First Class Counselors

Cleaning your cabin with campers. It doesn’t need to be as painful and boring as it usually is!

Welcome to episode 13 of First Class Counsellors!

Don’t you hate it when you watch people litter? Or how about when people leave their shopping cart in the middle of the lot? It probably makes you think, “dang, I bet that person didn’t go to summer camp!”.

One of the biggest lessons that we can teach our campers is the value of serving their community. We have the incredible opportunity to help them understand that their actions have the ability to make other people’s lives easier through simple acts. When we have campers collecting the plates after a meal, doing a camp-wide chore, or even cleaning their cabin, we teach them that they are responsible for taking care of their neighbours and camp through acts of service.

That’s all well and good, but cleaning the cabin can still be the WORST. Right?

We hear you. If parents around the world struggle to get their kids to clean their rooms every day, then we’ve got to muster all of our camp magic and creativity to make it happen at camp. Let’s do this together! First Class Counsellors is here to help.

Tune in to this episode. We’ll guide you through:

The standard of clean that every cabin should keep itself to

How to get every camper on board with cleaning - even the ones who HATE it!

Creative ways to make the cabin cleaning process a little less painful and a lot more magical

Some pro tips for deep cleans, things every camper/staff miss and how to keep your local health and fire inspector happy

A shout out to MTV cribs - and a super cool program idea for your cabin!

-

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver:

Take time to draw a picture or pictures of camp. Send them on to your camp director and they can post it on social media as a counselor art contest. It can be a game - can you guess what the picture is or which staff member drew it?

Matt:

Get your application and/or paperwork in. This time of year is the time when the keeners can shine. If you can get all your stuff in and even start on any pre-training, your directors will love you for it and know that you are someone they can count on.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp coun

Welcome to episode 12 of First Class Counsellors! The best counsellors are the ones that take every opportunity to be intentional about the time they spend with their campers. A meal can often be one of the most overlooked chances to make connections with kids, and that sort of makes sense. At meals, there are so many things to pay attention to: are the kids eating? Did they get enough food? Are they all at the table? It’s not easy! Once you’ve got the basics down though, then it’s time for the fun to start! Meals are such a great time to have fun, make conversation and overall, make connections with our campers. These days, some kids may not have the type of home-life where they sit away from a TV or a video, so this is our opportunity to show them something awesomely different! it’s your time to shine and that’s where this show is here to help. Join Oliver and Matt for this deep-dive into how to make meals better than just normal. In this episode, you’ll learn: The basics about how dining halls work at different camps What you need to look out for while kids are eating How to help campers who are picky eaters try new foods Some strategies and games for making meaningful conversation at the table. Some games and activities that you can try to add some magic into the meal. Remember that as you listen to this episode: As we always say, make sure you’re following your camp’s policies and procedures. Don’t promise campers anything you can’t deliver on or anything would be against the way that your camp has trained you on. When in doubt about using a strategy, ask! - As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro - Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills Oliver: Find a way to have your table at your chest when you eat your next meal. When you do this, you find out real quick why campers are always spilling things or standing up or sitting in weird positions. Matt: Think about your global impact when you are eating or at the grocery store this week. When you go to the grocery store, how hard is it to buy food that isn’t in packaging or to not use reusable bags. Think about that to help shape your experiences to pass on to campers. Host Links Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro What is First Class Counsellors? Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives. Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training. Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp. This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you! Bonus Content - Thanks for reading the show notes! Oliver’s list of creative meal options. If you want to know more about these, send Oliver an email - oliver.gregan@ghymca.org Picnics Caveman meals Silent meals Blind folded 1 on 1 Tied together meals No table meals High table meals Working lunches Campfire meal Make a plate for a friend Serve another table Entertainment meal Poker meals Foriegn language meals Large utensils Upside down Under the table/mole people meal Themed meals On a boat meal

Happy New Year!

We’re taking some time off to be with friends and family over the holidays.

That means no new episode this week.

AWWW.

We know, we know. But don’t worry, we’ve still got something for you.

The last episode, we talked about how to help campers who are missing home. As we do, we went long in that episode and didn’t have time to include everything that we talked about.

One piece of content that was cut was Oliver and Matt’s personal stories about missing home in their first couple of years at camp.

That’s what we have for you this episode! Tune-in to hear about how Matt and Oliver’s counsellors helped them overcome their homesickness and fall in love with camp.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

What to do when campers are missing home.

Welcome to episode 11 of First Class Counsellors!

