Today on the show we’re talking with Gem, who has put together a great list of 5 camp -inspired small changes you can make in your family life that will improve your mental and physical health. She’s written a blog about this same topic. As we talk about in the show, there is research supporting the process of making these changes from the Gottman …

Today on the POG-Cast, we’re thrilled to welcome one of our favorite humans, the award winning Sis! Sis was a 4 year camper and just finished her 3rd year as a Group Counselor. She is also the winner of 2023’s Coach’s award. She and Soy chatted about homesickness, why she loves working with our youngest campers, and advice for new scared/excited ca…

We’re kicking off Season 6 of the Gold Arrow Camp POG-Cast with an interview with a person who we believe has been around camp longer than anyone else, Manny Vezie’s daughter, Diana Bunney. This interview is also available on our YouTube as a video if you would prefer to watch it! Soy also promised a link if you’d like to send someone a WOW, so you…

We don’t have a patreon and so far Spotify hasn’t offered the POG-Cast an exclusive deal. We’ll never put our episodes behind a paywall, but we thought we should do what so many other podcasts do and share a bonus episode! On this special episode of the Gold Arrow Camp POG-Cast, Soy and Sunshine got rid of our usual format and just talked about cam…

Episode 70 In this episode, we’re joined from across the pond by Hilly, who is entering his third year on our staff. Hilly and Soy had a great chat about the benefits of camp (other than the weather) as well as a classic geometry-based Joke of the Cast. If you’d like to see Hilly, you can check out our Meet The Staff page and you can listen to his …

Episode 69 On this episode of the podcast, we reunite two camp friends live on the POG-Cast! Spotlight and Penguin are two great friends who didn’t know each other (even though they are both long-time campers and Junior Counselors) before training week of 2021 when they became fast friends. We chat about making friends, GACting, Arts & Crafts, and …

Episode 68. Chai is a long-time GAC staff member. She’s met innumerable campers in her time leading backpacking trips and working in the wellness center. Now she’s getting to see camp through the eyes of her nieces who came to camp for the first time this summer. In honor of the Grammys there’s a musically themed joke of the cast from a very please…

Episode 67. Our guest this time on the POG-Cast is a fan favorite: Mariachi. He started as an international camper, then was a Junior Counselor, and spent 2021 as a counselor at Rocks & Ropes. He and Soy have a wide-ranging conversation, discussing what it’s like to come to camp for the first time in another country to which Bear Trap counselor mak…

Episode 66. This time on the POG-Cast we have one of our long-time staffers. A former camper, a lover of baseball and fishing, a leader of the OLC, and a boat driver extraordinaire, Taz was a really fun chat and a great way for Soy to slide back into the POG-Cast for Season 5! Joke of the Cast is here to help brighten any day too! Share Tweet Pinte…

Episode 65 In the triumphant return of the interview-based POG-Cast, Sunshine sits down with sister and brother Squid and Foxtrot to discuss what it’s like to come to camp and also to work with your sibling. Squid and Foxtrot were just one of the 18 sets of siblings we had on our camp staff this summer. You can see the other siblings at https://gol…

Frames and Cabin 3 host this week’s episode of WHADDA WEEK! We’ve started off Mini Camp/Shaver Specialty Week with tons of fun and we look forward to packing our next few days together with activities and special events. Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Week! August 23, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Cam…

Bravo, Soap, and the members of Cabin 24 (with a guest appearance by some of Cabin 22) host this week’s episode of WHADDA WEEK! Find out what’s happening at GAC this second week of Session #4, learn about some highlights of camp so far for these kids, and hear about some of the friendship skills that they’ve been practicing. Share Tweet Pinterest S…

Bravo and Cabin 24 host this week’s episode of Whadda Week. Find out what’s going on this second week of Session #3, 2021! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Week! August 2, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

 Our Session 3 JCs (Junior Counselors) host this week’s episode of Whadda Week! Get to know them and hear their goals for Session 3. Links: Junior Counselor Program info Subscribe to Gold Arrow Camp’s W…

It’s the second week of Session #2 here at Gold Arrow Camp. With help from Hooper and Sunshine, Olivia, Hadley, Lindsay, & Dove (Cabin 18) host this week’s episode of Whadda Week! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Week! July 18, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Child…

Hosts Bravo and Frames, along with Cabin 27, kick off Session #2 with this week’s episode of WHADDA WEEK! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Week! July 12, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

What’s happening this week at GAC? Find out on WHADDA WEEK – Your weekly look into life at camp! We’re halfway through Session 1. Here’s an update from campers on what’s happening this week and what we’re learning about being BETTER TOGETHER and friendship at GAC. Listen to more episodes about camp at https://goldarrowcamp.com/podcast-2/. Share Twe…

