Letters to Camp

A variety of resources can help you to write the best letters to your sleepaway campers.  Today we’ll look at a few national organizations as well as summer camps themselves.  In part II (tomorrow), we’ll look at what parenting experts and bloggers have to say.

Advice from national sleepaway camp organizations

• Guide to sending your child the very best letters at summer camp, from the  Reform Judiasm.org — This organization runs many overnight camps so they speak from experience. They advise parents to send lots of letters, get a head-start by sending letters before camp starts, includes surprises in letters, and list both what TO write about (e.g., ask questions to engage the camper) and what NOT to write about (too much missing your camper, too much bad news etc) and more.
• Make an upbeat connection, says the American Camp Association — Your written communication is your camper’s connection to home – and you should keep letters upbeat. Also check out Alive and Well: The Case for the Camp Letter.

Advice from summer camps

Summer camps provide lots of great advice on how to write letters to campers.  Check out your camp’s website or handbook for suggestions, information, policies (for example, can you send packages and if so how many, how to send emails and if you need to pay for them etc), and what to expect from your camper (for example, that campers need to write twice each week).

But you should also check out other camps too for creative letter-writing advice:

• Kids love mail, says Camp Towanda in Pennsylvania — Quoting from Homesick & Happy, they say that “Letters are absolutely the most effective antidotes for homesickness because the camper can read and reread them and feel connected to home without the parent actually being present.” Includes great advice on what parents should expect from their campers too. The camp also advises disregarding the first two letters from campers since things usually settle down after that (wise advice!)
• Advice on homesickness from URJ Camp George in Ontario, Canada — Great advice from an experienced counselor: When it comes to homesick kids, you want to both empathize with your camper AND remind them of the good things about camp and that you’re proud of them [hint: do not tell them that all they have to do is let you know and you’ll pick them up next day].
• Echo and engage, says Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Texas — Echo what your camper has said in letters, engage by sharing some news from home, use clever email subject lines, and encourage your camper.
• Kids love hand-written letters most, says Camp Greystone in North Carolina — Hand-written letters are cherished forever, more so than faxes or emails (I wish I’d seen this before I sent hundreds of emails to my own kids!!!).
• Don’t make your first-time camper miss home, advises Camp Deerhorn in Wisconsin — Great suggestions to help the first-time camper: Avoid bad news, great news, making your camper feel guilty for enjoying camp. See section on Letters to Campers.
• Focus on camp, says the Metropolis of Detroit Summer Camp — Keep letters focused more on camp and less on what’s going on at home. Especially avoid writing about events they’re going to miss while at camp, see “Keeping in Touch” section. Twitter: @gomdsc
• Ask one question, says Camp Louise/Camp Airy in Maryland — Also, give a positive family update, include photos in letters, share something you learned while your camper was away, avoid guilting your kid into writing, include a small puzzle in the letter.

Note: The LetterstoCamp blog is not affiliated with any of the organizations mentioned above.