Hey, Summer Campers!

You’re sure to have a blast at summer camp. You’ll be spending the days in the sun, running around with your friends, going on long hiking excursions, and…say—you’re going to get pretty thirsty while you’re there. For today’s Blog post I’ll be going over some good hydration information to keep in mind while you’re summer camping.

It should be pretty obvious to all of you how essential water is in our lives and extremely important to our own survival. It makes up 60% of our own bodies. So, you can clearly see then, staying hydrated during your fun in the sun this summer is a very important responsibility.

Fortunately our bodies utilize rather advanced systems that let us know when we need to refuel in order to stay hydrated. There’s a big difference between being thirsty and being dehydrated. When you’re feeling thirsty, you’re simply not as hydrated as you could be or as hydrated as your body would prefer itself to be.

When you go too long sweating in the sun, running around, and exercising without the help of hydration—after your body has made use of every last drop of water or other fluids it still had—is when you suffer dehydration.

You’ll know you’re dehydrated when your mouth is dry, you get a headache, and you start feeling weak, dizzy, sleepy, continuously thirsty, or even feverish. Severe and untreated dehydration can result in full blown fevers, unconsciousness, and eventually death. Without a single drop of water in the harsh environment of a desert, you would be lucky to survive a day! That’s how important water is.

Luckily, dehydration is more-than-treatable should you ever find yourself or someone you know in the situation. Make sure to drink plenty of water along with fresh juice. And if you’re severely dehydrated, you’ll need fluid with electrolytes (as can be found in the clever bottled water brand SmartWater).

So “water” you waiting for? Enjoy your summer. Enjoy your water! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Smart Packers!

Summer camp lasts a long time. Long enough to make the prospect of storing all the things you need for a month-long (or longer) stay away from home a real dilemma. You can’t go more than a month without a lot of these necessities you bring along, whether they are clothes, toiletries, electronics, or other personal items, but your space at camp is going to be very limited.

Fortunately, Everything Summer Camp offers a wide range of options to help allay the storage conundrum. Foot locker trunks in various sizes and colors can be personalized and make the storage issue a fun one. A Create-Your-Own Footlocker Trunk made of steel and birch plywood is customizable, roomy, and sized to fit under your camp bunk. A camera, souvenirs, clothes, and other necessities can easily fit in this foot locker, which can be accessorized with a Glide & Go Tray to hold small items. This birch plywood camp trunk with a baked enamel steel outer covering, nickel-plated trim and screw-fastened hardware offers 3.8 feet of storage space, which is ample room for a kid’s camp essentials. The trunks leave Everything Summer Camp’s warehouse within four business days after your customized order. Foot lockers in other sizes include the Happy Camper (32″ x 18″ x 13.5″), UnderGrad (32″ x 18″ x 16.5″) and Graduate Foot Locker Trunk (32″ x 18″ x 18.5″).

A snap-on duffel bag is another handy and colorful storage option. It doubles packing space and snaps on to a foot locker, giving you an auxiliary means of storing bulky pillows, blankets, and towels and leaving more space in the foot locker for other stuff that matters. Soft, nylon travel packing cubes can save space in your trunk, sparing you the hassle of rummaging through shirt piles and helping you keep your clothes organized. With mesh tops and labeling pouches, you know exactly what’s inside each cube without having to dig through them. The cubes can also serve as a standalone overnight bag. Glide & Go Trays sit inside your trunk and slide from side to side, making the contents of the foot locker easier to grab.

As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Sleepy Heads!

Some kids can sleep through anything. Parents who are blessed to have such deep sleepers can count on their children to fall asleep easily and sleep through the night like clockwork. But, for other kids, changes in their environment and surroundings can have an impact on how well they sleep each night. For many kids, the biggest adjustment to “sleepaway” camp is embodied in the first part of that word: Sleep. For lots of kids, being away from home means having trouble sleeping.

 Whether kids are dealing with anxiety over being away from home, or whether they are overstimulated by their new surroundings and a break from their normal routine back home, sleeping can be a real challenge for some kids at summer camp. One way to remedy this is for them to take time to calm down 30 minutes before getting into bed. They should do their best to avoid any exertion or stimulating activities during this period that might get their adrenaline pumping. It can help to  take their time with pre-bedtime activities like brushing their teeth, washing up and getting into their pajamas.

 Another factor that can preclude a good night’s sleep at summer camp is not psychological or emotional, but rather, environmental. The barracks where your child will be sleeping may not be as comfortable as their room at home and they will be sharing the space with other people, some of whom may snore or toss and turn. The cabin probably lacks air-conditioning and could be very hot, it could be noisy, and there might be more or less light than they're used to. When kids get into bed, they should try to make themselves comfortable with extra pillows or blankets and maybe even a sleeping pad for extra cushioning. A fan can help them stay cool and will help block out some noise. Also, a sleep mask or a night light may help them feel more at home.

It might help for kids trying to sleep well at summer camp to replicate as much of their pre-bedtime routine from home as they are able to. Doing things in the same order they would at home might help: If they wash their face first, then brush their teeth, then use the bathroom before they put on their pajamas at home, they should try doing those things in exactly the same order at camp. Kids are largely creatures of routine, and while camp is, in many respects, a way to actively break them out of their routines, there is no point in messing with a bedtime ritual that works. A well-rested kid is more likely to have a positive attitude, more energy, and a better sleepaway camp experience than one who is always sleep-deprived.

