Need tips on surviving this summer camp job
I normally love working summer camp but throughout this summer, I’ve faced situations where I’m expected to manage impossibly large groups on my own. Every week, I have repeatedly noticed that I had to manage over 20 campers all on my own, and instruct them art. I work at an art studio, so our camp runs a bit differently. Every four days of the week, at least one camper cries and me being the only staff, I’m expected to deal with this situation and intervene. Sometimes, I have other staff scheduled but they rarely help me and just sit on the side to either varnish art or do something completely unrelated to the kids. One time, my fellow colleague was washing up dirty art material when a kid started having a meltdown. I had to redirect her and because of this, the kid had the “biggest meltdown that her parents had seen” (directly quoted). I’m also left on my own to deal with parent complaints as well, and my manager although she’s scheduled with me, she sits at the back. I’m getting very overwhelmed by the sheer size and the pressure, and I really don’t know what to do. What are your thoughts?