What do you want from this summer?

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What do you want from this summer?

We spend months planning activities and crafting mission statements. But we rarely pause to ask the people actually experiencing camp what they’re hoping to get out of it.

Kinda weird, right?

We’re constantly talking about creating meaningful experiences. But how do we know what meaningful looks like to a 12-year-old from Ohio? Or what growth a 19-year-old counselor is actually interested in?

Turns out, if you ask, people will tell you. And you can probably deliver on way more of it than you think.

Why This Actually Matters

Remember that Self-Determination Theory stuff I wrote about a few weeks ago? The autonomy piece? This is that in action.

When kids and adults get to voice what they want, they become way (and I mean waaaaaay) more invested in making it happen. It’s the difference between being told what your summer will look like versus having a say in shaping it.

A counselor who says “I want to get better at leading activities” is going to approach training differently than one who’s just sitting through required sessions.

A camper who tells you “I want to make friends” is going to engage differently than one who’s just following the schedule.

It’s not that camp “magic” we’re always talking about. It’s just that ownership beats compliance every single time.

A Dream Week Example

At a camp I used to work at, James Davis (Hey James!) had this thing called Dream World Week.

Opening campfire, everyone writes down three things they wanted to do that week on pieces of paper. Some realistic stuff, some completely ridiculous.

“Have a water balloon fight.”

“Learn to skateboard.”

“Meet Taylor Swift.”

“Go to the moon.”

Then LITs sat with butcher paper and tried to schedule as many as possible.

The skateboard thing? Easy.

Water balloon fight? Already planned.

Meet Taylor Swift? Someone dressed up and we threw a dance party.

Look, I get it. Most camps can’t do a whole Dream World Week. You’ve got your program locked in, your schedule set, your activities planned months ahead.

That’s totally fine. This is meant to be a purposefully over-the-top example to illustrate something smaller.

The magic isn’t in granting every wish. It’s in the asking and acknowledging. It’s in kids seeing that someone wrote down what they said and actually thought about it.

Quick break:

​I’m pumped to be using CampMinder this summer.​

→ The Campanion app photo updating is especially important while I’m trying to learn a whole new camp’s worth of faces for the summer.

→ Automated emails and texts keep everyone in the loop

→ Onboarding was super easy, and registration is a snap

→ Plus, their team is all former campers, staff, and industry pros

​Check out CampMinder and tell them Jack sent you over

With Campers: Start Simple

You don’t need a whole program around this. Just start asking.

Check-in surveys work great. “What’s one thing you’re hoping to do this summer?” Cabin chats before lights out. Morning circle huddles.

What do kids actually ask for? Mix of stuff you’d expect and stuff that’ll make you laugh.

“I want to make friends.” “I want to get better at swimming.” “I want to try archery.” Easy wins.

Then you get the wild ones. “I want to stay up until 3 AM.” “I want to have ice cream for breakfast.” “I want to drive the camp van.”

Obviously, no to all of these (though the camp van thing would def create some stories, but no, don’t). Just acknowledging that you heard them changes how they feel about camp.

When you explain why fountains don’t work but offer to get Mountain Dew for the cabin’s pizza night, he feels heard.

You’re not saying yes to everything. You’re saying yes to listening.

With Staff: Harder But More Important

Staff are trickier. They won’t always just tell you what they want from camp. Partly because they think they’re supposed to want what you want them to want (follow that?). And partly (mostly) because they haven’t really thought about it.

So you might need to help them figure out how to say it.

“What do you want to get better at this summer?”

“What would make this experience worth it for you?”

“What do you want on your resume when you leave?”

The answers I’ve heard: “I want two days off instead of 12 hours here and there.” “I want to lead something on my own.” “I want to learn how to handle conflict better.”

These aren’t unreasonable requests. Most of them you can work with.

The staff member who wants more meaningful time off?

Maybe you can’t do two full days, but you can cluster their time differently. The one who wants to lead something? Give them ownership of evening activities or let them design a new program.

Understanding what motivates your staff doesn’t just make them happier. It makes them better at their jobs. And way more likely to come back next summer.

This Isn’t Coddling, It’s Strategic Listening

I can already hear some folks out there:

“Great, so now we’re just giving everyone whatever they want? What’s next, kids designing their own individual schedules? Totally anarchy?!?!”

Nope.

There’s a huge difference between listening to what people want and automatically saying yes to everything.

Listening doesn’t mean losing authority or structure. It means making decisions with better information.

Set your guardrails upfront. Safety rules aren’t negotiable. Core program elements aren’t changing. Budget constraints are real. But within those boundaries? There’s usually more flexibility than we think.

When you understand what motivates people, you can make smarter choices about where to be flexible and where to hold firm.

Don’t remove all challenges. Just make sure the challenges are ones they’re actually invested in tackling.

Understanding motivation isn’t coddling. It’s good management.

Simple Implementation

So how do you actually start doing this? Keep it simple.

For campers: Add one question to your check-in process. “What’s one thing you’re hoping to do this summer?” Ask it again during cabin chat halfway through their session. Write it down.

For staff: “What do you want to get better at while you’re here?” or “What would make this summer feel successful for you?” Write it down.

What to do with the answers: Again, actually write them down. When you can make something happen, do it. When you can’t, acknowledge it anyway.

When you can’t fulfill requests: Be honest about why. Humans appreciate transparency way more than vague promises. “The rope swing idea is awesome, but our insurance won’t cover it…”

Building it into culture: Start small this summer. Ask the question. Listen to answers. Show people their input matters.

Next summer, make it part of your regular programming from day one.

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s showing people that their voice matters in shaping the experience.

You got this,

Jack

Get my newsletter every week.

It’s all about kids today

Jack Schott

Summer Camp Evangelist