First Class Counselors

Camp counselors have the most important job at summer camp. Period. A great camp staff will have kids wanting to come back to camp year after year. First Class Counsellors is here to make great camp staff. Each week, we’ll cover practical and accessible tips that will level up your camp counselor skills. Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counselors.

All Episodes

First Class Counselors

Ten Top Tips for Summer 2026 - First Class Counselors #86

May 21, 2026 • First Class Counsellors - from Go Camp Pro • Episode 86

0:00 | 43:53

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/first-class-counselors-pod/ten-top-tips-for-summer-2026

Preparing for a Successful 2026 Summer Camp Season

Join Oliver and Matt for the season finale of First Class Counselors as they count down ten essential tips for the upcoming 2026 summer. This episode provides a quick reference guide for frontline staff focusing on everything from active supervision and safety protocols to the psychology of camper behavior. The hosts discuss how to create a culture of belonging through strength based mindsets and provide actionable tools like facilitation frameworks to ensure every counselor is prepared to lead with confidence and empathy.

Key Takeaways:

Behavior is Communication. When campers act out it is often an expression of an unmet need such as being hungry or tired. Using the HALT acronym allows counselors to address the root cause of challenging behavior while providing grace and maintaining a strong relationship with the child.
Master Facilitation Through Structure. Effective leadership during activities requires clear communication and meaningful reflection. By using the philosophy of one goal and three steps followed by the So What and Now What debriefing method counselors can ensure safety while helping campers apply life lessons beyond the cabin.
Model the Values You Expect. Counselors are professional role models who are always teaching through their actions and energy levels. Maintaining consistent boundaries and following camp rules regarding phone use or physical interactions ensures that campers respect the environment and feel safe within the community.

E.G.E.L – Ever Growing, Ever Learning:

Oliver: 3D Printers

Matt: Gratitude Jars

Host Links:

Matt Wilfrid, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro
Oliver Gregan, Executive Director at YMCA Camp Winona

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I think the biggest thing that I constantly remind myself and remind others is that all behavior is communication.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Find five small things that are measurable that you're going to hold on to this summer and you're going to make sure that you commit to them.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

This is First Class Counselors, another innovative podcast brought to you by Camp Hacker. First Class Counselors is dedicated to young and up-and-coming camp efforts. By equipping and empowering our on-the-ground staff, camp directors can rest easy knowing that our campers are having the true life-changing experience that parents expect. Find our show notes and our blog for camp leaders and professionals at camphacker.tv.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Welcome to First Class Counselors, where we give camp counselors insider tips and advice on how to make a camper's summer the best it can be.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

Whether you are the type of person who took rigorous notes for all of our episodes this season, or you're just jumping in for the first time, you know that self-improvement and growth mindset is built into the DNA of every great staff member, or dare we say it, every first-class counselor.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

My name is Oliver Kriegan. I'm the director of camping services at YMCA Camp Westwood, which is for the YMCA Petuckets, located in Coventry, Rhode Island. We are rebuilding day camp and we plan to introduce overnight camp in the near future.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

My name is Matt Wilfrid. My pronouns are he, him, and I'm the executive producer of podcasting and a consultant with Go Camp Pro.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

So we are wrapping up the season, and we wanted to make sure that everybody who is listening or maybe it's your first time chiming in, you just want the quick notes version of this season, but also maybe a few extra things that Matt and I want to make sure we add in there. But this is our 10 tips of advice going into 2026 this summer. And hopefully you can use this for other summers too. Matt and I just have great advice that is universally used throughout every year or decade of camp. But we're gonna give our top five each, and we'll have 10 total for you guys once we're done. And hopefully you'll be able to take something home with you or to camp with you this summer.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Right. This is the too long didn't listen uh version of season eight of first class counselors. So some great things to emphasize here. We'll we'll pass it off, Oliver, you, then me, then you, then me, all the way to our top 10. And we really wanted to do this because we're getting close to the summer and we we try to always emphasize the practical side of things for you, our counselor listeners, and for our directors who are listening out there. We want these to be impactful, things that that your frontline counselors, or that if you're a frontline counselor, that you can take and apply. Doesn't take a lot of thinking. And if you have any questions, always email us matt echo camp.pro and and we can elaborate or go back and listen to the episodes that we reference in this one. So, Oliver, why don't you start us off with your number one tip for counselors this summer?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah, this season we did an episode on statistics as a counselor, things that you can keep track of to, you know, know whether or not you're doing a really great job. And I think one of the things that is in your control is what are your bare minimum commitments, right? Like I promise I am going to be on time. I will not be late, right? I promise that I will not forget a camper's med pass, right? Like I'm not gonna have to get reminded, right? Or that when I meet a camper for the first time, I'm gonna get on their level and shake their hands, right? What are your bare minimum commitments that you're gonna go into this summer with? And I'd say name five. Find five small things that are measurable that you're gonna hold on to this summer, and you're gonna make sure that you commit to them. And then find a little way for you to kind of track them, right? And that way, as the summer goes on, you are at least watching five actions that are going to get you to a more successful counselor level. And what I would also try to do is try to make sure that each one of those five is almost in a different category. Like, you know, arriving on time, I would say is pretty responsible, right? Making sure that you're giving feedback to your co or to your supervisor, to your campers, maybe that is honesty, right? So figure out what your five categories are and then what the five specific actions you want them to be so you can measure them, right? And then keep track of them, right? And then see at the end of the summer if there's improvement throughout the summer, and if keeping track of those five core things that you know are important for the mission and the development of your campers that you're holding to them and they have an effect, right? Did they make a true difference for your campers this summer? So that's my first one. What are your five bare minimum bare minimum commitments that you're gonna stick to this summer and keep track of them?

