Much has been made recently about the meals that our children consume in places such as school cafeterias and summer camps. A general sentiment that these types of establishments place cost and convenience over nutrition and well being seems to be developing. In the world of summer camp, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, so dedicated are some summer camps to providing meals and snacks that combat bad eating habits that we’ve decided to dedicate an entire series of blogs to summer camp menus. In this first blog, we’ll introduce you to the basic concept of camp nutrition and menu compilation. In future blogs, we’ll discuss special diet, snacks, and the strategy behind the compilation of camp menus.
Most reputable camps offer a deliberate, carefully planned menu to campers and staff alike. Many camps employ the assistance of nutritionists when planning menus and select food based on the heightened physical activity of campers during the summer. All of America’s Finest Summer Camps, for instance, offer extensive yogurt and fruit bars at breakfast as well as salad bars at lunch and dinner. At breakfast, several different kinds of yogurt are available as well as fruit such as oranges and bananas. Hard boiled eggs, bagels, and cheese are also typically available. For those with lactose intolerance, lactose free as well as soy milk are often on hand. At lunch and dinner, salad bars offer everything from basic staples like tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, olives, cucumbers, and carrots to more progressive offerings like garbanzo beans, tuna, and marinated vegetable combinations, along with several dressings from which to complete the dish. Almost all camps offer vegetarian selections at mealtimes.
Increasingly, special diets are being taken into consideration as well. With many camp leaders and directors themselves learning to live with gluten allergies and diabetes, camp leaders have looked inward when planning menus and are becoming increasingly sensitive to special diet needs. More and more, menu options are being added with these considerations in mind.
Planning camp menus is a special challenge for camp directors. With so many campers and staff dining at each meal, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. However, there are other considerations when planning menus. Children are very active at camp—often considerably more active than they are at home. Physical activity begins in the morning and often continues into the evening. Many camp menus have been criticized for being heavy in carbohydrates. However, there is a nutritional basis in this. Diets heavy in carbohydrates are recommended for children who engage in heavy physical activity, as carbohydrates convert to sugar very quickly and help replenish energy. While it’s true that many camp foods are high in carbohydrates, it’s also important to consider that such a diet at camp is also responsibly balanced by ample servings of fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
Food allergies are also a prevalent consideration when planning camp menus. Nut allergies are the most common, although there are many others. Since food allergies tend to reveal themselves through various levels of sensitivity, it’s not only important to consider what campers and staff might consume when planning menus, but with whom and what they might come into contact during the course of a summer camp meal.
The preparation of food, particularly food that is fried, is another key target of critics. The fact is that even though many camps offer such traditionally “fried” fare as hamburgers, french fries, and cheese sticks, many of these foods, when prepared at camp, are not fried. Hamburgers are often grilled while fries and cheese sticks are typically baked to minimize the use of fatty oils.
In case you have ever suspected that your child’s nutrition takes a back seat to fun at summer camp, we hope this brief introduction has helped put your mind at ease. And if you’re still not convinced, we invite you to continue visiting this blog as we continue our series about camp menus.
According to the American Camp Association (ACA), nearly 1.2 million people take on the adventure of working at camp each summer. They come from all over the world and all walks of life. Some of them are former campers while others have never experienced summer camp at all. Their educations are as diverse as their backgrounds and many of them choose summer camp over a traditional internship because of the unique, well-rounded work experience it provides. Whether the winter weather already has you thinking about what you’ll be doing this summer or you’re just browsing summer employment opportunities, it’s worth asking yourself, “Am I one in a million?” :
Summer camp staff come from all over the world. Increasingly, as summer camps recognize their unique position to promote a global community in a fun, relaxed environment, they are recruiting staff from near and far. The ACA reports that within the last decade “there has been an increase in the use of international staff to expose campers to different cultures.” If you live outside of the U.S. and you’ve been wanting to travel to the USA, summer camp is a great way to earn some cash while getting to intimately experience life here. If you’re an American and a trip abroad just isn’t quite in the budget, you need go no further than a residential summer camp to make new friends from all over the world—and pad your bank account while doing it!
