traditional sleep away camps - Tips on Trips and Camps

Why Summer Camp Is More Important Than Ever

July 26, 2018 by Michele 1 Comment

As I am sure many parents can relate, social media and cell phones are making me crazy. Have you noticed how all the kids (and adults) are constantly scrolling, texting and watching things on their devices? Not only is this bad for their mental development, we are raising the next group of hunchback adults.

As I was strolling thru camps earlier this summer, I started to notice how happy all the campers looked. They were so happy talking to their friends, playing games and just being outside. Imagine that – all of these smiles and no Snapchat or Instagram to capture it. How amazing!! You know what else was amazing? They all made eye contact because their heads weren’t hunched down starting at a screen. Call me old-fashioned, but I truly believe that kids are happier at camp because it is now the only place where they can disconnect from the world, but more importantly, they are making real life connections. Laughing with their friends, making memories and feeling good about themselves.

My love for camp is stronger than ever. Can anything really replace face to face fun? How about a time for your child to feel good about themselves and doing things they can truly enjoy, not because they want to post it. Let’s take this a step further. Now I know I may get a lot of backlash from my nearest and dearest but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if camp directors eased up on the camp pictures. I can hear the loud protests. Hear me out – I recently visited a camp that did not post pictures. When I asked the director why not, he said, “kids act differently when they don’t have to be on”. Hmm – that’s true. He then continued, “This is their journey, not their parents”. Even I had to sheepishly admit he was right.

This camp also had the highest percentage of former campers coming back multiple years as counselors. A coincidence? Maybe, but it is something to think about.

Mental Preparedness for “First Time” Camper Parents!

April 21, 2017 by Jenny Wolkowitz Leave a Comment

Now that your child has made the all-important decision to “go away” to camp, you might be wondering how best to prepare for summer. And, often times, it is you – the parent – who is more nervous for their child’s first sleep away camping experience. Don’t worry, though! Here are some tips to ensure a successful summer experience – both for your child and for you:

If you are experiencing fear or anxiety about sending your child off to camp, discuss it with your spouse or friends (not your child). Sensing that you are worried will only worry your child.

Avoid statements like “I’m going to miss you terribly”. While you might believe that you are reassuring your child, you don’t want her to feel guilty about leaving you.

It is okay to let your child know that he might experience some homesickness and that it is normal and natural for most kids. Talk to the camp to find out how they handle homesickness and let your child know that there will be a counselor or even a “camp mom” whose sole job is to comfort homesick campers.

If you were a camper once yourself, you could heighten your child’s interest in camp by pointing out some of the exciting things you remember about your own camping experiences.

Do NOT offer to pick your child up if she is not having a good time. Avoid statements such as “If you don’t like camp, you can come home.”

Arrange times when your child can “practice” being away from home prior to camp, even if it’s just a sleepover at a friend’s house.

Tell the camp administrators that your child may be predisposed to homesickness due to unusual circumstances at home (e.g. a pending divorce, a permanent move, or a serious illness in the family).

Ask how you can find out if your child is having a good time. Each camp is different. Many camps post photos on their website to reassure parents that their children are indeed participating and having fun. Others might arrange to have a first-time camper call home, particularly if you have specific concerns.

Camps’ policies about emails, letters, packages and phone calls also vary. Review these policies with your child in advance, so that they know what to expect once they arrive.

If your child is still attached to a “blankie” or a certain stuffed animal, she might be hesitant to take it with her to camp fearing that she is the only one still with a security item. Pack it in a pillowcase or a bag, however, so that she knows she will have it if she needs it at camp. She might even end up comparing her lovey with her cabin mate’s, once they have bonded and feel a little more comfortable.

Make your child a small photo album with pictures of family members and the family pet, or tape the pictures to the inside of their trunk (where they can always take a peek).

Give your child pre-addressed, stamped envelopes or postcards. And, send a letter in the mail before your child arrives at camp so that a welcome message will be waiting there on their first night of camp.

Exploring Summer Options: How Early Is Too Early?

September 11, 2015 by Jenny Wolkowitz Leave a Comment

Often times, parents come to our advisory service too late in the season to find the perfect summer experience for their child. In many cases, the only session in which their child can participate – nestled between baseball season, the family vacation and school starting – is already filled up.

The best way to avoid this situation is to plan summer early. Done right, the process of finding the right camp can take an entire year’s worth of research, but the reward is great. When your neighbors are stressing out about what their child will be doing next summer, you will be sitting pretty with your child already enrolled!

