National Camp School 2012

I have been a cub day camp program director for 11 camps.  I really enjoy day camp and think it can be a fun time for the youth and the parents helping out.  Anyone running a camp needs to attend a training called National Camp School.  I attended as a participant the first time I was program director.  I'd been back two more times to teach at the camp school.  This year was my third time serving as an instructor.  In order to teach at the school, you need to have your name suggested by your local BSA council and then approved by the national office.  We're representing BSA and have to wear the full uniform.  I've borrowed a pair of pants before but this time I had to buy myself a pair of scout pants.  I'm really unhappy with how they fit.  Small were skin tight but medium fall right off.  So, I end up with a bunch of gathered fabric bunching up in the front giving me a nice tummy pooch.  I'd buy a skirt in hopes it'd be more flattering but they don't make them anymore.

Part of the fun of day camp is using a theme and creating a camp around that theme.  The national office suggests a theme each year for day camps to use.  This year's theme is "Jungle".   I had fun looking at Dollar Tree and Value Village for jungle type decorations I could use at camp school and at my own camp in July.  Dollar Tree puts out all their Luau stuff the day after Easter and I was fortunate to get there on day one to get the best selection.

The cabin I taught in.  

I saved the big tissue paper flowers my mom and Millie made for my surprise party and used them as part of the decorations.  Some of the things are from Dollar Tree.  The rest are from two big tubs of luau decorations a friend gave me years ago.  That blue fabric on the wall is a "sticky wall".  It's just ripstop nylon sprayed with mounting adhesive.  It works way better than a flannel board for putting things up while you're teaching.

Another view of the cabin I taught in.  I'd never seen it before and didn't know what I should bring.  Once I got there, I wished I'd brought more of my luau decorations.

There was a mantle in the room which worked great for displaying stuffed animals and silk greenery I've been collecting for the last year.

My costume.  I used the vest Elizabeth decorated and adjusted for Halloween.  I was a bit worried how I'd fit into an 11 year old's vest but she'd left it pretty big so I didn't have a problem.  There is a parrot on my shoulder and everyone loved it.  I wore a coat over my outfit for part of one day and I had a few people ask where the vest had gotten to.  Some even took photos for inspiration at their own camp.  The parrot is definitely looking worse for wear.  He's already attended two day camps and gone trick-or-treating.  In between those appearances, he's stuffed into the costume drawer.

The camp school was held at a scout camp near Olympia called Camp Thunderbird.  It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from home.  I had to go down on Thursday to decorate, set things up and have a meeting with the other staff for camp school which began Friday morning at 8:00 am.  Once camp school starts, information is continually delivered to the participants from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm for two full days.  Someone told me it's like trying to drink from a fire hose.

I've been to a lot of BSA trainings over the years and many of them have left me feeling like I'd wasted my time.  National Camp School is the Disneyland of BSA training.  All the staff are excellent teachers with enthusiasm for their subject.  Everyone goes the extra mile with preparation, visual aids, doo-dads (fun  handouts).  As I was preparing, the entire kitchen was filled with decorations and visual aids for my classes.

just PART of the mess that was all organized by the time I left

The kids told me that the other teachers would be blown away by what I was bringing.  I wasn't feeling that way.  I was worried I wouldn't be up to teaching at the national standards.  I'd taught some of the classes before but I worried I'd be the boring teacher everyone couldn't wait to hear the end of.  The course director kept emailing me to check on me and make sure that I was ready and had noticed that the syllabus had changed.  I think she was as nervous about me and I was about myself!  I had noticed changes in the syllabus.  In fact, some of my suggestions from when I'd taught a few years ago had made it into the crafts and woodworking class I'd be teaching again.

I love teaching at camp school and sharing my enthusiasm for day camp.  A big problem for me is that we're teaching a national curriculum and aren't supposed to talk about what we do at our own camp.  Even if it's something you do, you're supposed to say, "I've seen .... done at a camp".  Although I realize they don't want you to share things that aren't national standards or to bore everyone with long stories about your own experiences, I think there's value in letting someone who has experience share some of the things they've encountered.

One of the classes I taught was called "Camp Morale".  I gave suggestions for ways you can maintain and revive camp morale.  I was a bit nervous because as part of my presentation, I showed a photo of myself from last year at camp.

Last year it rained every day.  I wore an umbrella hat over my costume as a way to get people to smile.  I showed a slide of the photo as an example of an easy way to boost camp morale and was worried that later the other staff would say something to me about using something for my own camp.  Instead, they said that showing that slide really caught the learners' attention.

Teaching camp morale.  I'm dressed like a doctor because you need to assess the health of your camp and look for symptoms of a "sick" camp.  Isaac is the cute cub scout on the slide.

I came home Sunday pretty exhausted.  The participants' days go until 10 pm.  At 10 pm the staff is cleaning up, getting ready for the next day, and having a staff meeting.  We never got to bed before midnight!  I couldn't even make it all the way home without a nap.  I got to the point where all my eyes wanted to do was the "blank stare".  I pulled off at a rest stop in Federal Way and was instantly asleep for a half hour nap.

We had 70 participants from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.  I met some really nice people from around the Pacific Northwest.  One challenge  of the camp school  is that everyone there is a leader.  At times, we had "too many chiefs and not enough Indians" in the group.  Tensions were strong with some teams as individuals clashed.  One thing we got dinged on in the course evaluation filled out by the participants was that although we taught stress management (actually I taught it), we didn't always practice it.  I wish learning was as easy as teaching something and being able to apply it perfectly!  As we sent them on their way fully trained on Sunday morning, it was a nice feeling to know they'd be going out to run their camps, affecting hundreds of youth and hopefully have as much fun doing it as I do.

The participants get into it as much as we do.  They used decorations from around the room for their costumes during their final presentations.  I hope they invite me to teach at camp school again.