If you think that being a former camper is a pre-requisite to being a great camp counselor, think again. Many camp staff members who return to camp year after year never even set foot on a summer camp campus prior to working at one. Like many of their colleagues, that one step was all it took. They were won over and continue to return each season.
Summer camp employment isn’t just for education majors and coaches. Increasingly, those with majors in the social sciences, sciences, math, engineering, and even medicine and nursing are finding a summer home at camp as an alternative to the traditional internship. Summer camp provides many unique experiences that one can gain nowhere else, such as a 24/7 commitment and the opportunity to simultaneously work with children and adults in a close-knit family type community. Summer camp also develops a diverse range of core skills valued by employers today. As a camp staff member, one must make split second decisions, be an efficient negotiator, use creativity to sell ideas and concepts, resolve conflict, solve problems, be an effective leader, know how to prioritize, be extremely flexible, accept change, and be awesome when it comes to multi-tasking. If it sounds like a big order, it is. But almost all who take on the challenge report that it’s also one of the most fun and rewarding experiences upon which they’ve ever embarked.
If you are an education major or a coach, have you thought of summer camp as an opportunity to build experience working with children ages 7-15? Working at summer camp develops many of the same skills that are often used in the classroom or on the field. Many educational institutions view summer camp experience as some of the most valuable on a potential educator’s resume.
How many traditional internships pay you AND provide you with room and board? In addition to a stipend for the summer, almost all residential summer camp positions offer room and board as part of their employment packages. What this means to you is that, potentially, everything you earn throughout the summer goes straight into your pocket…or your bank account, as the case may be. Even if you allow yourself a bit to splurge on sightseeing around the local area (many of America’s finest summer camps are located in some of the most beautiful parts of the country), it’s still possible to take home a substantial amount of cash at the end of the summer. This is particularly appealing when one considers how much rent and food can add up to over a summer.
If you’re looking for the summer job to beat all summer jobs, summer camp may definitely be your cup of tea. At summer camp, everyday will be a new adventure that takes you both indoors and out from sunrise to sunset. There are no cubicles, no computers (aside from computers available for staff to use on their free time), and no time clocks. And…there are beautiful surroundings, a camp full of campers who depend on you, a slew of challenges you never knew you’d face (and enjoy), and a circle of lifetime friends waiting to meet you. If you’re one in a million, what are you waiting for? If you are a college or university student, check your college’s upcoming career fair lineups. Many summer camps travel to universities to recruit this time of year. It may be possible to meet the first member of your future camp family in person. If your college days are behind you or there are no summer camps scheduled to visit your university, you can apply directly through Camp Weequahic’s web page.
In a summer at Camp Weequahic, campers get dusty, muddy, covered in paint, and clothed in wonder… and that is just in the creative arts programs!
We are thrilled to offer campers interested in exploring the creative side of life many great outlets for their imaginative inclinations. Whether building in the woodshop, shaping in our pottery barn, or painting, drawing, and crafting in our arts studio, our campers tap into the creative side of things on a daily basis.
And the creative programs at Weequahic don’t just end there! Campers use their heads and hands while building new motorized contraptions in Robotics, create and stylw rockets that blast off daily in Rocketry, perform on stage in Theater, produce a weekly NewsWeeq, and jam on guitar, keyboards, and drums in Music!
For Summer 2012, we’re excited about expanding all of these programs and we’ll be introducing something new to Weequahic as well: Fashion Design!
Many families ask, “How many kids are at Weequahic only for sports or only for the arts?” The answer is about one third of the campers only want athletics and the lake activities. Another third only want the creative side of things and the lake activities. The remaining third are just as likely to be in the Theater and Woodshop as they are on the soccer team and tennis courts. That said, many of our ‘sporty’ kids wind up choosing a creative arts activity because they are a ton of fun.
