Humor me for a moment and do the following:

1. Take a deep breath while counting to four. Imagine crisp, clean air and positive feelings spreading through your body.
2. Hold your breath while counting to seven.
3. Exhale the breath slowly while counting to eight. Imagine all the stale air and negative feelings being expelled from your body.
4. Do a few more four-seven-eight breaths (if you’d like), then read on.

It’s part of the human experience — and definitely when working with groups of high-energy youth at camp — to feel the whole range of emotions. We think of summer camp as a “happy” place (especially if we have many positive memories of being a camper ourselves), but we, like our campers, will also experience negative emotions at camp.

As a staff member this summer, expect to have moments and days when you feel the highest of highs — joy and connection and tons of positive energy. But know that you will have moments of exhaustion and frustration when you are not feeling like a happy camper. These negative feelings are normal and to be expected, but they are not a reason to quit. In fact, they offer an opportunity for personal growth that is unmatched in other jobs.

Mental Preparation

How do you prepare for the roller coaster of emotions and experiences that will make up your summer?

A reality of working as a summer staff member is that you will have less time off than you would in a “normal” nine-to-five job. The good news is that much of your time on duty with campers includes meals, campfires, being outdoors, singing, dancing, as well as leading and doing other fun activities with your campers and fellow staff. But leading a group of kids — no matter how much fun you (and they) are having — is exhausting, both physically and emotionally.

During the summer, you will have short, scheduled time away from campers as well as scheduled days off. It’s important that you plan and use your time off wisely so that you have something to look forward to and you feel rested and reenergized to return to work.

Our natural response to feeling negative, tired, or burned out from being with kids is to want to get away from them. But it may not be feasible to ask someone to cover your group or activity every time you feel the need for a break without negatively impacting your campers’ experience. Fortunately, there’s a tip that many parents (who don’t get days off) and teachers (who often have groups of up to 35 kids to supervise on their own) use to recharge themselves while still on duty supervising kids. We’ll call these coping strategies “mini breaks.” These are simple activities that take one to five minutes and can be done throughout your day, when you are on duty with your campers, to help with your stress management and overall well-being. Some of these you can do without your campers even noticing, and others you can do in front of or including your campers — which can help build their self-regulation skills and improve their behavior.

Mini Break Self-Regulation Strategies

Identify one or two mini break strategies that will help you cope with the inevitable hard moments, bad days, and negative emotions you’ll face this summer. Here’s a list to choose from.

Breathing

1. Deep Four-Seven-Eight Breaths: take five to ten breaths; inhale (four), hold (seven), exhale (eight)
2. Close your mouth and inhale through your nose while mentally counting to four.
3. Hold your breath and mentally count to seven.
4. Open your mouth and exhale completely while you mentally count to eight, making a “whoosh” sound.
5. Repeat this cycle.

Box Breathing:

1. Breathe in, counting to four slowly. Feel the air enter your lungs.
2. Hold your breath for four seconds. Try to avoid inhaling or exhaling for four seconds.
3. Slowly exhale through your mouth for four seconds.
4. Hold your breath for four seconds.
5. Repeat steps until you feel recentered (WebMD, 2023).

Hand Breathing:

1. Hold one hand out. With your other hand, trace each finger up as you breathe in and trace each finger down as you breathe out — finishing with five deep breaths.
2. When you’re done, use your other hand and repeat the exercise.

Toe/Heel Breathing:

1. Begin in a comfortable seated position.
2. Inhale and lift your toes.
3. Exhale and lower your toes.
4. Repeat five times.
5. Inhale and lift your heels.
6. Exhale and lower your heels.
7. Repeat five times (The University of Arizona, 2024).

Mini Mind Break

• Think of a favorite place.
• Think or say a mantra like, “I’m OK right now” or “This, too, shall pass.”
• Think or say a brief prayer or meditation.
• Think of one (or more) people or things you are grateful for.

Grounding through Gentle Movement

• Sit or lie on the ground.
• Press your toes into the floor.
• Give yourself a squeeze hug:
  • Cross your arms over your chest like you are giving yourself a hug.
  • Hold on to your upper arm and squeeze your arms toward your torso.
  • Find the right amount of pressure for you.
  • Breathe deeply if it feels good.
  • Continue squeezing for a few minutes (The University of Arizona, 2024).
• Make a fist, then relax your hand.
• Use a fidget toy (keep one attached to your backpack so that it’s always handy).

Bigger Movement

• Dance.
• Do your favorite stretch.
• Do a yoga pose.
• Do air drumming or strumming.
• Play an air draw game (stand up, arms straight, draw your ABCs and 123s).
• Freeze dance.
• Do relay races.
• Play Red Light, Green Light.

