Write better, funnier, more interesting letters to your camper
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.
Continue reading ‘Write Better Letters, From the Experts, part I’
What do letters to camp have to do with camp atmosphere?
As it turns out, plenty!
A great summer camp will work to create a specific type of atmosphere in camp. Many camps believe that summer is a time to disconnect from email, cell phones, etc. When sending letters, emails or faxes, remember that camps set their policies to reflect the atmosphere and values of the camp. In other words, expect that policies will vary widely from camp to camp.
I come across many camp websites that offer thoughtful suggestions and guidelines for letter-writing. For example, check out Camp Greystone in North Carolina. They also had great advice about birthdays too – see the last blog post.
Among other things, Camp Greystone advises parents to:
You can read more on their site. As you can tell from their tips, kids enjoy letters and letter-writing is an art that requires time and even planning. Of course, that’s why I started this blog – to help parents write great letters to their campers.
A final note on logistics. As I mentioned earlier, while most camps allow and encourage hand-written USPS mail (aka “snail mail”), email and fax policies vary widely between camps. Unlike Camp Greystone, most camps seems to allow email although many will charge extra for it. Make sure to check with your camp to ensure that you fully understand their policies.
For more tips, see last summer’s post on letter-writing advice .
The Letters to Camp blog is all about, well, letters and parent-camper communication. And from time to time, we’ll discuss related topics. Today we cover birthdays.
If your child has a birthday at camp, you’ll want to make it as special as possible while keeping to your camp’s rules.
Every camp is different (and most don’t seem to allow any sort of food for birthdays) but Camp Greystone in North Carolina offers some great birthday tips for parents that including letter-writing and cards. For example, they say that you should:
They ask parents not to:
…This is all outstanding advice. As a long time parent of campers whose birthdays fall during camp, I suggest that you also contact your camp to understand how they celebrate birthdays and what you are permitted to do. Each camp’s birthday observance will vary. Some camps celebrate the birthday on the day of the birthday while others will have a single celebration for all kids with birthdays during that session. At our camp, our kids are also allowed to call us on their birthdays.
You can help your child to have a great birthday at camp… Happy Birthday!
Letters to Camp 
Comments