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Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod/trust-2025

Navigating Parenting and Camp Management Post-Pandemic

In this episode of the Day Camp Pod, hosted by Andy Pritikin, Sam Thompson, Jaime Pickles, and Kelly Jones, the panel tackles the evolving challenges of parenting and camp management post-pandemic. They discuss the increasing anxieties parents face today, their heightened expectations, and how these impact their trust and communication with camp professionals. The experts share valuable insights and strategies for improving communication, balancing customer service with boundary setting, and ensuring transparency. Kelly provides exceptional tips for handling first-day jitters, while Jaime highlights the importance of a proactive, empathetic approach to parent relations. This episode is a must-listen for camp directors looking to enhance their parent engagement and provide a better camp experience amid today's challenges.

Highlights:

• 05:50 Parental Expectations and Camp Communication
• 09:45 Handling Difficult Parent Situations
• 13:32 Effective Communication Strategies
• 16:50 Balancing Information Overload
• 19:57 The Modern Parent's Dilemma
• 30:09 The Pressure of Social Media on Parenting
• 31:53 Distress Tolerance and Unrealistic Expectations
• 40:24 Importance of Consistency and Policies
• 45:42 Handling Difficult Conversations and Transparency
• 49:17 Proactive Communication and Parent Orientation
• 55:23 Investing in Parent Relations

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Your Hosts:

• Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day Camp
• Sam Thompson, Recreation Supervisor - Crystal Lake Park District
• Jaime Pickles, Director - Everwood Day Camp
• Kelly Jones - Executive Director and Day Camp Director - Outpost Summer Camps

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Sponsors:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

• Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS)
  • Looking to elevate your camp experience? For over 25 years, Commercial Recreation Specialists has been transforming camps with water inflatables, Splashpads, playgrounds, and more! Boost your programming, drive registrations, and attract more campers. Our team of Recreation Specialists is here to help you design the ultimate space. Let’s take your camp to the next level – because we’re serious about FUN! Find out more at https://crs4rec.com/
• Camptivities
  • Scheduling shouldn’t be so difficult and take as much time as it does! Come check out Camptivities to learn about all of our scheduling tools, specifically designed for camps by camp people. Save time, get rid of the mistakes, and get back to enjoying your summer! Find out more at camptivities.com
• CampMinder
  • Campminder has the most robust offerings of features out there. But more importantly, every feature works together to create a full, seamless system that helps camps run more efficiently. Visit them today at

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Nothing says financial wake-up call like a global pandemic! Andy welcomes back Jonathan M. Gold to the show to help us grasp the things we need to be thinking about in preparing for a tough financial road ahead.

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Whether you ran in 2020 or not - we've all got a tough road ahead. We need to be prepared with every scenario, every tip and trick, and every bit of help we can get.
Enter friend of the Pod Jonathan M. Gold - our financial correspondent and climate-watcher.
We welcome Jonathan back to this mini-pod with Andy as they discuss what it's going to take to be able to not only survive 2021, but to thrive long-term.
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Do you have a suggestion for a future show? Let us know by email: [email protected]

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Bonus Resources

Jonathan’s Cashflow Chart Video:

https://vimeo.com/465802814

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YOUR HOSTS:

• Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day Camp

GUESTS:

• Jonathan M. Gold, MBA, PhD, Camp Owner/Director - the Arbor Group of Camps

SPONSORS:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

• AM Skier Insurance http://www.amskier.com/
• Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS) https://crs4rec.com/

Please review and subscribe!

If you’ve gotten even one good thing from the Day Camp Pod, we would be so grateful if you left us a review and subscribed to this show in your favourite Podcast app.

It’s so easy!

Just click here: https://ratethispodcast.com/dcp

Thanks, Camp Pro!

Send us a text

Find show notes and links at - https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod/day-camp-from-scratch

Post-COVID, the world is going to be in need of more connection than ever. What better way is there to connect than at camp? Here’s how to start your own!

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If only one out of every six American children attends summer camp programs, there’s a whole lot of potential campers out there, just waiting for YOU to create a day camp closeby to their neighborhood.

So now what? How do you go from that great little idea to a fully functioning day camp that’s signing up campers, hiring staff, and getting ready for opening day? Stay tuned- and we’ll let you know.

In this episode, we cover:

• Location location location!
• Business, marketing and branding plans
• Quick and easy camper registration.
• Set up open house- “Meet the Director” events- Zoom, in-person, etc.
• Create YouTube/Facebook/Instagram videos- Tell them who you are, why you’re doing this, and how awesome it’s going to be!
• How do you ingratiate yourself with the local community and become a partner
• How do you position your proposition? What does the local community need?
• Who is the oversight in your area? DCFS, Health Department, ACA?
• And much much more!

Do you have a suggestion for a future show? Let us know by email: [email protected]

If you love the Day Camp Pod, we would be grateful if you subscribed and left us a review. It’s SUPER easy, too! Just head to http://ratethispodcast.com/dcp

Day Camp Tip of the Week

Andy: Portable Ga-Ga Court- Inflatable, wooden, plastic- whatever. Create “camp” anywhere!

