Can you identify the difference between these two common scenarios?

In the first, you are enjoying a scenic picnic lunch with campers after a long and exhausting hike together. In the second, you are seated in a circle in the shade (munching trail snacks and hydrating) while your tired campers share things that surprised, bothered, or delighted them as they trekked up the mountain. In the first scenario you are building community, immersed in nature, and enjoying rest after a big accomplishment — all valuable elements of a camp activity. In the second, you are doing each of those things plus adding valuable shared meaning to the experience. Campers are learning how different or similar the hiking adventure felt for their peers. Some comments may broaden their understanding of the variety of experiences of challenge or ease, especially if the group culture is welcoming enough for campers to share feelings of struggle. A skilled facilitator will also help campers connect the experience to important character values and traits, such as growth, determination, resilience, or grit.

These two potential methods for facilitating camp programs can apply to numerous activities campers experience throughout the summer. I have seen cabin groups race from low ropes element to low ropes element without a word of reflective conversation. They were safe, challenged, and having a blast in the woods — again, all good things! I have also seen campfires with and without reflective sharing about how the day or week impacted campers. As we think about the character work we are doing, it is critical to include the important element of reflection in every activity we facilitate and everything we intentionally do to build a values-based culture at camp.

Camp staff must practice effective methods for structuring and guiding reflective conversations to help campers add meaning to their memories. Reflection during and after individual activities is important, as is taking a long, post-summer look at how all our careful preparation came together in real life. Provided here is a unique new strategy for structuring post-summer reflection.

You may be familiar with the practice of “grounding” to help with behavior regulation or in times of anxiety. The basic premise (which can be adjusted in a variety of ways) is to turn your mindful awareness to what is happening externally, rather than dwelling on unwelcome thoughts. You identify things in your environment that you can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. 

As a parent of children with anxiety — and struggling with it sometimes myself — I can vouch for the effectiveness of this strategy for calming the mind and disconnecting us from spiraling worries. But I would like to propose another use for the concept of grounding. We can employ grounding as a means for sorting through the myriad experiences that make up an entire summer at camp to mindfully reflect on the meaning found in specific sensory-based memories.

Before you begin the activity, it would be ideal to identify your four core “Character Compass” values from your camp’s mission as focal points for guiding your reflection. (Watch the free Character Academy webinar “The Pathway to Character Development at Camp”) Simply put, your camp’s Character Compass values are unique to your organization and provide a framework for developing your intentional character work at camp. The examples that follow use six values, which were top-priority values for camp directors in the 2025 Character Academy preconference workshops. The six values are:

• Growth
• Respect
• Kindness
• Integrity
• Community
• Confidence

There are six values instead of four because they are a combination of the values included in multiple Character Compasses created within the different workshops.

For each of the five senses, you will think back on your camp season and list specific things you remember — positive, negative, or neutral. After that, you will reflect on what these memories mean related to the character work you are doing, based on your Character Compass values. Then you will list any areas for improvement in training or programming. You will also identify positive practices to continue to emphasize. After you have answered the questions for all five senses, consider the suggested improvements and practices as a list of goals. Identify if any larger-scale changes to training or programming structure need to be made to achieve these goals. A final important component of this strategy is a reflection on the process itself and what it meant to you (and/or the group) to think about camp using all five senses.

Reflection Exercise Options

You could use the strategy provided in the reflection exercise guide in several ways. First, you could engage in the reflection activity individually or together with your year-round leadership team. Another option would be to take your notes and comments from previous reflective conversations and see how they might fit within the structure provided. You could send the reflection questions to staff via email, or you could incorporate the activity into your next pre-summer training for returning staff. As a valuable bonus option, you could use the results from this reflection strategy to create social media or other marketing content to share about the meaning of camp with parents or campers.

Reflection Step One: Identify Four Character Compass Values

What are the guiding values of this camp to focus on as we complete the reflection? (See preceding section for examples of values.)

Reflection Step Two: Reflect on Memories Using Each of the Five Senses

Sight: What did I see at camp?

• What are your visual memories of camp? Examples could include things you remember seeing, photos that were taken, posters or art projects still hanging up, the remains of stick forts, or newly constructed buildings.
• How do these memories demonstrate our camp’s character values in action?
  • I saw integrity being built as two campers who secretly tore down a cabinmate’s fort told me the truth and then worked together with their cabinmate to rebuild an even better fort.
  • I saw confidence growing in the shaky but determined hands of a nine-year-old camper as she slapped the top of the rock wall in celebration on her fourth attempt to reach it.
  • I saw a lack of respect for the natural world as one of our “Leave No Trace” trained staff members scratched designs on a boulder during a staff outing.
• What changes could we make to our training or programming to make improvements? 
  • Improvement: To see respect for the natural world, take more time during training to reflect with staff members on their thoughts or hesitations about the “Leave No Trace” principles, rather than making assumptions about buy-in. 
• What are some positive or impactful practices we want to intentionally continue?
  • Practice to continue: To see confidence grow in campers, continue to emphasize praising youth for their efforts, determination, and willingness to keep trying — rather than focusing on mastery or winning.

Hearing: What did I hear at camp?

• What memories of camp do you have about things you heard? Examples might include sounds of nature, campfire songs, words spoken, shouted, or whispered, or the whirring of a zipline.
• How do these memories demonstrate our camp’s character values in action?
  • I heard community being built within the shared traditions and rituals of campfire songs.
  • I heard struggles with growth when campers said they would not participate in unfamiliar challenge activities.
  • I heard kindness in the words of affirmation campers used when their cabinmates told vulnerable truths about their personal challenges with confidence.
• What changes could we make to our training or programming to make improvements? 
  • Improvement: To hear campers demonstrate growth, add more training for staff members on how to scaffold learning — providing different levels of activities where challenge is increased very gradually, rather than presenting only a high level of challenge. 
• What are some positive or impactful practices we want to intentionally continue?
  • Practice to continue: To hear campers grow in kindness, staff continue to role model empathy and affirmation when campers share about their lives and the struggles they face.