So, come to Weequahic to create. We promise you’ll get dirty and have fun while doing it!
As school lets out and families spend time together at the end of each year, we spend a lot of time wishing ‘Joy’ to one another.
It is a joyful occasion, is it not? Parents who work hard throughout the year take a few moments to relax and connect with their children. Kids are thrilled to be out of school for a few weeks and look forward to the celebration of their family’s holiday. The tv is full of messages of good tidings and cheerful holiday music plays through most speakers.
All of these joyful tidings made me remember what a mentor once said about true joy. He told me about three major points concerning true joy that I’d like to share with you.
First,if you want to be joyful, surround yourself with joyful people.
That is one of reasons I love camp so much. At Weequahic, one of the defining themes of our staff interviews and training rests on joy – how much counselors have and how willing they are to express it. The best staff members may not be the most talented singers, hockey teachers, or bunk cleaners. They are, however, always the most joyful.
So, how do you handle those ‘joy suckers’ around you? My friend suggested to be kind to them but just don’t hang out with them. Makes sense to me!
Secondly, true joy comes from devoting your life to something larger than your own personal happiness.
Tony and I were just talking the other day about our most memorable coaching experiences. Both involved helping a young person achieve a level of athletic competence they didn’t think possible. The look on their faces when they did something they never thought they could do was priceless. There was complete joy in their faces and manner. That was the best reward we could have received!
Our bunk counselors and campers see this every day at Weequahic. Bunks that truly come together becomes an ‘us’ rather than a collection of ‘me’s.’ And that is when the magic really starts to happen.
By the way, did you know that those who devote themselves to their own personal happiness never truly find it? It will always remain out of reach.
Finally, he told me that joy will always be in spite of something else.
I love this point. Camp, as much as we would like to make it so, is never perfect. There will always be a few bugs, a meal that is not as good as mom’s, or an evening activity that is just not your favorite. However, if you are waiting for the conditions to change in your life for joy to arrive, you’ll wait a mighty long time.
Karl Barth said “Joy is a defiant ‘never the less!’ It’s not contingent on circumstances. If it is, we are all in trouble.”
Sure, we can be upset by something. However, this moment of sorrow should be temporary and our primary attitude should be that of gratitude and joy.
So, this holiday season, I wish you the happiness which comes from joyful friends and families, being a part of something larger than yourself, and the recognition that, despite the bumps in life, joy is an attitude you can choose to adopt daily.
If you have children who attend sleepaway camp, work at a sleepaway camp, or know anyone who attends or works at a sleepaway camp, chances are that you’ve heard this at least once in your life: “It’s a camp thing.” For those of you wondering what that means, here’s an exclusive look inside the world of sleepaway camp and exactly what constitutes “a camp thing”.
We’ll begin with a definition. “A camp thing” is an experience or tradition that is unique to summer camp. It’s also actually “camp things” rather than a singular “thing”, since there are a host of experiences exclusive to the summer camp environment. Have you ever taken part in a competition, spread over several days, that divides the entire camp into two teams and requires contestants to do such things as cover their heads with shaving cream so that a teammate can attempt to make cheese curls stick to it, dress in crazy team colored gear that includes the crazy garb combination of tutus, mismatched socks, and face paint, or passed buckets of water down a line in a race to see who will fill their container first? Nope? Do you know why? It’s “a camp thing”. Ever sat alongside several hundred other people around a campfire while you watch friends and staff members perform crazy acts, sing songs or participate in games? Nope? Yeah…it’s another “camp thing”.
