June 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56

Park Bench
Planning Successful
Summer Camps
Recognizing one summer camper's parents at a social event this spring,
I was happy to introduce myself as a recreation department staff member,
and to say our staff was glad to see their child was already registered
for our full 2022 summer session. Eyes brightened, smiles grew on their
faces, and I learned our camp is the only camp or school program their
child never faked sickness to avoid attending for a day. We laughed, discovered
what else we had in common and continued to circulate through
the event. Thinking back on how our town's summer camp was such a
comfortable place for their child, I found three main themes:
First, " downtime " is planned and carefully orchestrated, so only a
few campers are " down " at any given time. Bio breaks, time to fill water
bottles and transition times are preplanned, and the campers are
familiarized with the daily agenda, which includes these less structured
times. Camp staff are aware of how to keep the children occupied, with
time during lunch being arranged so as not to overlap other groups in
the concession stand lines. Minimized unstructured time removes opportunities
for children to lose their group cohesiveness.
Second, considerations are always made as to how teams for group activities
are formed. Participants' social interactions used to be the main
consideration when dividing into camp activity groups. Now, effective
summer camp groups are formed by age, grade level, and skills or abilities.
Finally, we understand some campers are there because of adult work
schedules or other family considerations. Many times, these participants
arrive with less enthusiasm than other children who were included
in the process of selecting a camp program.
Each aspect of creating a summer camp environment that
is
conducive to excellent experiences, rewarding for the child, and gives
parents and caregivers a strong sense of value-for-dollar, can bring
stress to recreation professionals. Recognizing ways to alleviate stress
means looking in new places, in new ways.
One day during summer camp last year, I was aware of a camper having
a rough day, or more accurately, a " meltdown. " My first thoughts went
to, " How can I help? Should I intervene? " With my experiences as an educator
and school administrator, I was instantly drawn to the situation. I
watched and listened from a close distance, hearing how the camp counselor
was handling the situation. As they spoke in several short sentences,
in a calming voice, and led the child to the vicinity of a picnic table in the
shade, I overheard the most noteworthy sentence of all: " There's nothing
going wrong here that we can't fix. " I repeated that in my head often this
past year. I hope these summer camp planning considerations and the wise
quote overheard during a difficult situation help you to develop a rewarding
summer camp experience to ensure every child has an experience " not to be
missed. " Remember, there's nothing going wrong that you can't fix!
- Cris Blackstone, Community Communications Coordinator,
Newmarket Recreation Department
56 Parks & Recreation | JUNE 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Recreation professionals can create summer camp
experiences that are rewarding for every child.
PHOTO COURTESY OF OLIVIA FALCIGNO
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEWMARKET RECREATION DEPARTMENT "
June 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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