https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fumble-or-fiasco-ensuring-leaders-staff-campers-learn-failure

We need to fail before we achieve success. In our personal and professional lives, we generally try to succeed, which is perfectly sensible. To reach our potential, however, we must stop fearing...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/make-strategic-decisions-not-guesses

Enjoy one of camp’s sweetest sounds as you walk up on a dining hall or an evening campfire and hear a chorus of voices singing a favorite camp song — 100 campers, 250 campers, 500 campers — can you...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camps-transformation-economy

What do hibachi restaurants and summer camps have in common? Before I answer that, let me provide some context. Earlier this year, I dined at a hibachi restaurant for the first time. I sat up at...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/search-marketing-web-drive-new-camper-enrollment-alternative-businesses

The quiet, final weeks of August find camp directors exhaling and peering out over empty fields — luckier ones are on a beach somewhere preparing meticulously crafted reenrollment letters. Agonizing...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/nobody-ever-tells-me-anything-communication-camp

Growing up, my sister’s catch phrase could have been, “Nobody ever tells me anything!” because she said it so often. More and more, this sentiment is being shared at summer camp, too. Our camp staff...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/teaching-skills-children-need-succeed

In his book Homesick and Happy, child psychologist Michael Thompson, PhD, describes the dilemma that faces so many of today’s parents. “I have spoken with many parents, who, out of the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/parent-study-suggests-strategies-effective-use-camp-research

The question is often asked, “So now that we have this research, how can I tell parents about it?” A fair question. Directors and camp administrators require action plans rather than theories and are...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/welcome-digital-cabin-how-new-technologies-can-deliver-better-summer-experience

Technology and camping? Hearing those two words together often sparks ire among camp management. “We don’t allow our kids to use techie toys!” you declare. Of course, unless you run a computer camp,...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/what-camp-staff-can-do-help-children-excerpt-homesick-happy

Dear Colleagues, When I sat down to write my new book, Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow, I wanted to answer three questions: 1) Why is it...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/campline/medical-marijuana-current-issues-camps

Introduction A call recently came into the American Camp Association (ACA) Crisis Hotline from a member camp: Three adults attended a family camp and brought medical marijuana with them. Upon...