Campers who are missing home, homesick, whatever you want to call it - it’s something that camp counsellors will face in their camp careers. It’s inevitable and understandable. Our campers love their families, they are nervous about being away and they’re uncomfortable. When they are reacting to those feelings, it’s important that camp counsellors are equipped to both effectively and compassionately help them.

Oliver and Matt swear that they are trying to keep these episodes short, but what can you really expect from a topic as big as this one! Tune in to hear a whole hour of pro-tips and pro-mindsets to have when recognizing and supporting campers who are missing home.

In this episode, you’ll get:

10 signs that a camper may be missing home.

10 ways to prevent missing home from escalating into a camper crying or full-out wanting to home.

20 (YES, 20), different strategies for what to do if (when) a camper is crying or is insisting on going home.

…you can see why this one’s an hour-long :)

Remember that as you listen to this episode:

One strategy will not work for every camper. You’ll have to tweak these and make them work with the information you know about the camper who needs your help.

As we always say, make sure you’re following your camp’s policies and procedures. Don’t promise campers anything you can’t deliver on or anything would be against the way that your camp has trained you on. When in doubt about using a strategy, ask!

-

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver:

Levels of Homesick, take a few minutes after this podcast and layer the levels of homesickness. 1 to going home. How do campers move up, when do other staff become involved?

Matt:

Write a Christmas or holiday card for your family, however you define it, and let them know how grateful you are for them. If you missed home as a camper, maybe send a note to a counsellor who got you to stay or helped you with compassion.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counsellor skills. These are things every counsellor should know, but that you may not have time to teach in staff training.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the mo

What to do when you’re missing camp

Welcome to episode 10 of First Class Counsellors!

Camp is over and you miss it. You want more of it but you have to wait FOREVER ‘till staff training. It can be hard, we get it, and we’re here to help!

To keep the fires of camp love glowing deep in your heart, First Class Counsellors is on the case. In this episode, Matt and Oliver cover some practical ideas on overcoming those missing camp blues and get those camp vibes rolling again.

Tune in to hear more about:

Embracing and leaning into that love of camp with the help of other camp-lovers

Beating the missing camp blues with some self-care techniques and inspiration to do some intentional growing

Some ideas on how to connect with your camp community in ways that will both help you, and your camp

Lots of practical and useful skills that you and your co-counsellors can use this summer.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Give information about your camp to the career center, or go to your college career center and look for camps.

Matt: Check out campgig.com or other camp-specific hiring sites. It’s never a bad idea to lift your roots and explore the vast camp world!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast isn’t for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors is for your counselling staff, the ones who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

Welcome to episode 9 of First Class Counsellors!

As we work give Counsellors the skills they need to be the best they can be, we thought it would be important to talk about what separates the counsellors who may stick around for a summer or two and the ones who may have a long camp career ahead of them.

It can be hard to understand what it means to be professional in the camp setting. After all, our dress code is far from formal, we are encouraged to be loud and crazy, and mentions of quarterly reports are usually substituted for cheers that the next meal is chicken burgers.

That being said, the earlier a Camp Counsellor can figure out what it means to truly transition from a camper to a staff role, the better. These professional counsellors know how to get in the game but not take over, how to make a camper laugh, but also how to have a serious talk when needed, and how to set aside anything that gets in the way of giving kids the best week possible.

In this episode, Matt and Oliver talk about breaking down the top 3 barriers that camp staff face when it comes to being “camp professional”. Tune in to hear more about:

Why the transition between camper and staff or being a new staff can be difficult

How to watch out for and avoid becoming an entitled staff member (because Camp Directors can smell entitlement from a MILE away!)

The importance of staying camper focused even when personal friendships can be a distraction

Lots of practical and useful skills that you and your co-counsellors can use this summer.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Conference season - get involved. Many conferences look for volunteers. It is a great way to connect with young leaders and established camp pros. Gives a reason to talk.

Matt: Start a camp support network. Email Matt if you’d like to be in on meeting up with another counsellor to talk about their camp and what they’re looking forward to about their summer. Matt will connect you two and you can have the chance to meet up online.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

Get your campers from A to B in style!

Welcome to episode 8 of First Class Counsellors!

In our quest to give Counsellors the skills they need to be all-stars, we bring you one show entirely dedicated to transitions. Seriously, 45 minutes on making sure campers are where they need to be at point A, getting them to point B and what to do if you have trouble getting to point B.