SPEAKER_02 4:42

So good. So I loved that conversation about bringing a stats-based mindset to your to your counseling this summer. And there are a lot of good gems in there, but I love making it simple. Pick five and go for it. My first tip for uh of my top, my top five came from our first episode this season with Lisa Drennan. And the episode was called Building a Culture of Belonging for Every Camper, and it was such a great overview of like what does inclusion actually look like on the ground. And Lisa gave two tips here that I want you to remember when it comes to making sure that campers feel included. The first one was focusing on a strength-based mindset when it comes to every camper. I think the what Lisa shared was that sometimes when we look at including campers with different abilities or disabilities, that we could that sometimes we focus on that and we focus on what they can't do. But instead, the mindset that we should have for every camper, including those who may have disabilities or different abilities, is that we want to focus on the things that make them shine. So it's as simple as when you're introducing a new camper to the group, start with a positive trait about them, such as being a talented musician or being a super kind person. And Lisa shared that that practice is called social role valorization. And it helps peers identify with them more easily because it forms those parts of connections. Hey, I'm also a musician or I'm also this, and that helps make those connections and you know puts us closer to the things that are similar than the things that might be different about us. The second tip that Lisa gave in that episode was assuming competence from the start. Always it's kind of along the same mindset of a strength base, but making sure we assume that someone is capable of doing something, no matter how they present or how they communicate. And what that looks like in practice is avoiding that kind of patronizing language that sometimes can happen with a like, oh, do you need this? Or like, can I help you with this? Just assume that folks can do it, or that their caregivers will have set up a system for how they can ask for help, or that they will ask for help themselves. I think one of the big mindset shifts when I was a young staff member in this is if you're working with a camper who uses a wheelchair, you never would like push a person to get them from a place to a place without asking them first. A person who uh typically walked. So, like if Oliver and I were standing somewhere and I wanted Oliver to go to another place, I would never physically push Oliver to do that. That would be incredibly rude. So, why would you do that to someone in a wheelchair? They are capable of getting from place to place, and if they need help, they will ask for it. So presume confidence, presume ability before you assume that someone needs help or needs support. I I think everyone should follow the work that Lisa is doing from a counselor level to a director level. Man, I learn from Lisa every day from her LinkedIn posts and from the things that she's doing. So we'll make sure we get her her ways to contact her and her LinkedIn in the show notes of this so you can follow her too. I learned so much from that conversation.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Yeah, I loved having that show with Lisa and it definitely changed my approach a little bit and how I think about how I take on some interactions with kids and making sure that they are capable of what they're about to take on. Like they they can't. Kids could do a lot more than we think, and we're not always giving them those opportunities. The next thing that I really want you to focus on as a counselor this summer is child safety, right? It is a constant thing that you as a counselor should always have in the back of your mind. But there's really a place that I wanted to go with this, and that's making sure child safety through supervision, right? We've talked about like a man coverage where like you are on top of a certain number of campers that are under your direct vision, a zone coverage where there's an area that you're taking and it has a kind of borders to it that you're uh that you're watching so no one crosses, and then it's kind of free play in the middle. And we've also talked about just engaged supervision, right? Like you are playing the game, you are there with your campers and doing stuff. So that's one aspect of child safety they really want people to focus on is what's the supervision that you're providing and be on it, right? A lot of camp directors will talk about uh the the term clumping, where all of a sudden, like it's the counselors are in their little group of friends, and then the kids are playing their game, but there's no interaction, it's not happening, or you know, they're not really watching, they're more involved in talking as counselors about you know counselor y stuff, whatever it might be. And then the campers are doing their things. And this is when things start to go wrong, right? When we're not supervising our kids properly. And a lot of these also loop into our child abuse prevention trainings that you should be getting at the beginning of every summer. So, you know, it's it's making sure that you know about like your truddy systems and your, you know, what's your bathroom rules that you might follow for, you know, when you bring a kid to the bathroom. Does your camp allow you to let those kids go by themselves? Do you have to escort them to the bathroom? A lot of camps have different rules about child safety and how they go about doing, but make sure you know your rules and that you're doing your best to make sure campers are safe. And I think that's truly, truly important going into this summer. And the last thing I always say is you're a mandated reporter, right? You're working with children. That's what we call it in the United States. I think Canada might have a different term. We might use the same one. But your job is to make sure those kids are safe. And if you see something that seems odd, you know, based off of the training that you receive, report it. Tell somebody about it. Make sure that that is going to go in the right direction to make sure that kid is safe. And even if it might not be what the sign or symptom suggests it is, you are still doing something that makes sure that that kid is safe. So I just want to emphasize that like it is not a bad thing to put in that report. There are trained people who will get that information who are going to do what is necessary with it, but don't ever be scared to if you see th if you see something, say something to make sure that kid is getting the best childhood that could be provided to them, right? So I think that's really important. Matt, what's your next point?

