What kind of camp did you go to in the summers?

[Kitty 34]

I would go for a week to a camp run by the Camp Fire Girls here in mid-Michigan. Went to this camp from age 7 to 12 and then went back at 18 to be a counselor. One of the best summer jobs I ever had.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

I went to a Christian Camp in the CA Redwoods. It was the highlight of my summer every single year and some of my best childhood memories. It was pretty far removed (as in completely removed) from "Jesus Camp," if you've seen that documentary. A very positive and most of all fun experience. No guilt or hellfire and damnation. Hiking, crafts, swimming, campfires, etc.

I sent our dd this summer and when I picked her up asked her if she wanted to go back next summer. Her answer was "I want to go back next week!"

 

[dreamer17555]

I used to go to girl scout camp in northern ohio, it went from 6 to 16 (though those were usally CITs) As a young camper I went for a week and slept in a cabin, a little older it was a week in a platform tent and older still it was two weeks in a platform tent. It is one of my fondest memories and I attribute most of my independance and self confidence to that place where I was made to challenge myself and always had such a wonderful time.

-Becca-

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I went to Girl Scout Camp Metamora in Michigan for 2 weeks. I was miserable a good part of the time. Our counselors were sadists, and one night when the tents full of 10 year old girls giggled and wouldn't go to sleep (big surprise?), the next day for our punishment they made us clear a field of weeds with hand held grass whips for hours in the hot sun. We had blisters all over our hands, and if that had happened today, the camp would have been sued.

Other than that I had a lovely time...

Oh yeah, the biggest ***** counselor's name was Candy. Will never forget it..ever...

I also went to a Church Camp for a week when I was about 12. It was the best time. It didn't even feel like church, we had prayers at night, that was about it. We had a carnival, and our group had a kissing booth which was a peck on the cheek and a hershey kiss for the participant. Another night we slept in a big hall boys on one side, girls on the other. I never told my parents about that, I thought it was naughty...LOL

 

[dreamer17555]

I went to Girl Scout Camp Metamora in Michigan for 2 weeks. I was miserable a good part of the time. Our counselors were sadists, and one night when the tents full of 10 year old girls giggled and wouldn't go to sleep (big surprise?), the next day for our punishment they made us clear a field of weeds with hand held grass whips for hours in the hot sun. We had blisters all over our hands, and if that had happened today, the camp would have been sued.

Other than that I had a lovely time...

Oh yeah, the biggest ***** counselor's name was Candy. Will never forget it..ever...

What I love my girl scout camp so I am shocked that something like that would happen. If we didn't go to sleep our consulers normally set an extra early wake up call for us. Aren't they too sweet

-Becca-

 

[bsnyder]

I would go for a week to a camp run by the Camp Fire Girls here in mid-Michigan. Went to this camp from age 7 to 12 and then went back at 18 to be a counselor. One of the best summer jobs I ever had.

I went to camp for seven years. Starting at age 8, I went 4 years to a small girls camp in NC that my grandmother and mother both went to. Then for 3 years I went to a very large girls camp in Tennessee that had ever sport imaginable (fencing!). They were very different in almost every way, but I enjoyed both of them.

My dd is currently at the smaller camp I mentioned (her 7th summer), which makes her a 4th generation camper there. She's going into high school, and was undecided until the last minute if she'd go to camp this year (afraid she'd miss the social scene here at home, with her friends). Thankfully, she got to visit during the first session (her cousin was a CIT) and it only took a few minutes back in that environment (and a lot of pleas from her camp friends) to change her mind. I was so relieved - I wasn't going to make her go, and definitely not going to spend that kind of money on something she wasn't looking forward to, but she's not missing a thing here at home (except the brutal humidity) and it's a chance for her to be a little girl for a while longer...

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

Usually VBS at my mom's church and sometimes Girl Scout Daycamp. When I was in middle school, I went to a week of church camp each summer and my mother pretty much forced me into the camp's CIT program when I was in HS. After I graduated, I spent six weeks as a counselor before taking off in the middle of the night because I'd been lied to by the camp director. This camping orginization also did offsite daycamps, which is what I'd been hired to do. Only they decided they would rather have me as a site camp counselor, which I hated because we had NO time off.

Well, unless you count an hour every day and eight hours off on the weekend between campers leaving/arriving. One group of girls I had like the second or third week I had to sleep in front of the cabin door so that they wouldn't try to sneak out at night to go meet their boyfriends.

 

[DISUNC]

Catholic Youth Organization Day Camp in Coney Island, Brooklyn!