Touch: What did I feel at camp?

• What memories do you have of things you physically felt at camp? Examples might be hugs or high fives from campers, catching a frisbee, scrubbing hot dishes, or swatting pesky mosquitoes.
• How do these memories demonstrate our camp’s character values in action?
  • I felt the lack of kindness from others when a camper slumped her head sadly against my shoulder after being pointedly excluded from a game — again.
  • I felt confidence in the excited high fives of the two campers who ran up to tell me they had swum the “dock to dock” for the very first time and earned a swim badge. 
  • I felt community growing as an introverted group of campers began to really laugh together for the first time as we scrubbed dirty dishes after dinner the third night of camp.
• What changes could we make to our training or programming to make improvements? 
  • Improvement: To feel more kindness, add more in-depth training for staff members on how to identify bullying behaviors, including dedicated time for practicing the language that is helpful in addressing negative group dynamics.
• What are some positive or impactful practices we want to intentionally continue?
  • Practice to continue: To feel community grow, continue to facilitate opportunities for campers to do service together, such as washing dishes or cleaning areas of camp. 

Smell: What did I smell at camp?

• What do you remember smelling at camp? Examples might include the lingering smoke of campfire, food from the camp kitchen, sunscreen, bug spray, or sweaty campers.
• How do these memories demonstrate our camp’s character values in action?I smelled growth as smiling campers emerged from the forest at the end of a long hike, their sweat mixed with several coats of sunscreen and bug spray.
  • I smelled a serious struggle with integrity as I painstakingly removed the giant branches unidentified campers had lodged inside the pit toilet as a prank.
  • I smelled respect in the dining hall full of the aroma of grilled cheese and steaming tomato soup as a group of campers serenaded the cook, creatively thanking her for a delicious dinner.
• What changes could we make to our training or programming to make improvements? 
  • Improvement: To smell integrity at camp, build in more staff training on developing collaborative “cabin commitments” for behavioral expectations, as well as systems of enhanced supervision for campers who struggle to meet them.
• What are some positive or impactful practices we want to intentionally continue?
  • Practice to continue: To smell respect at camp, continue to role model expressing gratitude, as well as to provide campers with materials or opportunities for practicing gratitude themselves.

Taste: What did I taste at camp?

• What do you remember tasting at camp? Examples could include powdered lemonade, your favorite camp meal, that first s’more of summer, or a bug you didn’t mean to inhale.
• How do these memories demonstrate our camp’s character values in action?
  • I tasted community as my campers laughed with me when I finished my first s’more of summer and made the tragic mistake of licking marshmallow off my fingers when they were covered in bitter bug spray.
  • I tasted confidence when I inhaled a spider while leading a hike, and despite a deep fear of spiders, I continued with the day, adding a new adventure story to my camp repertoire.
  • I tasted a lack of respect in my powdered lemonade when I realized that my campers had poured half the saltshaker in my cup as a prank.
• What changes could we make to our training or programming to make improvements? 
  • Improvement: To taste respect at camp, increase training for staff on role modeling and teaching campers about respect and what it means to create a culture of respect, including opportunities to practice specific language for various age groups. 
• What are some positive or impactful practices we want to intentionally continue?
  • Practice to continue: To taste community, continue providing opportunities for campers to make vivid and meaningful memories, full of both fun and reflection, especially at campfire. Many camp alumni remember campfire moments more clearly than any other camp activities. 

Reflection Step Three: Putting It all Together

• Considering our list of improvements and practices to continue, are there any higher-level or large-scale changes we need to make to accomplish those goals?
  • Changes to training: We need to increase the amount of time during training spent on values-related concepts, allowing staff members more time to practice applying our Character Compass values to all aspects of camp programming — through role modeling, curriculum (intentional words), and creating a positive environment.
  • Keeping reflection time in the schedule: We need to continue to include enough “buffer” time after activities and before bed for reflective conversations and the sharing of stories. 
• How did reflecting on camp memories using your senses shape your understanding of camp’s impact related to character, and were any senses easier or harder to think of?
  • Shaping my understanding: As I considered what I remembered from camp, it was challenging and rewarding to consider the meaning behind the moments. It helped me think about what happened at camp this summer in a new way.
  • Remembering through the sense: I was surprised to find that the smells of camp were almost as easy to come up with as sights. I found it hardest to think of things I heard or tasted. 

Facilitating a guided reflection of this type may take time and ought to provide leadership and seasonal staff members with valuable perspective on the meaning to be found in our camp memories. We may also remember moments in quite different ways from others who experienced them. Additionally, focusing on events at camp that are observable through our senses leads us to the essential mindset of program quality assessment. We cannot control what campers internalize, how they grow, or what they think of camp. However, we can do our best to train and guide our staff to act in ways that align with our camp’s values. As we think of the meaning found in the camp season’s highs and lows using each of our senses, we will ground our character work in the essential practice of reflection.

Author Note: If you would like a blank facilitation guide for this reflection exercise, you may contact the author to request one.

Amanda Palmer, MS, is a camp trainer, consultant, researcher, and doctoral candidate at the University of Idaho. Amanda supports camps and organizations year-round with developing plans for aligning their unique missions with observable staff practices. Within ACA, Amanda is a program quality coach, an accreditation visitor, a subject matter expert for the Character at Camp initiative, and a member of Camping Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Committee. She is a former camper, camp counselor, and mother of four campers of her own. Contact Amanda at [email protected].