2. COMPLETE REGISTRATION
Honor the time that your camp sets for registration. Most camps do the bulk of their setup in the week before camp opens. In fact, there is work to do right up until the hour before registration. Arriving extra early can interfere with last-minute staff preparations.
As leaders, we were always eager for campers to arrive. Showing them a fun time was the purpose of all the hard work we staff had done: hauling heavy boat docks into the water, lugging mattresses
through the woods to distant cabins, stringing safety flags around the rifle-range in a driving rain, and scraping and repainting weathered cabins. The arrival of campers was the start of the fun, but we dreaded families who arrived early. We wanted everything to be perfect before that first car drove up to a cabin. Even between sessions, the staff needs time to recoup and refresh. Keep to your plan and let the camp stick to theirs.
Registration is a way for the camp to ensure that everyone who is scheduled to arrive actually makes it. The process generally involves meeting the directors, checking-in to settle your child’s account, getting a cabin assignment, talking to the medical staff if necessary, moving your child’s gear to her cabin, and meeting her new cabin leader.
Parents who are not coming to camp with their children must correspond with the camp before opening day. You’ll need to accomplish all the things on the “Basic Opening Day Checklist for Parents” by phone or by mail. (This checklist is printed at the end of the chapter.)
3. MEET YOUR CHILD’S CABIN LEADER
Your child’s cabin, bunk, tent, or unit may have more than one leader, but make sure you meet at least one of them. Ask about their camping experience, where they are in school, how their summer has been going, and where they live. You should leave camp with a good sense of who is caring for your child. Communicate any physical, behavioral, or emotional concerns you have about your child, and tell the cabin leader how you usually deal with these issues. If your child takes medications or has any allergies, share this information too. Remember, the more the leader understands about your child from the start, the better time they will both have.
Also, talk with the cabin leader about your child’s previous experience away from home and current feelings about coming to camp. Leaders like to know which campers might struggle with the separation, and which veteran campers they can count on to help orient the rookies. If applicable, you may want to mention exceptional family circumstances, such as a recent divorce, loss of a loved one or pet, or a traumatic academic, social, or athletic event. Personal details aren’t necessary, but a basic understanding of what has been happening in your child’s life can put his emotions and behaviors in perspective for the camp staff. As cabin leaders, such information helped us steer around sensitive topics during spontaneous night-time discussions with our cabins. Of course, sharing family history is up to you and your child. Many parents choose to include their child in these conversations with cabin leaders. Emphasize to your child’s cabin leader the importance of confidentiality, if you judge it’s appropriate.
While talking with your child’s cabin leader, respect his or her responsibilities to other parents. It’s not uncommon for several families to arrive at one cabin simultaneously. Everyone is unpacking their gear, two family dogs are running through the cabin, a three-year old baby brother is crying, and one parent is obsessing over how to get a fitted twin sheet on a “long twin” mattress. This is a hectic scenario for a cabin leader who needs to spend time with each set of parents. Make sure you cover the important issues with the cabin leader, but be aware of his or her responsibility to other families. You may have to wait your turn to have a decent talk, but it’s worth your while.
If you cannot be there in person on opening day, you should still share as much helpful information as you can with your child’s cabin leader. The best way to do this is by writing a descriptive letter to the camp director. The director can pass it on to your child’s cabin leader when cabin assignments are made. As cabin leaders, we loved to get these letters, because they helped us get to know the children with whom we’d be working. Before they ever stepped foot in our cabins, we knew their likes and dislikes, and how to relate to them as individuals.
Honor the time that your camp sets for registration. Most camps do the bulk of their setup in the week before camp opens. In fact, there is work to do right up until the hour before registration. Arriving extra early can interfere with last-minute staff preparations.
As leaders, we were always eager for campers to arrive. Showing them a fun time was the purpose of all the hard work we staff had done: hauling heavy boat docks into the water, lugging mattresses
Registration is a way for the camp to ensure that everyone who is scheduled to arrive actually makes it. The process generally involves meeting the directors, checking-in to settle your child’s account, getting a cabin assignment, talking to the medical staff if necessary, moving your child’s gear to her cabin, and meeting her new cabin leader.
Parents who are not coming to camp with their children must correspond with the camp before opening day. You’ll need to accomplish all the things on the “Basic Opening Day Checklist for Parents” by phone or by mail. (This checklist is printed at the end of the chapter.)
3. MEET YOUR CHILD’S CABIN LEADER
Your child’s cabin, bunk, tent, or unit may have more than one leader, but make sure you meet at least one of them. Ask about their camping experience, where they are in school, how their summer has been going, and where they live. You should leave camp with a good sense of who is caring for your child. Communicate any physical, behavioral, or emotional concerns you have about your child, and tell the cabin leader how you usually deal with these issues. If your child takes medications or has any allergies, share this information too. Remember, the more the leader understands about your child from the start, the better time they will both have.
Also, talk with the cabin leader about your child’s previous experience away from home and current feelings about coming to camp. Leaders like to know which campers might struggle with the separation, and which veteran campers they can count on to help orient the rookies. If applicable, you may want to mention exceptional family circumstances, such as a recent divorce, loss of a loved one or pet, or a traumatic academic, social, or athletic event. Personal details aren’t necessary, but a basic understanding of what has been happening in your child’s life can put his emotions and behaviors in perspective for the camp staff. As cabin leaders, such information helped us steer around sensitive topics during spontaneous night-time discussions with our cabins. Of course, sharing family history is up to you and your child. Many parents choose to include their child in these conversations with cabin leaders. Emphasize to your child’s cabin leader the importance of confidentiality, if you judge it’s appropriate.
While talking with your child’s cabin leader, respect his or her responsibilities to other parents. It’s not uncommon for several families to arrive at one cabin simultaneously. Everyone is unpacking their gear, two family dogs are running through the cabin, a three-year old baby brother is crying, and one parent is obsessing over how to get a fitted twin sheet on a “long twin” mattress. This is a hectic scenario for a cabin leader who needs to spend time with each set of parents. Make sure you cover the important issues with the cabin leader, but be aware of his or her responsibility to other families. You may have to wait your turn to have a decent talk, but it’s worth your while.
If you cannot be there in person on opening day, you should still share as much helpful information as you can with your child’s cabin leader. The best way to do this is by writing a descriptive letter to the camp director. The director can pass it on to your child’s cabin leader when cabin assignments are made. As cabin leaders, we loved to get these letters, because they helped us get to know the children with whom we’d be working. Before they ever stepped foot in our cabins, we knew their likes and dislikes, and how to relate to them as individuals.
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