https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/rosies-girls-changing-story-girls

My tenth-grade history student addressed me tentatively in response to a classroom question. "Ms. Bluemle, I may be totally wrong, but . . . " I could barely focus on the rest of her sentence, as I...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/campline/electronic-communication-legal-practical-issues-consider-information-age

Introduction Camps and outdoor programs are now intimately familiar with the world-wide Web. Your organization undoubtedly has a Web site, reaching out to anyone around the world who has access to...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/transitioning-teens-responsible-young-adults

Each generation tends to look at the next generation and claim things aren’t as they used to be. There was a time in the 1970s and 80s when summer job opportunities for teens were so limited that...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/campline/introducing-new-standard-11-camper-staff-interaction

After much work, the American Camp Association (ACA) National Standards Commission is pleased to introduce a standard specific to 1:1 camper/staff interaction. We often receive questions from parents...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/leading-tomorrow-i-believe-accreditation

I believe in accreditation. Fifteen years ago, I helped manage the accreditation visit at my camp. It was my first time going through the process, but for my camp, the process was one in which...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches-working-camper-parents

Dear Bob, I had a run in with a camper parent last summer that made me very uncomfortable. We have a visiting day for parents once each session, which, as you might imagine, is a...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/keeping-your-program-current-programming-todays-camper

Many of your camp’s alumni may attempt to convince you that camp isn’t what it used to be and that so much has changed. They are right, of course. However, their point is that the camp program is no...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/hidden-motivator-todays-staff

One thing you say or do can still change a child's life, but is that enough anymore? When I first began training camp counselors a decade ago, I loaded the program with an inspiring message...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/planting-seeds-grow-environmental-stewardship-plan

Without a plan, we do not know where we are going. Four years ago I was sitting in a meeting with all of our camp department heads, talking about developing themes and character for the facility....

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/convenient-truth-how-our-past-can-save-future

What an opportunity! Camps began in the late 1800s as a way to connect kids with nature. The first camps introduced boys to hiking, fishing, and adventure in the wilderness. Over the years "camp" has...