Latest ACA Blog Posts

Working at camp is great way to hone your skills, meet new people, and have fun. But if you’re new to camp or are looking for a new camp to experience, where do you start your job search?

Here are 3 tips to help you find a summer camp job.

1. Browse summer job openings. Search a list of openings by job function, work setting (day, overnight, or travel camp), and location. You can even create an e-mail alert for when new jobs are posted.
2. Post your resume. Let camp employers find YOU when they browse through ACA’s summer resume bank. Posting your resume is free and easy. (For tips on writing your resume, see the...

Here’s how to choose the right fit and get your child excited about the adventure.

Guest post by Katie Bugbee, Senior Managing Editor, Care.com

Overnight camp can be an incredible growing experience for your child. Maybe you went yourself – or you wish you had. But for whatever reason, you just know your child will thrive in cabin-sleepover-living. Now, you need to make sure your child feels the same way.

Making new friends, trying different things, and being independent can seem daunting to some, but preparation can make all the difference. It’ll be a team effort, and yes, there still might be tears at drop-off no matter how prepped you both are. But, these tips can help ensure your child is the one...

Guest post by Lance Ozier

A few years back I conducted a study with kids who had gone to summer camp for at least six or seven years. I asked them to talk about their camp experiences, and from their stories identified convincing evidence that summer camp is an important place for kids to learn and grow. Recently, the skills campers in my study attributed to their camp experiences — confidence, leadership, social skills, independence, self-direction — have been described in books and articles as important noncognitive factors essential for success  in the “new economy.” If camp’s purpose is to give kids a world of good, then camp seems a likely place for young people and adults to acquire and practice these important skills so they can imagine ways they might adapt to the challenges in an ever-changing world.

William Poundstone’s...

Guest post by Diana K. Rice, RD

As a registered dietitian and staff member of The Kids Cook Monday, I’ve seen firsthand how efforts to involve children in food production and preparation can influence them to make healthy choices. Much of my work involves school-based efforts to teach these skills, but with all of the other academic learning objectives students must meet, I know that it can be difficult to find time during the school day to give kids truly enriching food-related experiences.

Camp, on the other hand, provides an ideal setting for the full farm-to-table (or campfire!) experience. I fondly recall cooking “stone soup” over the fire as a young camper and later, as a counselor. These experiences undoubtedly contributed to my current passion for home cooking, so I’ve been thrilled to discover the in-depth cooking and gardening experiences many camps...

Guest post by Kevin Austin

As Rex, Stephanie, and I walked we argued over the proper way to sing "Rig of Bamboo.” We were at the Lazy W Ranch for the Student Camp Leadership Academy (SCLA), and took a walk while sharing our camp experiences, games, plans for the future, and favorite debrief tools. I knew I had found a special community of camp professionals.

SCLA is an invaluable program for young camp professionals. Veteran camp leaders gave us personal insight into their knowledge and experience; a crisis management presentation gave us grounding in theory and asked us to develop response plans to various challenging scenarios. We didn’t know that the situations came from the leadership team’s personal experience, and discussions became real as they compared our response plans with what actually happened. I’ll always remember Billy Stempson as he described a...

Guest blog by Anne Archer Yetsko

When I Googled the phrase “middle school,” two of the top hits were “Middle school survival” and “Middle school: the worst years of my life.” I found that to be a pretty good depiction of how most people feel about this slightly (or not so slightly) traumatizing and awkward period of life. There are a few key aspects of the camp experience that are really beneficial for this age group.

Camp gives your middle schooler:

1. An Identity: Kids need an identity. Middle schoolers are defined by their looks, material stuff (cool shoes, backpack, gaming devices), parents, grades, and their athleticism. Camp allows kids to be known for being a great archer, team player, cannonball jumper, friend, kayaker, s’more maker, table setter, frog catcher, and much more. This list is endless. When a kid walks onto a camp property they get to...