Camp Champions Blog

This morning, I was dragging.  I am not ashamed to admit it.  A week at camp can often feel like a month.  It is a month of laughter, of joy, of work and (for people in leadership) of challenges.  To be clear, I would not trade it for the world, but it is still on the intense side.

Susie Ma’am had three cabin meetings today (called “Friendship Games”) with groups ages 10, 12 and 14. 

When life gives you lemons . . .

I look forward to writing blogs that are camp, camp, and more camp.  But I think I owe you one more explanatory blog before I focus on “life on the lake.”

I had no idea what to expect from our campers and counselors this year.  

Dear First Term Parents,
 
We want to thank you.
 
Thank you for your faith in us.
 
Thank you for allowing your children to have adventures that will make them more joyful and stronger.
 
And thank you for putting up with the barrage of communication that we have given you.  
 
You first had to address the pandemic, we then gave you the email-demic.
 
But, as we all know, we are all learning how to deal with our new world.  Safety recommendations change, so we want to adopt the best policies.  Sometimes that means we will send you new information.  That may be annoying, but we believe you want us to get the best possible answers.  Similarly, we have encountered some challenges when it comes to things like state testing protocols that have led us to make adjustments.  Again, we needed to share that with you.
 
We had to add forms and a quarantine checklist.  We had to change Openings and Closings in ways that will make things a little less personable, but more safe.
 
Ultimately, you had to absorb a tsunami of information in a short period of time.
 
So for that, we thank you.  We understand that you have tolerated this tsunami out of love for your children, which makes it even more wonderful from our point of view.

Also, thank you for making our new opening check-in procedure the smoothest we have ever had!  We got the campers integrated into their cabins faster and with less homesickness than we have ever seen before.  I know it might have been hard to not make your precious one's bed, but your camper had a smooth and loving transition!
 
We are blessed to have you part of our Camp Family!
 
Your Fans,
 
Susie Ma’am, Steve Sir and the Champions Team

In case you have not noticed, this has been an odd year; a year like no other.

But tomorrow, camp will happen.

Let's look at the numbers:

Several years ago, a fellow camp director introduced me to Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, author of many great parenting books (including “The Whole Brained Child” with Dan Siegel).  Tina is witty, caring and an enthusiastic camp mom.

I reached out to her to see what her thoughts were on our odd current circumstances.  

Please let me share two good ones.