Top Ten Things You Can Do to Create Teachable Moments During Staff Training
Top Ten

1. Go big or go home
   Start with something that will make a huge impact. Plan a precamp staff trip that allows for bonding and team building, as well as some practical camp training.
   
   
2. Mock a typical summer day experienced by a camper
   Do and live every day like the campers. Each day is a practice for camp to allow staff to acclimate to camp life and adhere to camp culture — staff and leadership are in cabins.
   
   
3. Practical training (lifeguarding, ropes, cross training)
   Practice vigilence. If you allow things to be “lax” here during staff training, your staff will be “lax” with their campers.
   
   
4. Program area preparation
   Add brainstorming sessions to your program area preparation for evening activities and other all-camp activities to allow for buy-in for staff. Urge each small group to settle in on one or two ideas and fully develop them, so they are “ready to go” when they come up in the summer.
   
   
5. Make a game show
   Make a game show out of the staff manual and have teams or individuals compete on questions/answers from the manual. Make it “open book” so they can refer to the correct page . . . . For example, ask, “How many staff members are needed to open the sailing area?” or “What are the necessary safety items needed in a ski boat?”, etc.
   
   
6. Goal setting
   Motivate the entire staff to participate in goal setting and benchmarks for the summer with clearly stated expectations.
   
   
7. Role play
   Role play different scenarios of summer camp. Get them to act it out in front of the rest of staff. Then discuss with the whole group and make sure you have plenty of “voices” delivering important material. Look at what you have to cover, then identify which returning staff members can do a good job with each particular topic.
   
   
8. Social interaction
   Plan an entire staff social event to promote interaction (bowling, softball, trip to a store, or trip to a local ice cream shop).
   
   
9. Practice, practice, practice
   Make staff training week as much like a week of camp as possible. Staff needs to acclimate to the camp schedule and camp life. Sometimes they need to practice camp-appropriate language and get out of some college practices. Practice also goes for rehearsing procedures at mealtime and throughout the day or things like leading songs to get ready for when the campers are present at camp.
   
   
10. Establish ownership
    Establishing ownership of cabins and program areas (painting of cabin mailboxes or similar bonding ownership experience).
    
    10a BONUS IDEA
    And of course, find time to run all your ACA skills verifications!

Contributed by: Nanette Baughman, Athens YWCO Camp for Girls; Rob Grierson, McGaw YMCA Camp Echo; and Tony Oyenarte, Camp Crystal Lake. Edited by A.L. “ALF” Ferreira, YMCA Camp Indian Springs.

Originally published in the 2008 May/June issue of Camping Magazine.