An insider look into 3 Non-Traditional Day Camps

How great are camp tours?

Getting the inside scoop on how a fellow camp pro does their “thing” is an absolute blast.

(Ps. there are tons of opportunities to be a volunteer accreditor for your local camping organization. Do tours AND help the industry!

Getting to see “under the hood” isn’t just fun too, it helps us be our best. Even though all of our goals are the same, the nuances of how we get to those goals can always use some outside inspiration.

Even more, when we look outside of the “traditional” way of doing things. To help you find some outside inspiration, Sam, Andy and Ehren are joined by 3 camp pros who are running some unique and awesome day camps. Tune into this episode to learn from Jeff Poole from Second City Improv, Chicago, from Annie Labus, Chicago Botanical Gardens and Scarlett Shankles, Honolulu Zoo Society Zoo Camp.

Tune in to learn about:

• How each of these day camp programs run

• The unique challenges that come with running camps in public spaces

• Pro tips that could only come from people who are running unique programs like theirs

• Staffing, transportation, food, and all the usual Day Camp Pod goodness,

Do you know any awesome camp programs that we should feature in a follow-up episode? Let us know in the comments or send us an email to daycampquestions@gocamp.pro

Any questions? Ideas for shows? Topics? Guests? Please send them to daycampquestions@gocamp.pro

THE DAY CAMP PROGRAM TIP OF THE WEEK

Andy: Drumming Programs at your camp - use Home Depot buckets for a low-budget option

Ehren: Visual summaries of the day so that kids can remember and communicate what they did at camp that day

Sam: A “user-guide” for your leadership style. Give this to your leadership staff to fast track them getting to know you. (Thanks for this, Sam!)

Jeff: Using popular or funny names to name kids groups or locations at your camp (ex. the kids at Second City are grouped into Second City alumni (the Colbert’s, the Martins, etc.)

Annie: “Photographer” - Kids go in pairs and observe a nature activity quickly (like a camera), and then share it.

Scarlett: “There’s always tomorrow” reminding staff that they can’t control what happens to them today but to start tomorrow with a clean slate.