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/what-know-about-demographic-evaluation-questions-how-make-them-count-part-1

Wheewww! Summer is about over, if not over for most camps, which means that it's time to reflect on another eventful and exciting season. Along with a bit of a breather, this time of year brings lots...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/biting%E2%80%85my%E2%80%85nails-revisiting-staff-anxiety

It was three years ago when I first wrote about the increasing levels of anxiety that camp directors were seeing in their staff (Ditter, 2016). At the time, the Centers for Disease Control and...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/5-year-impact-study-phase-2-findings-being-present-moment

ACA’s Impact Study is a multiyear research project designed to identify the lasting impacts of camp from the perspectives of campers, staff, and parents. In the earliest stages of the project, we...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/project-based%E2%80%85learning-%E2%80%85summer%E2%80%85camps-opportunity-enrich-your-camp

It’s Friday afternoon at the Belle Isle Summer Nature Camp, a day camp in Detroit, Michigan. As parents and younger siblings mill around the auditorium, a happy murmur of conversation is heard as...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/care-other-peoples-children-part-1-things-every-camp-should-start-doing-now

Over the last 30 years, I have not only been a camp director and owner but have also worked in the role of providing professional risk management education within the camp, youth development, and...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/motivating-change-when-being-stuck-sticking-point

Camp taught me about the power of the environment — not just the natural world where we romp and roam, but the broad community support and child-centricity of programming and purpose. As a...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/hundred-years-campfire-stories-ymca-storer-camps

The year was 1918. World War I was winding down overseas, the Spanish flu epidemic was raging across the globe, and Woodrow Wilson was in the White House. It was also the year Storer Camps was...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/being-mentor

Two of my professional mentors recently passed away after horrific battles with cancer. Their funerals gave me pause to reflect on the deeply profound impact they each had on who I am today, both...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/measles-disturbing-trend-society-your-camp

The discussion of communicable illness in the camp environment often centers on the very significant issue of foodborne illness. Every summer significant cases of E. coli, salmonella, and others are...