Hey Camp Fans!

Welcome again to another Throwback Thursday Blog post in which we link back to a past post that we feel is so valuable we want to get this information in front of you again. Today’s Throwback post goes back about a year ago to a post written by Dr. Thurber including pointers about odds and ends packing.

This post gives you great pointers on, not just what to pack, but how to pack for camp. And most of all not to pack FOR your kids, but rather ALONG with them. It’s all right here on Everything Summer Camp’s Blog post from May 28 of last year.

- John

Hey, Campers!

Last week I talked about the importance of making friends at summer camp. As I briefly mentioned in that post, making friends at camp may sound daunting or even a little scary to some of us who may be on the shier side. That’s why I’d like to take some time today, to talk about how easy it is to make friends at camp. It’s so easy you might not even realize it when it’s happening!

Making friends at camp will truly be one of the most effortless parts of your summer camp stay—even if you’re a little (or extremely) shy. One of the best things to keep in mind is that no one is going to push you away if you give them a friendly hello. Introducing yourself to the people around you is a great way to start making friends.

I know I was rather shy during my days at summer camp, but even so, it would have been pretty much impossible not to make any friends while I was there. You start talking to your cabin mates and before you know it, you know everyone’s name.

The topic may concern you now, but that’s just your anticipation getting in your head. The truth is that, once you’re there at camp, you won’t even think about it. You’ll naturally start talking to other kids and become fast friends with them.

Your cabin mates are the people with whom you’ll spend most of your time. Every morning, every night, every meal, and all throughout, these people will be there to talk to, laugh with, and share the summer camp experience. In fact, while you’re making all your friends at camp, you may even make the grand discovery that you’re not as shy as you think you are.

Next week, I’ll talk about other discoveries you might make about yourself at camp and why camp is able to fuel these discoveries.

Thanks for reading, Camp Fans.

- John

Hey, Campers!

There’s a lot that can be said about summer camp, but first and foremost, you can say that camp is FUN! It’s literally designed for fun with activities, teamwork, and most of all making friends. In fact, making friends is one of the most important parts about camp!

The act of making friends at camp may sound daunting or even a little scary to some of us who may be on the shier side, but making friends at camp is actually one of the easiest parts of your summer camp stay.

As easy as it is, making friends truly is the ticket to enjoying your camp stay. Once you make friends with your cabin mates (which starts happening instantly) you have a band of people that you can talk to, laugh with, play with, and do everything else with for the remainder of your stay!

Socializing and getting to know the other kids around you naturally keeps your mind focused on your enjoyment of camp and you really don’t think about how much you miss your dog or wish you were home. It’s the best way to prevent homesickness! Sure, you still miss home, you just don’t dwell on it.

Sharpening your social skills and making friends is what summer camp’s all about! A good camp provides a world in which kids meet kids on neutral ground and respect one another. Whether it takes teamwork to finish a task or simply joining in on a mean game of Capture-the-Flag, connecting to the community of your camp will impart life lessons to you.

Socialization and friendships may be what camp is all about, but it’s also about you getting to know YOURSELF better. See, when you’re away from mom and dad, you make decisions differently. You even behave differently and may discover things about yourself that you didn’t even realize were there. Making new friends at camp is made possible by these discoveries and certainly helps fuel them too.

Thanks for reading, Campers!

- John

Hey Camp Fans!

For today’s Throwback Thursday Blog post, we’re linking back to a post from nearly a year ago on June 12, written by Dr. Thurber about enjoying opening day at camp when you drop your kid off.

This post offers good pointers about savoring the moment of dropping your kid off at camp instead of worrying about getting it on video. The reason behind recording a video is to get it all on ‘tape’ so you’ll remember it forever. But really this just separates you from the moment. You won’t remember dropping your kid off at camp, you’ll remember peering through a video camera when you dropped your kid off at camp.

- John

Hey, Camp Preppers!

As anticipating parents, there’s so much you can do to help prevent your kid’s homesickness or even camp-related-anxiety prior to it. It can be a lot to keep in mind, but at the same time it all boils down to the same thing—painting camp in a positive light.

Last week we talked about preventing homesickness by keeping any doubts you may have as parents out of your kid’s head. Another simple key to preventing homesickness is not making the mistake of promising an early pickup. 

If your kids are voicing their concerns over their upcoming camp stay, it’s often the easiest answer to tell them that if they feel TOO homesick you’ll come back early to pick them up and take them home. Most first-time campers get a bit of a cold feet feeling as their camp stay approaches and this scenario happens more than you might think.

Lots of parents promise an early pickup and think that they handled the situation well but what they fail to realize is that in promising an early pickup, they’ve planted a seed in their camper’s head. That seed is the idea that even YOU—the camper’s parents—are not filled with absolute confidence about how the camp stay will go.

Kids typically have their own doubts. They certainly don’t need to hear a doubt from you. No matter what form it may be in (such as this seemingly helpful one), it will only have a negative effect. What you need to give kids is a positive reinforcement that they will inevitably have a GOOD TIME at summer camp and that there’s simply nothing to worry about.

Should your child pop the question to you, pointblank: “Will you come get me if I don’t like camp?” your best response is to address their concerns head-on. Say something like “Well, YOU may be worried about it by I really think you’ll love it at camp! Most kids get concerned about their camp stay, but in the end the fun overwhelms any feelings of being homesick.”

It’s also good to keep in mind that having feelings of homesickness is completely normal; we feel them because we miss the things that we love about our lives back home, teaching us to live without them.

Thanks for reading.

- John