Stephanie Vordick - Tips on Trips and Camps

You’ve Got This!

September 10, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

Everyone at Tips on Trips and Camps thinks you’re doing a great job parenting through these crazy times. We thought you needed to hear that today. We’re all parents too, and we know how not having any control over how the future looks or feels for our children (or ourselves) is a challenging place to live. As summer program advisors, we are feeling hopeful about sending kids off on their adventures next summer. Every day we hear from our directors about their plans for a safe and fun summer 2021. While next summer may still look different than pre-COVID days, every sleepaway camp and teen program is working hard to create pandemic-proof plans for your children. Please let us know if you want to indulge in some escapist summer planning – we’re ready to chat whenever you feel ready.

Riding the Coronacoaster

July 13, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

Have you seen the meme defining a “coronacoaster” – the ups and downs of living in a pandemic? I don’t know about you, but that perfectly captures me and my wildly shifting emotions. Interestingly I’m finding my kids are more even keel than I am. They’re teenagers, and like everyone’s children, they had to abandon their spring and summer plans. I’ve found them to be resilient, creative, and accepting in the faces of the losses they have sustained. As we head towards the fall, and all the uncertainty that brings, they are saying they will be OK no matter what. While a lot of their reactions have to do with their personalities, I can also see that the lessons learned at sleepaway camps and teen programs helped prepare them for this tough time. They are making the best of what the world has to offer and still having fun. They’ve found new ways to meet their goals, follow their interests, and enjoy the summer, all while staying safe. I can connect all the ways they’ve managed during the pandemic to things that a child may navigate away at camp or on a teen trip. The coronacoaster is not my cup of tea, but as it’s the only attraction open this summer, I’m going to do my best to notice the best parts of the ride.

Grieving for Summer

May 18, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

The camp and summer program cancellations are coming in fast these days, and we know there are many disappointed and grieving kids and families. Whether it was to be a child’s first summer away or they are a seasoned camper, it’s hard to let go of summer plans amid so many other changes in our lives. Here’s some advice we’ve gathered:

Expect that you and your children will go through a range of emotions in the days and weeks ahead. Tell your kids (and remind yourself) that grief comes and goes, and you might all have sad days throughout the summer and beyond. You can also let them know that you’ll all also have happy days and fun moments even while feeling sad about camp.
Recognize the stress that you may feel as a result of your child’s lack of summer plans. Take as many breaths as you need until you can find a way to move forward. There are still some options for kids. We can help you explore if any of the available programs are a good fit.
Encourage your child to express their feelings and memories about camp. Talking, journaling, Zooming, singing and dancing, doing camp arts and crafts, building a campfire, or whatever feels right, are all ways for kids to access their emotions. Kids of all ages can benefit from having their feelings named, so parents can help their kids by identifying what they may be experiencing.
It may be reassuring to talk about how staying home is helping all their dear camp friends and counselors remain safe.
Start making plans for summer 2021! Camp and program directors are already hard at work on next summer, and they are counting the minutes until they are back with your children.

We are right there with your family grieving the loss of all those future memories, experiences, and friendships. We are here to support you – please let us know if we can help.

Seeing our children for who they are

February 4, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

We all want what’s best for our children, but what is that? How’s a thoughtful parent to balance their concerns and priorities with their child’s individual needs? A recent New York Times article says what children need most is to feel seen and understood. The article says, “You just have to show up, allowing your kids to feel that you get them and that you’ll be there for them, no matter what.”

The process of selecting a sleepaway camp or an overnight summer program is a great way to show your child that you see them. Talking together about their interests, involving them in the selection, respecting their concerns, and appreciating their likes and dislikes are all ways of showing a child that you see them for who they are. Families can find exactly what they want and need when they work with a camp advisor. We are experts on the programming, facilities, and overall feeling of the summer experiences we represent, so if a child doesn’t play sports, then we will recommend camps where their interests are the main events. If they don’t want to stay in a tent, then we’ll suggest summer travel programs with indoor sleeping arrangements. If they don’t want to swim in a lake, we will recommend sleepaway camps with pools. If they want to improve their Spanish but aren’t interested in a homestay, then we’ll look at language immersion programs with other instruction methods. You can give your child the opportunity to grow through an independent summer experience, while at the same time seeing them for exactly who they are. Let us help you find just the right program.

Choosing the Best Summer Camp

January 14, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

Every season we hear from parents who want to know about the best overnight camps. And we often hear about the camps a neighbor/cousin/school friend attends. But after almost 50 years in business, Tips on Trips and Camps advisors understand that selecting a sleep away camp that will work well for a child is not just choosing from a list of the “best” camps. It’s all about finding the best camp for each child, and that’s where we are experts.

We spend a lot of time discussing the ins and outs of choosing a camp with our families. We talk about how factors that define each camp may affect whether it’s a good fit for the child. Considerations like single-sex or co-ed, size of the camp, the type of activities offered, and activities by choice or by bunk are just some of the topics we discuss with our clients. We help parents consider how a variety of factors may affect how well a camp fits a child’s needs. We ask about how children make friends, participate in activities, and whether they like to try new things to help us choose camps that play to a child’s strengths and also gives them the opportunity to build new skills. We also ask about the location, transportation, session length, and price. And then we put all of that together to create a list that fits the child and the family – that’s the best list!

