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!

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.

Laying the Underlay

Now it looks like this:

The final phase is to tile the counter, finish the shelves and organize the rest of our stuff. The finishing touches will be adding Cait’s generous loan of her loveseat & coffeemaker! Anyone have a microwave they could donate?

It all started because we needed a proper camp office – for two reasons. Last year we held our pre-camp meetings in the Perth Library, and were continually “shushed” (despite the fact that we were *ahem* often the only ones there). So first of all, we needed a proper place to make noise and create without fear of shushing.

Secondly, the paperwork and supplies for camp are quickly overrunning my house. There are no rooms left in our home (except maybe the bathroom) that are safe from the papers, and camp-related magazines, and art supplies, and promotional material, and… I think you get the picture.

The Space

Attached to my grandfather’s old barn is what was once a workshop. In the years before I inherited the place it became somewhat of a dumping ground for the various things that various tenants hadn’t bothered to get rid of. And so we come to the before picture:

Before Phase 1

The really sad part about this picture is that we had actually taken quite a few things out before I realized that a before picture should be taken for posterity. So it was actually much worse than this.

Phase One

Phase One was to clear out all the junk. This took most of Sunday afternoon. It was not my favorite job. The dust was incredible and my sinuses were very displeased. However, we managed through and the junk is now temporarily in a pile on the lawn under a tarp until we can make a dump run. Here’s what the space looks like at the end of Phase One:

After Phase One

After Phase One

Now we can see the floor! It’s amazing. Stay tuned for Phase Two, in which we will be covering the floor in fabulous grey indoor/outdoor carpeting from Home Depot (at a discount because we were quoted the wrong price!)

LIT Liam & LIT Rory – Honorary Princesses

Being silly and weird isn’t just the campy thing to do. It isn’t just about having fun. It’s also about feeling comfortable with who you are, and sharing that feeling with the people around you.

When I hire new staff, part of the interview process is finding examples of how the candidate has created elements of fun in their everyday lives. How are they spreading happiness and laughter? It’s all about attitude. If you are too shy or embarrassed to let your silliness out, you miss out on a lot of fun.

These two LITs in the photo above are a great example. LITs work with a different group each week, and these two boys happened to be working with groups of girls when their counselors planned a princess party. A lot of 13-14 year old boys would have asked to join a different group for the day… not these guys! They made crowns and dressed up so that they could be princesses too, and enjoy the party alongside the campers. They had a great time – and the little girls loved it!

By having the confidence and positive outlook to say “yes” to silly situations, we generate our own fun. This is something I hope our campers will learn to do too.

LIT Rory takes on the challenge of leading a science experiment

It is important to me that everyone at Maple Key has a positive attitude towards new challenges. Without trying new things, it is impossible to move forward! For us as a staff, we know that pushing ourselves is how we will improve the quality of camp for our campers. We also know what an important life skill this is for our campers, and we do our best to create a supportive environment. At camp, accepting challenges looks like:

• Younger staff try leading activities for the first time;
• Older staff take on bigger challenges, like planning a colour war theme;
• Campers try new activities without fear;
• Both staff & campers experience speaking or performing in front of a group;
• No one says “I can’t.”

Another great staff quote:

“I was really proud with how I was able to help along quite a few campers in their social development. I was amazing to watch them grow socially day after day. Even the most nervous and shy camper was fully participating by the end of the week!! Its amazing what a caring, comforting and safe atmosphere will help to unravel!!!”

Take Care of Each Other

Taking care of each other is what camp is (and should) be really about. Camp needs to be a place where everyone feels safe and valued. MKDC’s staff take that responsibility very seriously, but at the same time it is something that we do very naturally.

I take huge pride in the way that our staff works together as a team, even as some individual team members change from year to year. As one of our staff said in their post-camp reflection:

“I was most proud of the staff on the days when one of us was obviously having an off day, and the way we could read each other without saying a word. We knew what had to get done, and did it without a second thought! (and then gave the other person a big hug)”

I believe that when our counselors feel well taken care of, then they are better prepared to take care of their campers. We have safety guidelines in place, of course, but the way we care for our campers goes far beyond rules and regulations.

• We get to know each of our campers personally, and keep track of their talents, interests, & favorite activities.
• We make sure that campers treat each other with empathy & compassion.
• We learn to recognize the subtle signs that someone is upset, angry, or not feeling well.
• No one gets left out, put down, or laughed at, at camp!

This past summer I spent my driving time listening to the audio book version of Delivering Happiness, by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh. Zappos, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a company that built its name by selling shoes over the internet.

Why, exactly, is a director of a small-town day camp reading about selling shoes over the internet?

Firstly, because it was recommended on another camp director’s blog, and that’s how I found out about it. But more importantly, it is not so much the story of internet commerce as it is about creating a unique company culture. Culture is something that every camp professional pays a lot of attention to. And just look at the title: Delivering Happiness. That certainly sounds like camp!

Without summarizing the entire book, (as others have already done this more thoroughly than I ever could) the heart of what makes Zappos tick is the “Core Values” – the shared beliefs that all functions in the company are built on. This concept really inspired me to examine our own values at MKDC.

Throughout the summer of 2010, my staff and I had ongoing conversations about what camp means to us, and what we felt were the most important lessons that we wanted our campers and staff to take away from their time at camp. What follows are the ten goals we boiled everything down to:

1. Take care of one another.
2. Accept challenges.
3. Do more with less.
4. Be flexible.
5. Be silly and a little weird.
6. Respect individuality.
7. Make healthy choices.
8. Create.
9. Grow and learn.
10. Build family spirit.

In 2011, these core values will play a key role in every aspect of camp, from programming to staff leadership. They will even become the framework which our staff training will be built on. Over the next few blog posts, I will explain each one in greater detail, and give some examples of how they will be implemented.

This video is from the website for The Fun Theory, an initiative sponsored by Volkswagen to put fun into what is usually mundane. I would like to think that this is very similar to what we do at camp – we do our best to put a spark of fun, excitement, and wonder into each and every day, no matter what we are doing.