leadership programs

[softballkid019]

i have a question for you everyone. this is going to be my fifth summer at camp and usually i have been working with the horses, my first two summers as just riding staff, my third as the assistant riding director and then this last summer as the riding director. this summer however i have decided that to move on and start expanding myself in the camp setting. my camp director asked that i come back to camp this summer as the leadership director and i have accepted. i love working with the older girls esspecially the CIT's and such but being a specialty staff for so long i really only know the horse programs so i was wondering if anyone had ideas and and such for leadership programs. games or things to teach. i want to learn as much as i can. also maybe how your guys programs are run as well must to give me things to think about. all the help i can get would be great!

[c3divers]

Hi Petri,

A good thing to start off with is teaching them problem solving techniques. Of course the fine art of games and songs help to keep the kids entertained while the rest of the staff can get other things ready is also helpful. Also to be assertive (not aggressive) with the campers.

If I think of more I will jot them down. 117 days to go.

[Sparkes]

Well, out LIT program is largely based on the LITs helping out at a specialty on their under, under the supervision of other counsellors. So, problem solving techniques come up there, but are not under the direct control of the head counsellor. Also, they volunteer as a group doing community work, at somewhere the camp has decided ahead of time.

[Campy Measius]

Hey congrats on the new job!!
I have an old CIT manual around here somewhere. I'll get it later and give an overview of what's in it, then you can choose what you'd like to hear more about :)

[softballkid019]

that would be great thanx!

[drink the wild air]

Pick up the book Learning Leadership by Michael Brandwein. It was made for the YMCA kinda but it has amazing pointers on how to run a leadership program. Tons of games, what to teach, everything up to like 2 weeks full leadership program schedules. It helped me a lot when I ran our Leadership program at camp for a few years. Its a great place to start and then tailor it to your individuality and camp.

[Campy Measius]

Ok, got the manual... here we go...
First section is Leadership.
-Qualities of a leader
-how to be a leader
-preparing for camp
-counselling techniques
-tips for effective counsellong

second section is Needs of a Camper
-communicating with the camper
-setting limits
-consider the child

The last section is Hard Skills
-Knots
-Canoeing
-Trip Planning
-Earth Education
-Navigation
-Emergency Procedures and Risk Management

At the very end they have a Full Value Contract
The group decides on the terms and everyone signs each contract
And there's a Personal Action Plan
The individual decides on their goals and how they will accomplish them during the program

I'm going to see if I can scan some of this stuff... cause it would be a lot to type! :P

[softballkid019]

wow thanx that helps me already but if you could scan it that would be amazing!

[Flukie]

I have a three week program that I run for our CITs (entering 11th and 12th grade). We break up our large sections by week.

Week 1: Basic Counseling Information/Sessions (Games, Songs, Progression, What is GS, Camper Characteristics, Standards, Child Abuse, Camp Craft, Diversity, Behavior, etc), Group Prim (24-hour overnight in the prim site as a group - no contact with other groups on camp), and Camp Visits (Visit to another GS resident camp and day camp). This is Sunday through Saturday.

All-Camp: CITs plan and lead 5 hours of All-Camp on Sunday afternoon.

Week 2: Work Week - CITs spend one day in the kitchen, one on the waterfront, one on the sailing beach, and one with the nurse. This is only Monday through Thursday.

Week 3: Apprenticeship - CITs apprentice for the full week (Sunday through Friday) with a younger group. They work in pairs and must lead 6 hours of programming.


Learning Leadership is a FANTASTIC book. I highly recommend it. I also try to mix the more "fun" activities in with the more lecture-type activities. I ran a decent program last year - there wasn't one in place really prior to base it off of, but I know this year is going to be fantastic because I have a year of experience under my belt and have now actually written a program.

As I think of more, I'll share. We have a 59 page CIT Manual they all will be getting this year.