Sailing, Soccer, and Soft-Skills

November 18, 2019 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

A recent Forbes article discussed how overnight camps do a great job teaching kids the soft skills they need to flourish as adults. Sleepaway camp is a multi-layered experience that prepares children for college and beyond.

Teamwork, conflict resolution, problem-solving, leadership and communication skills, resilience, decision-making, empathy, and friendship building are just some of the ways children can grow when children attend camp. Each camp day provides so many opportunities for growth – setting a goal, learning a new skill, trying a new activity, navigating friendships, being a team captain, earning a reward for a job well done, comforting a bunkmate, completing a chore, and more.

I see how sleepaway camp helped with the development of soft-skills in my own house. Once our children have exposure to all these skills at camp, then it’s easy for us to continue herding them toward independence when they return home. My oldest child started college this fall, and he has done a great job transitioning to an independent life. From self-care to advocating for himself, I can see how his camp experience provided a kind and stable base for him to learn and try out all the skills he needs to create a joyful and purposeful life. I am thankful for his camp experiences and it is part of the reason I enjoy helping other families find the best camps and programs for their children. Please let us know how we can help your family.

Summer Planning in the Age of Anxiety

October 28, 2019 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

The subject of childhood mental health is everywhere, and the sleepaway camps and teen programs. While stress levels may go down away from school, anxiety and depression don’t magically disappear for the summer, so camp and program directors spend a lot of time and resources making sure their staffs are prepared to take the best possible care of your children. At our recent Tips on Trips and Camps annual meeting, we asked all of the visiting program directors to talk to us about how they prepare for and manage mental issues and crises. Here are the top takeaways from our meeting:

Summer program directors and leaders are not medical professionals and cannot “fix” a child’s challenges. Appropriate expectations are critical for the child’s success in any summer program.
It may be uncomfortable to be upfront about a child’s mental health history, but summer programs can do a much better job caring for children when they are aware of any diagnosis, counseling, or significant life events (like a death in the family or a divorce). This will not necessarily disqualify your child from participating.
When considering a teen trip, sometimes a program will feel a specific itinerary may be a better choice because of the size or staffing. Parents may also want to consider the age and experience of the trip or program leaders.
While sleepaway camps generally have all medications dispensed by a nurse or medical professional, teen programs generally require their participants to manage their medications. It’s an important consideration for parents of teens who take medications.

Children with mental health challenges can have fun and rewarding summer adventures, but choosing the right program and the right director will make all the difference in a child’s chances for success. Tips on Trips and Camps is a great place to start the search.

What I did on my summer vacation

September 24, 2019 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

Every Tips on Trips and Camps advisor spends part of their summer checking in with several of the camps we represent. I spent a week in New Hampshire and Vermont this past July visiting some of our camps, including a few that are new to us for 2020. We share our findings, so we all have the most up to date information possible. Together our advisors visited about 100 camps this summer, and we are so excited to tell you about the ones that just right for your child!

I’m not sure my fellow advisors agree with me, but I love eating at the camps I visit. I have food allergies, and it’s great to experience how well the camps care for children that have dietary preferences or restrictions. I’ve found that most camps have terrific tasting healthy food and have a lot of pride in the efforts of their kitchen staff. Every camp is aware of the many different ways people today, and they happily work with families to make sure they meet every camper’s needs.

I also really enjoy peeking into the bunks. Generally, camp directors bring us into tidy bunks, but occasionally we catch sight of a bunk that looks like a tornado went through, and you can imagine how the kids were in such a hurry to get to their next amazing activity. I swear you can feel the excitement they left behind in the chaos.

I’m already keeping my list of where I’ll visit next summer. Can’t wait!

Summer is made for discovery

July 10, 2019 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

My daughter is the happy one on the right. She texted me this picture a few days ago from her summer program, where she is exploring the medical profession at a college campus. She and her new friend are holding the cow eyeballs they were about to dissect. I keep looking at this picture (while trying to avoid the gross eyeballs) because I love the big smile on her face. How great that she got to travel far from home, try out living in a dorm with roommates, make new friends from all over the US, and explore being a doctor!

Has your teen mentioned anything they’d like to learn about or try? Or possible college majors or career interests? There are more options than you can imagine! Let us know how we can help you find a terrific program for your curious kid.

Just like ice cream, there are many “flavors” of camps

April 6, 2019 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

I went to three different sleep away camps starting in elementary up through high school, and none of them were right. I’d never before or since had trouble making friends, but I didn’t feel like I fit in at any of those camps. And they were terrific high-quality camps that today as a camp advisor I have have no hesitation recommending. I went for eight weeks each summer, and that was a long time to feel out of sorts. All of my friends from home also attended sleep-away camps, and they all had great stories of fun and friendship which I wanted so very much for myself. I loved the idea of sleepaway camp, just not my sleepaway camps. Now as a camp advisor I know that there are camps for every type of child. I would have flourished at a laid-back, not too spirited, non-competitive place with lots of non-team sport options, and where the activities were mixed ages and selected by the campers. And isn’t it great that there camps like that? No matter your child’s personality or needs, there’s a camp for them.

Experts on Overnight Camps & Trips for Kids and Teens

A Free Advisory Service