One very helpful thing to do is plan a visit to see camps in action. All camps gladly receive guests, if you schedule an appointment. Most camps are located in beautiful areas near state parks or resort areas, so these visits can be fun for the whole family. You could even plan your family’s vacation at a camp and take advantage of a family weekend. These visits can help your child acclimate to the environment of the camp and make the decision to leave home a lot less scary. And, your first-hand observations of the facilities, the activities or the dining hall routine can help you know if this would be the right place for your child!

If you plan early and you have determined which camp suits your child, you can take advantage of early bird discounts. These discounts usually hold the cost of camp down to the previous year’s tuition or take several hundred dollars off the tuition price.

Some parents might not have the time to research camps on their own. With over 11,000 camps in the United States, it is important to come up with a list of questions to guide you. By doing so, you can narrow the possibilities to a manageable few. Then it is helpful to meet with directors, attend a camp fair, and/or enlist the advice of a summer program advisor.

Tips on Trips and Camps, Inc. is a FREE service specializing in overnight summer experiences for children ages 7-19. Call 866.222.TIPS or visit our website at www.TipsonTripsandCamps.com . Once you register, a local advisor will follow up with you immediately. You know your child and we know the camps. Together, we can find the RIGHT match.

Attend a Tips on Trips Camp Fair!

January 25, 2013 by laura rumbough Leave a Comment

HOW IS YOUR CHILD SPENDING NEXT SUMMER??

How about…an Internship in Sports Management, Study on a College Campus, Language Immersion, Travel or Study Abroad, Community Service, a Traditional Camp, a Leadership Program, Marine Biology, Turtle Conservation, Sailing in the Caribbean, Creative and Performing Arts, Circus Arts, Hiking, Mountain Biking, White Water Rafting, a Cross Country Tour, a Girls’ Empowerment Program, Horseback Riding, and more!

ATTEND A TIPS ON TRIPS SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES FAIR — LEARN ABOUT QUALITY OVERNIGHT PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS, AGES 8-18.

Take advantage of our 42 years of experience and expertise in helping families find incredible overnight programming for their kids…we are a FREE service for families.

At a Tips on Trips Camp Fair you can meet program directors, collect brochures and DVD’s, and speak with a knowledgeable consultant to design a summer that is just right for your child. Can’t come? Not a problem, call your personal Tips Advisor for a free consultation.

To find a Tips on Trips Camp Fair in your area, click here: https://www.tipsontripsandcamps.com/summer-advice/local-camp-fairs/

Or, to find your personal Tips advisor click here: https://www.tipsontripsandcamps.com/summer-advice/find-an-advisor/

THINK SUMMER, AND GIVE YOUR CHILD THE GIFT OF CAMP!

Never Underestimate the Power of a Camp Director

February 14, 2012 by Ann 4 Comments

“I had such a great summer at camp! I love my bunk! Best time ever! Please, please, please drive me to the reunion ? I just have to go- EVERYONE will be there.”

Which turns into, ” I have to go back- EVERYONE is going back. I will do anything. I know you have to pay for my CIT year.”

Followed by, ”This is the last year I can go back before I need to start work!”

Summer searches start out innocently by trying to find that perfect summer program for your child. What you may not realize or project is that the summer environment has the potential to have life long influences.

The culture of any summer environment, regardless of its location (camp, on a mountain top or college campus), is dictated by the values and style of the director. It trickles from the top down: from director to staff to support staff to the children. The experience just doesn’t happen. Any program takes months and years to get it right. To massage it and fine tweak it, takes, time, energy, passion and commitment.

I have lived by the values of my camp director. I am privileged to have had wonderful parents with great ethics – he was just a bonus with tremendous impact! He taught us how to communicate with children differently – not through commands, but through reason and discussion. “That towel is making it difficult to walk through the bunk – someone may trip and get hurt.” As opposed to” Pick up the @#*_ towel! ” He taught us how to be open to learning and self-growth. He taught us that there are second chances when you own up to mistakes and are humble. He taught us that kindness and positive energy go a lot farther than negativity and being inconsiderate. . Our motto- Values =choices=consequences. I could go on, but my point is that the culture and expectations he created for staff, was in turn, created for the children . YOUR children, who take those values home, to school. to college, to work and to their families.

Take the time to speak with the camp director of the program you are considering. Know what they represent. Make your own connection and don’t rely on the opinion or hearsay of others.

This March I will travel to celebrate my director’s 70^th birthday. I value his wisdom and friendship, my choice, is to attend his celebration, and the consequence will be a great time with my camp family.

Ann Kramer Fuchs – A camper at heart, Ann has been a consultant with Tips on Trips and Camps in Westchester County, NY for the past eleven years. She has been involved in the camping industry for 41 years as a Camp Director, Athletic Director, Wilderness Trip Leader and counselor.

