Camp Is for the Camper: A Counselor's Guide to Youth Development

Rating:
Summary: Great hands on book for front line staff
Review: Camp is for the Camper is the perfect personal assistant for camp counselors who want to learn more about the youth who come to camps, who want to organize themselves to be an effective leader at summer camp and who want to solve typical camper issues. The book fits easily into a backpack and can go almost everywhere the counselor goes.

Being a camp counselor is a tremendous experience, yet it can be stressful if they are not well prepared to deal with the many and varied behaviors of campers. Camp is for the Camper gives counselors quick, easy options to address many regular situations.

Catalina Island Camps bought a copy for each counselor and I can see how they will refer to it many times to help get ideas about how to best meet the needs of individual campers and their whole cabin group.

Often it hardest for a counselor to come ask a supervisor for help because they don't want to look as if they can't do their job. Of course, we train counselors to ask for help, but many still don't ask and since we know they want to do well, they will probably turn to this book for ideas and solutions.

The book reiterates many of the things we talk about in staff orientation, but we always wonder if counselors really took it to heart. For many counselors, reading a similiar message written by ACA professionals will give them a second chance to understand many critical issues to the success of our camp.

Along with the Camp is for the Camper Online course, this is a powerful training tool for every camp counselor in every camp across the country.

If you are a counselor, you will find it very useful. If you are a director, buy it for your staff!

Rating:
Summary: Include this book with any Staff Manual
Review: This book offers suggestions for almost any situation that may arise with a camper. It not only offers help with dealing with one, but how to prevent it in the first place. Another useful feature is the inclusion of a "psychological roadmap" of each age group, their needs, and how to help them get the most of the camp experience. It's a great supplement to any Staff Manual. Order a copy for each of your staff!