[runrachrunn]

I have a three week program that I run for our CITs (entering 11th and 12th grade)


Flukie, this sounds absolutely fantastic! i'm sure the CITs that graduate from your program go on to make amazing counsellors... What's your return rate (CITS that come back as staff)?

[Flukie]

Well... Lol. Last summer was the first summer that I ran the program. The last time it was run before then was Summer 2003 - they had 16 CITs (we only have about 100 campers a week). I'm not sure what that program entailed - out of that CIT class, 5-6 worked at camp last summer.

This summer, out of my 6 CITs, 3 are returning as Interns (the second year of the leadership program). One is unsure about her summer plans right now (fair enough) and the other two are old enough to be staff - one has applied. So four out of six have applied to be involved in camp one way or another.

So far for this summer, I have 6 CITs registered - I'm limited the program to 10 girls. Part is an effort to make it more selective (or make them think it is), part is because I think if you are any bigger in a camp our size it isn't a true leadership experience, and the final part is because 10 CITs and two staff fit very nice into one camp van! :)

I'm hoping that the restructuring of the program will help us train amazing staff. ::Crosses fingers:: I truly believe that a strong leadership program only benefits the camp later on!

[Shoevg]

currently at the camp I am directing, I am trying to build up our leadership program. For the past 3 or 4 years they have had no CIT program. This makes it hard when hiring staff, as you have no feeder program. I want to build it up...any ideas on how I may be able to do that?
One of the problems is the camp is mostly for beginner campers that are young and just starting their camping careers. I think our oldest camper may be 12.

It's a big hill but I am determined to climb it.

Shoe:p

[Flukie]

Shoe, I checked out the programs that you offer at Bothin. With the programs offered for 7th through 9th graders you are going to hopefully pull in some of those girls you want to target! Is there anyway that next year you can get Program Aide training offered at your camp as a part of a pre-CIT experience? It's hard when you are running that many resident camps - I can undrestand wanting the leadership experiences to be in one or two locations, but at the same time, I know that girls want to CIT at their "own" camp. One of the biggest problems we had was when our Council decided to condense CIT down to being held at one camp because the number of girls taking it was dropping down. Unfortunately, it caused the numbers to drop more because girls didn't want to give up a session at their home camp. We are now operating two resident camp, and starting last summer, offered CIT at both. The other camp had three girls participate, while we had six. This year, we have six already registered for CIT with a cap at 10 CITs. I'm not sure how the numbers look at our other camp.

10 was chosen for a few reasons. One, it lets you have the CITs work in small groups that can still be varied. Two, it gives the girls a sense of just how special and important CIT is - 10 is our second smallest unit. Only our Advanced Sailors are smaller - and that is due to boat restrictions! Most units are 24. Third, 10 fit into the van perfectly with me and one other staff. :)

One thing you may look at seeing if it also can be offered is letting girls opt to do the CIT Apprenticeship at your camp - and then encourage encourage your girls to go learn at another camp and then come "home" to experience working at camp. I know some of our girls would have loved to do their Intern at their home day camps where they grew up - that might work in your favor! :)

[KristinR]

At my (and Rhiannon's) camp, we have a cit and a jc program. CITS are 9th and 10th graders, have training in the morning like staff does pre-camp, and then shadow a senior conseler the rest of the time. Since they are so young (relatively speaking) they shadow a senior staff that is working with the younger kids.

JC's are a volunteer 2-week position, and that person shadows a senior staff full time. These kids must have completed the CIT program before They become JCs. JCs interview just like senior staff, too. They are 10th and 11th graders. (And this is the grade that they just completed, not the grade they are entering)

These however, it not required for working at camp, although, cause I got a job and haven't done either, but I'm sure it helps with getting employment. I think too though, that this has to do with 40% of our staff being internationals (Hey Rhi, email me... I have a question for you). I don't know what the percent of returning CITs and JC is, but it is something that the high school kids can do so they can still come to camp. Once the potiental staff member graduates from high school, they are eligable for for a senior staff position, although most of the staff have been through at least 1 year of college

