Why being camp staff is so much more than teaching activities

It sometimes feels like many of my non-camp friends and family underestimate the work camp staff do. When I tell people I spent two summers working at camp, I'm often met with responses such as "oh cool so you just sat in a kayak and took kids places?" Ummm wrong, camp counselling is SO much more than that! This blog post is a little waffley so apologies in advance, but I've loved writing it and I hope it'll give you a little insight into the jobs camp staff do that go a little more unseen...

To try and put what seems like the impossible into words, I want to look back on my first week back with a group of campers at the beginning of my second summer. After a roller coaster summer the year before, I returned to camp with an increase in knowledge. understanding, experience and most importantly for me, confidence.

In my first week I was given a group of 14-16 year olds and I remember trying so hard to cover how nervous I was waiting for them to arrive. They were only a few years younger than me and yet I had to earn their respect as a leader! As they arrived I saw my group of 5 teenagers who had never met each other before excitedly discuss what they were looking forward to throughout their 6 days at camp. They told me it was going to be their last ever week at camp and I knew I had to pull out all the stops to make it an amazing week for them! Within 15 minutes I was a part of their team, we had a team name, team hand shake and we'd agreed on some common goals for their time at camp.

Having older girls allowed me to focus on things I'd never really had the chance to focus on the year before, whilst only really working with younger girls. I could focus less on having to remind them to brush their hair, go to bed on time and spending hours trying to cure homesickness every night and more on just having a laugh with them! Sure there were moments where I had to step in and remind them to apply sunscreen and have a drink of water, but most of the time I just focused on getting to know them and making sure they got the best out of every single minute. And in doing so, I learned that my job extended far beyond just teaching and looking after basic needs.

On the last night, I always ask the girls to reflect on their favourite moment of the week. I was surprised to hear that their favourite moments were not the activities myself and my colleagues taught them, but the moments in between. The time I let them stay up late to watch the stars, belting Disney songs on the way to the lake, that one joke that made us all cry with laughter. When one girl said the bit she'd remember most was when I fell over in the mud, I did wonder why we even bothered to teach activities in the first place!

I then asked the girls to think of one skill they had learned or improved on that week. They had so many stories to share with me of activity times with other staff members where things hadn't quite gone to plan, but they'd learned from their mistakes and persevered. At one point I listened to one camper reveal a problem she was experiencing at home whilst the other girls offered up similar experiences in an attempt to provide her with support and guidance.

Whilst the girls reflected on their 5 days, I reflected too and realised so many amazing things had happened that week that had nothing to do with the core activities we taught:

1. A group of girls who were probably as nervous, if not more, about that first day as me had realised they had so much in common, forming instant friendships I like to hope lasted beyond their 5 days at camp.

2. Without realising, I had created a safe space where growing young women felt comfortable discussing their thoughts, feelings and fears.

3. Without even trying, I had created memories for these girls that I hope they'll cherish for at least a few months...

4. The girls had learnt that it's ok for things to not quite go to plan, they'll get there eventually!

That week changed my outlook on being a camp counsellor and for the rest of the summer I focused less on the core activities and far more on adding extra, smaller, memorable moments into our schedule. If staying by the lake a little later meant we got to catch the most incredible sunset, let's do it! Even if it made us a little late for bedtime! The hours spent sat outside a cabin at 3am with a camper who was feeling homesick became less about the lack of sleep I was getting, and more about the fact that it was my job to help said camper realise that it's ok for her to feel scared and upset sometimes. Maybe we could even work together to figure out a way to make it easier for her the next night and then when she comes back next year she won't be as worried! I swear I didn't even have a whole week last year without having to clean up after an 'accident'! If I had to spend an activity time sat with a camper in a kayak on the dock, because she was too scared to go in the water, whilst a lifeguard taught the activity, then so be it! Sure, sometimes it felt like I'd drawn the short straw but I soon realised that those little things made a huge difference. I know that this change in outlook lead to a summer full of fun, memorable moments for me, and I hope the same for my campers!

So I guess what I'm trying to say, in my usual long winded way is that our job as camp staff is not just to teach archery. Like so many teachers out there, we double as nurses, therapists and role-models. We help girls fail, try again and learn from their mistakes until they master new skills. We create opportunities, adventures, connections and memories. Camp becomes a safe space for learning, failing and most of all fun! Not just for the girls, but also for us, the staff!

And if you're ever in doubt as to how to make a camper's week? Slip over in some mud...