..and NOT ONCE were we allowed to go to the Beach!!! It was ON THE BEACH!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Weird, a whole bunch of Michigan camp-goers here. When I was 8-11, I went to girl scout camp in Michigan, can't remember which though. When I was in 5th grade our whole class went to camp together for a week in the winter. That was an interesting experience. However, my best memories were formed during the summers I was aged 12-16 when I went to Black River Farm and Ranch, which is a somewhat upscale horse camp in Croswell, Michigan. Loved, loved, loved that place. Was actually thinking about it just the other day and started tearing up remembering everyone singing Leaving on a Jet Plane on the last day of a session. I hope I someday have a daughter I can send there.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

What I love my girl scout camp so I am shocked that something like that would happen. If we didn't go to sleep our consulers normally set an extra early wake up call for us. Aren't they too sweet

-Becca-

That was almost 40 years ago. They didn't have to worry so much about being nice like they do now..


Candy the witch..if your child ends up with a counselor named Candy...switch camps!!

Oh yeah, I am reminded by an above post, I also went to horseback riding camp. It was a week of day camp, it was the most fun I ever had a child..

 

[mantysk8coach]

Band camp geek here! My best friend and I went to band camp together for five summers. We were always roommates (stayed on a college campus in a door room), but never got placed into the same band...she was really good and was always put in the honors band, I was...not. My favorite part of the day was actually camp chorus. Not sure why I didn't just go to chorus camp, as they were held the same time. Anyway...

We had tons of fun and lots of "This one time, at band camp..." stories of our own! Funny, none of our best band camp memories had anything to do with the actual music classes!

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I went to Camp LRCA (Lake Region Christian Assembly) in Crown Point, IN. I went every Summer for about 7 years! I loved it! I made lots of friends (unfortunately, I don't keep in touch with them anymore). It was a Christian Camp (if you didn't catch that by the name ) and it made me much stronger, spiritually, and I believe it is a big part of who I am today. Funny thing, though, my SIL went when she was younger and absolutely hated it and never went back.

 

[DaksKid]

I go to camp for two weeks each August. It's a camp for gay and lesbian kids and it's a LOT of fun. I'm training to be a camp counselor so I can still go after I'm 18!

 

[PaulaSB12]

Do most american children go to camp in the summer? Also are they just one sex camps ie boys one camp girls in another? They didn't have them over here when I was a child fortunatly because to be with that kind of large group would have been torture for me. Still don't like big groups but disney isn't to bad.

 

[olena]

My Mom let me do camp one year. It was in the north GA mountains and it was run by a church. It was great...

At some point, I'm hoping to do a music camp like the Berkshire Choral Festival.

Oh and I've been a counselor for a camp for kids with hemophilia and bleeding disorders....Camp Wannaklot.

 

[DaksKid]

Do most american children go to camp in the summer? Also are they just one sex camps ie boys one camp girls in another? They didn't have them over here when I was a child fortunatly because to be with that kind of large group would have been torture for me. Still don't like big groups but disney isn't to bad.

I don't think that most American kids go to camp, no. Most of my friends don't go. My camp does have both sexes, but I couldn't tell you about other camps!

 

[barkley]

Do most american children go to camp in the summer? Also are they just one sex camps ie boys one camp girls in another? They didn't have them over here when I was a child fortunatly because to be with that kind of large group would have been torture for me. Still don't like big groups but disney isn't to bad.

i don't think most american kids go, and it's definatly much more popular in some regions vs. others.

the camps my kids have gone to (both run by the same church-one camp dh went to every year as a kid) are for boys and girls. they have a good number of kids that attend any given session (one week) but they are broken into groups of no more than 8 who share an individual cabin (so not with a huge group all the time). there are some activities the kids do as one large group (camp fire, rodeo-each nite some different special event) but they also do things in smaller groups-some with just their cabin mates, some in the activites they've chosen ahead of time (ds just got back, he chose model rocketry, swimming lessons and lego robotics, dd did drama and video production last year, this year she did cowboy camp so her activities were involving learning to care for and ride a horse).

i never went to camp as a kid and one of the best decisions i made before sending mine was to attend 'family camp' one week with them. we did everything just as though we were campers during a regular session and it gave me (and them) a good feel for what the camper experience was like.

 

[MidgeD79]

Kitty 34, did you go to Camp Tawanka? I went there from age 7 -17 and the last year I was a counselor. I learned to play the guitar at camp. My 2 oldest girls went there for 2 years before it closed. I have many fond memories of summer camp - especially the singing.

 

[Kitty 34]

Kitty 34, did you go to Camp Tawanka? I went there from age 7 -17 and the last year I was a counselor. I learned to play the guitar at camp. My 2 oldest girls went there for 2 years before it closed. I have many fond memories of summer camp - especially the singing.

My camp was Camp Kitanniwa near Hastings, MI. Several years ago I was in Hastings, and drove all around looking for this camp and never found it or it's lake. I even tried to google the lake but had no success. It would have been fun to see the area again after so many years!!

 

[allie_to_you]

As a kid, I used to go to camp at Camp Alamisco in Dadeville, AL and then as I got to be older, I worked there as a counselor-in-training. Later on, I worked as assistant cafe director & counselor at Cohutta Springs Camp near Dalton, GA. Both are Chrisitian camps and very beautiful.