It’s one of those parts of camp that you can do poorly, easily, or well, fairly easily, you just need some ideas and inspiration to NOT BE BORING!

To help you not be a boring transitioner, Oliver and Matt touch on:

Creative ways to make sure all your campers are in one place

Games and techniques for getting your campers from point A to point B

The importance of knowing and working with the camp schedule

What to do when transitions aren’t as fresh and clean as you’d hope

Matt’s tangent and rant on why you need to be a good co-worker this summer (how’s he get there? Even he doesn’t know!)

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Go on to your camp’s social media, website and google location and like, review and comment on something positive. It helps their scores and helps get more campers to camp. Positive ratings online really do help in the algorithms of the internet.

Matt: Interview prep!

Predict some interview questions and prepare answers:

Where will you need the most help in the job where you’re applying

Tell me about something you’re proud of

Why do you want to work at camp?

You better say something about the kids.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast it’s for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

Welcome to episode 7 of First Class Counsellors!

This episode is dedicated to all you humble counsellors out there. To the ones who put their heads down and work without asking for anything in return. You don’t want the credit, a camper’s smile is enough.

It’s dedicated to you, because you suck at selling yourself.

Okay. That was harsh but for a lot of young camp staff, we’re not THAT wrong.

Whether your are looking for an off-season job or looking to move on after your time at camp, it’s critical that you understand how to communicate the true value of your experiences at camp to a potential employer. If the employer or recruiter is like millions of adults who never worked at camp, they might look at “Camp xyz” on your resume and they WON’T GET IT.

They won’t know about the long nights looking after a camper who is missing home, being able to improvise a last-minute rain plan, caring for the physical, mental and emotional needs of multiple kids for weeks at a time and the 10,000 other things you do in the summer that makes this the hardest (and best) jobs in the world.

This episode is for you to be able to (metaphorically) reach across the interview table and give the interviewer a (metaphorical) shake and (metaphorically) say to them, “I CHANGE LIVES, EVERY. DAMN. DAY.”

Our hosts Matt and Oliver are joined by the fantastic Kim Aycock to help give you the tools to use camp to rock your next interview. Kim has worked extremely hard with her team and the American Camp Association on Project Real Job, who’s entire goal is to assist with communicating the career-enhancing benefits of working at camp to prospective employees and their parents as well as employers.

We’re so grateful to have Kim join us. Tune in to hear more about:

Kim’s camp origin story

Her involvement with Project Real Job and some of their significant findings

How you can overcome some of the common stereotypes of a camp counsellor

Advice on how to take your camp experience and translate that to your resume and into the interview room

What counsellors can do to start building their resume for next summer at camp.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: I jokingly told many of my co-workers that it is reading season because it is a bit calmer now at camp and I can spend time reading. So I ordered a bunch of books and have been reading up on all the camp things I can.

Matt: Work on your “why” with a camp friend, then share it with someone who you’ve never talked to about camp before

Kim:
For veteran staff: Reflect on the recent summer and jot down your stories...what was challenging, what you rocked, what you learned, how you grew. Then, think about where you want to go, what you want to work on, and the new things you want to try. Also think about what you are learning now or developing that could help you in the role you aspire to have at camp.

For new staff: bring a notebook and pen so that you can capture all the cool stuff you learn and practice while at camp!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Directo

Because bedtime is still program time.

Welcome to episode 6 of First Class Counsellors!

We’re back with more First Class Counsellors! We’re borrowing some rent from the CampHacker Podcast for the start of this season, but we’ll be in our own space soon, so hang tight!

This is a Podcast by young Camp Pros for even younger Camp Pros. Camp Directors, these podcasts are meant for you to train your staff on the little things; the bits of common knowledge that you don’t have time to stuff into staff training, but wish you could.

This season, we are going to really focus in on tangible skills for camp counsellors. Transition times, making meals special, leading games, etc. Our goal is to take the best counselling tips that camp directors and leaders have gathered in their careers and give them away to camp counsellors, for free.

To start off this season, our hosts Matt Honsberger and Oliver Gregan discuss all things bedtime. New camp counsellors may have never had the experience of trying to get a kid to go to bed. Even if they have babysitting with one or two kids, counsellors are 100% in charge of getting 6-10 kids ready for, and in bed, happily, and on time.

It’s. Not. Easy. Let’s get learning!

-

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Go offline for two whole days. No screens. Make sure its during normal life too, not on a weekend when you are going on a camping trip anyways. Try to see what it feels like when your campers do it. Journal about it for the three days, one for the day you have your phone back.

