Archive for the 'Resources' Category

Write Better Letters, From the Experts, part II

more-expert-advice-letters-to-campContinuing yesterday’s post (with advice from camps and camping organizations) , following is additional expert letter-writing and summer camp advice from parenting experts as well as a variety of parenting websites.

We’ve included a lot of different opinions – and is always the case with parenting, some advice will conflict – but that’s OK.  Pick and choose the advice that works for you.  Either way, you’ll come away with a variety of great perspectives on camp letter-writing.

Continue reading ‘Write Better Letters, From the Experts, part II’

Write Better Letters, From the Experts, part I

expert-advice-letters-to-campA 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.

Continue reading ‘Write Better Letters, From the Experts, part I’

Our Camp Surprise: Kid-sickness

OK, I admit it: we miss our kids!

I’d have to say that it really took us by surprise.  We knew our kids would have a great time at overnight camp, that they’d meet many new friends, learn new things, challenge themselves, learn to be independent.  And we were confident that we’d chosen the very best sleepaway camp for our kids.
Continue reading ‘Our Camp Surprise: Kid-sickness’

Guest Post: Mom and Dad – Don’t Forget About Me

— By Jeff & Lonnie Lorenz

This post comes from Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz, owners and directors of Swift Nature Campa summer camp for boys and girls ages 6-15 and located 2.5 hours Northeast of Minneapolis Minnesota.  Swift Nature Camp blends traditional summer camp with an appreciation for nature and the environment, providing an education outside the classroom. Activities include archery, canoeing, art & crafts, skiing, as well as backpacking and canoeing trips.  Contact the camp at 630-654-8036.

From time to time, we invite guests to post their letter-writing experiences to the Letters to Camp Blog.  Interested?  Click to learn more.

Mom and Dad – Don’t Forget About Me

Advice from seasoned camp directors

Kids love to get letters!! Don’t we all. Some parents will send a little care package filled with a comic books, some little games, a bandana, posters, photos or other items, but no food, please. Correspondence with your camper is a critical aspect of the camp experience, and we can offer some practical suggestions. Continue reading ‘Guest Post: Mom and Dad – Don’t Forget About Me’

New York Times Article on Summer Camp

Earlier this summer, I mentionedLetters from Sleep-away Camp,” an article in Motherlode in The NY Times.  

If you are considering sending sending your children to summer camp, I recommend reading the amazing compendium of comments.  You’ll see all sorts of different perspectives on overnight camp.  As you read through the letters, consider how your child would enjoy summer camp.  Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to read the comments.


More Jokes

Yesterday I listed kid-safe joke sites.  Following is a list of general sites that have a mix of kid-friendly and not so kid-friendly jokes.  But most of these sites have a great selection of appropriate jokes so you’ll want to check them out. The best sites are at the top of the list.

General Jokes Sites

Broad selection of general jokes without sections dedicated to kids.

 

  • Comedy Zone. Huge selection of jokes, many of which are clean.  Easily browse-able with titles for each joke. Check out the extensive collection of funny pictures.  Looks like this site hails from the United Kingdom.
  • Joke-Best. Reader-rated jokes.  More clean jokes than many other sites.  Browse-able.  Easy to navigate.
  • Funny and Jokes. Good selection.Click on a category to see a selection of jokes on one page.  Click to see more.  Browse-able.  Decent number of categories.
  • The Joke Yard. Moderate selection of jokes with many categories.  Browse-able to short list of jokes in a given category. Check out clean one liners.  Click more categories to see a huge list of categories.  Great feature: shows if joke is clean, rude etc.  Beware: many rude jokes.  It’s also ad-supported so you never know what’s going to show up.
  • Funnyjokes.org. Click on categories to read random jokes, one at a time.  A bit tedious since you can’t browse for specific jokes.
  • Cool funny jokes.  Very easy to find new jokes from the home page.  You’ll have to look for the funny jokes.  Note that some people will find selected links and  jokes offensive.  Fully browse-able.  Beware: sometimes displays racy ads.
  • Joke-Of-The-Day.  Very easy to browse with descriptions.  Lots of clean jokes although much of the humor may be beyond the reach or interest of children.  Don’t go here looking for “the joke of the day” though.
  • Lots of Jokes.  Moderate selection of funny kids jokes but not easy to browse.  The main site contains many jokes, many of which are not appropriate for children.  Site has a lot of advertising.

Resources:

More funny stuff from the Letters To Camp Blog.
A Letter A Day Makes A Happy Camper

A Joke A Day Makes A Happy Camper

Keep your camper laughing with funny letters to camp!  Campers always love to get jokes from their parents.  Jokes lighten your camper’s mood and help to build a shared connection between you and your child.  What’s more, your camper will enjoy sharing jokes and laughs with their friends.  In our family, we try to include a joke in each daily (!) email we send to our kids at camp.

Make it relevant. Remember to tailor your joke selections to the interests and sensibilities of your child.  If your kid follows politics, send political jokes.  Interested in computers?  Send computer jokes, etc.

A web of jokes. You can draw from your own arsenal of jokes or you can find more jokes on the web.  In most cases, it’s easy to cut and paste jokes, riddles and pictures from these sites directly into your typed letters and emails.  You’ll also find that the ability to browse and find jokes varies greatly from site to site.  The best sites include a multitude of categories with links to specific titles for each joke.

Joke of the Day?  You choose. It’s tempting to just go to a joke of the day website and cut and paste the day’s joke.  But the jokes tend to be uneven so you’re better off browsing for a an interesting joke.

Following is a list of joke sites with kid-appropriate, usually clean jokes.  The best sites are closest to the top.

Kid-Friendly & Kid-Safe Joke Sites

  • A Joke A Day – It seems like of these jokes have been around for a while but if you look at the archives, you’ll find some god ones.  The actual “Joke of the Day” usually comes from the archives.  You can subscribe to a daily email as well. Fully Browse-able.  Massive number of browse-able categories with joke descriptions.
  • AHA Jokes.  Excellent selection (some of the best kids jokes I’ve read) but difficult to browse.  Browse to a category where you’ll see a numbered list without descriptions.  Avoid the joke of the day because it doesn’t look like it’s been updated regularly.
  • Arizona Kids Net.  Jokes and lots of riddles submitted by kids.  Difficult to cut and paste – but great selection of funny jokes.  Easily brows-able but limited number of categories.
  • Library jokes – Multinomah Public Library.  Library jokes for real, and a lot more.  Great links to other clean joke sites.  Scroll to the bottom of the page for an excellent selection of clean, funny riddles.  Easy cut and paste.  Not browse-able.
  • Jokes ‘n Jokes.  All clean jokes with a few politically incorrect jokes for good measure.  Includes numerous categories but the site layout is cluttered and a little difficult to navigate.  Browse-able.

Resources:

More funny stuff from the Letters To Camp Blog.

Next: More joke sites – tomorrow.


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Finally – Help for Parent Letter-Writers

Challenged to write great letters to your camper(s)? Help is here! The Letters to Camp Blog will help you to write better letters. More

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