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SUMMER CAMP DAILY BRIEF
The Summer Camp Daily Brief is published every morning, bringing fresh ideas and inspiration to camp professionals all week long. Mondays explore Leadership & Staffing, while Tuesdays dive into Operations & Systems for smoother, smarter camp management. On Wednesdays, our Professional Development series draws lessons from The Summer Camp MBA. Thursdays celebrate Camper Experience & Program Design, and Fridays look ahead with Industry Trends & Forward Look. Each weekend, we shift gears: Saturdays feature AI in Action, highlighting real-world tools transforming camps today, and Sundays offer the AI & Camp Weekly Summary, a thoughtful reflection on how the week’s AI news connects to the future of camp life.
Summer Camp Daily Brief
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 21, 2025
The story everyone's talking about Picture this: Over 5,000 kids in grades 3 through 6, spread across Canada, all participating in a massive study. The researchers wanted to know one simple thing, does screen time actually affect how well kids perform in school? The answer? A resounding yes. The study found that as screen time increased, reading and math scores measurably declined. We're not talking about toddlers glued to tablets here. These are 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12-year-ol
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 21
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 20, 2025
Good morning from camp world. Today's brief circles around one theme that's becoming impossible to ignore: how we're handling AI and automation with kids. The news keeps pointing to the same truth: tech companies are scrambling to put guardrails on AI interactions with young people, which means we need to get ahead of this at camp. Story of the Day Meta Introduces New Parental Controls for Teen-AI Chats Meta just announced new parental controls launching early next year tha
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 20
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 17, 2025
Good morning, camp world! Today we're diving into something that might sound a bit futuristic, but it's happening right now in your campers' digital lives. AI video tools are getting scary good at creating realistic content, and that means we need to get smart about how we handle video creation and media literacy at camp. Ready to tackle this head-on? Let's break it down. Story of the Day: AI Video Tools Are Here (And Kids Are Using Them) The Safe AI for Children Alliance (
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 17
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 16, 2025
Good morning from camp world! Today's theme keeps circling back to one truth we feel in our bones: kids thrive when they're solving real problems with real people, not chasing feeds. As we dive into fall and start planning for next summer, a few fresh reads underscore exactly why our cabins, fields, and rituals matter more than ever. Let's dig in. The Feed Keeps Getting Harsher for Kids Here's something that'll make your stomach turn: a new report highlighted how often teen
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 16
The Summer Camp Daily Brief - October 15, 2025
The Story Everyone's Talking About A recent study shows most teens use AI, and many worry it can make work feel too easy, erode creativity, and weaken problem solving. Your Gen Z staff live in that same tension. They grew up with AI, but they also want to grow their own judgment. You can see it in how they plan programs, make decisions, and connect with campers. Why This Matters for Your Camp Staff Have you noticed a counselor ask AI to plan an evening activity, then wonde
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 15
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 14, 2025
The Story Everyone's Talking About A new Stanford study made headlines this week for something beautifully simple: a mother's voice can literally reshape her baby's brain. Researchers found that premature infants who regularly heard their mom's voice: live, not recorded: showed faster development in the brain's language centers. You can read the full study at the Stanford Medicine website . Even though most of our campers are long past infancy, this discovery lands close to
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 14
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 13, 2025
Here's what caught our attention today: AI is becoming the new "camp counselor" in classrooms, but that makes real camp experiences more important than ever. Let's dive into what this means for your staff and campers. The Big Story: AI Tutors Go to College California Community Colleges just rolled out AI-powered learning assistants across 116 campuses, serving 2.1 million students. The results? A 20% boost in GPA, 13% rise in final scores, and 36% increase in student motiva
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 13
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 12, 2025
What's Happening Right Now Kids are growing up with AI everywhere. Instagram's leadership is already warning parents that "seeing isn't believing" anymore when it comes to videos. Meanwhile, experts worry that too much AI reliance might hurt kids' natural curiosity and problem-solving skills. Here's the reality: 85% of teachers and 86% of students used AI tools this school year. That means your campers are already familiar with these tools: and they're coming to camp with ce
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 12
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 11, 2025
Topics: AI & automation | Gen Z & Alpha | staff training | child development What's Happening Right Now The world of youth development is shifting faster than ever, and summer camps aren't immune to these changes. Let's dive into what's happening this week that directly impacts how we think about camp programming, staff training, and engaging today's kids. A new Pew Research Center study shows many parents believe they're not doing a great job managing screen time: even whi
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 11
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 10, 2025
Happy Friday, camp pros! Today's brief dives deep into the AI wave that's reshaping not just schools, but summer camps too. We're breaking down what you need to know about Generation Z and Alpha expectations, plus actionable strategies to keep your camp ahead of the curve. 1. AI in Education: Promise and Peril : and What That Means for Camps The numbers are in, and they're pretty staggering. A recent survey from the Center for Democracy & Technology shows that 86% of studen
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 10
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 9, 2025
Good morning, camp professionals! It's Thursday, October 9th, and while the leaves are changing, the camp world keeps spinning. Today's brief covers three stories shaping how we think about staff development, technology integration, and the evolving workforce landscape. Let's dive in. Story 1: LinkedIn Study Reveals "Soft Skills Gap" Costing Organizations $1.2 Trillion Annually Yesterday, LinkedIn's Global Workforce Report dropped some eye-opening numbers. Their analysis of
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 10
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 8, 2025
Hey camp family! October's here, which means we're deep in that sweet spot of reflection and planning. While the summer feels like yesterday, this is when the real magic happens: when we take everything we learned and start building an even better experience for next year. This week's been buzzing with conversations about three major shifts happening in our world. Let's dive into what's got camp directors and staff talking. AI-Powered Staff Training Is Having Its Moment Rem
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 10
The Summer Camp Daily Brief – October 7, 2025
Today's Headlines Are Speaking Directly to Your Staff Room Three major stories dropped today that should have every camp director paying attention. LinkedIn's CEO just doubled down on what we've been seeing all summer: skills matter more than degrees, especially for Gen Z workers. IBM unveiled AI tools designed to streamline workplace operations. And schools everywhere are wrestling with how to balance AI integration with teaching real-world skills that can't be automated. S
Matthew Kaufman
Oct 10
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