https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/when-staff-mesh-impacts-camp
When Staff MESH Impacts CampEveryone has a mental, emotional, social health (MESH) profile. For most of us, our MESH profile is within a “normal” range. Some days are better than others. Some things push our buttons, others don...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/current-challenges-camp-food-service
Current Challenges in Camp Food ServiceHesitation gave way to excitement as I unexpectedly grabbed the reigns of food service management, in the dripping, humid heat of a Texas summer camp season. Nine years had passed since I last served...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/there-reason-understanding-challenging-behavior
There Is a Reason! Understanding Challenging BehaviorI once worked with cat. Not a “meow” cat, although that’s how she identified herself to me. She was a thirteen-year-old girl who insisted she was a cat. You can imagine how hard it was for her at...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/youth-objects-or-partners-advancing-opportunities-camper-leadership-decision-making
Youth as Objects or Partners? Advancing Opportunities for Camper Leadership and Decision MakingDisenfranchised by Design? Nearly 40 percent of ten- to eighteen-year-olds report insufficient levels of involvement in camp (ACA 2006). That statistic surprised most camp...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/creating-camp-narratives-enhance-emotional-growth-hiv-youth
Creating Camp Narratives to Enhance Emotional Growth of HIV+ YouthBecause of the ignorance and stigma which still sadly surrounds HIV, children born with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience additional psychosocial stressors beyond those commonly...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/martin-his-friends-counseling-skills-effect-change-camp
Martin and His Friends: Counseling Skills that Effect Change at CampMartin was sitting in the office of the boys' head counselor again. He'd been playing "Ga Ga" when another camper got him out. In what had quickly become an all-too-typical response for nine-year-old...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/time-our-lives-how-summer-camp-tames-transition-trouble
The Time of Our Lives: How Summer Camp Tames Transition TroubleIt is a common refrain that the college years best represent "the time of our lives," replete with newfound independence and denoting fulfillment of academic, social, emotional, and workforce...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/children-need-play-can-they-get-it-camp
Children Need Play: Can They Get It at Camp?When I was a child, in the 1950s, children were far freer than they are today. By the time I was five, I could go anywhere in town, on foot or bicycle, without adult accompaniment. My family moved...
https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/dont-let-your-camp-go-pot-impacts-policy-challenges-legalized-marijuana-youth-camps
Don't Let Your Camp Go to Pot: Impacts and Policy Challenges of Legalized Marijuana on Youth CampsMarijuana is now legal for recreational use in seven states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) and Washington, DC. It is still a federal offense to possess...
https://www.acacamps.org/blog/findings-phase-1-5-year-research-project
Findings from Phase 1 of the 5-Year Research ProjectACA Director of Research Dr. Laurie Browne shares the emerging themes from Phase 1 of the Five Year Impact Study. These preliminary findings point to the numerous ways camp...