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LIT Outdoor Leadership Program

Cost: $490 (with potential to earn money throughout the year)
Open to: All Camp Becket and Chimney Corners Camp LITs

Develop your skills as a leader by gaining hands on experience working with high school students, college students and adults. Experiential education for our newest LITs, this program will give you hands-on training and experience that will develop your direct and indirect skills as a leader.

Run over the academic year following your summer as an LIT, the Outdoor Leadership Program is comprised of the following. Dates marked with an asterisk are mandatory for program graduation.

2012-2013 Academic Year

Labor Day Weekend (August 31-September 3)* (Mandatory)
Orientation, Meet your Mentor and Training

Introduction and Orientation to the program

-Move into your accommodation
-Discuss program goals & expectations, policies
-Review timeline of the program

Meet your Mentor
-Each trainee will have a mentor for the academic year. Your mentor will be a Senior Program Instructor with Berkshire Outdoor Center. Your mentor will train you in hands-on teaching skills; leadership, ecology and adventure recreation curriculum; and will evaluate your performance. On this opening weekend, you will get to know your mentor, and your mentor will assess your leadership style to tailor the program to you.

Getting to know other trainees
-The program is open to Camp Becket and Chimney Corners Camp LITs and there will be day and evening activities designed to get to know one another and develop a cohesive team.

Commencement of Training
- Berkshire Outdoor Center Perspective Tours of Becket and Chimney
- Introduction to Group Games
- Overview of Trainee Manual
- Introduction to Teambuilding
- Basic Behavior Management Techniques
- Age Appropriate Teaching, Teaching Strategies and Introduction to Lesson Plans
- Introduction to Low Ropes
- Child Abuse Prevention - Training and Assessment

September 14-16* (Mandatory) - Training/Shadow

- Low Ropes Facilitation
- Advanced Teambuilding
- Introduction to High Ropes
- High Ropes Belay Training
- Large Group Management
- Shadowing Your Mentor

October 5-7* (Mandatory) - Training/Shadow

- High Ropes Facilitation
- Advanced High Ropes Belay Training
- Alpine Tower Belaying
- Presenting to Large Groups/Speaking with a Microphone and Managing an Audience
- Teaching Service Learning
- Shadowing your Mentor
- Working with your first group

October 26-28 - LIT Weekend (Optional - Fees Included)

- An opportunity for you to spend with all LITs both past and present. This is a relaxing weekend where you get to play at camp and is completely optional

November 2-4 - Work Weekend - (Optional - Paid)

- Working directly with your own group of 12 children, this is an opportunity for you to lead 12 children in service learning at the camps you love so much.
- You will be paid $180 for the weekend

January 6-8 - Winter Training (Optional)

- This is an optional Winter Adventure training that you are required to take if you would like to work winter weekends for Berkshire Outdoor Center
- Snow/Winter Safety
- How to teach Cross-Country Skiing
- Tubing Hill Management
- Nature/Ecology Snowshoeing
- Snowshoeing for Fitness

Jan-Mar - (Optional - Paid if trained as above)

- Earn between $80 and $180 per weekend working with elementary school, high school, college and adult groups on weekends throughout the winter
- Earn up to $600 for the week of Winter Camp as a Winter Camp Counselor

April 13-15* (Mandatory) - Training

- Pond, Beaver and Forest Ecology
- Low Ropes/High Ropes Facilitation Review
- Waterfront and Boating Safety
- Behavior Management Review
- Teaching Strategy Review

April 27-29 - Work Weekend - (Optional - Paid)

- Working directly with your own group of 12 children, this is an opportunity for you to lead 12 children in service learning at the camps you love so much.
- You will be paid $180 for the weekend

May 15-June 15 -  (Optional - Paid)

- Earn between $80 and $180 per weekend working with elementary school, high school, college and adult groups on weekends throughout the spring

For more information, call us on 413 623 8991 or chat with your Camp Director during your LIT summer.

Registration