PART 2:
I woke up to the alarm going off in the tent, already hearing some of the kids that were awake talking in their own tents. The start of a new and another exciting day at camp! You work hard as a camp counsellor, and it is one of the best jobs in the world.
Once I got over to America for my first year of camp, I had undergone a week of lifeguard training near Boston and made my way to Plymouth with a few others I'd be working with for the summer for staff training before the first 'real' week of camp. Camp life was an adjustment but it was a change I really enjoyed and Camp was a place I felt like I fit into straight away. We got used to not being on our phones as much as our summer camp only had one main building with Wi-Fi. In staff training week we learnt what it meant to be a role model, a leader and how we could create a safe and fun space for all the kids that came to camp. Staff training week was always a week I enjoyed, it was interesting to learn about others and about the world around us. I felt as though I learnt some really valuable lessons to about myself and how to be a positive person that the kids could look up to.
Welcome to a day in the life at Summer Camp...
My camp might be different than the one you went to, or the one you might be applying to. I'd love to hear your own experiences so feel free to comment down below or DM me on my Instagram: the_runawayredhead!
I worked on both the day and residential camp. In my first summer, I would sleep in one of the tents on the residential side and help out the counsellors in the morning with the kids and participate in any morning activities before breakfast. I would have breakfast and then I'd walk over to the boat shed to organise whatever boats that were needed for the day (they were usually corcls and kayaks) and I'd kayak them over to the day camp. Each week we had our own group of kids specified to the program they chose to be in. Our day was filled with so much fun as we got to take them around to different activities such as high and low ropes, arts and crafts, swimming and boating and then got to plan our own activities for the kids.
Every day was different, you could be doing anything from dressing up as princesses to building fairy houses, making friendship bracelets to playing all sorts of games with the kids. Every week we also had 'cookout' which meant we all cooked food over the fire. I got to do cookout twice a week as I experienced one at day camp for lunchtime and then one at resident camp for dinner time. We made all sorts at cookout- tacos in a bag, a chocolate cake made with Dr Pepper in it, pizza bagels, hot dogs and of course smores! When day camp finished at 4pm we took our break from 4-6pm and joined back in with the residential camp for dinner and any evening/ night activities.
My 2nd, 3rd and 4th years were different from my 1st year as well as I had a different roles at camp. You may have read from my other blog posts, in my second year I became a lifeguard, the head lifeguard in my third year and finally the waterfront director in my fourth year.
When I was a lifeguard in my 2nd and 3rd years, I stayed on the waterfront for the whole day at day camp. Every Monday was swim test day and for the rest of the week we planned fun things to do in swim time and fun boating lessons for the kids. Not everything went to plan so it was so important to be good at thinking on the spot and problem solving. I still lived on the residential camp too and helped out there morning and night.
In my 3rd year, I was the head lifeguard so I took more responsibility on my shoulders, I worked with 3 amazing lifeguards to make sure the waterfront was safe and so much fun! We also started to use one of the small beaches on camp that instantly lead into the lake, it was awesome taking the older kids over to the beach for a different swimming experience! I lived over on the day camp that summer which was something I wasn't used to as I only worked day camp hours which was 9-4pm and didn't need to take breaks or help the residential side. I still went over though because I had formed bonds with other staff members and kids and it was always so nice to spend time with them and participate in any of night activities!
My 4th year was a change as well, even though I lived on day camp again, I lived with all the international staff in one of the units over 9 weeks. We shared tents and made it our little home for the summer. I had the responsibilities of designating cleaning times once a week where we could clean our unit, any bathrooms and the main building on day camp. As well as ordering our food every week on instacart that got delivered to us, I was used to having my meals at resident camp but it was also so much fun doing something different and we rotated as to who cooked our meals each evening. I also got to drive one of the camp vans which I loved so much as I got to drive kids to their day trips out with the counsellors and I also got to drive staff to places like Walmart every week and then any trips we felt like doing on the weekend- which considered of getting coffee, going to the beach, taking trips to McDonalds or to the movies. As waterfront director, I had 4 amazing lifeguards that I had the pleasure of supervising and even though I had never been in a director/supervisor roll before, I loved working with them all, helping them grow and succeed, being a trusted friend and watching them have the best summer.
I have made so many incredible memories from working at summer camp and I'm so happy to say that I have made friends for life- from all over the world. I am so grateful for each year I went back and all the time I got to spend with the kids and watch them grow up over 4 years. It's an experience I'll never forget and hope to go back and visit some day. I'm also so proud of myself as I often take time to reflect back on life, I always think of how big of a turning point camp was for me. I learned a lot about myself, how to be selfless, kind, caring, positive and compassionate and most of all, patient!
Join me on my next post, I'll be talking about all my travelling after camp.
Talk Soon!
The Runaway Redhead.
