All staff members receive 8 days of extensive training prior to the campers’ arrival. We spend focused time together discussing:
- general child development and the particular characteristics and needs of camp-age boys
- guidelines for safe supervision
- strategies for working with different age groups
- Positive Counseling, a systematic technique through which we empower boys to learn how to approach and manage life’s challenges
- strategies for working with homesick campers
- handling matters of minor discipline
- more relevant and necessary topics for a successful season
A general session in activity lesson-planning run by a professional educator is supplemented by activity-specific training with our various program heads.
The Nature Instruction Clinic is a pre-season, 5½-day-long national training program that puts Camp Pemigewassett at the forefront of the camping world’s commitment to environmental education. The clinic is designed for instructors at day camps, resident camps, outdoor education centers, docents and seasonal staff at nature centers and national and state parks, and for select students from the University of New Haven (for which they receive academic credit). 
