Parental wisdom... Some practical advice: before sending your child to the overnight camp
- Do encourage your child to go on sleepovers to grandparents, friends and relatives before the camp.
- Do not have your child involved too much in the packing process, or they feel nervous.
- Do encourage your child to come to camp with his/her favorite toy.
- Do not tell your children that they can come home after a week if they do not like something. It sends the negative message that the camp is only for a week and no matter how good of a time they are having they will say they want to come home after the first week. Just say, "I am sending you because I know you will like it there. If after the session you do not like something then we can discuss it and think of alternatives".
- Do not repeat over and over again how much you will miss your child. Just say, “I love you, and can't wait to hear about your new friends and activities”.
- Having a friend or sister/brother at the camp is a sense of comfort for the first time camper.
- Do not expect everything to be wonderful. Young first time campers tend to want home when they suddenly think about it. This is normal, as they are not used to having people other then Mom and Dad close by. You cannot imagine how easy they forget their fears and relax. And they will learn the greatest benefit of camp: that they can be more independent and with the assistance of other adults solve their own problems.
8 Questions to Answer Before Making an Overnight
Summer Camp Decision for Your Child
When you are making an overnight camp decision, the most important questions are: "is my child ready for the overnight summer camp?" "is it in his/her best interest?"
By answering the following questions you might get better arguments for your decision:
Do you think that the overnight summer camp that you choose is a good opportunity for your child:
- to develop and improve his/her social and communication skills?
- to gain a unique life experience? to learn new valuable skills?
- to enjoy favorite programs or activities? to try new activities that he/she dreamed of?
- a best way to solve a child care question?
- Will the kid receive at least 60 minutes of structured physical activity most days of the camp session?
- Does you child like overnight experiences with friends or family members?
- Does you child like adventure?
- Does you child usually enjoy new experience?
If you answered "yes" to more that half of the questions, it looks like your child is ready for a successful camp experience.
It's really helpful if you got such a great experience duribg your childhood and can share the best memories with your kid.
If your child is not certain to commit to a camp (which is common, if he or she come alone without sibling or friend), gentle encouragement is usually the key. Show the camp website, brochures, pictures and discuss the list of activities. Sometimes the child is ready and willing to go to a camp, but you have some concerns. Again, if you are first time camp parent, or are sending your child to this particular camp for the first time, it's natural to worry. Remember that it's always better to talk to the camp's staff than to share your concerns with the child.
How to green your kid's summer
Summer is the best time to engage your child with the natural world. If you'd like to help your kids learn the importance of caring about the planet, here are some activities you might want to try based on their age and personality:
- Choosing a summer camp with adventure outdoor program
- Enrolling to environment educational summer program
- Making outdoor activities a constant part of family plans
- Involving the child into your own green lifestyle
1. Choosing a summer camp with adventure outdoor program
Search for a summer camp with lots of outdoors activities. Choose a combination of outdoor trips and sports with water activities (swimming, canoeing, kayaking, fishing). Many of the overnight (sleep away) summer camp are located close to natural lakes and rivers and can be really healthy options for a green summer. Just forget about city routine and chlorine water pool. Consider the camps located at farms as well. Why are overnight camp experiences considered as an essential aspect in green education of young people? It is a place where kids live without parental supervision and the things they're dealing with are rated higher in their life value scale, as it is their own choice. That's why nothing can be better that a couple of weeks of such eco adventure during summer for you kids to build connections with the nature.
2. Enrolling to environment educational summer program
Search a local community green activities, e.g. planting trees program, environment learning classes in libraries, etc. It's important to remember that the best way to learn for kids, especially in the summer time, that they considered as efforts-free time, is through fun. So choose the educational activities that are presented and organized in a way your kid enjoys it. Never force the child in this direction to avoid the opposite effect.
3. Making outdoor activities a constant part of family plans
Take your kids for a hike or a weekend camping trip regularly. During camping trips please leave computers, TVs, and electronic games at home. Explore water trips as well. Don't forget about a bike ride out in the woods! Talk with your children about the plants and animals you saw while you travel, encourage them to explore more and writing it down is even more fun. It's even a better idea to keep a journal in which you can encourage your kid to write down everything you did everyday.
4. Involving the child in your own green lifestyle.
Summer is a great time to take your kids to:
- a community garden or a farm where they can learn how others grow fruits and vegetables and why they taste better when they are locally grown. Apart from learning, pick-your-own activities are fun for the whole family, as well as fruit pizza and salad cooking from farm fresh berries and apples.
- a local park to pick up litter. Don't forget hand sanitizer, rubber gloves and garbage bags. You can discuss reasons why it's not a good idea to litter.
- a recycling center to see the new things made from the old items. Getting children excited about composting or recycling starts right at home.
- your backyard to build a birdhouse, plant seeds, care for them and watch them grow. your backyard or a park to find and observe different animals. Even if you live in urban area, there are a lot of creatures living right under your nose and children can have fun spotting them.
During the summer time, kids are happy, hyper, and very energetic; therefore it's wise to offer them to try some green creative projects and ways to give old things a new life.
Overall, the best we can do for kids to help them understand the importance of green living habits is to constantly demonstrate it with our own examples in everyday life.
It might take a bit of your effort to help your child to become a 'green person', but the deep respect to the environment formed in childhood will be a valuable contribute to the healthy future of our planet.
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