Campfire Conversation
Kids & Family Podcasts
The stories, lessons, and magic of summer camp change campers (and staff) for the better every year. Speaking with people who spend their lives planning for and running summer camps around the country, the Campfire Conversation podcast will give parents, teachers, coaches and mentors a unique perspective on raising, teaching and leading children. Pull up a log, get your marshmallows ready, and let’s chat!
Location:
United States
Genres:
Kids & Family Podcasts
Description:
The stories, lessons, and magic of summer camp change campers (and staff) for the better every year. Speaking with people who spend their lives planning for and running summer camps around the country, the Campfire Conversation podcast will give parents, teachers, coaches and mentors a unique perspective on raising, teaching and leading children. Pull up a log, get your marshmallows ready, and let’s chat!
Language:
English
Website:
https://Campfireconversation.com
Episodes
The First Full (time) Year
6/17/2023
After six summers and 15-months of ‘full time’ camp work, Samantha Thomson joins us around the campfire to explore the full time life of summer camp. (Hint: there is no ‘off-season!’). Enjoy!
Duration:00:25:48
The Start of a (Camp) Life Together
5/26/2023
Seeing great people build a life together is an amazing thing. That its also happening when you are helping to run camp together for the first time adds to the fun. Nikki Zenkel and Max Grossman join me to talk about their first foray into full time summer camp together and their plans for after the summer. Enjoy!
Duration:00:23:20
A Spark of Wonder
5/12/2023
I’ve enjoyed working with and supporting Focus for a Future for many summers. The work they do introduces, as one great camp guy describes it, a spark of wonder for all the children at camp. My friend, Andy Newberg, joins me around the campfire to give us the inside scoop on all the great outcomes Focus for a Future and their volunteers create for kids.
Duration:00:31:49
Camp Can Make Business Better
4/28/2023
What is learned at camp can have far reaching effects both personally and professionally. Tony McGaharan left Northern Ireland to spend two summers at camp. His journey from there included working for non-profits and then Google before starting People Playbook, a company which sounds a whole lot like… well, being back at camp.
Duration:00:28:07
Starting a Camp from Scratch
4/17/2023
Imagine taking a nice piece of property, full of trees and grass, and turning it into a summer camp. Think about all the pieces that go into that experience – planning, building, creating and more. Jackie Brethel of Kippewa Point tells us all about the ins and outs of starting a camp from scratch!
Duration:00:27:59
What Camp Teaches a Teacher
12/16/2022
How does working at summer camp influence a school teacher? In what ways does working as a teacher make you a better a summer camp professional? Our long-time team member, Dana Stassen, lives in both worlds professionally and is happy to share her insights. Enjoy!
Duration:00:38:05
Leaders are Grown
12/2/2022
What is it like to go to camp when it’s nothing like the world you know? What’s it like to move from camper to counselor and then to Division Head? How do we apply the lessons of camp back home? Jorge Perez is kind enough sit around the campfire and answer these and many other questions. Enjoy!
Duration:00:30:28
Hope for Homeless Kids
11/18/2022
Did you know that one-third of the homeless population in the US is made up of families? Homelessness can have a huge (negative) impact on children… which is why camp can be so important and positively impactful in their lives. The work that Tyrone Squire and Homes for the Homeless is doing is literally changing lives.
Duration:00:22:39
Maintenance Matters
5/20/2022
One of the most necessary (and under-appreciated, misunderstood) aspects of camp is maintenance. Camp Maintenance Director John Weidner is around the campfire to pull back the curtain on this essential work at camp. A must listen for parents, camp directors and camp summer staff!
Duration:00:31:27
What you get from working at or going to Summer camp
5/6/2022
We are talking today about all the benefits sleepaway camp has to offer. We talk to so many people on the podcast who are summer camp lifers. They grew up at camp or their family ran the camp, but Sara and I share something in common. We don’t come from that background. We found summer camp later in life and we want to explore what that impact has on people.
Duration:00:37:48
From Counselor to Camp Professional
4/22/2022
Every summer, more than 100,000 college-aged people decide to work at summer camp. From this incredible pool of people, we hope to find a few that want to do the work full-time. Brenn McCans has several great lessons to share from her bumpy path from counselor to camp professional. Enjoy!
Duration:00:34:33
Notes from the Camp Bunk
4/8/2022
Going to camp for the first time can be daunting. That is why 12-year-old Eden WROTE A BOOK. Notes from the Camp Bunk will help campers, parents and camp staff alike start summer off the best way possible.
Duration:00:21:09
PERFORMing at Camp
3/25/2022
A person’s mind, when trained correctly, can be a person’s greatest tool. Dr. Lonnie Sarnell, a clinical and sport psychologist… who also happens to be the Girls Head Counselor at Tyler Hill Camp, has a great way to help all of our kids PERFORM at camp and everywhere else.
Duration:00:38:07
Growing Up The Camp Director's Kid
2/25/2022
Literally growing up at camp is a gift though not one without challenges. Lily Stoltz and Cole Kelly III give us the inside scoop of what being raised by camp directors is like. And make sure to stick around for a special guest at the end!
Duration:00:42:52
“Risky Business”: How Kids Learn through Risk
2/11/2022
When we remove all risk from our children’s lives, we stunt their growth. Paul Dreyer, the CEO of Avid4 Adventure is an experiential learning expert who has a lot to teach about introducing the right kind of risks so that our children grow into competent, confident humans. Enjoy!
Duration:00:33:00
Building Resiliency: Lessons from Camp
1/28/2022
Our kids have been through a challenging time over the past two years. Summer camp provides a great set of lessons on building one of the vital ingredients to make it through challenging times: resilience. Expert researcher and commenter Stephen Gray Wallace joins us around the campfire to reveal these resilience lessons and how we can apply them back home.
Duration:00:31:35
Sports, Camps and Christ: An Introduction to the FCA
12/17/2021
It’s Christmas season and, for many, that means as much reverence as it does presents. In that vein, we wanted to learn a bit more about Christian summer camps. My new friend, Spencer Breedlove, joined the campfire to teach us more about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Merry Christmas everyone. See you around the campfire in the new year!
Duration:00:32:59
Jewish Camping: A Primer
12/10/2021
As we move into the holiday season, we are talking about religious camps around the campfire. Our neighbor and good friend Jeff Braverman of Camp Nesher and NJY Camps joins us for an introduction into the joys of Jewish camping.
Duration:00:39:44
Grateful for Summer Camp
11/26/2021
There is a lot to be grateful when thinking about summer camp: incredible mentors, carefree activities, a thriving community… and all the good this provides. Dan Zenkel, the person responsible for getting Kate and I into camping, is around the campfire to talk about what he’s grateful for, SCOPE, and a lot more.
Duration:00:28:57
Welcome Back, International Staff!
11/12/2021
While there are a lot of pieces to a ‘great summer camp’ puzzle, summer staff is the biggest and most important one. For many camps, international staff members who come through the J1Visa cultural exchange program are essential to their staffing puzzle. Ivy Cohen, head of Camp Leaders, is around the campfire to explain the importance of these great people to camps across the US.
Duration:00:34:23