The Benefits of Co-ed Camps

January 23, 2012 by Jenny Wolkowitz Leave a Comment

If your child attends a single sex parochial school throughout the school year, then a co-ed camp might be a welcome change in the summer. Some would say that socializing in this closely supervised atmosphere is a healthy and natural part of growing up. Of course, you would want to make sure that the level of supervision fits your expectations. Some kids and parents might want a break from the sports competition of the school year. A co-ed camp inherently is less competitive in this regard. Some parents think that single-sex camps are unlike the real world and so choose a co-ed camp that more closely mirrors the outside world. Many faith-based camps are co-ed so that children of a same belief system socialize together in the summers.

Tips on Trips and Camps: 41 Years and Still Growing

January 10, 2012 by Jenny Wolkowitz Leave a Comment

At a time when most companies are down-sizing, camp advisory service Tips on Trips and Camps, Inc. continues to expand.

Co-owner Eve Eifler just announced that Ellen Blum will join the Tips on Trips and Camps team this year as an advisor in Boston. Eifler said, “Ellen Blum comes to us as a camp lover through and through. She has two camp age children and was a camper herself in Maine for many years. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she cannot wait to help the families of Boston find the highest quality summer programs for their kids.”

Co-owner Carey Rivers of Washington, D.C. says, “In the last two years, we have added 7 new consultants and expanded our reach into Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Boston, and Barcelona, Spain. We are proud of the service we provide to families all over the United States and abroad.”

Tips on Trips and Camps, Inc. (“Tips”) was started by two moms in Baltimore in 1971 who wanted a better way to research camps and teen programs for their own children. Today, Tips serves families throughout the United States and abroad via the internet and maintains area offices in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York City and Westchester County, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southern Florida, Connecticut, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, Paris (France) and Barcelona (Spain).

Parents call one of their local Tips consultants or register on the Tips website www.TipsonTripsandCamps.com and get instant, FREE access to hundreds of carefully screened and selected camps and teen programs. Rivers said, “We provide clients with the information they need to make an educated decision on summer programs for their child – from questions for directors, to references to call, to on-site visit reports. We are better than Google!”

With all this success, however, Tips on Trips is a relatively unknown resource to many parents. Eifler agrees, “We are not a big budget operation, but our service is invaluable to the parents who know to use it. Our business is mainly word-of-mouth and we keep our clients happy! Of the hundreds of placements we made to camps and teen programs in 2011, 96% of families rated our matches as EXCELLENT or GOOD. We are happy to bring this excellent client service to Boston!”

Co-ed or Single sex camps: which one is right for your child?

January 9, 2012 by Jenny Wolkowitz 2 Comments

Regionally, camps often have a common set of characteristics. These characteristics can be based upon geographical attractions or the region’s social mores. One of the ways that camp regions differ is around the issue of single sex vs. co-ed camps. The East coast offers more co-ed camps, especially the mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania camps. The Carolina camps are predominantly single sex. The Colorado western camps are co-ed, but split into girls and boys camps (called “brother-sister camps”). Brother–sister camps usually have a gender divide for daily activities and dining rituals, but have socials together at night or on weekends. The Northwoods Region of Minnesota and Wisconsin is home to an abundance of single sex camps and a number of brother-sister camps. What kind of camp did you go to as a child? Will this inform the type of camp you send your own child?

What Style Camp is Best for Your Child?

May 19, 2011 by Carey 1 Comment

Should parents choose a camp that focuses on teaching hard skills (tennis, dance, gymnastics, and leadership) that will help our children become high achievers? Or should camp be the place for a child to learn independence, self-confidence and a love of nature in a rustic setting unlike home. Short session camps tend to be single focus and teach hard skills. Traditional sleep away camps with longer sessions offer the opportunity to be part of a caring community that offers friendship and teamwork along with diverse outdoor activities. No matter whether you choose a one week specialty camp or a longer session traditional camp, be sure you understand the different experience that is offered. Mary Beth McCauley has a wonderful article in the Christian Science Monitor that really conveys the true benefits of the sleep away camp experience.

“Sure, there are other places where young people can learn the stout virtues of confidence, teamwork, and resilience; of independence and friendship; of love of nature. But few disguise the lessons quite the way summer camp does – as pure fun”……

“Real” camp, its advocates say, may at some time involve the perfection of a plié or a jump shot, but that’s not the point. The point is the change in a child who hunkers down for a week’s worth of rainy nights outdoors, followed by singing for the entire dining hall despite paralyzing stage fright, all the while making his bed unreminded and growing to appreciate bugs, if not bug juice.”

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0616/Summer-camp-Sunset-for-an-American-tradition

Read the full article to understand the differences in specialty camps and traditional camps. Think about how your child can get the most benefit from summer time. I will be happy to chat with you about which type of camp is the best fit for your child.

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