Preparing for Summer Camp
Tips from Camp Director, Caitlin Thorington
Camp is a beautiful place full of firsts. The first time to be away from home for some, the first time to conquer a climbing wall on the high ropes course, the first time to meet new friends from a different place other than the classroom or neighborhood, the first time to make their bed, and the first time to do their morning/bedtime routines independently.
With all of these firsts comes a heavy emphasis on independence. You may ask yourself, how do I build independence in my children? I have some tips and tricks for you below, along with packing tips that can help your child be successful as a camper! This newsletter is directed mostly towards our newer campers and Chico aged campers. However, there are tidbits throughout that will be helpful for any camper parent.
How do I build independence in my child?
If your child has never spent the night away from you, summer camp is not the best place to try that out. If you have grandparents or other trusted family, allow your child to spend the night away one night and gradually build that to a 2-3 night away stay.
Have your child practice their morning and night time routines without any assistance from you. Starting out, watch them to ensure they are doing it correctly and provide feedback for them.
They need to be able to do the following things independently: brush teeth, wash hair, wash body, brush hair, get dressed, hang towel up, and put clothes in laundry bag.
Put their name on everything!!! This helps the most organized child down to the least organized child. It truly helps campers and their leaders so much. It is crucial to helping campers stay organized and keep up with their own belongings. (I even put a name sticker on my daughter’s toothbrush.)
I use these label stickers for all of my daughters' things. These labels have proven to be useful for our family outside of labeling all the things for summer camp. Put them on everything! The laundry bag, the pillow, the blanket, shirts and shorts, water bottles, toiletries.
Do not pack things that you are going to be upset about if they lose. Check lost and found when you pick your child up. It is likely that some of their belongings will go home with another child, if they are a young camper.
Involve your child in the packing process. They need to know all of the things that you will be packing for them and that they are responsible for. Have conversations with them about the process of taking clothes off and putting them into their laundry bag. You can even practice this at some point prior to coming to Camp.
Pack an outfit for every day in a gallon sized ziploc, including socks and underwear, with that day’s name written on the outside. Pack each night activity outfit in a gallon sized ziploc with that night activity’s name on the outside. (My parents did this for me and now I do it for my child and it is a game changer.) This will help things stay organized in their bags and easy for them to grab and take out to use.
Have fun with the practice! Do a “being a camper boot camp” with your child. Pack for a week of camp and have them practice doing all of their routines independently. See what comes home in their laundry bag at the end of the week.
We have officially hired our summer staff that run our programs and night activities, which is composed of 35 college-aged young men and women. We hope that you will join us in praying for a safe and fruitful summer!
Caitlin Thorington
Camp Director