If you know someone out there that is ready to take the leap into the full time camp life, then what better way to begin your mentoring by sharing this show with them?

This is the last episode of the, "is camp right for me" series. What piece of advice have you taken from these episodes? Have we missed anything?

Let us know in the comments below!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

  • Travis - 400 dice for $30 - see more at instagram.com/camphacker
  • Gab - Hiring a professional to do lice checks on opening day to avoid headaches - "The Lice Fairy!"
  • Joe - Investing in the right technology that you use every day. Shout out to the Google Nexus 6P - Joe priced the 128gig version out to $1.50/day
  • Dan - keep.google.com - Free note taking and to-do list for your "external brain"

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Preparing Yourself for a Sustainable Camp Career - CampHacker #85

Find the Fun, Serve Others, Pace Yourself 

 Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

 Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

Welcome back to the podcast and welcome to episode 2 of the "Is camp right for me?" mini-series. Last episode, we covered the personal questions that someone should ask themselves before considering a life in camp. You can find that episode here.

This week, CampHacker Travis is joined by camp pros Marc Cooper from Camp Tamarack and Topher Aderhold from Camp Gray. Travis, Marc and Topher put on their thinking caps to share their secrets for what it takes to not only survive in the full-time camp world, but thrive in it. From balancing your camp and personal life, to your every day demeanour during the summer, this episode covers a lot of ground!

After all, working at camp means that more often than not, it's up to you and you alone to figure things out. It's an hour before a group comes and you've sprung a huge leak, the staff are dragging their butts and you haven't had the chance to talk to your significant other who lives off site in a couple of days! Sound familiar? These kinds of things can, and most likely will happen, but, by being proactive, keeping a cool head and a set of keen "director's eyes", things will be just fine.

We hope the tips and stories here will be perfect for not only those thinking of joining the industry, but full time veterans as well.

What are your top tips for a fruitful camp career? Let us know in the comment section below!

Next up in the series: You've got the inspiration, you know how to make it sustainable, now let's get hired!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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