Camp Reboot: Strategies to Get Through the Mid-Summer Slump

By: Ashley Stanley

Director of Community Education and Outreach, Wayside Waifs

Picture this. 

It’s July. Everyone is hot and sweaty. Campers and counselors alike are cranky. You might scream if you hear one more camper announce that it smells like poop. You are in… the mid-summer slump.

We’ve all been there. The excitement of the new camp season is over, and the end of camp is still far enough away that you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. While you and your team may be starting off your Monday dragging your feet, ready to begin yet another week of the same ol’ routine, you have an excited bunch of campers, fresh faced and eager to experience all your camp has to offer! So how do you beat this slump to make sure you and your team are able to show up for your campers and create lifelong memories?! Here’s a list of suggestions!

• SELF CARE (easy to say right?!)! Okay okay, we see your eyes rolling. Tell us something we don’t know, right? Still. We all need reminders from time to time, and now is one of those times. Make sure you are encouraging your team to get enough sleep at night. Hydrate during the day (our camp has a code word that the campers choose at the beginning of the week and anytime ANYONE says the code word, everyone has to drink from their water bottles). Make sure your team is getting breaks throughout the day to disconnect and re-charge. You know that saying, “put on your own air mask before you help the person next to you”? It’s true! 

• SWITCH IT UP! Try something completely new and different. Do you always eat lunch in the same spot each day with your campers? Go outside and have a picnic! Let the campers decide where you eat. Do you have a game outside that your camp loves to play? Add a new rule. Turn it into a water game by setting up a hose. Find ways to rearrange the schedule so you aren’t always doing the same things at the same times. Want to REALLY switch it up? Do you have counselors that primarily work with one age group? Have them work with one of the other ages! 

• THEME DAYS! Who WOULDN’T want to come to camp in their pajamas? Crazy hair day? Yes please. Let the campers choose the theme for the next day and then go wild!

• TREAT YO’SELF! Make a mid-day run to pick up drinks for everyone. Do a little sleuthing and find out what your counselors favorite snacks are and bring them to camp one day for a treat. 

• LISTEN TO YOUR TEAM! Ask your team if there is an activity or an idea for something new that they would like to try. Empowering your counselors is a great way to pump some energy into your team while also encouraging them to take ownership.

These are just a few ideas. We know there are more out there! Share what tips and tricks you and your camp have for beating the mid-summer slump!