https://www.acacamps.org/blog/moderating-childhood-stress-through-camp

Exposure to adverse childhood events (ACE) can lead children to drinking alcohol, smoking, illicit drug use, overeating, and other maladaptive behaviors (Stevens, 2015). These children can experience...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/evaluating-your-camp-staff-orientation-during-orientation

You did it! You’ve checked all the boxes and hired a full team of staff for the summer — counselors, lifeguards, ropes experts, and everything in between. As spring fully begins its transition into...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/instilling-meshages-marginalizes-toxic-stress-camp

As the Healthy Camp Education and Monitoring Program (HCEMP) committee studies MESH and its implications, I was interested to see some foundational work in this area. In...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/school-breaks-shouldnt-be-break-learning

School breaks are not the time to take a break from learning. Unfortunately, this is what often happens, resulting in a significant drop in students’ mastery of core concepts. The ...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/take-away-cooking-skills-camp

Guest blog by Diana K. Rice Where did you learn to swim, read a map, or be part of a team? There’s a good chance it was at camp, right? We know that camp is not just a place for kids to...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/your-staff-are-hired-now-what

You have hired your staff, but training does not begin for another few months. For our camp staff to be prepared to work with children on Day 1, their training must begin well before the buses pull...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/3-weeks-summer-camp-what-i-learned-educator-being-camp-parent

I feel like I just spent three weeks at Jewish summer camp. I experienced the highs of color war, the exhilaration of kayaking in the lake, the fear of the high ropes course, and the spirit of...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/thank-you-helping-change-childrens-lives

As the holiday season approaches, we at the American Camp Association (ACA) realize we have many reasons to be grateful. In the camp world, there are so many people who make an impact, and we are...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/whats-best-age-camp

You probably want a number here.  If you’re only going to read these first two sentences, then I’ll pick the age of nine. But my real answer is a bit more complex. When...

https://www.acacamps.org/blog/too-much-screen-time-four-ways-summer-camp-can-help

Children between eight and ten years old currently spend nearly eight hours a day on media. Adolescents average nearly eleven hours per day, seven days a week, on screens. The negative impact of this...