You’ve now been hired to work at christian camp pennsylvania, and you’re wondering how to be a successful counselor there. Maybe this is your first time working with kids, or maybe you’ve tried previously, and it didn’t work out so well. We’ll walk you through some advice on becoming the greatest counselor you can be.

Be as enthusiastic as you can

The significance of this advice for your summer cannot be overstated. When it comes to activities like boating, everyone is naturally enthusiastic. As a result, you don’t need to encourage your campers to participate in these sports.

While it’s still crucial to show as much excitement as possible for these activities, your enthusiasm matters when it comes to possibly less enthusiastic times. At camp, rainy days can be very draining and tiresome. You’ve been handed indoor rock, paper, scissors, drawing, and lego classes in place of three basketball sessions, climbing, and swimming. It will be difficult to do these tasks without highly enthusiastic counselors.

You can uplift the spirits and infuse fresh life into your campers by giving your all as a counselor at these times. As soon as they reach the final of the rock, paper, scissors competition you just made, everyone starts cheering for their buddy and yelling at the top of their lungs.

With campers, avoid using the word “but.”

This advice, which we learned from renowned child therapist Bob Ditter, will first seem strange. While you use the word “but” when speaking to a young kid, you are effectively telling them to disregard the first part of the phrase and focus on the second.

Imagine a camper approaching you on a scorching day and telling you they don’t want to play football.  I know you’re hot, but you still have to play, which may be your typical reply. You are telling the camper they must play and that you don’t care if they are hot; they won’t take well to that.

You have a better chance of receiving more frank input from the camper if you gradually alter your answer. I can tell you’re incredibly attractive. Let’s play together first; then, we can go inside to cool down. You’ve recognized their feelings by saying, “I can see that you’re quite hot,” before offering a solution: “Let’s both play around before we go inside to cool down.”

You’ll be a better counselor at christian camps in pennsylvania due to this little change in wording.

Being a good listener is essential for camp counselors.

Remembering that children want to be heard while dealing with them is crucial. They just want to be heard when they have an opinion, whether it is correct or not. It will leave a more lasting impression to listen rather than just nod and perhaps add a few “mm-hmms,” so pay attention to what the camper is saying and reply properly.

Even though there are many kinds of camps, one thing is constant: one of the most crucial aspects of your work this summer will be paying attention to your campers. Pay close attention to the guidance of your peers and campers. At camp, listening to a camper rather than talking to them is usually the best way to get to know them better.

Never try to silence a youngster

For example, when you are fatigued, or a camper makes a recommendation that you know would never work, this may sometimes happen without your awareness. Your default answer is always going to be “no.” But what does that “no” convey to the camper? It states that they won’t provide their suggestions once again for the remainder of the summer. It implies that you don’t value their viewpoint.

Listen to the camper and, if necessary, follow their recommendation, even if you already know it won’t work. At least in such a case, they would know that their suggestion was heard and treated seriously. Shutting them down will not help build the campers’ confidence, which is one of the reasons you should work at a christian conference center pennsylvania.

The finest camp counselors are those that are creative

You’d be surprised at how much fun you can have at pa christian conference center if you start thinking creatively. In the fourth week of camp, a camper will start to feel the effects of the daily routine. Soccer was one of their favorite summertime activities, but now when you tell them it’s time to play, they look uninterested.

To motivate kids to play soccer that day, you must be innovative if you want to be a successful christian retreat center pennsylvania counselor. Maybe you could organize a game where half the participants wear blindfolds, and the other half has to tell them where the ball is instead of a regular soccer match? Although blindfolded soccer is an extreme example, being innovative and imaginative are essential skills for a successful christian retreat centers pa counselor.

You don’t need to yell at a camper

The only time you should need to raise your voice at camp is when you’re attempting to grab the attention of a boisterous group, we often advise. In this situation, shouting is just used to urge the gathering to calm down so you may resume speaking in your usual voice. This is appropriate in every way.

New, unskilled counselors often use screaming to discipline campers when they have broken the rules, just as a parent might. When the camper commits a mistake once more, this strategy becomes challenging. Where are you expected to take it now that you’ve already resorted to shouting? There will be occasions this summer when a camper misbehaves, and as their counselor, it is your job to instill discipline. Instead, this punishment should include gently pulling the camper from the group, having them sit down, and conversing about what they did wrong and why.

Shouting at a camper won’t make them learn not to repeat the mistake; instead, talking with them one-on-one, getting to know their reasons for doing it in the first place, and offering them better solutions would.

We hope these pointers for becoming a fantastic camp counselor will be helpful to you.