Blog Posts

Families have chosen Maine camps for their children for more than a century.

Learn about camps from the inside! Camp directors and staff, plus parents, address everything from beating homesickness to favorite camp foods to how camp fosters resilience and independence, all in blogs dedicated exclusively to Maine summer camps.

Camp Communicate 2018: Pine Tree Society Offers its Annual Camp Experience for Non-Verbal Youth

Camp Communicate 2018: Pine Tree Society Offers its Annual Camp Experience for Non-Verbal Youth

posted in: Blog Posts on:

During the sweltering weather of July’s first week, about two dozen youngsters and their parents and caregivers gathered on the shores of North Pond in Rome. At Pine Tree Camp – Pine Tree Society’s program that offers camp programs for individuals with disabilities – non-verbal kids were immersed in five days of summer camp. Armed with their communication devices, these campers had the chance to learn and play in nature – and in community with others just like them.
Camps and Families: How Parents Can Support their Kids at Camp

Camps and Families: How Parents Can Support their Kids at Camp

posted in: Blog Posts on:

Summer camps are in full swing. Across the state, kids are throwing themselves into a huge variety of activities, meeting friends from near and far, and, in many cases, are living away from home for the first time.  And while all those experiences require adjustments for the camper, summer camp may demand some adjustments for parents, too. Two Maine camp professionals – who are tasked with supporting campers and parents alike – say that parents can benefit from a few key tips as they manage the new experience of sending their youngsters to camp. The outcome, these camp directors say, is a greater likelihood of a positive experience for kids and moms and dads alike.   Rich Deering is alumni...
Aurora Vaulters: Offering Unique Equestrian Camp Programs in Lamoine

Aurora Vaulters: Offering Unique Equestrian Camp Programs in Lamoine

posted in: Blog | Blog Posts on:

In the coming days, camp programs across the state will be in full swing. From robotics to music to sports – plus traditional residential camps nestled among woods and water – offerings in the state’s camping community are vast. And come July, a few dozen youngsters will have the chance to attend a camp like none other in Maine. Aurora Vaulters, a non-profit organization formed less than a decade ago, will bring together children to learn the equestrian skill of vaulting – defined as gymnastic dance in harmony with a moving horse. 
Camp Directors, Facing Hiring Challenges, Pitch Benefits of Camp Jobs

Camp Directors, Facing Hiring Challenges, Pitch Benefits of Camp Jobs

posted in: Blog Posts on:

“I really believe a summer camp job is an internship in leadership.” Garth Altenburg, director of boys’ Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, isn’t alone. Several camp directors facing a hiring crunch for the summer season say working at a camp provides young adults with a skill set both sought by post-graduation employers, and not easily gained in other job settings.
New Camp Committee Finding Ways to Give Back

New Camp Committee Finding Ways to Give Back

posted in: Blog | Blog Posts on:

When the summer camp season ends, most camp personnel return to their work or school endeavors. But Maine camps also have year-round employees, a core group whose members often wear many hats in performing the vast range of tasks associated with operating youth camps. Some of those year-round employees are in the early stages of their professional camp careers; many have ascended to their positions after years as campers and seasonal staff members. In the past year a group of such young camp professionals has joined forces to form the Maine Summer Camps Outreach Committee.  Their goal is multi-faceted, says Kristy Andrews, assistant director at Camp Wawenock, a girls’ camp in Raymond. Andrews, along with Matt Pines, a director at...
Maine Summer Camps Face Challenge of Hiring Nurses

Maine Summer Camps Face Challenge of Hiring Nurses

posted in: Blog Posts on:

Each summer, residential youth camps across the state enroll thousands of youngsters from throughout the country and around the world. And each of those Maine camps employs nurses to meet the health care needs of campers and staff alike. As pre-season planning moves into its final stages, some of those camps still have vacancies on their nursing staffs.
Girls with Grit: Camp Director Shares Tips for Building Resilient Leaders

Girls with Grit: Camp Director Shares Tips for Building Resilient Leaders

posted in: Blog Posts on:

                When camp personnel gathered in New Hampshire earlier this month for the annual American Camp Association-New England conference they were offered dozens of workshops for improving camp operations. Among the presenters was Sarah Gordon Littlefield, director of Vermont’s Aloha Camp, a residential camp for girls aged 12-17.  Littlefield delivered a wide-ranging talk, offering her audience background on the current gender gap in the U.S., concepts underlying female adolescent development, characteristics of safe communities that help develop leadership skills, and ideas for creating those safe spaces. And her message was clear: girls can be resilient, confident leaders. And camps can help make that happen.               Littlefield began her presentation with statistics exemplifying the...
The Benefits of Being Device-Free at Camp

The Benefits of Being Device-Free at Camp

posted in: Blog Posts on:

Camp offers kids a vast array of benefits – time in nature, new skills, and lifelong friendships. But at many camps there’s another perk – weeks free from devices. No phones, no screens, no social media. And while it may take a few days of adjustment, camp directors say kids gain on a whole range of fronts, from their appreciation of the outdoors, to their ability to socialize, to the quality of their sleep.
9th Annual Maine Summer Camps Fair This Sunday in Portland

9th Annual Maine Summer Camps Fair This Sunday in Portland

posted in: Blog | Blog Posts on:

Families looking for Maine youth camp experiences this summer will have a unique opportunity on Sunday to find out just how many options kids have.  Maine Summer Camps, a non-profit membership organization supporting more than 120 Maine camps, will holds its ninth annual Maine Summer Camps Fair on Sunday, March 18. The fair will take place from 1-3:30 p.m. at East End School, 195 North Street, in Portland. MSC Anticipates 70 Camps to Partake in the Fair Ron Hall, executive director of Maine Summer Camps, says the organization anticipates about 70 camps to participate, “everything from magic camp to drama camp to music camp to science camp.” Hall says the fair will include traditional overnight camps, agency camps such as...
Kamp Kohut: Fostering Opportunities for Kids to “Glow”

Kamp Kohut: Fostering Opportunities for Kids to “Glow”

posted in: Blog Posts on:

Lisa Tripler owns and directs Oxford’s Kamp Kohut with her husband, attorney Dan Rapaport. And back in the early 90s, when the couple contemplated purchasing the camp property, Tripler says she “managed to convince my husband that this would be the dream of a lifetime.” His response, she says, was to fully support her – and concede that at the very worst the purchase would be a sound real estate investment. But the dream has been coming true for a quarter century. Nearly twenty-six years after that purchase, Kamp Kohut continues to thrive as a unique co-ed camp, what Tripler calls a “brother-sister model.” “I want them to leave glowing,” she says, “just feeling really proud of themselves for learning...

- back to top -