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Totally. My next one is all about remembering that camp is this special space where kids have the ability to come and just be their weirdo selves and embracing that mindset a little bit. So in our episode 80, what we talked about, it was like the decision-making process between why we may or may not send a kid home as a director and your role as a counselor in understanding how to navigate maybe campers who are being a little bit more challenging. And I think this is just the the reminder that I found myself consistently reminding staff when I was a director. And that is that that camp is this special in-between space for kids that it's really separate from the rigid expectations of home and school, or even no, maybe not rigid, but the specific expectations of having adults who are mostly like 30-ish years older than kids, or teachers that are maybe 20 to 30 years older years older than kids, and then they come to camp and their counselors are maybe you know 16 to 17 years older than kids. Like the it it shrinks. The near-peer leaders are are very different and rules are different. The amount of outside time they're spending are different. They're they're in such a different space, and it's so great for that. And I think it's important that we as counselors have empathy for campers who might be coming to camp and rebelling against those like identity boxes that their friends or school have placed them in for the rest of the year. So maybe at school they're a quiet kid who doesn't put their hand up, they don't volunteer for things, but they're looking forward to to summer where they can be loud and extroverted and singing songs at the top of their lungs and they can break the rules a little bit. That that's going to happen. People are gonna push boundaries in a different way because they actually maybe feel a little bit more comfortable to do it there than a situation that they're in at home or at school. So I think remembering that kids are not adults and kids' frontal lobes haven't fully developed yet. So they're still like playing around with that. And I think we got to give them a little bit of grace. And that goes with my my kind of follow-up point for this is remembering that we we tend to have what what I think we described in the episode as a conformity bias. I think sometimes when we are leaders of kids for the first time, or when we're placed into this leadership role, we assume that that campers should just by default listen to us because we are their counselor, we are their their leader. And that's that's just not the way that it happens, right? Respect and relationships are built over time. You have that that piggy bank of relationships that you're constantly depositing into with kids and the ways that you interact with them. I think Dane talked about that. Dane Savory talked about that in in this the episodes we did with him. And nothing happens by accident when it comes to how we're interacting with kids. It's all about how we've invested into that relationship. And then kids are gonna push, they're gonna like you, you are an authority figure to them, but that doesn't mean they're just gonna listen to you by default. So it's about relationship building and allowing yourself to be a little bit of a little bit flexible with that. If a kid doesn't listen to you the first time, there's a reason behind that. And I'll get into that with my next point, my next top tip for this season. But Oliver, I'll just throw it back to you for your next one.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Yeah, I it's really funny that your tip for this recording is this idea that camp is a special spot for a kid who's coming for, you know, that time of camp, that it is a sacred place, sacred space, and they get to become be themselves there at camp. Because I was literally having a conversation with one of our staff where uh I have a friend who's a camp director who has two boys who grew up, they lived at camp, they grew up at camp, you know, 365 days of camp. But for the two weeks that they came as campers, completely different place for them. And they emphasized and they spoke about that camp is different. They get to be somebody different when those two weeks are happening for them, that they're in a cabin, they're with counselors, they're with their friends and their fellow campers, and that you know, the 365 days of the year that they live on camp, well, these 14 are different. And, you know, that should be really eye-opening for anybody who's having any kid who's coming into their cabin, knowing that when that kid walks through that door, you are creating your own micro environment there that makes it special, which is kind of what my point here is is that as a counselor, you have that power. Camp, the directors, the leadership team are gonna do these amazing evening programs and events, and they're gonna have these special things that are built in to make sure camp is special for kids, right? But they are doing that for 300 kids or 150 kids or whatever number of kids are coming to camp. And that takes that magic and it spreads it nice and thin across for everybody. And what makes it special is it is a shared experience that everyone gets, and they get to hold on sight to that that everyone at camp, you know, got to do got to go to the camp dance, or everyone at camp gets their beads, or whatever it might be. But you have a special power that you are directly associated to you know the 10 kids in your cabin, however many it might be. And that means every week that you have or every session that you have with those kids, it you can have an impact that is special just for them. And I think that a good counselor, great counselor, say a first-class counselor, should try to think about like what's the special thing that I'm gonna do for my cabin every week? And you know, is that setting up a like movie night under the stars or something? Is it a like cross-camp kitchen raid where they dress in all black and they sneak across the fields on a full moon night? Um, you know, like secret agents. Is it some type of a scavenger hunt or a story or something that you develop that's just for them that week? What are you doing that those 10 kids in your cabin are gonna have an experience that no one else on that camp is gonna have? Right. So that you know, down the line, if they're ever talking about the stories of that summer, they have a story that they can share with their best friend who slept in the bunk next to them that was different, that was special for them. And I think that that doesn't have to wait until summer. Like maybe there is something that comes to your head with a specific cabin that you go, oh, for these, for these kids in my cabin this week, I could do this. That would be a really big difference maker. But you could start thinking about some of those things that I just mentioned now and say, man, it would be really cool if um, you know, all of my kids had a special necklace that they wore or a head, I had headbands for all of my kids. And I'll go into maybe some of those types of things in a little bit with another tip I've got. But what's the event? What's the special thing that you're gonna do that sets your cabin maybe a little bit apart from everybody else? So that's my that's my tip. And you can start planning some of those now, get them okay by the camp director, so you're good to go.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