Sam: T-Shirts for winter that say “Ask me about my awesome camp” or follow me to...

Tiff: Google

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YOUR HOSTS:

• Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day Camp
• Tiffany Gratton-McDuffie, Executive Director - Purposeful Play
• Sam Thompson, Recreation Supervisor - Crystal Lake Park District

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SPONSORS:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

• AM Skier Insurance http://www.amskier.com/
• Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS) https://crs4rec.com/

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Please review and subscribe!

If you’ve gotten even one good thing from the Day Camp Pod, we would be so grateful if you left us a review and subscribed to this show in your favourite Podcast app.

It’s so easy!

Just click here: https://ratethispodcast.com/dcp

Thanks, Camp Pro!

Send us a text

Thanks for the season, Day Camp friends! Here are our favourite episodes and some goals for your next summer!

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It’s been a wonderfully full second season for the Day Camp Pod!

19 full episodes, 5 mini-pods (2 more on the way, still!) and over 10,000 downloads, we’ve certainly come a long way!

On behalf of the team at Go Camp Pro, we’re so grateful for Andy, Sam and Ehren for their radical openness and dedication to sharing the tips and best practices that will make everyone’s Day Camp better.

As well, to our incredible guests, thank you for joining in on the fun! We’re grateful to all of you not only for what you did for us, but in general for making our industry as great as it is.

To wrap this season, our hosts share their favourite episodes and takeaways from Season 2 followed by some goals for the next summer season their camp will be running.

Thanks for the season, friends!

Do you have a suggestion for a future show? Let us know by email: [email protected]

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Our Favorite Episodes From Season 2

Ehren

Leveraging Your Brand and Knowledge with Audrey Monke

Staff Meetings at Day Camp

Sam

Even More Inclusion - with Lucia Thoensen and Terri Southerland

Specialists and Activity Leaders Working Effectively with Day Camp Staff - with Michael Brandwein

Andy

Treating Your Day Camp Like A Business - With Jonathan Gold

Debriefing Your Summer Season

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YOUR HOSTS:

• Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day Camp
• Ehren Gluckstein, Assistant Director - Camp Robin Hood - Robin Hood
• Sam Thompson, Recreation Supervisor - Crystal Lake Park District, Vice president ACA Illinois

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SPONSORS:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

• American Camp Association, NY & NJ http://www.acanynj.org/
• AM Skier Insurance http://www.amskier.com/
• Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS) https://crs4rec.com/

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Please review and subscribe!

If you’ve gotten even one good thing from the Day Camp Pod, we would be so grateful if you left us a review and subscribed to this show in your favourite Podcast app.

It’s so easy!

Just click here: https://ratethispodcast.com/dcp

Thanks, Camp Pro!

Send us a text

Staffing Your Day Camp Like A Pro

Where are the camp staff?

It’s a question that a lot of camps find themselves asking in the Winter and Spring of 2019. With reports on Generation Z working less and less in highschool and college, it seems that the summer camp world is not invulnerable.

That being said, our industry is full of ingenuity. This apparent staff shortage is a new opportunity for the camp industry to lead the way and recruit the best that this generation has to offer.

To help YOU find the best staff this summer, The Day Camp Pod’s triumphant trio (Andy, Sam and Ehren) are joined by the brilliant Kim Aycock and the ingenious Will Pierce from Pierce Country Day Camp. This episode will definitely give you some new ideas to think about and will help you up your staff recruiting game this summer.

Listen in to find out about:

• How to effectively cast the net to catch quality candidates?
• What are some ways to think outside the conventional employees and conventional hiring methods?
• How can we incentivize staff recruiting other staff?
• What internal methods are you doing to “grow” staff starting at a young age?
• How do we work with the current generation of staff to help them see themselves working at camp?

What are you doing this year to be intentional about recruiting quality staff this summer?

DCP - DAY CAMP PROGRAM IDEA OF THE WEEK - LEVEL UP YOUR DAY CAMP!

• Andy: “For Those Who Work at Camp” incentive shirts (paperwork and orientation attendance)
• Sam: 3rd year jackets, My boss thinks i am kind of a big deal.
• Ehren: “Gluck Bucks”
• Kim: Appreciation Envelopes for Staff (5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace)
• Will: Iced Coffee and Light Breakfast for the staff in the AM

YOUR HOSTS:

• Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day Camp
• Ehren Gluckstein, Assistant Director - Camp Robin Hood, Director
• Sam Thompson, Recreation Supervisor - Crystal Lake Park District, Vice president ACA Illinois
• Kim Aycock, Speaker, Trainer, Teacher and Go Camp Pro Contributor - www.kimaycock.com
• Will Pierce, 4th Generation Owner/Director - Pierce Country Day Camp

SPONSORS:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

• American Camp Association, NY & NJ http://www.acanynj.org/
• AM Skier Insurance http://www.amskier.com/
• Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS) https://crs4rec.com/