thanks guys! AMAZING RESPONSES!!!!

any more returners out there care to share there experiences????

I'm onto Year 6 of Camp America this year. I work in a day camp in Connecticut. Started off as a General Counselor then specialist and have managed somehow to work my way up to a day camp director!

I agree with the other returners - The positives defo outweigh the negatives!

The positives for me - building close relationships with all the staff and campers. Its just such a wonderful environment. I love seeing how much the campers grow in confidence and skill during the 9 weeks! I have made lifelong friends with the staff and camp families which i will cherish forever! I also love how camp has led me to my career as a teacher. I doubted myself in 2007 whether i could cut it as a teacher and camp made me realise i wouldn't be happy doing anything else!

Negatives - being constantly exhausted! Yet i wouldn't have it any other way! ooh, and also being dehydrated with the heat. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere! You have been warned!

Angela - are you currently a teacher? How do you fit in teaching and camp? I'm currently seriously contemplating going into teaching and without camp I don't think I'd be thinking about it so seriously - and I'd seriously doubt that I could handle managing 20-30 kids.


Ooooh yes - dehydration is a huge issue at camp - and not even just the mega hot ones. Don't go for a stingy little water bottle, you want to invest in a beast of a water bottle like the 32oz. (1 litre) Nalgene. I've had about three of these now, and they're great! I even have a smiley face splash-guard to stop me from throwing water everywhere. http://www.rei.com/product/776181/rei-nalgene-everyday-wide-mouth-loop-top-water-bottle-32-fl-oz

A good sturdy pair of trainers are also strongly recommended. When you're on your feet on all day, on what is not necessarily the smoothest of terrains you want a strong, sturdy sole - not one where you feel every rock and bump underneath. A waterproof is also a good idea. Especially in the North-East!

For anyone that is wondering, it's totally okay/acceptable to bring along a stuffed animal with you to camp (or at least at GS camp it is!).

I am currently a supply teacher. Working mostly in one or two schools. But from September i'm working in Dubai and there summers fit in nicely with camp so i can continue!

I was the same - i didnt think i had the strength to be a teacher. Camp totally opened my eyes! Made me much more confident in my abilities and give me a huge head start with classroom management and behaviour techniques!

Sarah - you can buy some Nalegenes in the UK - but they're harder to find, and can be pricey. They're a lot easier to find/cheaper in the US (think I've seen them in Target). I think that design may be REI specific - but so pretty! I wish we had REI here! I suppose if you love it enough you could order one closer to summer and get it sent to camp so it's there waiting for you!

Angela - oo that's cool! Yeah - last year it was one of the reasons why I dismissed the idea of teaching, but thought about it again this year and was like 'wait...if I can be a unit leader, responsible for other UCs and 20 teenage girls 24/7, surely I can handle a group of kids/teenagers for an hour or so at a time. So I'm hoping to get some classroom experience soon and then I'll need to brush up on the subject based knowledge, which was the other factor that held me back last year. Whenever I look at the typical graduate schemes I'm just not at all interested...

Hey Angela! I'm qualifying this year and thinking about doing the same as you (supply for a bit then work abroad) I'm hoping that I can still fit camp in somewhere.. How do you go about applying for visas etc. if you're in Dubai?

I dont go to Dubai until september, so i havent worked it out yet! lol

I will be coming home for xmas and easters so gonna try and work it with CA so i can go to the embassy when i am home!

I know there are waaaay more returners out there! KEEP THE STORIES COMING GUYS!!!!!

great thread idea.. really want to hear more about the behaviour management and any wet weather ideas or ice breakers.. oh and what the bunks are like. Thanks!

Fantastic guys! Very helpful! Any other hints on what to take and what to leave home?
Love the comment on taking a stuffed teddy, I've had mine for 23 years but going to an all boys camp so worried they would hurt him worth the risk I reckon tho!