4 Ways to Get to Know a Camp

Camp is an amazing experience that gives children the opportunity to learn new activities, meet new friends, and learn essential life skills such as self esteem, leadership and confidence.  There are many different summer camps for families to choose from and each camp provides unique programming and approaches. Parents should consider what type of program and camp environment will fit with their child’s interests and personality.  With so many different camp options, what is the best way for parents to find out what a camp is really like before registering their child for camp?

The American Camp Association has some tips for parents to help them learn about a camp’s philosophy and character. 

Tour the Camp

A good way for parents and children to get a feel for a day or overnight camp is to tour the camp.  Scheduling a camp tour over the summer summer gives the future camper a chance to see camp in action.  A tour also gives you a chance to ask the camp director questions while you are in the camp environment.  If it’s not possible to tour the camp during the summer, schedule a tour in the off season so you can see the facilities and still get a feel for the camp environment. Camp tours give children the feeling that he or she is part of the process of choosing the camp and the more involved a child feels in the decision making, the more successful the camp experience will be.  

Rookie Days

There are many resident camps that offer Rookie Days which are designed to give future campers a chance to experience the camp in session by joining in on the camp activities before going to camp.  While children enjoy the camp activities, parents are taken on a tour of the camp.  Rookie days are wonderful ways for children and their parents to get a feel for what the camp is like and to determine if the camp is the right fit. 

Talk to the Camp Director

Parents want to make sure they click with the camp director.  Speaking with the camp director and asking some key questions is a good way for families to find out about a camp’s philosophy and if it matches their own.  Get to know the camp director through phone calls, correspondence and in person.  Often times, the camp director will come to your home or you can meet the camp director at a camp fair or camp open house.  Ask the camp director about the camps’ mission statement and what type of child is successful at camp.  The more open families are with camp directors, the better informed they will be when it comes to making a decision. 

Look at website, video and brochures

Parents and campers should take time to look over a camp’s website, brochure and video.  They will give families a sense of what a particular camp is like. Many camp websites have photo slide shows, videos, virtual tours, and maps which will give parents and children a glimpse of the camp and the camp program.  Many camps also include a sample daily schedule so families can see what a typical day at camp is like.  Camps will also send you a DVD upon request so you and your child can view the camp and see campers and counselors engaged in camp activities.

Need help finding the right camp for your child?  You can contact the American Camp Association, NY and NJ's Camper Placement Specialist Renee Flax at 212.3915208 for free, one-on-one advice in finding the right day or overnight camp for your child. Click here to search for ACA Accredited camps in the northeast.  ACA-Accreditation is a parent’s best evidence of a camp’s commitment to health and safety and ensures that children are provided with a diversity of educational and developmentally challenging learning opportunities.

Should Your Child Go to Camp With a Friend

Should Your Child Go to Camp with a Friend? 

This is a question that parents often ask Renee Flax, the Camper Placement Specialist for the American Camp Association, NY and NJ.   Here are some of her thoughts on children going to camp with a friend:   

• Camp is a place where children can reinvent themselves.  Your child has gone to school with the same children for years and may be thought of at home as the athletic child or the shy child.  At camp, your child can be whoever they would like to be. It’s harder to do that when your child is at camp with a friend from home.  Your child can have their camp life and home life.

• When you send your child to camp with a friend, your child will feel they have that friend to count on and might not be as outgoing in making new friends. One of the friends may also get closer to another camper and the child he or she came with could feel left out.  You might run the risk of the children not being as close when they return home after the summer.

• If your child won’t go to summer camp without a friend, have a conversation with the camp director and let him or her know that these children are friends from home. Consider putting the friends in separate bunks.   The friends will still see each other every day, but they will have the opportunity to be with new campers and push their comfort zone a little bit. 

• Going to camp is a growth experience for children.  For children who go without a friend, it lets them know that they can meet new friends and be independent and in the end, gain self reliance. 

• Often parents will make a decision about camp based on the camp that their friends’ children attend.  Unless your child is similar to theirs with comparable needs and interests and you both have the same values, you may find that the camp they find ideal for their child, might not be the right fit for yours.  Do your own research and make sure you know and agree with the philosophy of the camp you are considering.

• Worried your child won’t make friends at camp if he or she doesn’t go with a friend? Don’t be!  Camp is a community where children bond quickly by sharing in the activities and traditions of the camp.  Manyy camps host a pre-camp day event for first time campers.  This is a good way for children to meet other children going to the camp for the first time.   If a camp doesn’t offer this type of event, your child will still make friends easily, even starting from the bus ride to camp!   

How to Beat Campression

The winter blues have kicked in and your camper has been experiencing campression, the state of missing camp so much that his or her body feels like it could shut down.   Why not recreate a little bit of summer camp for a weekend? Here are some ideas to help beat the winter blues and campression: 

1. Invite your child's bunk over to your house for a sleepover.  Please invite everyone--leaving a few children out creates hurt feelings and tension among the group.

2. Pick out a few summer camp movies for you and your family to watch.  Some great ones include The Parent Trap, Heavy Weights, and Camp Nowhere.

3. Do some camp activities at home such as jewelry making, tug of war, creating your own paper countdown clock to camp, and creating an indoor tent from sheets and blankets. 

4. Make Savory Summer Camp S’mores.  All you need is a campfire (or charcoal grill!), graham crackers, regular size marshmallows, chocolate bars and a thin long stick. 

       *Start by building a campfire (or if you are in your backyard, a charcoal grill will do!)
       *Take a graham cracker and split it in half, making sure the two halves are the same size.
       *Take a piece of chocolate and place it on one of the crackers.
       *Take your marshmallow and place it on the stick.  Put it over the fire and make sure to   keep your hands and body away from the fire.  You can lightly toast your marshmallow or you can roast your marshmallow till its blackened—it’s your s’more and you can make it as you wish!
       *Place the marshmallow on the cracker with the piece of chocolate.
       *Remove the stick from the marshmallow.
       *Place the top cracker on top of the cracker with the marshmallow and chocolate bar.
       *Enjoy your s’more and make some more!