In case it’s not obvious, “camp things” happen every day at camp, from that first moment when you get off the bus and see your camp friends and your new counselors holding your bunk signs for the first time to the last when you’re saying ‘goodbye until next summer.’ Camp things are being part of a league sports team, whether it wins or loses, going on a special trip out of camp to get ice cream, performing rituals and eating s’mores around a campfire, sitting with your friends at cookouts, taking part in the traditions that are unique to each and every summer camp, and understanding the feeling of being part of a camp family. Camp things are having sleepovers with your bunk or having a venue in which you and your camp friends can pretend to be a rock band, DJs, or magicians. Camp things are that special inside joke that your friends share all summer, end-of-the-summer trips out of camp, sing-a-longs when you’re arm-in-arm with your camp friends. And hugging some of your best friends while singing your camp alma mater and watching candles burn or fireworks explode, knowing that you might not see them again until next summer, is definitely the most precious of “camp things”. If only everyone could experience “a camp thing”…
I’m thrilled to show off the winners (and honorable mention designees) of this year’s Great Pumpkin Challenge. The pictures came in from all over the US and France and we were thrilled with the participation. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone for entering this year!
With Thanksgiving almost upon us, we here at Weequahic are counting our many blessings. Just to name a few of our “thankfuls”:
The most special group of campers in the world.
Families who trust us to develop a community in which their children learn, grow, and build memories that will last a lifetime.
A camp staff passionate about creating the best camp experience possible and talented and humble enough to do it successfully.
The opportunity to carry on a tradition that started in 1953 and has positively affected so many lives.
We talk a lot about gratitude at Weequahic. It’s one of three core principles (along with choosing your attitude and courage of the difficult, everyday variety). Our campers hear about it often, see it practiced each day, and learn about it more thoroughly at one of their weekly camp fires.
There are a number of great quotes on gratitude. Aesop, the great storyteller and teacher, said “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” When you find a person expressing true and humble gratitude, it certainly feels that Aesop is right.
However, people have been known to fake it. As La Rochefoucauld said, “In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors.” I can think of times when, as a young person waiting for holiday gifts, I fell into that category. While I hope La Rochefoucauld is wrong, I know from experience there are many fakers out there.
May favorite quote on gratitude comes from Cicero: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
A person with a gracious heart is normally humble, helpful, and happy. They are not swayed by the swirling winds of society and seem older or wiser than their years suggest. This gracious outlook on life is a habit that leads to happier and virtuous journey. And, though some may argue that gratitude can be found in our genes, I’m a firm believer that an ‘attitude of gratitude’ can be built in each of us.
So, on this Thanksgiving, I challenge you to cultivate a gracious outlook on life. It is a choice and one we can’t wait to talk about more around the campfire!
The leaves are falling off the trees and the weather is starting to cool down, but it’s not too early to start thinking about sending your children to summer camp next summer. There is certainly no shortage of American summer camps and finding the right one for your children is essential to their success there. There’s a lot to think about, which makes now a great time to start thinking about what you want in a camp.
Traditional summer camps are a great way to introduce children to summer camp because they offer a broad and well-rounded experience. Children still trying to find their niche in a sport or hobby find great success at these camps because they’re given opportunities throughout the summer to take part in many different types of activities.
The length of the summer camp you choose is also important. Most overnight camps accept campers from the age of seven. When considering camps, it’s key to consider your family’s lifestyle, your children’s other activities and commitments, and even your children themselves. Many embrace the traditional seven week experience because it removes the stress of trying to figure out how to keep children active and entertained during summer vacation.
Consider how far away from home you want your child to travel as well. Some parents prefer to send their children to a summer camp within a few hours of home while others view summer camp as a way to introduce a global perspective to their children and send them abroad to attend summer camp. This is particularly becoming a trend in Europe, where European parents are deciding that they’d like their children to experience traditional American summer camps. However, increasingly, parents from all over the world are making this decision as well. Many American parents find the amazing reputations, beautiful campuses, and the breathtaking scenery of Northeast Pennsylvania idyllic and send their children from as far away as California, Florida, and many other states.
The structure of a camp’s program should be given careful consideration as well. Campers like to make decisions about their daily activities at camp, and Camp Weequahic gives them the opportunity to do so. Our program is a choice program that allows campers to choose their activities each day.