Yeah, really smart. I think it's so smart that you're I think that communicating with the camp director is everything. We talked about that so much this season of like, if you've got ideas, share them now. I mean, camp directors are super busy getting the summer ready, but I would always have time for like a quick email with an idea, but like, hey, what what do you think about this? And then maybe your director will pass that off to uh a program director or something to get you the help that you need. I'd always love to hear about staff that were thinking big picture before the summer started. Okay, my next top tip goes back to the conversation about camper behavior. We've talked about that a lot this season on the podcast, and I think the biggest thing that I constantly remind myself and remind others is that all behavior is communication. I will say that again. All behavior is communication. Every time a camper acts out or, you know, acts up, it's because they there's an underlying need that they have that is being unmet. Now, sometimes people remember that with the acronym HALT, H A L T, like HALT, stop walking. And that could be so HALT stands for hungry or thirsty, angry or anxious, lonely or tired or exhausted. There might be some of those physical, actual needs that they have in that moment, but it also might be like the the lonely or overstimulated, those types of psychosocial aspects that they're going through. And it might not even be the things that they are going through in that moment, it might be the baggage that they've brought to camp with. Maybe there's a past, you know, bigger or smaller trauma that they've been through. Maybe they do have a diet anxiety disorder, or there's something that is getting in the way of them being able to process the information that is coming. So remember that when if if you see a camper acting out, if it's not an immediate like they're in danger or they're putting other people in danger, take an extra moment or even while you're responding and think about what do they need? What are they communicating? And then the second part of that is if you have the extra brain power, this is like second level thinking, is how should I show up in this moment to that camper based on what they need? So if this camper is feeling scared, how is my approach going to be to that camper to make sure that I'm not being something that they're also scared of? Or if they are looking for connections, how do I approach that conversation to help make them a connection with me or with other campers? So remember, behavior is communication, halt, hungry, angry, lonely, tired, and using that to give campers not only a little bit of grace for the behavior that they're exhibiting, but to help get them back to their baseline and get them back into the action at camp.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Right. Yeah, that secret language of kids that they don't say out loud, but you need to be able to interpret. For me, I think we've talked about facilitating facilitation so much on our show this season. I think it's been a and it's been a big theme for us forever because as a counselor, you do it all the time, right? Facilitation is kind of part of the part of the gig. But I think one of the things that we said this season that really hit home for me is practicing it, right? Getting in front of a mirror, setting up your phone, right? Film yourself, do it, whatever it might be, right? You know that there's a lot of different activities out there at camp that you're probably going to be running this summer. And like thankfully, if you're a counselor right now, you're probably in this generation that is very used to seeing things on the internet explained quickly, directly, with the essential information broken down in a way that is watchable and consumable, right? Like you have a superpower as this generation who's grown up with this like quick form media and stuff. So practicing that for whatever activity that you might be leading a camp is going to be great. So if it's how to put on a harness, if it's a specific arts and crafts activity, it's how to paddle a canoe, right? Film yourself practicing that pitch and see how you could equip yourself in those pitches, in those debriefs, in those overviews, so that when the time comes during summer, you're ready to do it. So, you know. Hey everybody, I'm so excited as we're gonna go canoeing today. But before we go into the water, what we're gonna do is gonna see if the gods of our lake are ready to accept us onto the water, right? And you throw the paddle in the water and it pops back up because of their buoyancy. And you go, they have returned the paddle, they are ready for us to get into the lake, right? If you don't know that trick, it's a really sick one. I think I've talked about it on the show before. I got taught about it when I was in Canada. But then, you know, you get to do the you you practice like how do you work with people in a show, too? Like, hey, everyone, when we paddle our canoe, if we paddle on the right side, which way are we gonna go? And you like fake paddle on the right and you start turning left. And you go, all right, if we paddle on the left, what do you think that means? It means if we go this way, we're gonna go this way. But I've reached out farther than that, right? I'm gonna turn a lot faster, right? So practicing those things, making it fun, funny for kids, entertaining and enjoyable, but also the lesson, right, is really is a really great thing to make it a blast, but also make yourself ready. And like that pitch for canoeing that you just saw me doing, I'm standing in a chair, I'm making it work, but I've done that probably 5,000 times. Like, I don't even know the number anymore. But it came from those first times where I was trying to learn, and I remember like walking across camp going, okay, what do I need to cover when I get to canoeing? Okay, how do I put a life jacket on? Okay, you guys, we're putting on our tuxedos of the sea right now. When we strap it on, we got to make sure all three buckles. If we're a little smaller, there's a buckle that goes between our legs too, right? So your pitches are gonna get a little bit better, but we're all gonna look real good today because you know, my favorite line for life jackets is they're the tuxedo of the sea. You know, we got to suit up to go out, get out there onto the uh onto the ocean. So get that practice in now, or you know, practice when you're in there for SAF training so that you're ready to facilitate these things. And the best thing for you to know is that as a counselor, that's probably one of the best things for your development as a professional in whatever field you go to, right? It's such a great skill to have as you move throughout whatever career you might be going to, to be able to explain things to other people in an efficient and consumable way. So that's my next one. Make sure you practice that facilitation. What are those little things that you know already you can get out of the way?