Enjoy your Zzz’s at summer camp and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Lovers!

At Everything Summer Camp, we believe the best job in the world is to work at a summer camp. The reasons to be a camp counselor are endless. In fact, it would be much easier to make a list of reasons NOT to be a counselor as that list would be very short! Working at a summer camp gives you the opportunity to relive your own childhood (or recreate it, if you never got to go to camp yourself). You participate in all the crafts, songs and activities that your campers participate in. S’mores and other treats will most likely become a staple in your diet. In other words, you get to be a little kid all over again. Speaking of little kids, your campers will most likely come to adore you. They will also think that you are one of the coolest adults they know (of the 20 adults they know).

You become responsible for a community that looks up to you and respects you. There aren’t very many things more rewarding than that. In the course of a summer, you get to witness your campers grow and develop new thoughts, ideas and skills. You can teach someone something new that they will keep with them and remember for the rest of their lives. You can watch a shy and nervous child on day one turn into a social butterfly on the last day and know that you had something to do with that. You also have the chance to reinvent yourself. By putting yourself out there, you can push the boundaries of your own shell and focus on skills that you want to cultivate. Working at a summer camp is a great place to hone your communication skills, organizational skills, and of course learn how to tie knots and tie dye. While you are busy “working” to create special memories for your campers, chances are that you’ll leave with some memorable experiences yourself.

At Everything Summer Camp, we have a wide selection of everything your campers need to make summer camp memorable and fun but we also have everything that you need as a counselor to make sure that you have some memories to take away with you as well. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Parents!

Staying organized can be a challenge for adults, and it’s no different for young campers. Imagine your child is at summer camp, and it’s time for the long hike into the woods. 

The sunscreen and insect repellent are somewhere, but they just can’t find them in their bag or on the floor. All the other kids are walking toward the trailhead. It’s time to go, so they leave without it, and when the counselor asks whether everybody remembered to put on sunscreen and insect repellent, they’re too embarrassed to do anything other than stay silent.

Your child will be more likely to enjoy their time at summer camp, and you’ll feel more confident about their time away from home if you help them to avoid situations like this.

We’ve developed five tips for staying organized at summer camp. These are easy to do, and don’t require you or your child to be a summer camp expert!

1. Do as Much Camp Preparation Ahead of Time as Possible.

Begin making lists and shopping months ahead of time to make sure you have your bags, lists and labels finished with plenty of time to spare. If you need a trusted guide for all your camp preparation questions, make sure to check out our Summer Camp Handbook.

Remember the time you were upset with your child for waiting until the last minute to do that homework assignment? This is an excellent chance to model the benefits of preparation.

2. Have Organizer Bags, Containers, or Compartments for Camp.

Make it easy on your child to pick out clothes and find other items by using bags, containers, or compartments.

For smaller children and shorter camp stays, you can put each day’s outfit into a separate small bag, like packing cubes. These reusable packing containers make keeping clothes organized so easy for kids. 

When it comes to toiletries, medications, batteries, and anything else that needs to be easily identified, one and two gallon plastic freezer bags make an excellent affordable option you may already have around the house. Even better, you can label these plastic bags with permanent markers.

If you’re planning a lot of camping, we recommend a pop-up soft trunk. Soft trunks feature multiple pockets and compartments to keep clothing and gear neatly organized. 

Take the time to walk through with your child how to best organize their main luggage for camp once you’ve decided everything to pack. This will help them to keep in mind the system they have for remaining organized even if it gets a little messy by the end of camp.

3. Pack as Little as Needed for Camp.

The truth is over-packing for camp is typically the result of parental anxiety. Don’t spend too much time and energy obsessing about being prepared for every possibility and worrying that your child won’t have enough clothes. Younger children in particular won’t care if they end up wearing the same clothes more than once.

Remember, the more stuff your child has to keep track of, the more likely they are to lose something.

4. Label Everything Packed for Camp.

Packed as little as needed? Great, now it’s time for labeling. When you label all the items you send up, your child is less likely to lose them, and there is less of a chance of a dispute between two children about to whom something belongs.

Labeling individual bags is a good idea, too. That will increase the chance the items in each bag, whether toiletries or medicine, will make it back into the right bag when your child is done using them.

5. Send a Checklist to Summer Camp.

Sending a list of everything your camper brought to camp will make it easier for them to pack up when it’s time to leave. 

You can further organize checklist items into categories like: clothing, toiletries, bedding, and personal belongings. This can make the repacking process much smoother for a young camper. The most important thing is to make sure you and your camper both understand each item on the checklist.

Sometimes there are some items your camper won’t have to bring back from camp. Consider making a repacking list that excludes these items that may end up used up or thrown away before it’s time to pack for departure.

Stay Organized and Have Fun at Summer Camp.

Staying organized will help your camper focus on having fun at Summer Camp. Less time trying to find the right clothes or gear, and more time making friends and memories. And as a parent, you won’t have to worry about them accidentally leaving behind any expensive camp gear or their favorite clothing.

We love a win-win like that. As always, thanks for reading and happy camping!

- John, Everything Summer Camp