Once you have decided what type of camp, length, location, and program are right for your child, you will likely find your search narrowed to a manageable number of camps. Since you are reading this blog, you have found Camp Weequahic’s website and are on the right track. We also invite you to check out our Facebook page, and sign up to follow our Twitter feed. By doing this now, you will give yourself plenty of time to watch, read, and listen. If you are unfamiliar with camp, you will be pleasantly surprised at how active our summer camp community remains throughout the winter. In fact, many Starlight families will tell you that camp never really ends for them—and that’s a good thing!
So you’ve spent a summer—or maybe the better part of your college career—working as a summer camp counselor. You’re nearing graduation and you’re starting to pull together your resume for finding a job in the “real world”. You’ve been wondering, ‘How do I adequately articulate my summer camp experience?’ You’re worried that it will sound trivial to hiring managers, but you know that what you gained from your camp experiences are some of the most valuable skills you’ve learned. You’ve learned the art of communication, having worked with people all over the world and children ranging in age from seven to fifteen. You’ve learned the importance of discretion; your campers didn’t need to know EVERYTHING about you. You’ve learned how to negotiate, mediate, and maintain a positive morale, having coached your campers through swim tests, disagreements, activities, stage fright, and just about a million other things. You’ve learned time management skills. How many other job applicants can motivate twelve campers to move across campus from soccer to woodworking in five minutes or less, consistently coax them out of bed at 7am, and convince them that it’s time for lights out after an exciting evening of activities? You’ve learned how to use creativity to solve problems and are MacGyver with a few jars of paint, construction paper, a little bit of fabric, some scissors, and maybe a little glitter…add feathers and beads to that mix and you can practically re-invent the wheel. In fact, you’ve learned so many things as a summer camp counselor that you’re not even sure how you’re going to fit it all onto one 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper, nevermind about your other job experience. So how do you convey the importance your summer camp job experience has had on your life in a way that hiring managers will see the value in it, too?
First, as sentimental as those experiences were for you, a hiring manager isn’t looking for the screenplay to the next The Blind Side. They’re looking for prospective employees who can efficiently yet effectively and specifically communicate their skills and abilities in a very concise manner. This means keep it relevant and as action packed as most of those days at summer camp were. Convey how active your summer camp job was through the verbs that you choose.
Second, without being too broad, make your resume sing of how well rounded your skill set is because of your summer camp counselor experience. Employers love diversity. A resume that sings of it will be sure to get a hiring manager’s attention.
Third, do your homework. Job hunting is not a one size fits all endeavor. You need to know and understand not only what you are looking for, but what the company to which you are applying is looking for as well. If there is a particular quality you feel you possess because of your summer camp counselor experience that makes you a good fit for a position or a company, highlight that one quality in your cover letter. Explain specifically how you feel your summer job experience and knowledge will translate into the new role. Having experience is one thing. Demonstrating that you understand how that experience can be integrated into others speaks volumes.
Fourth, don’t be afraid to remind prospective employers, either in your cover letter or at the interview, that being a camp counselor is a 24/7 job. Employers are attracted to people who aren’t afraid to throw themselves heart and soul into their work. What’s more heart and soul than being on duty 24/7?
Finally, be prepared. Be prepared to tell a hiring manager at an interview EXACTLY why you feel your summer camp experience gives you the edge over other applicants. When asked, don’t go into a lengthy mumble that basically amounts to a rehash of your summer(s). Show the hiring manager that you’ve thought long and hard about how your summer camp work experience is relevant to your future and that you understand specifically how to extract your experiences and apply them to other areas of your life. Most importantly, give examples, give examples, give examples!
Just because your children are no longer at camp doesn’t mean you can’t create a camp atmosphere in your home. There are several things you can do to keep the camp spirit alive all year long.
