Onboarding New Families Part 2 - with Jackie Port and Maria Horner - The Day Camp Pod #143

Day Camp PodPodcast
Written by Guest User

Day Camp Best Practices for New Campers: Preview Days, Staff Briefings & First Day Follow Up

Creating a positive first time camper experience takes thoughtful planning, clear communication, and a team that’s ready to make every family feel welcome. In part 2, Jackie Port and Maria Horner share practical strategies for preparing new campers and their families, from preview days and staff briefings to dedicated camper ambassadors and early parent follow ups. Learn how to get the right information into the right hands, ease first day nerves, and build consistent onboarding practices that help families feel confident choosing your camp!

  • 01:33 Preview Day Blueprint

  • 04:25 Buses Ease Anxiety

  • 05:51 Meet and Greet Options

  • 07:05 Open House Booths

  • 09:51 Camper Profiles and AI

  • 15:21 Briefing Frontline Staff

  • 17:15 Reports and New Camper Flags

  • 19:00 Staff Briefing Rhythm

  • 20:34 Sharing Info With Discretion

  • 20:53 Helping First Time Parents

  • 24:19 Mental Health Forms

  • 27:23 First Day Check Ins

  • 29:06 Ambassadors For New Campers

  • 31:27 Surveys And Metrics

  • 33:51 Consistent Session Onboarding

-

Your Hosts:

-

Your Guests:

Sponsors:

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:

  • Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS)

    • Looking to elevate your camp experience? For over 25 years, Commercial Recreation Specialists has been transforming camps with water inflatables, Splashpads, playgrounds, and more! Boost your programming, drive registrations, and attract more campers. Our team of Recreation Specialists is here to help you design the ultimate space. Let’s take your camp to the next level – because we’re serious about FUN! Find out more at https://crs4rec.com/

  • Camptivities

    • Building the perfect camp schedule takes experience — and when a key staff member leaves, that knowledge can disappear. Camptivities protects your institutional camp knowledge and makes sure every camper gets the schedule you promised. Built by camp people, for camp people. Learn more at camptivities.com.

  • Campminder

    • Campminder has the most robust offerings of features out there. But more importantly, every feature works together to create a full, seamless system that helps camps run more efficiently. Visit them today at campminder.com

Please review and subscribe!

If you’ve gotten even one good thing from the Day Camp Pod, we would be so grateful if you left us a review and subscribed to this show in your favourite Podcast app.

It’s so easy!

Just click here: https://ratethispodcast.com/dcp‍ ‍

Thanks, Camp Pro!

Guest User
Next

Onboarding New Families Part 1 - with Jackie Port and Maria Horner - The Day Camp Pod #142