As a parent it must be a little daunting sending your camper off for a month–but have no fear! She is in for the most amazing time of her life here at Heart O’ the Hills; and with a little help from yourself, you can keep her a happy camper for the entire session.
What to do:
- Start preparing for camp together
Tell her how excited you are that she’s going! Positivity is infectious, if you’re excited about camp then you can bet your bottom dollar that your camper is gonna be even more excited about camp. Give her a diary or a notepad and write a letter at the start explaining how she should write down a brilliant memory each day that you can go over together after camp!
- Write to her at camp
Campers receive mail every day at camp with the exception of Sundays, so make her day even brighter and send a letter. If your camper knows you’re thinking of her and wanting to hear about all the great experiences she’s having, then the threat of homesickness reduces significantly. You can even have your camper write back to you the very same day with a “fax back” by purchasing “camp stamps” online! (Details on this will come to you later).
- Sharing is caring!
And at camp we love care packages!!! While we discourage sending huge packages all the time, we advise sending a little token to your camper so she knows that you’re thinking about her. Prime care package time: right in the middle of camp! Also, on the 25th of each month we celebrate Christmas–and what’s Christmas without one wee present?! If you’re stuck for ideas on what to send her perhaps a game she can use with her cabin buddies? Or better yet, make use of the brand new Heart O’ the Hills personal care package! With varying fairly small amounts of money, your camper can be kitted out the Heart way – in style!
- Be excited at your phone call
Full term campers are allowed to receive a phone call from home around the middle of camp, so use this time wisely! Top tip: Be sure to ask questions about her activities and friends etc , not spending the phone call saying how much you miss each other. In my time as a cabin counselor, I found that the campers who spent the majority of the call talking about camp bounced right back to the cabin, while those who got a little emotional at the consistent mention of home needing a little cheering up following their call. So remember – BE POSITIVE!
What NOT to do:
- Nothing.
Be pro-active! By being as much a part of the camp experience as possible you can be sure that your camper will have the most fun and be so excited to tell you all about it!
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact either Jane, Monique or myself and we will be more than happy to help!
Laura!
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