How to Easily Plan for Your Child's Summer Camp
A month-by-month timeline to get your child (and you!) ready for summer camp
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Planning for Summer Camp in December & January
Talk to camp directors. Speaking with the camp director and asking some key questions is a good way to find out about a camp’s philosophy and see if it matches your own. Get to know the camp director through phone calls, correspondence, and in person. Make sure to give the director an accurate picture of your child and what your specific goals are for her camp experience.
Make camp part of holidays. Instead of purchasing another toy for your child, make camp a holiday gift.
Prepare your child for overnights. If you are considering sleepaway camp, schedule sleepovers with friends and relatives and make sure these overnights are successful. If your child feels panicked and needs to come home in the middle of the night, he may not be ready for sleepaway camp.
Planning for Summer Camp in February & March
Schedule home visits and attend camp fairs. These are both good ways to get to know a camp director and a camp program. Ask about the camp’s mission statement and what type of child is successful at camp. Camp fairs bring dozens of camps to a community and provide parents the opportunity to speak 1-on-1 with many different directors in one day. Often times, a camp director will come to you for a home visit, which allows you to get to know the director and for the director to get to know your family.
Planning for Summer Camp in April & May
Share positive messages. As camp approaches, talk to your child about the camp program and the activities she will be participating in. Let your child know you are confident in her ability to have a successful camp experience.
Planning for Summer Camp in June
Pack together. If your child is going to overnight camp, pack together. Your child will feel more secure if he knows what he is bringing to camp. Use this time talk with your child about how much fun camp is going to be.
Mail a letter to camp. Send a letter to sleepaway camp, so your child has a letter the first day she is at camp. Let her know how much fun she is going to have at camp.
Planning for Summer Camp in July & August
Camp season is here!