Today’s Whadda Day! features Cabin 0 before they departed for Shaver. Read more about today’s friendship skill! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Day! June 28, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

It’s the first day of Session 1, 2021! This is WHADDA DAY! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Day! June 27, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

It’s the HAPPY FATHER’S DAY edition of Whadda Day, featuring some of the Shaver Watersports Specialty Campers! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Day! June 20, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

It’s the first day of GAC 2021. Cabin 28 kicks off Whadda Day! Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Whadda Day! June 13, 2021 appeared first on Gold Arrow Camp - California Summer Camp and Traditional Sleepaway Camps for Children.Oleh Gold Arrow Camp

Episode 64 Soy is joined by a woman who talked her mom into sending her to camp at age 6 and has been coming ever since! Echo came to camp on the shirttails of her older sister Nox and has learned everything from independence to how much she loves being unplugged in nature. Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Echo appeared first on Gold Arro…

Episode 63. Soy is joined on the POG-Cast by longtime camper and brand new staff member Penguin. She and Soy talk about the Junior Counselor program, what it’s like to have a sibling at camp, and how GAC has changed her life. Soy also delivers a really great home improvement-based Joke of the Day. Share Tweet Pinterest Share Email The post Penguin …

Episode 61. For this very special episode of the POG-Cast we were joined by long time parenting and camp guru Michael Thompson, Ph.D. to talk about independence, life success, raising children in the modern world, and how camp can help with all of that. Dr. Thompson is the author of Homesick and Happy, which we offer to send to all of our first-yea…

BE YOU Week 10: Be your Best Self “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” -Oprah Winfrey For many years we have heard both campers and staff say that camp is where they can be their most true, authentic selves. Being your true self is an important value and we want you to celebrate your dif…

BE YOU Week 9: Change the World “This world needs somebody like you.” – Anthem Lights At GAC, we believe in bringing positive changes to the world. In fact, it’s one of our core values that our campers and staff leave GAC ready to be leaders by bringing positive changes to the world. There is a lot going on in the world today. We can choose to comp…

BE YOU Week 8: Get Stronger “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” – Tony Robbins There are many ways to get stronger. We get stronger physically by exercising or playing sports, but we can also get stronger mentally or emotionally by pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones. Sometimes we need to test the waters and see how…

BE YOU Week 7: Celebrate What Makes you Different “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss One of the most important things you can do in your life is to be yourself by being different. Your differences and quirks are the coolest things about you. Let’s embrace our differences to truly be our best selves! Camp is one of the best pl…

BE YOU Week 6: Positive Self Talk “The more I like me, the less I want to pretend to be other people.” – Jamie Lee Curtis The self-talk you do in your own head can help or hurt you. If you are talking negatively to yourself, it will hurt your confidence and your self-love. If you are talking yourself up and speaking positive things, you will in tur…

BE YOU Week 5: Build Others Up “Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.” – Kid President One way we can be our best selves is by bringing out the best traits in others. When we’re at our best, we feel confident in ourselves and don’t feel the need to put others down. Building others up is a great way to boost the feelings of others wh…

BE YOU Week 4: Appreciate, Don’t Compare Comparison is the thief of joy. – Theodore Roosevelt We are so excited to have Chelster join Sunshine this week for our #GACbeyou podcast. This week, we are talking about focusing on the qualities we really like in ourselves and trying to refrain from comparing ourselves to others. It’s our human tendency to…

BE YOU Week 3: What Stresses you Out? What Calms you Down? “Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt What are things that really stress you out or make you feel not so great? It is good to identify these things so that we can try to avoid them or work on strategies to manage them. This week, …

BE YOU Week 2: Find Your “Flow” “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl This week for our BE YOU theme, we’re focusing on finding activities that get you into a state of “flow.” Flow is a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi (pronounced “cheeks sent me h…

BE YOU Week 1: You’re One of a Kind! “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson Have you ever thought about how amazing it is that there is no one else who is exactly like you? You are unique, original, and one of a kind! This week for our BE YOU theme, we’r…

Episode 61 On this episode of the POG-Cast, Soy gave up the host’s seat to be interviewed by Sunshine (of the Sunshine Parenting podcast) about our offering for Middle School campers this summer, GALAMS. GALAMS is a program designed around Gold Arrow Camp’s Core Values and how campers can use those values to build their own leadership skills. The p…