[JJester]

I also am starting up a CIT program where before there was none. We had CITs, but no program and no CIT Director. They were essentially either slaves to every counselor within earshot or just hung out with the oldest campers all day. This year I want to run a strong program so that we can utilize them and actually train them to be decent staff when they're old enough. What a concept!
I have come across some interesting ideas. One was a leadership log that they would need to fill out a couple times a week. It was just a sheet prompting the CIT to list things like examples of positive/negative leadership by a counselor, something they learned today, and something they did that made them proud.
Also, something called a "Bitty Binder", which is actually a good idea for counselors as well. It's a mini index card binder where they keep ideas for activities they've learned. It makes for a good cheat sheet.
I also found some decent evaluation forms for counselors to fill out, self-evaluation forms for the CITs, Orientation training questions, and a first day questionnaire.
I'm new here, so I don't know how to attach things. You can email me at JulieJJester@yahoo.com if you want me to send this stuff to you. Or maybe in that "private message" section. I still need to figure this stuff out.
-Julie

[CAMPFRIEND]

currently at the camp I am directing, I am trying to build up our leadership program. For the past 3 or 4 years they have had no CIT program. This makes it hard when hiring staff, as you have no feeder program. I want to build it up...any ideas on how I may be able to do that?
One of the problems is the camp is mostly for beginner campers that are young and just starting their camping careers. I think our oldest camper may be 12.

It's a big hill but I am determined to climb it.

Shoe:p

I feel your pain. Our camp is for campers age 5-10. I can't run a CIT program. I am working with on of our sister camps to see if they have any extra CITs who might want to try a week with us. Who know they might want to work the next summer!

[Trees]

Hmm, that might be a good idea, Shoe--see if any of the apprentices from the other camps want to spend another week at camp (they will!) and go to Bothin. I know it's not a full CIT program, but at least it would introduce / re-introduce them to the camp. Some of the girls who live right in San Francisco, in particular, might then see the benefits of working at Bothin over Deer Lake.

[Shoevg]

Thanks everyone for you help. I have talked to the director of Deer Lake and were going to see if we can get some of the CIT's to spend a week at Bothin. It's something that is a work in progress, but it will happen. Bothin used to have a huge CIT program, so I know it can work, it just needs some loving care to make it happen. I will keep you all informed of my progress. ;)

[shandaddict]

At our camp, our CIT camp is set up something like this...

It is a two week session, but can be attended multiple times throughout the summer (by the same people or new CIT'S)

In the first week, the CITs receive our staff manual and handbook and meet with the CIT director every day. The first week is dedicated to a mini staff training, similar to that in which they would undergo as a staff member (one KEY thing to stress though, is that they are still campers, so they may not be with campers alone, there must always be an actual staff member present with them and the kids) ( this point must also be stressed to the staff as they tend to allow the CITs to take over and do their "dirty work")

anyway, the second week they are put with either a day camp group or a cabin and are basically co-counselors that are shadowing that group's corresponding counselor (they are still campers though!)
during the second week is when they make up their own all camp evening activity for an evening and lead songs, stories, etc.
the second week is essentially their "test" for becoming a staff member the following summer.

I know you have already received some great advice, but i hope this helps too.

[Indigo]

Softballkid, I wonder if you could start to set a WIT program in motion, with your equestrian background? My camp has a really great one in addition to a CIT program.

But some things that our CITs do are survival training, CB radio training, lots of counselor experience in units or just planning games with younger kids (my WITs get a lot out of this too), firebuilding... I know they get a lot of lectures too. It's basically our staff training week stretched into 8 weeks of camp, plus regular camp activities. Oh, in the evenings, sometimes they have fairy parties! They all dress up like fairies and visit a younger unit, then in the morning they deny any knowledge of it, and say it was the camp fairies. That seems like lots of fun!