This doesn’t have to be a radical flip of the switch that completely eliminates conveniences and luxuries from your lives. In fact, such an act is probably not very realistic for many families. But taking small steps to reduce your children’s reliance on things such as television, video games, and cell phones is a great way to remind them that don’t need them as much as they think they do. Designate a day or two each week in which you won’t turn on the television or play video games. Have a family game night instead. Board games and card games are a great, light-hearted way to bring the entire family together for a few hours. Turn off cell phones during meal times, before a designated time in the morning, and after a designated time in the evening. Yes, with the invention of smart phones, we’re becoming increasingly reliant on these convenient little gadgets, but you may be surprised at just how much you enjoy the peace and quiet of a few hours without them each day…and, your family will also likely remember just how much they appreciate having a conversation with someone who is not looking at their cell phone or texting the entire time.
Keep supplies for creative bursts. Arts & Crafts, Eco Science, and Nature don’t have to be activities restricted to the camp setting. In fact, many of the projects that your children do at camp can quite easily be done at home, and they’re a great way to fill an afternoon or evening on which you’ve decided to have a break from television and video games. There are books readily available that walk you step-by-step through such popular camp projects as tie-dying, candle making, beading, shrinky dinks, Mentos geysers, goo, and many more. YouTube also has a host of videos that demonstrate kid friendly home science and nature experiments. Keeping a closet or a chest of standard supplies for these types of projects will prevent you from having to make a shopping trip every time the kids want to have some summer camp style fun.
Have a “campfire”. You might not have a backyard big enough (and there may be some local ordinances against this, even if you do), but consider having a backyard fire. A patio fire pit, if you have one, is actually ideal. An operable indoor fireplace works, too. Make s’mores, tell stories, share memories. This makes for a great evening to invite friends over because, as every camper will tell you, the more the merrier at a campfire. If you live in an area in which weather permits, actually taking a weekend camping trip is always fun, too.
Start a garden (if you have a yard) or cook with your children once a week. Gardening and cooking programs are popular at camp. Even if you don’t have the space in your yard, herb gardens are easy to maintain and can be grown indoors. Besides being enjoyable and fun, cooking is a valuable life skill for children to learn. Let your children look up healthy recipes, talk about nutrition with them, and, most importantly, let them do the work in the kitchen.
Have regular family “out of the house” trips. At camp, children regularly take “out of camp” trips to places such as local sporting events, the movies, or bowling… They look forward to these trips as a special treat and time to create some very special memories with their camp friends. Why not make special memories like these as a family?
By making just a few (fun) adjustments, your entire family can enjoy the spirit of camp throughout the year, and it just might make those ten months of waiting a little more bearable for the kids!
Much has been made recently about the meals that our children consume in places such as school cafeterias and summer camps. A general sentiment that these types of establishments place cost and convenience over nutrition and well being seems to be developing. In the world of summer camp, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, so dedicated are some summer camps to providing meals and snacks that combat bad eating habits that we’ve decided to dedicate an entire series of blogs to summer camp menus. In this first blog, we’ll introduce you to the basic concept of camp nutrition and menu compilation. In future blogs, we’ll discuss special diet, snacks, and the strategy behind the compilation of camp menus.
Planning camp menus is a special challenge for camp directors. With so many campers and staff dining at each meal, it’s impossible to please everyone all the time. However, there are other considerations when planning menus. Children are very active at camp—often considerably more active than they are at home. Physical activity begins in the morning and often continues into the evening. Many camp menus have been criticized for being heavy in carbohydrates. However, there is a nutritional basis in this. Diets heavy in carbohydrates are recommended for children who engage in heavy physical activity, as carbohydrates convert to sugar very quickly and help replenish energy. While it’s true that many camp foods are high in carbohydrates, it’s also important to consider that such a diet at camp is also responsibly balanced by ample servings of fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
In case you have ever suspected that your child’s nutrition takes a back seat to fun at summer camp, we hope this brief introduction has helped put your mind at ease. And if you’re still not convinced, we invite you to continue visiting this blog as we continue our series about camp menus.
