Choosing the Right Summer Camp

The longer I am a camp director and work with young people, the more convinced I am that a good camp environment is truly a tremendous addition in growing up. I’ve always known that but it seems to become more and more valuable in a pretty hectic world. To me, part of my job as a camp professional is to help families find the right camp for their children and not just push Falcon all the time. I probably spend as much time in the winter pointing families in directions I think are better suited to them as I spend in advocating for Falcon. Hopefully that results in more happy families and campers, certainly it is one of the reasons Falcon feels like such an easy community for campers to be comfortable.

Because of my efforts to discuss the value of summer camp rather than just sell Falcon, I’ve ended up on the contact list of a number of writers on staff of different parent magazines and other similar media. Occasionally you see a published article and find that Falcon is the feature storyline and that’s kind of fun to read. With this writer, we were talking about overnight camp in general and were discussing how parents could find the right camp for their child and I asked her if she wanted to speak with a few of my camp families about it. That pretty much veered her writing in a different direction as I got permission from the John Family as a first time camp family and the Faxon Family as an experienced Falcon Family for the writer to speak with them. It’s nice to see our families involved and it’s nice to get some positive media even if it wasn’t originally planned that way.

Click on the link to read the full article:

http://www.northeastohioparent.com/adventures-summer-camp-sweet-summertime-ritual-gets-creative/

A Few of My Favorite Falcon Things

As many of you have read, I am the newest old staff back at Falcon.  I started at Falcon in 1994 as a counselor and worked the summers through college doing several different jobs. This fall an opportunity came available for me to return to camp.  My wife and I talked it over and we quickly came to the conclusion that this would be the best thing for us as a family.
 

We currently live in Wisconsin, and it is starting to look like winter is wrapping up, which means that camp is getting closer and closer.  The discussions around the dinner table and car rides around town have started to include activities we want to do when the snow has completely melted.  We have two boys, a six year old and a four year old.  My wife and I have been describing Falcon to them and I have quickly started sharing my favorite parts of Falcon with them.

• The Waterfront:  I am a water guy and getting our boys excited about the water and the different opportunities at the waterfront has been fun.  I love sailing out on the lake, the all camp open swims, going on a hike through the woods and getting covered in mud and then returning to the lake to rinse off, and going on canoe trips.

• Making Friends:  Over my 20 yrs of working at summer camps I have made the best friends of my life.  I met my wife at summer camp and more than half of our wedding party were friends we met at camp.  I have friends all around the states, even around the world.  Camp friends are the best because you can go for months, sometimes years, without seeing or speaking to each other and then when you finally do connect, conversations start right where they left off.

• Being outside:  Rain, sleet, snow or sunshine, we get to be outside.  Well, maybe not the sleet or snow, but we get to be outside for all kinds of weather and at different times of the day.  It’s possible to check out the big dipper, go puddle jumping, swim, sail, canoe, horseback ride, and play tennis, all outside. There isn’t a time to plug in; we can all be unplugged. 

• Everyone knows your name: There is nothing cooler than walking through camp and everyone knowing your name.  Every session is one big family that eats together, swims together and has fun together.  It’s a great feeling to walk through camp and see campers and staff greet each other by name.

•  New and Exciting experiences:  Every year at camp, I am able to try something new and exciting.  My first year at camp, I learned how to saddle a horse and shoot a .22.   The second year I learn a bunch of other new and exciting things!

As I continue to share my list with my wife and boys, I am excited to see what they put on theirs.

What are your favorite Falcon things?

My Favorite Camp Tricks

I always love when I am asked to fill out my occupation on family medical forms. Don’t get me wrong; the balance of working from home during the year and living at Falcon for the summer is a good fit for us. But have you ever tried to write two different jobs titles let alone two different addresses on that short line?  Like any good camp counselor, I step outside of the box and find my own creative solution: CEO of the Household. My favorite part is when the doctors and nurses are reading through my paperwork. The term is either met with a half smile or complete confusion.

CEO of the household is an especially appropriate title these past ten days.  My husband travels for his job.  With three children under 8 and a dog, I rely on many of the skills I learn at Falcon to keep my house up and running.  Who am I kidding?  A more accurate term would be afloat. 

Here are a few of my favorite camp tricks that make our household a little less chaotic:

1. Create a playlist to help with time management.  Morning and bedtime routines can often spark scenes of mass chaos that usually end in shouting by one or all parties at the Mahen house.  As CEO, it was time to take a step back and think like a camp counselor. How could I manage to get eight to ten little girls ready for bed all summer yet my offspring draw inspiration from Peter Pan’s Lost Boys every evening? Music was and is my answer.  The playlist automatically creates an expectation kids can easily relate to and understand.  We pick out the songs together and I control the length of time.

2. Give it a name, call it a game and everyone will play it. I am officially outnumbered.  When the brood is in bed, I need time to decompress and prepare for tomorrow’s adventures. Yet I find myself up even later cleaning up laundry, dishes, toys, etc.  How did we clean up the cabin at Falcon? Ah ha.  The trick was to find a fun way to accomplish the task. I cut out cardboard targets and attach them to the back of my laundry sorting bins.  Who can earn the most points sorting clothes today? The kitchen timer helps us break previous records as they, dare I say, clean up the playroom.  My only warning is to change these up often.  

3. Acknowledge the good stuff to eliminate the bad. That’s right….I see you using your hands to eat the green beans instead of a fork.  You are kneeling in the seat and your milk is about to spill.  But instead of talking to the child committing the offense, I compliment the other on good table manners. Family style meals at Falcon teach how to find a good balance between manners, conversation, and fun.  The sole motivation is our appetites after running around outside all day. I am still working on this one….

No matter the amount of sleep, those last few days of being home alone can be tough.  I’m tired, craving adult conversation, and in need of an uninterrupted shower.  Maybe I need to keep thinking of these tips to help avoid this situation.  But doesn’t every CEO acknowledge room for growth and improvement in her/his company?