Matt: Work on your bedtime routine. Figure out what works for you and how you can apply it to camp next summer

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, 

Easy ways to practice mental health and self care as a staff member at summer camp.

Welcome to episode 5 of First Class Counsellors!

Camp Directors, this may be our best episode yet. If you’ve been waiting to send one to your staff, this is it.

Here’s why:

We are talking about PRACTICAL, EASY ways for your staff to stay mentally healthy this summer.

Dr. Deborah Gilboa (Dr. G) is our guest. If you don’t know her, Dr. G is a youth development and parenting expert who ALSO happens to be a long-time camper and camp staff member. Needless to say, she is AWESOME at what she does both in her practice and overall for the summer camp industry.

Okay, a bit more. On the fifth episode of First Class Counsellors, Oliver and Matt are joined by the ONE the ONLY, Dr. G to share some ways to help camp staff stay mentally healthy this summer. Dr. G, Matt and Oliver talk about not only why a place as great as camp can sometimes be a place of stress and anxiety, but what all camp staff can do to be resilient and re-focus on having the best summer of their lives.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

From a practical and clinical side, why is it important that camp staff be aware and take care of their mental health this summer while at camp?

When it comes to taking breaks DURING a camp session (an hour, or couple hours off, or a night if you’re a day camp staff), what are some great ways to effectively re-charge?

How about when it comes to taking breaks BETWEEN camp sessions, (weekends, change-overs, etc)?

What are some of the things that prevent us from being our mentally healthiest at camp? What are some ways to overcome those challenges?

Any last strategies, tools or things to keep in mind when it comes to being your mentally best at camp?

-

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

BONUS NOTES - Because Dr. G is AMAZING.

Check out Dr. G’s “Prescription for Preventing Stressed out Staff. Camp staff, talk to your directors about this and send them these links to check it out.

Watch the video here

Find out more here

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Video tape yourself singing a camp song, have some friends help if its repeat after me. Send it to your camp director with the message “I am excited for camp.” Or even do a challenge 3 friends thing on social media. Send them to me too, I want to learn some new songs before summer.

Matt: Plan your own session and show your passions to the campers this summer! Feel free to use the session template that we use at Pearce Williams. - Download the template here

Dr. G: Think about how you are going to do on a “camp amount” of tech use in the summer. Turn on the functions on your device that tell you how much you’ve u

Welcome to episode 4 of First Class Counsellors!

We’d like to think that you know First Class Counsellors by now. You know that this is a Podcast by young Camp Pros for even younger Camp Pros. Camp Directors, you know that these podcasts are meant for you to train your staff on the little things; the bits of common knowledge that you don’t have time to stuff into staff training, but wish you could.

If you don’t know us and we’re just navel-gazing here, then HEY! You can find our first episode and more about why we’re on the CampHacker feed here.

On the fourth episode of First Class Counsellors, Oliver and Matt are joined by Phoebe Jones from Camp Ten Oaks to talk all about Campships, or Relationships at camp. Phoebe, Matt and Oliver unpack the good, the bad, the policies and the just good ol’ friendly side of relationships at camp. This episode is for all staff, including those who are in a camp relationship, single and thinking about a camp crush right now, or simply want to make platonic, friends with their co-workers and campers this summer.

Tune in to this episode to hear more about:

What are some policies from around the camp world surrounding staff romantic relationships?

What to say to campers when they ask about staff relationships in and out of camp

What are some things to think about when campers are interested in romantic relationships with each other? What do you do if they act on those interests?

Does any of this change when it comes to LGTBQ+ staff/campers?

How to stay out of the DRAMA that can sometimes surround relationships at camp?

If you’re not interested in a romantic relationship at camp, what can you do to create friendships with your fellow counsellors?

How can you build appropriate yet fun friendships with campers that still respects the boundaries that need to be in place.

And as we say off the top of this episode. No matter what we say…ahem…

-

FOLLOW YOUR STAFF POLICIES!

-

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Get a collapsable laundry hamper to keep organized when you’re out and around camp. Kids can put their things in it at a program areas and it creates a hub for campers to gather at. Seriously Oliver, this one is GENIUS!

Matt: From your director: Please Please PLEASE get your paperwork in. You have no idea how helpful it is to not have to dog you for it.

Phoebe: Go out and get a shoe organizer for the door or for your bunk and use it to organize campers things, especially toiletries! SO SMART!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Phoebe Jones - Staff at Camp Ten Oaks

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and

Supervising for the first time at camp? This one’s for you!

