https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/four-cs-great-summer-camp

At its best, summer camp is a silly, spirited place. A place where the group who cooks the best outdoor meal wins a metal spoon that has been spray-painted gold (the golden spoon! ooooh, aaaaah);...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/meeting-campers-where-they-are

I’ve often been taught to look at a person through the lens of a prism. On one side, you can see only a clear, flat, one-dimensional object, but when the light filters through you are left with all...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/easy-one-two-three-using-data-advance-equity-your-camp

Whenever we’re brought on board to support a camp in creating a greater sense of inclusion and belonging within its community, almost always, one of the first things we’re asked is, “How do we even...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/mitigating-long-term-bereavement-risks-addressing-family-grief

Bereavement camps for children are now commonplace around the United States (McClatchey & Wimmer, 2018). Some of these are recreational, and others are more clinically focused. Most do not...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/healthy-inside-out-role-mental-health-counseling-summer-camp

I spent my childhood summers at a sleepaway camp in Pennsylvania, and I loved it. When I turned 18 in 2021, I couldn’t wait to work as a counselor myself. I was following in my mother’s footsteps;...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/enhancing-inclusion-campers-sensory-processing-concerns-through-camp-counselor-training

Summer camps provide children an opportunity for goal achievement, a sense of community, and development of self-concept. Toward that end, goal-directed camp activities revolve around teamwork, as...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/safe-space-trauma-informed-trauma-infused-what-know-how-help

Across the land, schools and summer camps have embraced a movement to better understand trauma and how it affects a child’s ability to learn and self-regulate their behavior. As that knowledge...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/impetigo-what-does-it-look-what-should-you-do

John presented to the camp health center begrudgingly, after his counselor requested he get a blister on his heel looked at by one of the nurses. The nurse at health check happened to be a new...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/reframing-mental-health-camp

Mental health at camp has always been a challenge. But for many camps, it wasn’t until worldwide stressors started piling up in 2020 that this challenge became overwhelming.

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/fighting-wellness-youth-thrive-when-you-do

An Interview with Brittany Patterson, PhD