SPEAKER_02 24:12

I don't know about any of you, but I desperately want Oliver to run a canoe session for me now. I you have not Oliver talked about the paddle going into the water and being returned by the thing. I'm stealing that. That is freaking brilliant. I hope that like blows up across North America or camping around the world. That's so cool. I want to pick up the the thread here on a facilitation because yeah, we we dedicated a couple episodes to it. So episode 79 was meaningful and masterful facilitation where Oliver shared some of those tips. The other three, sorry, the other two parts of facilitation came with some very specific tools. So I'll remind you of what I call the G3C philosophy, and that is when you are teaching anything, when you are facilitating and giving kids instructions on how to do something, make sure that you G identify what the goal of your next few set of instructions, not just the goal of the entire activity, but so we're not saying the goal is to hit the target with a bow. The goal is until I give you the next goal, the goal is to go and pick up your bows, like to have the bows in your hand. That is the goal. The three steps, so G is the goal. Three is no more than three steps on how to do it. So my three steps could be I want you to I've I've laid all the bows out in a circle. You can walk up to the bow, and I want you to pick it up with the opposite hand that you usually write with, whatever your like shtick is for doing that. That was three instructions, right? Stand in front of a bow, pick it up, use the hand that you don't normally write with. Three instructions, and then ask for clarifying questions. Any questions about that, and then you tell them to go. And then you repeat that process step after step after step to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Because there's there's the reason behind this is that we don't want people to fall behind, especially when it comes to safety instructions, like putting on a harness to go on the ropes course, archery, you're literally using weapons. So it's important that we are breaking down those steps so that campers understand how important it is. And in the modern day and age, people call it like the attention economy. People are so used to scrolling at like TikToks and reels and those types of things, they get their information really fast that our attention spans have gone down. And instead of just like being upset about that and fighting it, we can understand how to use that to our advantage and really help us break down our activities. You know, it just really helps people not feel overwhelmed. If you're out there like me with ADHD, I need three instructions max at a time, or else I will forget one of the important rules of a game and then I'll break it and I'll get upset because I don't didn't think I heard the rule. Just break it down. So G3C goal, no more than three steps, ask for clarifying questions. The second part, second technique that I wanted to share in that is a debriefing. So if you haven't heard of it before or don't remember it from that from that episode, basically it's how we help campers take meaning from an activity and apply it to their everyday life. Facilitation people would or experiential learning people would call this the transference of knowledge. But basically, it's why is this important? So the structure to get campers to understand that is remembering that the questions that you ask can follow this structure what, so what, and now what? So what happened? What happened in the activity that was noteworthy? Or I use I use the word did you notice? Did you notice what happened when things kind of got chaotic there? What happened? That's the what? So what? Why is that important? Why was it important? Like, you know, why is it significant that things got chaotic? Why, you know, how did that affect the group's dynamic? How did that affect how you felt? So why was that? You're still connecting it to that moment, to that thing that happened to the activity. And then now what? How do we apply this thing that happened and what we learn from it, the significance of it, to the rest of our time at camp, or even better, the rest of the time in our everyday world? So that might look like following my example. Did you notice when things got really chaotic there? That's the what? How did how did it feel for you when things got chaotic? Now we're getting into so what? And I might say, like, what did we do as a group to help ourselves find success again? So we're talking about the activity. Oh, we did this, we communicated better, or we worked together, or I asked for help. And then the now what? I ask questions like, so how does asking for help help us in times outside of this activity? Or, you know, for the rest of the week at camp, how is asking for help gonna be beneficial to us? And then they make those connections between the activity and what's coming up, and that's how we start to build those skills that are gonna apply beyond their time at camp and help them out in the rest of the non-camp world. So my tips are G3C and remember for for debriefing, what, so what, and now what.