AI for Camps

Anyone in the WhatsApp group can post a problem there; the invite comes with the newsletter. The talk happens in the group; what holds up comes back here as a starter kit.

• No problems posted yet. They will be listed here under Operations, Program and Administration as they come from the group.

Software the group builds and keeps. Work in progress.

Camp Management Blueprint

• Camp Commonsv0.1.1MITWork in progressOpen

  An open-source camp management system that runs on your own computer, with a fictional camp loaded.

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  An open-source camp management system. A camp operations app that runs on your own computer, with a fictional camp loaded. It connects the week's group schedule, ranked electives, rosters, cabins, facilities, vehicles, attendance, meal headcounts and camp notes that carry a source, an owner and a review date. It proposes a schedule or an elective allocation; you review the proposal before it is applied, and a move that breaks a rule is refused with the reason. Version 0.1.1, Oct 30: 63 source files, 97 tests. Tested on an Apple silicon Mac with Python 3.14 and Node 24. The app itself calls no AI model and needs no provider key; no login, one operator, no real camp data.

  MIT license. Third-party components keep their own licenses.

  Where it stands (Noah, Oct 30):

  • It currently needs an AI model to populate its fields.
  • A structured import process would make it a valuable offline tool.
  • It needs testing to determine its real-world value.
• The ACA guidesWork in progress

  Two guides built on the American Camp Association's accreditation process guide: one turns each standard into a workflow, one maps the standards to Jewish values and texts.

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  Two guides built on the American Camp Association's accreditation process guide. One turns each of its 176 standards into a workflow an AI assistant can carry with a human in charge, with the risk named per standard; it works offline and is searchable by standard, word, workflow or risk. The other maps the standards to Jewish values and texts, with citations. Built from the 2019 internal edition of the guide; the current 2025 edition is not yet compared. Not an ACA document and not a checklist for an accreditation visit.

  Work in progress. License to be decided.

The research goes out in the weekly. Each issue is a short read.

• AI for Camps Weekly, issue 1Oct 21Read

  Three practical starting points: a project folder on your desktop, a dashboard, and an assistant in Slack.

• Issue 2In draft

  What to expect when you start using Claude Code or Codex.

Subscribers are the first members: they already gave an email, and joining here adds the WhatsApp number.

These kits are for people working inside Claude Code. Subscribe to the weekly with your email and WhatsApp number; the download links come with the welcome.

• Prior-artComes with the newsletterGet the kit

  Get a one-page report on who did it before, who did it well and who did it badly, before you start something.

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  "If there's a bottom to a rabbit hole, it will find the bottom."

  When you copy and paste, your assistant asks you five short questions, one at a time, says what the search will cost in your usage, searches public pages at the depth you chose, and writes the report. Nothing is installed, and nothing is posted or sent in your name.

• The interviewsComes with the newsletterGet the kit

  Build your camp's context through adaptive interviews with the people doing the work, then draft a staff training from it that the same people check.

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  When you copy and paste, your assistant asks which training and which roles, interviews one topic at a time, returns a source register and draft context documents for review, and drafts the training only after someone approves the context. It records no audio and reaches no system.

• The Slack conversation kitComes with the newsletterGet the kit

  Give an assistant working inside Slack its manners: short replies, thread continuity, consent before it acts.

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  When you copy and paste, the assistant reads the instructions and the test scenarios and waits. Nothing connects to Slack until you set that up yourself.

• The photo review kitComes with the newsletterGet the kit

  Turn a folder of full-size JPEG exports into a CSV inventory and numbered contact sheets, originals untouched.

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  When you copy and paste, the assistant reads the kit, asks for the folder, runs the inventory and shows you the sheets. Nothing moves, renames or uploads.

• The photo-film kitComes with the newsletterGet the kit

  Turn one photograph into a short depth film in Blender.

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  When you copy and paste, the assistant reads the kit and asks for the photograph. Rendering needs Blender on your machine.

Each kit: the two lines here, the setup and the details one click away.

What members have found works, each with the name of the person who shared it.

• Make your agent mindful of usage when using Claude Code.

  Take a minute to plan. Triage usage. Save for big asks. Tier to models. Thanks to Scott Black.