Whenever I get nervous I pretend that I'm just singing to trees.

A recent alum of my camp gave an interview on budding music career and where her inspiration came from.  For me, the highlight of the article was when she talked about how camp gave her the confidence she has today.

“That's actually the first place I sang when I was a really little kid. I was terrified and I really didn't want to go up on stage and sing but mom was good she said, 'Oh you have a really great voice. Go sing.' And so I did but I practiced by singing to the trees because it's like in the middle of nowhere in Upstate New York, so it's really quite beautiful there. So it's kinda become my motto because of that one performance because of singing to the trees. Whenever I get nervous I pretend that I'm just singing to trees.”

My new site!

I recently started a new project called Unplug At Camp.  Check it out!

The most intense moment of dodgeball

This is the most intense moment in any dodgeball game. 

It's the moment when someone decides are they going to go for it? hang back and hide? hang back and taunt?  There are fewer decisions in a camper's day that are so telling.

Summer Camp & Comedy

Watch this skit by comedians Kristen Schall and Kurt Braunohler. This is summer camp!

The secret to my camp's success is...

... HEAVY METAL! 

No - Not really!  But I'm not too far off.

I honestly believe the secret to my summer camp's success is that we engage everyone. 

Throughout everyday we try to make sure everyone (campers and staff) feel engaged and welcomed.  Travis Allison from CampHacker recently posted a brillant interview with Joanna Warren Smith pleading for camps to fully engage their campers.

The 8-10 year old children in this video are playing a heavy metal song about dealing with your fears.  They would totally fit in my camp!  These kids would have a standing encore from the entire dining hall.  

Please don't mis-read this post.  I'm not saying my camp is into heavy metal. 

What my camp is into is celebrating every camper's achievements.  Five children coming together as a team to put on a performance for an audience, in addition to learning such a complicated musical piece, is a huge achievement. 

Would your camp celebrate this? If not, I hope you have a good answer as to why.