HOW LONG DO YOU WANT TO STAY?
At this point, you and your child need not decide exactly how many days or weeks to spend at camp. However, you should both think about what range seems best. A week or less? Two weeks? A month or more? As we discussed in Chapter 3, short sessions may be best for first-time campers, and long sessions build deep friendships. However, your child can have fun, develop skills, gain independence,
make friends, and experience a new environment no matter how long the session lasts. Much of your decision rests on your personal comfort level and your finances.
Start by asking your child what length of stay he prefers. To help find the answer, compare the choices you offer to other events that have lasted for the same amount of time. For example, you might ask, “How does a two-week session sound? That’s how long winter vacation lasted. Does that seem like too long or too short for overnight camp?” Or, you might ask, “How does a week at camp sound? That’s how long you went to visit Uncle Mike and Aunt Jessie last summer. How would that be?” Kids need these concrete examples to get a feel for how long a certain time period is. Without examples, young children have an especially hard time imagining what a week or a month actually feels like.
The longer the length of stay you choose, the more important it becomes to select a camp that has a well-rounded program. If the camp repeats the same program week after week, or if it’s a specialty camp with a narrow range of activities, long stays may become boring. Years ago, almost every traditional overnight camp lasted the whole summer. If your grandparents went to overnight camp, there’s a good chance they stayed for six or eight weeks. At first, that seems like a long time to be away from home, especially if it’s your first time. However, camps that offer long sessions usually have excellent, progressive, well-rounded programs with many different activity choices and multiple visiting days. One advantage to a long length of stay at a well-designed camp is that campers can achieve tremendous skill levels in whatever activities they choose. For example, you simply cannot go through all the archery or riflery marksmanship rankings, or learn the finer points of English riding, or earn a SCUBA certification, or become an expert sailor, in one short week. Those sorts of accomplishments require a longer session.
There’s one more issue to consider regarding length of stay. Consecutive short stays can get complicated. For example, it’s usually easier for families to work out one three-week stay at a camp than it is to work out three consecutive one-week stays at three different camps. If your child is excited about spending three weeks away from home, then try to find one camp that offers a three-week session. There are several disadvantages to attending a bunch of short-stay camps:
Some parents and children do schedule two or three different camps each summer, especially if one of the camps is a specialty camp. This is a great option for some kids, and many families manage to work out the details successfully. Our advice is simply to think carefully before you schedule several camps back-to-back. Variety is good, but a cramped schedule isn’t.
At this point, you and your child need not decide exactly how many days or weeks to spend at camp. However, you should both think about what range seems best. A week or less? Two weeks? A month or more? As we discussed in Chapter 3, short sessions may be best for first-time campers, and long sessions build deep friendships. However, your child can have fun, develop skills, gain independence,
Start by asking your child what length of stay he prefers. To help find the answer, compare the choices you offer to other events that have lasted for the same amount of time. For example, you might ask, “How does a two-week session sound? That’s how long winter vacation lasted. Does that seem like too long or too short for overnight camp?” Or, you might ask, “How does a week at camp sound? That’s how long you went to visit Uncle Mike and Aunt Jessie last summer. How would that be?” Kids need these concrete examples to get a feel for how long a certain time period is. Without examples, young children have an especially hard time imagining what a week or a month actually feels like.
The longer the length of stay you choose, the more important it becomes to select a camp that has a well-rounded program. If the camp repeats the same program week after week, or if it’s a specialty camp with a narrow range of activities, long stays may become boring. Years ago, almost every traditional overnight camp lasted the whole summer. If your grandparents went to overnight camp, there’s a good chance they stayed for six or eight weeks. At first, that seems like a long time to be away from home, especially if it’s your first time. However, camps that offer long sessions usually have excellent, progressive, well-rounded programs with many different activity choices and multiple visiting days. One advantage to a long length of stay at a well-designed camp is that campers can achieve tremendous skill levels in whatever activities they choose. For example, you simply cannot go through all the archery or riflery marksmanship rankings, or learn the finer points of English riding, or earn a SCUBA certification, or become an expert sailor, in one short week. Those sorts of accomplishments require a longer session.
There’s one more issue to consider regarding length of stay. Consecutive short stays can get complicated. For example, it’s usually easier for families to work out one three-week stay at a camp than it is to work out three consecutive one-week stays at three different camps. If your child is excited about spending three weeks away from home, then try to find one camp that offers a three-week session. There are several disadvantages to attending a bunch of short-stay camps:
• Multiple camp stays are usually more expensive, in both tuition and travel, than a single camp stay of the same total length.
• Unpacking and re-packing between each camp gets to be a hassle.
• Adjusting to a new group of friends is not easy, especially when kids have to do it three or four times in a row in three or four different environments.
• It’s hard for kids to make an emotional commitment to one camp when they know they’ll be leaving soon for another camp.
• Unpacking and re-packing between each camp gets to be a hassle.
• Adjusting to a new group of friends is not easy, especially when kids have to do it three or four times in a row in three or four different environments.
• It’s hard for kids to make an emotional commitment to one camp when they know they’ll be leaving soon for another camp.
Some parents and children do schedule two or three different camps each summer, especially if one of the camps is a specialty camp. This is a great option for some kids, and many families manage to work out the details successfully. Our advice is simply to think carefully before you schedule several camps back-to-back. Variety is good, but a cramped schedule isn’t.
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