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Great tools to be using and master facilitation coming from Matt there. That's a great way to check yourself to make sure are you covering what you need to cover. And it's good to have that little trick in the back of your head when you're working on those things. For me, my last one is my toolkit, right? I think we talk about tools all the time. I think the you know, Go Camp Pro universe is a tool kind of universe. We we kind of talk about these things all the time. I know like Camp Backer is their tool of the week. I think you as a counselor have a toolkit, right, that you get to pull from. And I think right now, start thinking about what are the tools that you're gonna be using in your cabin. You know, is it the cleaning schedule to make sure that the cabin stays clean or is it a cabin motto, right? And it you don't have to come up with a model yourself. In fact, sometimes it's really great to come up, have the campers come up with it, especially older campers, right? They're gonna come up with something that they're gonna buy into, right? The other thing is maybe like a group song that they all sing, that's something that they can sing when walking on trail that they all know together. Um, you know, what are you keeping in that backpack, maybe? You know, is it a playing deck of cards? Is it magic cards? Is there a dice game that you know? What's your like two-minute game kind of prop that you can pull out at any point in time? Do you have that secret Mio energy that was a tool of the week once upon a time? So that you need a little spark of life, you can squirt that into your water bottle and get moving again. What is the toolkit? What are the things you need to start setting yourself up for success? And you know, start putting that together. Get that backpack and start stuffing those things in there. And maybe, like I said, the cabin motto, that might be something kids come up with, but you put a blank piece of paper in there, you know, one blank sheet that says like session one cabin motto, let the campers decide. Take that, put it in the backpack, right? Now, when you get to camp, you start unwrapping that backpack of seeing all the things that you need, like your water bottle, right? And all of a sudden you see cabin motto, you know, let the campers decide. And you know, on that first night of camp, exactly what you're gonna do. You're gonna sit down with those kids and say, Hey, you guys, we have our values here at camp. We have our values here for this cabin, but I want to make sure that there's something that we can always say together to hold ourselves accountable to what we're gonna agree to as a cabin. And you know, it could be something short and sweet. I've seen cabins that do really long ones, but it's a tool, it's something you use, right? Um, you know, are you gonna be giving out little um like something that your campers wear a dress, something I said earlier, right? You know, it could be a headband, it could be a necklace, it could be um uh iron on patches with an emblem that is just for your cabin. Like you know you're gonna be in fox cabin, go on to Google AI, ask for a fox image, see it, send it to some stamp to some printer, and then get 50 of them made before summer for yourself. And then every kid who comes to camp gets an iron-on patch of fox cabin's emblem. Maybe let your director know you're doing this, but but it might be something that's a really cool way for you to give your camper something that is special and just for them. So um start thinking about what that toolkit's gonna be for yourself in the summer and the things you're gonna need and start putting those things together and uh you know go back to some of those questions of like, okay, how do I keep my camper safe? All right, what am I putting in my backpack to keep my camper safe? What are the situations that might be dangerous that I know I need to be prepared for? So let's put those things in the backpack. And you can always weed things back, right? Like you might put like a pocket knife in there now, and then all of a sudden you realize my camp doesn't need pocket knives. I don't need this. That just that or my camp doesn't allow me to have a pocket knife. So that can go off onto the shelf and not be not be something you bring to camp. But start thinking about what are things you need, what are the situations you want to develop, and what are the tools that are gonna make those things happen for you. So start your toolkit, construct it now, and you'll be ready for those kids come summertime. Matt, what's your last tip for everybody?

