New Year – New Site!

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, they’re usually negative and vague (stop eating junk food, watch less tv, etc.), and most people fail before the end of February (because of the negativity and vagueness I’d assume).

What I DO love is goal setting!!! It’s totally different from stinky ol’ resolutions, and the best part is, you can set goals, make changes, and shake things up any ol’ time! You don’t have to wait for a specific day of the year.

SO that’s why I’m so excited to announce that I’ve moved my website!!

(Thanks to Curt Jackson for actually doing all of the work of moving my website.. haha)

It’s been a goal of mine for a while and I’m so happy that it’s finally time!

I’m changing it up a bit, I’m still going to focus on things I wish I had known when I started and things I’m learning along the way (because I’m always learning!) but I’m going to try some other things as well, and I’m excited to have some more guest posts in the New Year.

So that’s the game plan! I’d love to hear suggestions of the type of things you’d like to see from me (or specific topics).

Everything is over at my new site http://www.thecampnerd.com already and I’ll be posting over there from now on. As of January 1st this page will no longer be available and will automatically redirect you to the new one – so update your bookmarks!

I’m so excited to see what 2018 brings!

Hit me up on social media and let me know what you’re excited about in 2018 and what you’d like to see from this little ol’ blog in its next phase. 🙂

 

Update – Starting a New Camp

I. Am. So. Freaking. Excited!!!

So remember back in this blog post I mentioned the proposal I was submitting to start managing rentals for the camp I was partnering with.

Well I met with the camp committee last week (after weeks of terrible, stressful, waiting) and went through both the end of season report and the proposal, they all seemed on board then said ‘ok great, we like it, now if you could just turn both of these documents into power point presentations and present to the board of directors that would be great.’

So earlier this week I presented my end of season report as both a high level power point report, and a more detailed hard copy.

And the board members were adorable!!

One of the board members said, “Patti…. this is… you put a lot of work into this!!” Then he looked around the room and said, “We’ve never had anything like this before!” and the board member next to him said “yeah, it’s really … professional.. isn’t it?!” and they all agreed that it was indeed professional and a good report. LOL

I adore these senior board members – they make me feel like a rock star for submitting a pretty standard, yet comprehensive end of season report.

Anyway, once I had buttered them up with my excellent report writing skills (lol) I moved on to the proposal – and I was SO NERVOUS!!!

But I powered through, I explained how I envisioned the partnership moving forward, how the rental costs would be distributed (I’ve asked for a percentage of rentals, the amount will vary depending on whether the rental group was recruited by me or by a board member and depending on the type of rental, if they’re looking for a facilitator, etc. and sometimes I’ll technically be the renter, because I’ll be running my own programs – there’s a whole matrix).

Anyway, it went great!

They voted to approve, and now I’m the shiny new… ok, I don’t know what I am… there’s no title for this… contracted rental manager?… Sort of volunteer but not really rental manager? Sometimes renter, sometimes rental coordinator? Rental partner? ……. leave it with me.
Or make a suggestion, I clearly need guidance.

Anyway, after that, stuff has started moving fast, I’ve applied to register my name, which is the first step toward incorporation and I’ve started working on some promo stuff.

THIS. IS. SO. EXCITING!

Guys, I’m telling you, doing the things that scare you is totally worth it!!

So what this all means for my little camp program is that I’ll start making a little money way sooner than I thought (which is really nice) AND creating a robust rental program will help raise awareness of both camp programs so hopefully they’ll both start to grow.

Exciting times, guys.

But enough about me, where are you guys focusing your time and energy right now? Any topics that you’re interested in talking about?

I have a few ideas for upcoming blog posts, but I’d love some suggestions.

Until next time. xo

Top 5 Most Popular Posts

I was reviewing my blog/ Pinterest data, and these five posts are my most popular – and I threw in a bonus post too because it was a close tie for fifth place AND I believe in over delivering. 😉

Check em out in case you missed em.

 

Supporting your staff – Part 3 – Shout Out Wall

A quick, easy, and fun way to show your staff you’re seeing their awesomeness and creating a culture of praise at your camp.

The Campers Come First Philosophy

We all say it, our counsellors all say it, but do they REALLY know how to put others first without hurting themselves in the long run?

WOW Book!

Another fun and easy way to engage your staff  and to spread kindness and encouragement.

