Factors related to staff turnover in a camp for mentally retarded persons were examined during 1971-1977. Staff were live-in college or graduate school counselors with special education or related majors. Not being able to cope and poor performance occurred in small proportion to total number of reasons documented. (Author/RD)

Discusses the issues involved in outdoor education in the 1980's and outlines priorities for the organization of resident camp programs. (CM)

Eight to eleven year-old girls and their counselors in a summer camp were studied to ascertain the impact of the camp experience on the campers' self-concept and social competence behavior. Among the findings were that the campers' perceptions of the counselors as accepting and controlling were associated with significant changes in self-concept…

Describes Bryn Mawr School's elementary French program, which uses language-experience approach to teach French language, history, and cultural studies. Creative abilities and language proficiency are integrated with formal study of texts in classroom and outside activities. (JD)

An Oregon 4-H camp ran a week-long program in which 87 elementary age campers and 16 secondary age counselors operated businesses, dealt with customers, and promoted products. Pretests/posttests showed an average 8.7% increase in camper knowledge of money management skills, with 72% of campers showing improvement. Lists ideas for teaching money…

Two studies collected quantitative and qualitative data from 24 families participating in an 8-hour outdoor adventure program and from 11 families in a residential family camping program. Findings demonstrate a strong positive relationship between structured outdoor family programming and family strength, and suggest that adventure activities…

An effective camp marketing strategy should address both parents' and children's concerns that influence decisions about camp. Includes strategies for developing a targeted message through print media or video that addresses these concerns and persuades families to choose camp. Stresses the importance of following up with parents and children. (LP)

Percussion programming can be integrated into a camping experience that actively involves campers in clapping, singing, and dancing. Provides suggestions for making percussion instruments out of natural materials, and offers ideas for using percussion in storytelling, listening activities, and camper wake-up calls. (LP)

Study explored the perception of parents of campers with mental retardation regarding the benefits of summer camps. Parents rated the relative importance of 22 possible benefits and indicated 6 dimensions of benefits in an ideal program: social skill development, social competence, respite care, cognitive development, expressive development, and…

Thirty disadvantaged gifted children in Appalachian regions of Tennessee were provided scholarship money to attend a special summer camp program. Home visits before and after the camp experience demonstrated that these children benefited from both the social and academic aspects of the enrichment program. (DB)

Discusses the nature of spirituality and the resources people use in responding to spirituality based on Robert Coles' book, "The Spiritual Life of Children." Answers questions as to how to use the camp experience to afford campers opportunities for spiritual growth while respecting the many expressions of spirituality in society. (LP)

Discusses the importance of planning, implementing, and evaluating camp physical activity programs. Appropriate physical activity programing should consider frequency, intensity, time, and type of activity. Also important are following the principles critical to physical training: specificity, overload, and progression. Two examples of physical…

A four-week program at Sunrise Lake Camp (Cold Spring, New York) helps immigrant Russian Jewish children to adjust to their new country. Program components include language enhancement activities, bilingual staff, scholarship assistance, cultural sensitivity training for staff, and cross-cultural education for immigrant and U.S.-born campers. (SV)