Welcome to episode 3 of First Class Counsellors! If you’re new to First Class Counsellors, and wondering why it’s in your CampHacker feed, welcome! We’re trying this mini-series out this Spring and mixing it in with your usual CampHacker goodness. You can find our first episode and more about why we’re on the CampHacker feed here.

On our third episode, we are joined by Grace Tierney from YMCA Camp Mason to give your new senior staff some practical tips for how to lead effectively and gracefully this summer. Oliver, Matt and Grace share their stories of stepping up into leadership roles for the first time and some of the practical tips that they picked up along the way.

In this episode, we cover:

What a first foray into supervising can look like

How staff can work to achieve a supervising role that they are interested in

What first time supervisors should start thinking about as soon as they are hired

Some practical advice for someone who is going to be supervising for the first time

How camp is going to change for you as you move forward in leadership positions.

As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear that. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Read story books and books about how to tell stories to help capture both kids and staff’s attention.

Matt: Start writing your transition report, meet the last person who did your job and get some initial brainstorming on the go NOW!

Grace: Keep listening and reading and being inspired by camp related material. If you’re reading and listening to this, you’re on the right track!

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Grace Tierney, Day Camp Program Director at YMCA Camp Mason

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt an email! Thank you!

If this is your first time seeing First Class Counsellors in your CampHacker feed, welcome! You can find our first episode here.

On our second episode, we are joined by Isabelle “Zukes” Paradis to discuss how we can best serve our Generation Z staff and campers. Oliver, Matt and Isabelle cover a ton of practical, ready-to-implement ideas that camp counsellors can use to benefit this exciting generation of campers and camp staff.

In this short, episode, we cover

How to capture and retain campers with short attention spans when explaining things at camp

What you can do when campers and staff are open to sharing about their mental health

3 ways to give campers and staff the face-to-face connection that Gen Z craves

Easy ways to help our campers and staff begin to take on independence and take healthy risks

Embracing Gen Z’s entrepreneurial spirit and giving them autonomy over their camp experience

As usual, what we’re getting at here is fast, furious, and it’s incredibly useful for your counselling staff

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills

Oliver: Call a friend who has no connection to camp. Talk to them about what working at camp is really like. Share your ideas, share your stories so they can really understand something this important in your life.

Matt & Isabelle (It’s like they work together!): Buy yourself GOOD camp gear. A GOOD raincoat (not a poncho), a GOOD headlamp (almost any headlamp with good reviews on amazon), a GOOD pair of sandals (Matt’s go to’s are Chacos) and a GOOD water bottle (something that will last and where the mouthpiece won’t get dirty) and a GOOD waterproof watch.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell

Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Isabelle Paradis, Counsellor & Programmer at Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

What is First Class Counsellors?

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger - Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

This is free professional development for your counsellors! We would love your feedback. Please leave your comments below, or, send Matt and email! Thank you!

Wait…isn’t this the CampHacker Podcast? Yes!, well, no!

This is a preview of something new to come on the CampHacker and Go Camp Pro podcast network.

This is free professional development for your Counsellors.

Camp Directors, this Podcast won’t be for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.

Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips on how to be a better counsellor.

Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger - Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.

-

On our first episode, we’re joined by Jessica Tenhor from Pearce Williams and Rachel Quinn to talk about planning the perfect camp program or session.

In this short, 40 minute episode we cover:

4 magical program (steal away!)

4 programs that take next to no set-up (seriously, your counsellors can use these this summer?)

4 Pro Planning Tips

The inside scoop on what your Director wants from you, as a programmer

4 ways that a counsellor can get ready for the summer NOW.

It’s fast, it’s furious, and we hope that it’s incredibly useful for your counselling staff.

We would love to hear who is passing this on to your staff. Please let us know in the comments below!

-

Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW

Oliver: Seek out local speakers and resources to get inspired

Matt: www.ultimatecampresource.com

Jessica: Bin of Possibilities - quick games, raccoon circle, colouring, small ball, books, bracelet string, etc. that you can pull out during cabin time or rest hour.

Rachel: Keep in contact with people who want to camp with you after the summer is over, and reflect on the summer together. The distance is good for perspective.

Host Links

Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell
Matt Honsberger, Camp Director at Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility

Jessica Tenhor, Alumni of Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility

Rachel , Leadership Staff of YMCA Camp Bernie