I have often been asked, “So what does a camp director really do?” The list of responsibilities, tasks and to do’s is truly never ending, but the thing that I do most in my job is make decisions. What are we going to put on the menu? Who is going to drive the rafting trip tomorrow? What are we going to do about the cookout if it rains? Who is going to run assembly? So many questions and so many decisions to make each and every day.
When I think about the education that prepared me for my career, I realize that I never learned about decision making in a classroom. I cannot remember one teacher in high school or a professor in college ever talking to me about how to make good decisions. However, I do remember learning about making choices and the positive and negative consequences for decisions at CAMP.
You may not have realized this, but camp is the BEST classroom for our children to learn real life skills and valuable life lessons. The best way for children to learn how to make good decisions is to practice decision-making. We provide the perfect opportunity for this life-skill practice in our daily cabin living, but especially on our camper’s choice days. Today was the first camper’s choice of the summer. Every camper gets to choose and sign up for their favorite activities for the entire day and make their own schedule. These are definitely the most popular days at camp because campers feel a sense of autonomy and control in making their schedule and mapping the fun of their day. Camper’s choice days promote independence, allow campers to have a voice and give them control of their journey.
Campers love this day because they are choosing their activities but more importantly, they are choosing who they do their activities with. At Highlander, we believe it’s not what we are doing, but who we are doing it with that makes life at camp so wonderful. It’s our friends at camp who make camp so special. We just love being together and hanging out with friends. This is the magic of camp!
(By the way, the hardest choice many campers had to make today was what color apple they wanted from the apple cart. We had both green AND red apples today!)
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect: We started our morning with a laugh. Riley talked to us about the power of a laugh to lift your spirits and brighten your day. He told us some silly jokes that made us all laugh and started our day with a smile!
- Meals: Our day began with buttermilk pancakes, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and a fresh fruit bar. For lunch we had philly cheese steak sandwiches with tator tots and salad bar. For dinner, the kitchen hit another homerun with their famous greek chicken, roasted vegetables, greek salad and hummus and pita bread.
- Weather: We woke up to blue skies and a bright sun this morning! As I stood to give announcements, I reminded everyone that the weather on Old Forge can be tricky. The forecast was calling for 100% chance of rain today, which could mean a little rain or a lot of rain, for a short time or a long time. Well, we got the best kind of rain today…we had a rest hour rain shower and it was the perfect backdrop for a nice summer siesta! By the time the snack bell rang at 2:15, the sun was out!
- EP: Tonight our kickoff campers were detectives, solving the mystery in a game of CLUE. Someone stole all the candy from Gus’Place last night, and the cabins were in charge of solving the crime. The suspects included multiple members of the leadership team and everyone claimed they didn’t do it! After solving riddles and completing various challenges, the cabins combined their clues to solve the mystery. Thankfully the mystery was solved that Spencer broke into Gus’ with a sledgehammer during Reflect at the Rock. Cabin 14 was the first to crack the case and took home the EP trophy! There’s nothing quite like victory shared with friends!
Speaking of friends…I woke up this morning to a text from my best friend from camp! “Happy National Best Friends Day! Wishing I was at camp with you!” A big smile crossed my face as I thought about the friendships that were being formed here at camp today and the texts or calls twenty years from now that would be shared between best friends made the summer of 2022. Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts, and I am so grateful that Camp Highlander fosters these lifelong friendships for our campers. Thank you for choosing to send your child to Highlander this summer. We hope you will soon see it was one of the best decisions you’ve ever made!
About Melissa Fitzgerald
