Last week Ron and I were woken up at 2 am by loud knocking on our front door – apparently a 16 year old had been seen breaking into cars in our neighborhood, and the police came down our road in time to catch him rooting through our cars in the driveway.
Aside from the obvious shock of being startled awake in the middle of the night, and knowing that someone had violated our personal space in what I have always considered to be a VERY safe place to live, I was also disturbed to learn that the person who broke into our cars was also a neighbor – someone who lived not far down the road from us.
A sense of community is very important to me. It’s the reason I moved back home to Perth after living in Toronto for a few years. The “takes a village to raise a child” mentality is one of the main reasons I started camp. I think about my 16 year old junior counselors who work so hard to care for our campers, and what makes them different from the 16 year old who tried to steal from me. I think about my screening process for those staff. Most importantly, I think about our little “sprouts” campers at four and five years old. What are we doing for those kids, so that they will never find themselves in that position? This is a great motivational question for me as I look forward to Summer 2012.
“Camps that pull this off and make kids, especially teens, put away the makeup, stash the iPods, get a little dirty and even a little frustrated while having fun and making new friends, are the kinds of camps that offer children the best of what they need. Looking at those experiences from the vantage point of my research on resilience, I know that camps help our children develop great coping strategies when they provide seven things all children need:”
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a PLANNER. I love calendars and checklists and label makers. This love of organizing and colour coding has served me well as a camp director – making schedules and managing all those little details is something that comes very easily. So naturally, the idea of planning a wedding was never that scary to me. In fact it’s exciting! It’s an excuse to pull out all my binder dividers and coloured pens. It’s an excuse to spend $50 on totally necessary office supplies at Staples.
What I didn’t expect was just how much the NON-organizational aspects of camp would also help me plan the biggest party of my life.
The Theme
Apparently, according to Martha Stewart and the internet, your wedding should have a theme. Ok… so my wedding is like a Colour War. And during Colour War, everything is based on the theme: decor, costumes, food, and activities so everything works together. Well hey, no problem! We do this every day during the summer. (But don’t worry… we’re not having a pirate or Harry Potter wedding.)
The Guest Experience
When we plan programs and events for camp we always try to look at things from the camper’s perspective. What will they see? hear? feel? Taking the time to think about the wedding from our guests’ perspective helps to iron out the little details that will make a difference in their comfort level. And I’ve thought a little about behaviour management too. Ever seen what happens when you leave empty blocks of time in a schedule? (Answer: The momentum is gone. Plus, if you don’t give them something to do, they’ll find something. And it probably won’t be the thing you want them to do.) So at our wedding, there will be no leaving our guests to twiddle their thumbs!
DIY
Weddings can be ridiculously expensive. Just ask my bank account. Luckily I have useful camp skills that are easily transferable (and free!), like photo editing (save the dates), cutting & pasting (invitations), making playlists (no DJ needed), and random craftiness (you’ll have to wait and see!).
Personality
One of the wonderful things about camp is how you have an opportunity to put your own personal stamp on everything you do. You can be silly & weird and it’s ok. That’s something that I really want for our special day – I want our personalities to shine through. One thing I can promise – this will not be a “cookie cutter” wedding!
Chris Thurber has written an excellent article on how to write about camp jobs on your resume. This is a great read for our previous staff, as it shows how to celebrate the importance of camp to non-camp people who might be reading your resume.
More than that though, it’s a good read for anyone applying to work at camp, or anywhere else for that matter. My favorite big ideas from this article:
The wording you use can make a HUGE difference in how your job experience is perceived. Be professional, and don’t use “camp-specific” words that no one else will understand.
Spelling and grammatical errors are not acceptable. Period. (I love this line: “Those who think that my little thought-train sounds harsh are the ones who won’t get choice jobs. It’s as simple as that.”) I agree. If you don’t care enough to proofread your resume, will you care about your job?
Camp IS a “real job”. Another quote: “No responsibility rivals that of caring for children.” I understand this – I want to work with other people who understand it, too.
Our 3rd annual Santa’s workshop was a great success! With double the enrolment of last year, we had a full house and both campers and staff had a wonderful time.
At the beginning of the 2010 Summer season we were in the unfortunate position of having to replace a counselor at the last minute. Luckily for us, Mikayla had a brother! Dakota is a lover of all sports, especially hockey and baseball, so it’s no surprise that he will be working with the Senior Sports group again this year. Welcome back, Dakota!
I’m pleased to introduce Cassie Sharp, one of our newest staff members. Despite her young age Cassie is already an accomplished athlete in a variety of sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, & hockey in particular. In fact, she recently received an invitation to attend tryouts for Team Ontario! In addition to Cassie’s athletic qualifications, she also has lots of experiences working with children in the community, and is interested in becoming a teacher. Cassie will be working with the Shoots age group this summer.
Weddings can be ridiculously expensive. Just ask my bank account. Luckily I have useful camp skills that are easily transferable (and free!), like photo editing (save the dates), cutting & pasting (invitations), making playlists (no DJ needed), and random craftiness (you’ll have to wait and see!).
