Sleep over summer camp!

[ShannonMB]

My DD 9 is going for her first ever summer camp experience this year! It's a place called Camp Willson in Bellfountaine, OH (about an hour, hour and a half from home). It looks like your average sleep in cabins, polar bear swim, archery, crafts, campfire, hiking type of camp. I also paid extra for her to be able to ride horses a couple hours a day.

Lily has been asking to do this for a couple years now, and I finally went ahead and booked it for her. She doesn't know anyone else who's going, so not really sure where she got the idea or why she's been wanting to go so badly. I'm very excited for her! But of course a little nervous to send my little (so big all of a sudden) girl into the great wide somewhere () with no parents, friends, anyone she knows! I think it'll be a huge growing up experience for her and I hope she'll have fun. I never got to do it when I was a kid, so I was just hoping to hear from others about their (or their kids') experiences.

I think it's neat that she's wanting to take this leap out of the nest on her own. Hope it works out okay for us!

 

[EKW]

My son was that age when he went to camp the first time...chess camp in Kansas. My suggestions: pack for her the way you would for a Disney trip. Put complete outfits in 2 gallon ziplock bags, so all she has to do each day is pull a bag and she's ready to go. If they allow it, send a cell phone so you can call her a couple of times to see what's going on...but make it clear that you won't be calling every day ahead of time. Send some snacks so she can grab something if she doesn't like what they serve that day.

And, one thing I wasn't told about until camp was over...consider a meningitis vaccination before she goes. Little did I know that they recommend the shot for all campers. My son even stayed in college dorms...argh!

I'll be honest with you, when my son got home I was totally freaked out by the amount of unsupervised time the kids had. They walked all over town alone, had no adult supervision after dinner in the evenings, had to get themselves up and to breakfast on time or miss out. He managed just fine, though, and it was a real growth experience for him!

 

[klacey1]

My best friend (since childhood) attended the same camp from the time she was 6 until she was 15. She'd stay for a month. Then, when she was 16-22, she worked as a CIT, then a counselor, then as the head of the sailing program. She would leave her college boyfriend (who went to school in PA, her in GA) who she never saw to be there for the entire summer those years. Obviously, she absolutely LOVED it. She is still very, very close with a group of people that did it for as long as she did. I know these will be lifelong friends for her.
I didn't attend sleepaway camp until I was 16 and attended the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards conference. It was a leadership camp, ran for 5 nights. Doing so was the best experience of my life. I came back as a counselor and then in a director role throughout college. I still help out with the program. I think that age is a crucial year for kids to get away from high school cliques-- I am part of the committee who selects the conferees who get to come back as counselors and SO many of them discuss how being out of a high school environment for 5 nights really did change their lives. The people I met through the conference are ones I consider some of my best friends in life. Also-- this wasn't a fancy leadership camp in DC that my parents had to pay thousands for. It's considered a scholarship and I was sponsored by my local Rotary club. I believe the price now is $350 for the conference-- and not a penny comes out of the parents' pocket.
How long is your daughter's camp? I'm sure she will have a wonderful time and hopefully make lifelong friends, too!

 

[design_mom]

When I was in 4th grade I went to sleep-away 4-H camp. Nobody else from my 4-H club went that year, but I wanted to go, so I did. I didn't know anyone. I still had a blast! I am sure your daughter will be fine.

I've never heard of Camp Willson before, but please post what you think of it. It might be an option for the future.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

My son has been doing summer camps since he was in first grade, but they are only week long camps. He really enjoys them and has made life long friendships via camp. He is now in 8th grade. I hope your DD has a fun time.

 

[ShannonMB]

OP here, thanks for the responses! I love the idea about the outfits in the ziplock bags, and I honestly would NOT have thought of a meningitis vaccine, but it sounds like a very good idea. Also, the snacks -- the one concern she seems to have is "what if I hate the food?"

This will be just a week-long camp, so not TOO long if she ends up not liking it. But I am hoping she comes home gushing about all the fun she had and the friends she's made!

Thanks for the stories, I love hearing them. And any more advice on what to pack, etc would be most appreciated!

 

[rparmfamily]

My DD9 went to sleep over summer camp for the first time last year at YMCA Camp Erdman (of LOST fame!), right on the North Shore of O'ahu. I mean, right ON the ocean! That freaked me out a bit but she really enjoyed it, they were supervised at all times. She was in a cabin with about 12 other girls her age and 2 camp counselors. She had many tears at drop-off but she did great. They had a system set up where you can email the campers but they can't email you back, but she could send postcards we had preaddressed and stamped. She LOVED getting emails from family everyday (I invited grandparents and aunts/uncles to write) and absolutely wants to go back this year. I think she enjoyed the independance from us and being in a group of peers.

 

[kayrosek]

My daughters both started sleep away camps at 9 and both have absolutley loved it. I agree with the zip lock bags. Also my husband and I both write letters to our daughters and stash them in an outside pocket of their backpacks. The first year they were a surprise. We just told them right before we left to look in their backpack pocket before bed. Now they know they are coming but both girls say those letters of encouragement help them go to bed the first night after that they are having too much fun. Also I always send out a few letters and care packages before the kids leave so they are there within the first few days. They love recieving mail at camp. I think camp has been great for them and they have made some really good freinds.When we moved to our new house in a new school district my youngest was thrilled to see one of her camp freinds at her class orientation.