SPEAKER_02 33:14

Well, before I jump on that last tip, I wanted to give a couple plugs here for how you can fill your toolkit too. I would check the eggs of each of our episodes over the, I mean, since we've been starting doing eggs, which was like season three, I think, Oliver. And all of those, like so many of them, are backpack worthy items. Like I remember this season, I talked about like a 20-sided dice or using dice to make decisions and play games. Oliver, you yeah, magic cards were in there. We lots of little games and little figurines or Oliver. The one that I tell people one of your eggs from long ago that I tell people about all the time is bringing the collapsible laundry hamper around with you and to put like kids put their stuff in there, like when you get to a session. I so smart and something you can like fold up and fit in a backpack. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 34:00

The collapsible backpacks great, but now they have those collapsible carts. You can get them on Amazon. It's great for like little kids, especially if they're getting tired, can't carry their backpacks. Now they can throw it in the cart for longer days, especially like day camp situations where you know you might not have a home base on camp, but you need to be carrying everything around with you all day. So those collapsible carts are a really good option and it's something that we're moving forward with this summer. Sweet.

SPEAKER_02 34:21

The other place I'll give a plug to is ultimate campresource.com. The website's been around forever, but the Go Camp Pro team and the perception check team has taken stewardship of the website and has rewritten everything in the website. And not only is it the great like games and resources that you've come to expect, but in there, there is there are ways to make every single activity more inclusive. So for campers with different ability levels, different ways that people participate. It it is a complete new refresh of all of these lovely games that make them accessible and inclusive for camp in this in this modern era. Go to the website, pick five games, learn them, write them down on little like index cards or sticky notes that you can refer to in your backpack, and then you've got these things ready to go at the drop of a hat when you need it. We'll make sure the show notes have the ultimate camp resource link in it. Definitely check it out. My last tip for folks for as you go off into the wilds of the summer 2026 is just remember that we need to be excellent role models and that campers are always watching us. Travis from GoCamp Pro, Travis Allison has the the acronym IAAT, which is I am always teaching. And that just reminds us that everything that we do, the way we speak, the way we act, campers are watching and learning from us. We're teaching a lesson in that moment. And when we remember that, it helps us remember. I'll give you two specific things to think about. So one in our stats episode, we talked about modeling appropriate behavior. And really, that is just the very simple thing is if camp rules or the camp norms expect a certain type of ways that we interact with each other, then you need to be the example of that. So if the expectation is that like side hugs happen, or maybe no hugs are allowed between like campers and staff, that might be a rule you have, not commenting on any of like, you know, what how good or how necessary those rules are, regardless of that, you need to model that with other staff members, you know, because it's confusing and pretty hurtful to a camper if you say, Oh, you know, I'm not gonna, or like I'm only I'm I'm gonna give you a side hug, haha, side hug, and then you run across the field and like spider monkey full jump on another staff member and hug them. And and yes, context is different and it's important, but it's also what we're teaching the campers in that moment of like, are we living our values and living the rules that we that we have? That goes, I think, especially for like using your phone. This is one of the things I've heard literally from camp parents that they feel really frustrated because their their kids aren't allowed to bring their phone, but then they come back from camp still knowing all of like the the celebrity gossip and the sports scores and those kinds of things because counselors have their phones and are exposing them to that to that culture as well. So, really, really important that we're we're modeling. And then the last part of this is just remembering that kind of goes back to what Oliver was saying before about how we facilitate and the energy that we give out. Oliver's canoe instruction was such a great example of remembering that the campers will generally give back the energy that you provide. So as you're facilitating, give a little bit more, be a little bit more engaging, enthusiastic, make great eye contact because we talked about facilitation is engagement. So we want to tailor our performance energy to the vibe of the age group and the activity to make sure that other people are giving that back to you as well. Campers will follow what you do.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

