By Rob McCoy, summer program coordinator
Traditionally, my summers are spent on adventure trips all around the state with Wander Wisconsin, but for safety purposes we had to cancel our travel programs this year. When the initial safer-at-home order happened in March, we immediately started making adjustments to plan for what a lingering pandemic might do to our programs. How do you work together with another camper while staying distanced? How can you congratulate your friend without a high five? How do you focus on your activities when you are on alert for others in your personal bubble?
Summer camps have been a large part of my life, and they have taught me to be ready for change. The summer team hit the ground running to come up with a positive summer experience, all while keeping these questions in mind.
We worked hard to develop lesson plans that could hopefully be universally enjoyed by the wide range of youths we have in program. The low numbers in pods allowed the counselors more time to develop those quality relationships that make a memorable summer. Summer 2020 has definitely been memorable for me, and I look forward to using the lessons we learned from this summer to improve all the ways we serve our youth in the future.