If I could do it over… self care at camp

After years of ‘pushing through’ and ‘sucking it up’ I finally had an epiphany – that in order to care for others, you had to care for yourself first. This is how I shared that concept with my staff.

Self Care at Camp

I actually followed my own advice about self-care at camp! Imagine that!
I took five simple steps towards self-care and had some really cool results.

BONUS

What is a… Campmance?

I think this is one of MY favourite posts. Mostly because there are some awesome pictures of my cats, for illustration purposes.
I talk about camp romances, my take on them, and how I prevent drama caused by campmances.

Looking at my most popular posts has shown me that camp directors are really concerned with making sure their staff and campers are happy & healthy – and that’s why you guys are so awesome.

What’s your favourite blog post? And what would you like to see more of (or any of, for that matter)?
Tell me about it in the comment section below.

Being Sick at Camp

There’s nothing worse than being sick at camp, right?
Ok, there are probably worse things in the scheme of things but being sick when you’re away from home and have a lot of responsibility is high up there on the list of things that suck.

 

As a director or leadership staff member, how do you manage staff who are sick, and what do you do when YOU get sick??

I remember the first time I got sick at camp, it was my first summer as a counsellor and in those days we used to have each cabin counsellor sleep in their cabin on a rotating schedule. It was my night, so I was in the cabin with about 10 campers, when I woke up just after dawn and felt SO SICK. I tried not to move, because I was afraid of what would happen, but it was no use… we didn’t have bathrooms in our cabins so I ran for the deck where I found an empty plastic shopping bag and, well, you know.

I made my way back to the bed and hoped for the best, no such luck. Within minutes I was running for the deck again.
I realized this couldn’t go on, so after I woke up the counsellor in the cabin next door,

Do Things that Scare You

Hey guys,

Happy September!!

I hope you’re all maxin’ and relaxin’ and starting to wind down from your busy summer season.

And if you’re still going strong with rentals, or outdoor-ed – YOU CAN DO IT! YOU’VE GOT THIS! YOU’RE ALMOST THERE! *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP*

(I just did a race… that sort of motivation helped me… lol)

Annnnnyway…

Speaking of my race. Let’s talk about things that scare us, and why we should do them.

Zones of Regulation at Camp

As you may or may not know, I helped out at a day camp for three weeks this summer.

It was awesome!

I was so impressed with their programming. The camp director, Megan, did an exceptional job of putting together the workshops, creating a sensible flow for the day, and being flexible with camper needs & interests.

One of the coolest things I saw was a “Zones of Regulation” area for campers and staff.

August Update

What an exciting couple of months it’s been!!!

Here’s a little update about what’s been going on:

Patchwork Marketplace

Curt and I are so excited that people have continued to use Patchwork during the summer months. We expected tumbleweeds to be blowing through but it seems that people are always looking for high quality, low-cost resources even at the last minute which is just fine with us! We’re starting to shift gears now and focus on the community rec folks, cause we know after school programs will be starting up soon and people will be looking for resources for those programs too.

Enjoying the Journey

A couple of weeks ago I dropped my husband off at work, and had planned to go to the gym on the way home. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done that morning and had about 30 minutes for the gym.

As I was driving I was coming to a turn in the road that would lead to a local park/ trail. At the last-minute I thought, ‘You know what? Today is a beautiful day! I’ll go for a 30 minute walk instead of the gym’. I took the last minute turn and got excited about venturing out on the little walking trail I’d been on a few times.

Camp Sick

Ok, I’ve totally been feeling camp sick.

As you may or may not know, I resigned from my full time camp job in February (actually I resigned in Nov or Dec, but I finished working in February) and while I’m happy with my decision and SO excited about the new adventures I’m embarking on, I can’t help but miss camp at this time of year.

 

I was fine, I was looking forward, excited, not thinking about my former camp a whole lot… then they posted a photo during staff training.

Rules for Behaviour Modification

You guys, I know you know this, but it’s worth saying again… there are some seriously wonderful, brilliant, and generous camp folks out there.

One of them happens to be my “internet friend” Dave Hennessy.
Dave and I were chatting the other day, checking in with each other on how our goals and future plans are going and he mentioned one of his “DaveRules” during that conversation. I, of course, asked for more information and when he shared his set of rules with me I LOVED the concept and asked him to write something that I could share with you good folks in my little corner of the internet.

So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Dave, and offer him a huge thank you for sharing his rules for behaviour modification with us.