While your child is having the time of his/her life at camp, camps are keeping parents well informed about the exciting time at camp. Communication has certainly changed! This is a new world filled with so much technology. Communication technology at camp is no exception! Camps have set up websites where parents can visit and see photos of their children. Directors also contribute to these websites with daily/weekly blogs about camp happenings.

In addition to letters, the good old fashion way, many camps are now using the following:

Emails

Faxes

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Blogs

Voicemail boxes

Phone calls

Part of the reason that parents send their child to camp is to practice being independent.  The purpose of these rapid-fire communications undermines this intention. We send our kids to camp to learn to appreciate the outdoors, experience the companionship of other children, learn skills that enhance self-reliance, cooperation with others and a sense of life larger than one’s self. Summer camp offers kids and parents the chance to develop a rarely practiced skill- letter writing.

For many campers, there is nothing like the comfort of a hand written letter. Letters are uniquely powerful in the lives of campers and parents. A camper can get them out to read and reread, a treasure of the wonderful memories of camp for years to come.

Now that I know where my child is going to camp, the next big decision is, WHAT DO I PACK FOR CAMP?!  The good news is—you probably have many things you need already!  Take the camp packing list (usually found on the website or in the welcome packet) and see what you have around the house first before rushing off to buy everything.  See if the camp suggests living out of a trunk or packing in duffle bags that they will stow during the session.  Remember, you want your child to have fun and not worry about ruining anything, so send older clothes.  I used to tell my kids to leave their socks at camp!  They get so filthy, they would never come clean again and most likely, they will bring back someone elses!! Ask the camp how often they offer laundry service.  Most likely, you will only need to pack enough clothes for 1-2 weeks. Depending on the climate, your child may want to layer up in the morning and evenings.  They will probably shed that sweatshirt very quickly as the day warms up but it feels awful good in the morning for breakfast or around the campfire at night! Some camps have special dress up days, so you might need a special outfit or a costume for a themed event.  Find out if there is a color war and pack handkerchiefs in those colors, so your child is ready! Most importantly, label everything! Even with labeling, your child will come home with someone else’s clothes and your kids clothes will end up somewhere else!  After your child comes home from camp, pack away things in the duffle or trunk for next summer! (flash lights, fans, laundry bags, water bottles, old towels). When next summer rolls around (and it comes quick!) you will be that much more ahead of the game!

Bottom line is, CAMP is one of the BEST times of your child’s life, make packing easy, fun and part of the camp experience!!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

By allowing our children to explore and discover, we allow them to grow! Summer is the time….so many choices…sleep away camps, sports camps, teen travel, wilderness adventures, biking trips, sailing adventures, language immersion, college campus study, community service, creative and performing arts camps……! The options are endless!  Explore…Dream….Discover.