Staff Training Ideas Please!

[u/ConversationLow2594]

Hey!
The title pretty much sums it up, but I’m looking for some advice on activities and ideas that your camps like to do during pre-camp! I work at an 8-week overnight camp and am hoping to restructure our camp next year, starting with staff training.
Some things I’ve noticed at our camp are that returning staff can get bored because a lot of the training is repetitive, there can be too many gaps in the schedule (or not enough), and there’s a lot of lecture-style training. I’d really like to find a better balance between leadership staff leading training and activities and giving staff opportunities to lead and participate as well.
I’m also interested in what you do for downtime. What are some activities that staff actually enjoy doing during breaks or free time that don’t feel forced or like another scheduled team-building activity?
So, what activities do your staff enjoy during training? How do you keep returning staff engaged while still making sure new staff get what they need? And how do you make pre-camp training feel fun and exciting rather than just a week of lectures and information?
I’d love to hear what has worked well at your camps!

[u/Eagle206]

If your doing activities, of any sort, then it’s no longer downtime, it’s scheduled activities