Training Newsletter - March 25, 2026

• Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey! Based on your responses, our next virtual huddle has been changed to Wednesday, April 8th at 6pm (Central U.S.). Join us to continue connecting with your fellow staff member and to meet Makayla, our Director of Animal Programs.

• Your Invited! Join us at camp on Saturday April 4th, 11am - 3pm, for our annual Open House. If you've never been to camp before this is a chance to take a tour, meet some of the staff, and visit with the animals. It's also a great chance to bring your family and friends to show them where you'll be spending your summer. No need to sign up, just show up on the day. 

Returning staff, if you are available to volunteer your time to help show guests around, or run activities, please email Nathan to let him know your availability. 

Each activity at camp has a dedicated location for classes. They are spread out across camp, but all a short distance from Fox Field, the center of camp. Some locations are outdoor pavilions, others like the tinker lab and the craft studio are indoors (and air conditioned!). When you learn how to teach your classes during staff training, you will also learn about how the space is organized, where supplies are kept, and how to keep it clean. It is every instructors job to make sure it is left just as you found it - clean, organized, and stocked with supplies!

Meet the Lead Instructors

If you are one of our Cabin Counselors, then you will also act as an activity instructor. Cub Creek has no shortage of activities! When you first get to camp you will try out some of the classes that we teach to our campers for yourself. Later in training you will learn the courses that you will then teach to campers during the summer. 

Whatever you are teaching, we want the classes and courses campers sign up for to be fun and educational, as well as what they are expecting to learn. Many campers spend weeks or even months before coming to camp reading about and deciding what activities they want to sign up for, and the most disappointing thing is to hear that a camper who signed up to learn something missed out because the instructor was unprepared, or decided to ignore the lesson plan.  

Learn more about teaching and instruction

Plan and Organize Great Activities

A counselor's number one priority is to keep campers safe, the second is to keep them busy! Your day as a camp counselor will be filled with leading and participating in activities with campers. Whether it's your scheduled classes, evening activity, or 5 minutes before dinner. You will spend your days playing games, teaching classes, singing songs, and having FUN! But fun takes planning and organization to be successful.

• Think ahead - understand the schedule and what is expected of you at different times of the day. The classes you teach may change from day to day, so look at the schedule in advance to make sure you know what is coming up, and are prepared to teach. Also think about those times in the day when campers need to be kept occupied - waiting for a meal, before evening activity, bed time etc. - Work with your co-counselors to plan activities ahead of time so you are prepared.

• Gather materials before activities - as an instructor it is your responsibility that supplies are available for classes. If you use up a supply, make sure it is replaced before the next class needs it. The Lead Instructors, and Cabin Advocate will help with stocking supplies, but they can't replace something they don't know is missing!  The cabin advocate will also help you find games and craft activities that can be done in the cabin.

• Respect kid’s time by being prepared - our campers have only a limited time at camp to do all the things they have spent all year dreaming about. Be respectful of their time, have supplies organized, arrive to activities when scheduled, and be clear on the activity directions before you start.  Wasted time is an opportunity for campers to get bored, and boredom gives campers time to get up to trouble! 

• Fill their day with FUN - if you haven't already figured it out, summer camp is ALL ABOUT FUN!! Use every opportunity you can to make the day more memorable. Don't just walk to lunch in silence, SING! Trying to learn your campers names? Make it a game. During staff training we will talk about ways to amp up the fun and create memorable moments every day as well as games and activities to keep in your back pocket for a moment of down time. 

Early Birds & Night Owls

Throughout the week at camp, we have early bird and night owl activities. Early birds are intended to give campers who wake early a chance to get out of the cabin instead of having to wait around for the whole cabin to get up. Night owls are intended to have the same effect as early birds. If you have campers that are energetic at night, who need an activity after evening activity, they can attend a night owl. The Special Events Coordinator will schedule night owls and early birds each week and have information regarding rules and expectations.

Some common early bird and night owl activities are:

• Bird Watching

• Hike to the Glade

• Polar Plunge

• Star Gazing

• Line Dancing

• Trivia

This is a great opportunity to share a special skill or talent with our campers that you might not get to elsewhere in the schedule. If you have an idea for something fun, let us know! 

At Cub Creek Science Camp, science is incorporated into everything we do! We encourage our campers to explore, experiment, ask questions, and try lots of new things. We engage their curiosity and give them opportunities to strengthen their problem solving skills. Campers learn by "doing" and have a whole lot of fun in the process.

Science Courses Include:

• Chemistry

• Crime Science

• Race Cars & Rockets: Physics

• Additional classes such as excavators and mechanical dissections

Read more about the Science Courses available to campers

The Animal area is the most popular area of camp, and where our campers spend most of their time during the day. We want to introduce our animal area over the next few weeks so you are more familiar with it before you arrive. The Animal Area is split into 3 main sections: the Jungle, the Animal Learning Center (ALC), and the Barn.

Much like a normal barn on any ordinary farm, we have chickens, sheep & goats, horses, and pigs. Unlike an ordinary farm, we have some more exotic animals like emus and sloths! Our barn area consists of the Barn Building, Nursery, Llama Land, and 4 pastures. 

The Adopt an Animal course available in this area are Back Pastures. Also, these areas are used for extra courses/classes that are not tied to any one location. These are Amazing Animals (offered as both course and class) and Encounters (Nursery & Sloths or Lemur & Wallabies).