Art

• Draw, paint, doodle, or practice lettering. (Keep a small sketchbook in your backpack.)
• Create a grounding doodle — quickly draw some loops and scribbles and then color in each section with different colors to resemble a stained glass window.
• Make a rock garden — write or paint inspirational messages on small, flat rocks.

Processing Thoughts and Feelings

Take one or two minutes for a check-in conversation/pep talk with a friend or coworker while your campers are engaged in an activity. Create a code for how you’re feeling. Number or color scales work well. Everyone knows what you mean when you say you’re in the “red zone.”

• Journal three things you’re grateful for.
• Write a quick note, postcard, or letter.
• Listen to or sing a song that uplifts or calms you.
• Write down your worry and put it in a campfire or in a “worry box.”
• Write a poem. Haikus are a great type of poem to brainstorm quickly.
• Focus on and describe an object in detail.

Bilateral Rhythmic Activities

• Work on a friendship bracelet or lanyard.
• Crochet, knit, or macrame. Try finger knitting for something different.

5-4-3-2-1: Slow Down and Calm Down

This is an activity you can do in your head or out loud and is also an excellent activity to lead campers in. Identify:

• Five things you can see.
• Four things you can feel.
• Three things you can hear.
• Two things you can smell.
• One thing you like to taste.

Other Sensory Strategies

• Take a long guzzle of water.
• Close your eyes and inhale a smell (a pine tree, a flower, a piece of fruit).
• Eat a crunchy food like carrots or pretzels. The crunching helps with self-regulation.
• Pet a dog, horse, or other friendly animal — no wild ones, please!

Camp Well-being Habits

As you start this summer, you likely hope not only to build great relationships with your campers and fellow staff, but also to grow your leadership and interpersonal skills. For these positive outcomes to happen, you need to have a plan for maintaining your physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being during what will be a demanding summer. In addition to learning simple, in-the-moment self-regulation strategies like the mini breaks listed herein, you should practice daily and weekly habits that will contribute to your ongoing well-being.

Here are some examples to help you figure out your summer well-being habits:

Daily Habits

• Start the day with a quick stretch.
• Do two minutes of breathing/meditation/prayer to start my day.
• Drink my entire 32-oz water bottle each day.
• Journal three things I’m grateful for before I go to sleep.
• Be in bed by 10:30 p.m.

Weekly Habits

• Plan how I will spend my time off so that I feel rested and ready to return to work with campers.
• During time off, spend 30 minutes outside walking, hiking, or just sitting and resting (without any screens).
• Check in with my family or best friend (inside or outside of camp) and share my highs and lows.
• Two ways to ensure you follow through with these habits are to:
• Write them in specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-based (SMART) format.
• Share your habits with an accountability buddy, so you can check on and encourage each other throughout the summer.

Final Encouragement

Practicing these mini break self-regulation strategies and ongoing daily and weekly health habits will do more than just help you be successful as a staff member this summer. These skills can also promote your well-being throughout your adult life. Because whether you’re at summer camp or in the “real world,” you will inevitably face challenging situations and moments that will require self-management skills. Mini breaks and healthy habits can not only make your summer a much more positive experience; they can also help you live a happier life!

Additional Reading

• “Before You Quit: How to Get the Most Out of Your Summer at Camp,” Camping Magazine, May/June 2023 — ACAcamps.org/article/camping-magazine/you-quit-how-get-most-out-your-summer-camp
• “Wise Use of Time Off,” Camping Magazine, May/June 2013 — ACAcamps.org/article/camping-magazine/wise-use-time

Discussion Questions What are mini breaks that I will use this summer to help me regulate my emotions while on duty with my campers? What do I need to do daily and weekly to thrive this summer in the areas of my physical, psychological/emotional, social, and spiritual health? What are the best ways for me to spend my shorter (30-minute to four-hour) time-off periods that will help me feel refreshed and ready to return to campers? What are time-off activities that will not be helpful to my well-being or my job performance that I will avoid this summer? What are day-off plans that will help me recharge for my work with campers? (Make sure you’re fitting in some of your weekly health habits!)

The University of Arizona. (2024). Grounding & breathing exercises for calming your nervous system. Campus Health Counseling & Psych Services. caps.arizona.edu/grounding

WebMD. (2023, April 30). What is box breathing? webmd.com/balance/what-is-box-breathing

Audrey Monke, with her husband Steve, has owned and directed Gold Arrow Camp (Lakeshore, California) since 1989. On her website and podcast, Sunshine Parenting (sunshine-parenting.com), Audrey shares ideas, stories, and resources for parents and youth development professionals. Audrey’s book, Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults (Hachette-Center Street, 2019) shares strategies for bringing the “magic” of camp home.