Episode 60 On this very special episode of the GAC POG-Cast, Soy sat down with Sunshine who sat down with Delta to talk about our awesome new online leadership program for high school students, GALA. The program, designed for 9-12th graders features 3 1-hour meetings a week, facilitated by awesome GAC counselors who have been working with our teen …

Episode 59 On this episode of the POG-Cast, Soy sits down with our Director of Parent and Camper Services, Chelster. Chelster has been with Gold Arrow Camp literally as long as she’s been alive. It was a real treat to talk with her about what she loves about camp and the impact camp has on kids. As usual, there’s a Joke of the Cast and a GACspirati…

Episode 58 On this episode, it’s a Morning Assembly reunion, as Evergreen joins Soy to talk about camp. Evergreen has a long history with camp and has experienced it as both a staff member and a parent. She has great insights about what makes camp special, which was really cool to hear. Soy shares some of his Dad’s work history in the Joke of the C…

Episode 57. On this episode, Soy and Birks sat down to chat about camp. They covered many topics, but a key part of the discussion was about the job of being a camp counselor, and what you can learn in that job that is applicable outside of camp. Birks even shared why she thought that being a counselor was better training than being an intern. Ther…

Episode 56 Today was a special day for Soy because he got to have one of his best camp friends on the POG. Tank, who worked alongside Soy on the operations team at camp and who is a vital part of Morning Assembly, joined the POG-Cast from Vail, Colorado to talk about coming to camp, living in the mountains, and the most requested song at dances and…

Episode 55 Lyric’s back! The POG-Cast’s all-time most featured guest, Rocks & Ropes Counselor Lyric, is back! This time he and Soy talked about what it’s like to have your family at camp. They also got to talk about how camp allows kids to be leaders. Soy lands a solid Joke of the Cast and there’s a New Year’s appropriate GACspiration. Share Tweet …

Episode 54. Today Soy is joined on the POG-Cast by longtime camper and staff member Dobby. They have a wonderful chat about what it’s like to do the same job at camp that her dad did under Manny Vezie and discuss memories at camp. There’s an aquatic Joke of the Cast and a GACspiration that asks you to take some action! Share Tweet Pinterest Share E…

Episode 53. Today we’re joined on the POG-Cast by Gold Arrow Camp’s Chief Visionary Officer, Sunshine! She talks about writing books, what she loves about camp, and how she and Monkey came to run camp. It’s easily the longest episode of the POG ever, but it’s well worth the time. There’s also a garden implement for the Joke of the Cast and Sunshine…

Episode 52 This week Soy is having a small Morning Assembly reunion as the co-host of the Squiggy show, Squatch, is his guest. They talk about what it’s like to portray one of the planet’s most famous singers on the Big Campfire stage as well as the amazing power of 7-year-old girls. There’s also a reptile-themed Joke of the Cast and a GACspiration…

Episode 51 This time on the POG-Cast, we are joined by a former camper who was a photographer at camp for 2019, Swish! Swish has great insights as someone who consumed camp pictures when she was a camper, but also as a person who takes those pictures now as a camp photographer. There’s also a J.R.R. Tolkien based GACspiration and a Joke of the Cast…

Episode 50 For the 50th episode of the POG-Cast, Soy was joined by Crash, who had amazing thoughts to share about the connections he made with campers. Unplugging and connecting face to face is one of our core values at GAC, and it was amazing to hear Crash share about the connections he made this summer. Soy also rounded up special guests for the …

Episode 49 Sailing instructor Oyster joins Soy from Leeds University in England. They had a long discussion about the way camp allows campers to really be in charge. They also talked about the benefits of cultural exchange in the J-1 summer camp counselor visa program. Soy shares a friendship tip and a joke of the cast! Share Tweet Pinterest Share …

Episode 48 On this week’s POG-Cast, Soy and Magic sit down and chat about what camp holds for campers that come back year after year, and how Magic ended up working with a co-counselor she first met when they were both 7! There’s a great Dad joke for the Joke of the Cast, a new friendship theme, and a great GACspiration. Share Tweet Pinterest Share…

Episode 47. Luna, who is a student at the Art Institute of Chicago as well as being an Arts & Crafts Counselor at GAC, stopped by the POG-Cast to chat about art, creation, and her favorite parts of working at camp. In addition to being an Arts & Crafts Counselor, Luna was also a Group Counselor for a session in 2019, so she had great insights into …

Episode 46 This week, Soy is joined by Hilly, who came to camp on a J-1 Summer Camp Counselor Visa last year. They talk about what Hilly learned about the United States, the hardest and easiest parts of being a Group Counselor, and the POG-Cast speed round. There’s a reptile based Joke of the Cast and an artistic GACspiration. Share Tweet Pinterest…