Working at Camp

Next Sunday, I will have the privilege of presenting at the NY/NJ American Camp Association's (ACA)  Teen LEADership Conference in New York City.   As I was researching information for my presentation, I came across this article at Suite101.  It was published last May, but it is as applicable today as it was last year and it will be for years to come!

Top 10 Summer Jobs for Teens

No less than 4 of these Top 10 Jobs are taking place at Meadowbrook each and every day of the Summer:

- Camp Counselor
- Sports Camp Counselor
- Lifeguarding
- Child Care

Most importantly, Teens (and other Young Adults) who work at Meadowbrook gain the valuable life skills that Susan Carney points out in her article:

Communication Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Ability to Work as Part of a Team

And that is just the start!

Do not underestimate the benefits of working at Camp...just ask anyone who has done it!!

See you at Camp!

Summer Camp is More Than Fun!!

We tell parents all the time that Meadowbrook is amazing fun....but it is really much more than that!

This article from New Jersey Family Magazine points out some of the important benefits of attending an ACA Accredited Summer Camp like Meadowbrook!

• Children who participate in summer programs...are less likely to have a significant summer learning slide and lose the academic gains they made the previous year in school.
• Camp also enhances a child’s physical and emotional well-being. Activities build social skills, teamwork, and independence, which contribute to stronger self-confidence and leadership abilities.
• Kids who go to camp with friends they already know feel comfortable from the get-go and can launch into activities right away. For other kids, the joy of making new friends and developing social relationships might be more rewarding than the activities.
• Nearly 75% of campers try new activities they were initially afraid to do.

Check it out and let us know what you think:  Summer Camp is More Than Fun!

Summer will be here before you know it...if you haven't registered your Children for Camp this Summer, now is the time!

See you at Camp!!

Activity Tent

We are finishing up our annual trip to the American Camp Association Tri-State Camp Conference (more on the conference later). One of our goals for this year’s conference was to improve what we offer under the Activity Tent at Meadowbrook.

Mission Accomplished! First of all, we purchased a brand new product: Poly Pong. Poly Pong is a 4-sided Ping-Pong Table. It is a combination of Table Tennis (aka Ping Pong) and 4-square! There are 20 different ways to play and it should be Really Neat!

We are also buying new Baggo sets. We found Baggo at this conference a few years ago. It is a bit like horseshoes with bean bags. It is a very popular game and we will replace our Baggo sets with brand new ones!

We are also considering another new item: Lasso Golf. We really like the game and the concept. We just need to make sure that we area comfortable we can play it safely under the Activity Tent.

We will continue to offer 4-Square, Giant Connect-4, Giant Jenga and Knock Hockey. And naturally, we are always on the lookout for more ideas. Let me know if you have any!

- Jed

American Camp Association

As camp professionals, in addition to running Meadowbrook Day Camp, we are active participants and leaders within the camp industry. For example, today I attended the Board of Directors meeting of the NJ Section of the American Camp Association (ACA) where I am an active Board Member.

What does the ACA do and how does Meadowbrook fit in?

First and foremost, Meadowbrook is an ACA Accredited camp. That means that we follow over 300 nationally recognized standards to help make Meadowbrook a safe, well run camp. ACA Accreditation is a large commitment that camps make and it is estimated that only 1 in 10 camps in the state of NJ achieve this high standard. We are proud that we have consistently been an ACA Accredited Camp. I also serve on the NJ Section's Standards Committee and volunteer as a Standards Visitor to camps seeking to establish or renew their ACA accreditation.

Our involvement with ACA also means that we are frequently attending seminars and workshops to help us improve everything we do at Meadowbrook. We share our expertise with others and have the benefit of learning from other camp professsionals as well as experts in other areas. This helps us to make every Summer at Meadowbrook and amazing experience for our Campers.

Finally, ACA works to provide the camp experience to as wide an audience of children as possible. Again, we are very involved in this goal through our ACA work as well as by providing significant support to an outgrowth organization from ACA called S.C.O.P.E. Just today, I joined a new ACA task force exploring ways to make the wonderful benefits of a day camp experience available to as many children in NJ as possible.

- Jed