I think at the end of the day, like know the summer, you are a role model. I love letting our staff know they are professional role models, that is your job. So um, I think that's a great point to end on, a great tip. And then we'll go into our Eggle. So our ever growing, ever learning. It's a trick or a tip, a game or song for counselors to use to be better every single day. Um, to get myself started, one thing that's really inspired me is I have a staff member who's been really into 3D printing recently, and he's been taking a lot of time prepping for summer by printing a lot of small items and things that we can use for our themes this summer. We have a minions week, and he's been printing minion-themed goggles for all of us to be wearing, and a bunch of banana knives and samurai swords, and it's really exciting like to like be able to pull a samurai sword out of a banana sheath, which is just strange in its own right. But but it's really opened my eyes to like how many things that we can be doing with 3D printing and maybe some things that you can bring to camp, like small props and items, and when you get bigger, you can start doing costumes and stuff. And May 4th was rather recent, and I actually was like, Hey, Ben, would you be able to print a stormtrooper outfit? And you know, instantly he's like, I have ideas, and sometimes that's what it is. And the thing I really like about it is the amount that it's gonna help us improve our camp program is what it's gonna do. And I've been stuck in this camp director head of like, well, how do kids do 3D printing? Like, I don't want them to just press print and then we wait for something to print. So now the mindset for me is changing that maybe it's not us printing with the kids, but we pre-print things, the kids get to paint them, mold them together, glue them together to create an item. So um, we've been looking a lot more into 3D printing as a development of activities rather than the activity itself. So um I it it was a barrier that I was trying to get across, and I got across it and wanted to make sure that other camp people knew that, hey, there's something out there with 3D printing that could really potentially help your camp program from costumes to props to actual activities that the kids get to do. So um good luck for all you guys who have them out there. There's a lot of different types to purchase. Usually their systems are quite easy to use. I'm learning right now too, but um, you're you know, you're simple bamboo printers and can get you kind of going. So good luck to anybody who's interested in that, or if you know how, call your camp director and say, Hey, I just listened to this podcast. This guy is printing a thousand gold coins for his camp. Could I do that for us? Right? I just need the filament and let's get started. So um that's a great way to go about it and be a helpful counselor.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

Okay, and my egg goal is very simple, but it's something that you can get ready now or or do with other staff in the summer. Maybe your camp has something like this already in place, but it is a gratitude jar. So on my desk here, I have something that was that we made at camp. Once we did it at the end of the summer and like wrote nice, nice little notes. But inside this gratitude jar, I have kind of little trinkets and mementos from the summer, things that campers made me or nice notes that people sent me. And I I have to like empty the jar a little bit after every summer, keeping it to one jar is important for me. But you know, I have a couple like guitar picks and you know, nice little trinkets and things that it just lives on my desk. And if I ever need a little bit of a boost, I pull one of those out. So for you, you have a little box, you can get them at the dollar store or a jar, very similar. Decorate it. You could do this with your cabin each week, anything like that, but just keep it on your bunk, use it to give yourself that little boost. Summers are hard and tiring, but they don't have to be. So that is my last eggle. Oliver, thanks so much for a really great season, and I'll leave it to you to wrap this one up.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

Yeah. If you enjoyed today's show, we would be so grateful if you left us a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. Your ratings, reviews not only tell us what you like or don't like about the show, but it helps boost our rankings and get more people to discover the show. And because this is our end of the season, please send us ideas that you would want for next season so that the team can start putting together stuff. And of course, we'll get some great ideas during the summer. So if something comes up this summer and you're like, man, I wish I had been equipped with a great podcast, send us the idea and Matt and I can do a little research or we might have an answer to help you out.

SPEAKER_02 42:25

And a huge, huge shout out to Ryan, our editor. Ryan, thank you so much for all your work this season getting these podcasts out. We record at weird times and you just jump in and make the shows awesome, make us sound great, make all the thumbnails look really great. So we're so grateful for everything you did to make the show possible. Ryan, you're the best. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Remember, camp is camp and camp is all good.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

First class counselors is brought to you by Beth and Travis Allison, Summer Camp Leadership Training and Marketing Consultants. Thanks for listening, friends.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

Hey Camp Pros, we love that our industry is built on sharing. In order to foster that spirit, we hope that whenever you share an idea that you learn from the Camp Hacker Podcast, conference, summer camp professionals group, or wherever else, that you're quick to give credit where credit is due. That way, we can all encourage more camp pros to share the tips and tricks that will make camp better.