Almost everyone has experience a kid’s camp one way or another. Whether it be you attended camp for four years and have the friendship bracelets to prove it, or you have been a counselor and have the weird camp songs downloaded on your phone to prove it, camp is one of those things that practically everyone has experienced.

I have recently come to the realization that a lot more goes into camp then one would think. There is thought behind every little bedazzled name tag and icebreaker activity. Camp counselors prepare for absolutely everything, but yet somehow still seem unprepared. So after my experience as a camp counselor for three years, I thought I would try to compile a list of some tips I certainly did not know at first.

1. Always have absurd amounts of hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes.

Helping a camper at the bathroom? Wiping up the mysterious liquid that somehow ended up on your group's table after lunch? Yeah, you may never know exactly what that is, but having an endless supply of Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer, you'll never truly have to know.

2. Download every song that requires a specific dance onto your phone.

Campers do not like down time. Down time means restlessness and restlessness means somebody will probably end up crying. By having songs like "Watch Me" or "Hit the Quan" on your phone and readily available, your campers will be whipping and nae naeing the day away. And hopefully no one is crying.

3. Always have small candies in your bag.

I'm not saying bribery works, but I'm also not saying it doesn't. You shouldn't give candies away for every single good thing a camper does throughout the day, but if they finally remember say please after telling them to use their manners for the fifth time that day, then maybe they earned a couple of skittles.

4. Get fit-- because you aren't always going to be walking.

Campers don't always like to follow, sometimes they like tolead. A camper just broke into a dead sprint to the pool? Good thing you've been working on your 100 meter time, because now so are you. That camper just jumped into the pool? Great, you love swimming, especially when you're not in a swimsuit. But seriously, you will find out how fit you actually are when you are forced to keep up with children all day. (Trust me, it's not as fit as you thought you were...)

Working at a kid’s camp has given me some of the best and worst memories of my summers. While now I know what to bring and some ins and outs of the camp system, camp is something new every day. Being a camp counselor may be one of the most stressful things I have ever done, but I've loved every minute of it.