The Mom I Want to Be

Sun, s’mores, and a few kindred spirits may seem like all a kid needs to have a great time at summer camp. But as we heard when we asked for your best off-to-camp ideas, a few simple preparations can make a big difference in your child’s experience. On the following pages, our readers share their favorite family-tested strategies for stowing gear, staying in touch, and easing homesickness. You may not see these tips on standard camp packing lists, but they just might help keep your kids happy campers from the first day to the last. Also, be sure to check out fun camping activities and recipes below!

SMART PACKING
Help your children keep track of their gear — and keep it dry — with these easy, field-tested solutions.

Photo Inventory
No matter how many lists or labels Pamela Willett used, her kids never came home from camp with all the items they’d taken — until she hit on the idea of a visual packing guide. “We laid out each child’s bag with its contents on the floor. Then we stood on a chair and took a digital photo of the items,” says the Ithaca, New York, mom. After printing the photos on 8 1/2- by 11-inch sheets of paper, Pamela sealed each in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and tucked it into a pocket of the appropriate duffel. The result? When Allegra, then age ten, and Jacob, eight, were ready to leave camp, they could easily see which items they needed to look for, and nothing was left behind.

Double-duty Tote
The Brown family of Columbia, Tennessee, uses waterproof plastic bins instead of suitcases when shipping daughters Elizabeth, age 16, and Kaitlin, 12, off to camp. “The totes have hinged lids just like a trunk and are stored at the end of their beds, where they become a table too,” says mom Sharon. They also keep gear from getting wet in rain or mud. The Browns use the 44-gallon Wheeled Tote Locker by Sterilite — wheels and a handle make it easy for kids to transport — which they purchased on sale at Wal-Mart for $13.

Self-service
When Brian MacIntosh of Irvine, California, went away to camp for the first time at age nine, his mom, Becky, packed his bag with everything she thought he might need. Trouble was, Brian had no idea what was in it. He borrowed a hat from a camp counselor because he didn’t know his mom had sent one, for instance. So the next summer, she asked Brian to pack his own bag, which she then double-checked. “I find that if he makes an attempt at pulling needed items from the closet, he’s more likely to remember what he has with him and use it,” she says.

Pack each days outfit in a large ziplock bag, which can then be reused to store soiled clothing.  Send flip flops to wear to/from and in the showers.  Include an old pillowcase and encourage your child to stash her dirty laundry in it.  Provide a waterproof disposable camera for picture taking in wet and sandy settings.

KEEPING IN TOUCH
Absence makes the heart grow fonder… at least for Mom and Dad! Here are a few ways to stay connected while your camper is away.

Fun Form Letters
Jacquie Fisher knows that even reluctant letter-writers can’t resist the chance to say something silly. So when her then seven-year-old son, Taber, was headed to camp, she created a collection of preprinted notes to make keeping in touch fun and quick. “You write the statements, and the child either circles the answers or fills in the blanks,” says the Olathe, Kansas, mom. For example: “On Tuesday, we went (circle one) swimming/hiking/boating.” To tickle Taber’s interest, she added lines like: “One crazy thing the camp counselor did today was _______.” Even busy campers and younger kids can keep you up-to-date on activities with these fun form letters. “Kids hate blank paper,” says Jacquie. And, she adds, “These lead to good discussions when they return home.”

Download the fun form letters below!

Fun Form Letter 1

Fun Form Letter 2

Fun Form Letter 3 Hidden Notes
When her daughters go off to camp, Peggy Kinzler of Glencoe, Minnesota, sends them messages of encouragement without licking a stamp. “I hide notes and other little things among the articles in the suitcase for them to find as the week goes by,” she says. Among the offerings: stationery, extra money, and snacks. To keep her girls from finding them all at once, Peggy tucks them into pants pockets, rolls them up in shirts, and slips them into their toiletry bags. Over the years, this simple trick, begun with Peggy’s eldest, now age 24, has helped lift the spirits of all five of her daughters.

Postcard Kit
Keeping folks back home apprised of camp adventures was easy for Leah Fleischhacker, thanks to the correspondence kit her mom, Chany, prepared. “I remember when I went to camp, there were only a few minutes available for letter writing,” recalls the Memphis mom. So when it was time for Leah, then age 11, to make the trek, she filled a cute pencil case with markers, stickers, and prestamped, preaddressed Harry Potter postcards. The kit allowed Leah to take advantage of brief breaks to dash off a note home.

Mail a letter to your child before she leaves for camp so that it will arrive while she is there.  Be sure to send her with a small journal for recording autographs, addresses, and e-mail addresses of new friends.

HEADING OFF HOMESICKNESS
There may be no place like home, but these clever strategies can help comfort your camper wherever he lays his head. Good-night Message
Bedtime is often prime time for homesickness to set in. And when kids are missing their family, a familiar voice can serve as an instant cure. The McMillans of Newcomerstown, Ohio, suggest sending a mini tape recorder to camp. Prerecord a bedtime message or story read by Mom or Dad that your child can listen to before lights-out. Include a blank tape too, so he can record new friends’ addresses and voices before he leaves. Inexpensive recorders are available at discount stores for less than $30. For added privacy, consider a model with a headphone jack and send along an earbud.

Homesickness Kit
One of the first things Zoie Johnson mentioned when she called home from camp was the homesickness kit she and her mom had created using a collection of symbolic treasures. “I made a little satchel, and inside it we put a picture of all of us, so that she could see us, a rubber band and a chocolate kiss to remind her of my hugs and kisses, a tissue to dry any tears, and a bandage for any boo-boos,” says mom Michelle Dickens of Hawaiian Gardens, California. The tote was small enough for Zoie, then age seven, to carry in a pocket or stow in a backpack.

Pillowcase Pals
To keep her daughter, McKaela, from feeling lonely at camp, Debbie McFarlane of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, printed a digital photo of the then ten-year-old and her friends on a sheet of iron-on transfer paper (available from craft and office supply stores), then pressed the image onto a pillowcase. Each friend then signed her name with a fabric marker. The result was a comfy reminder of home that also worked as a conversation piece to break the ice with fellow campers, giving new meaning to the phrase “pillow talk.” “I really liked using my pillow at camp,” says McKaela. “It was fun to look at the picture and fall asleep.”

Creative Care Packages

 

Send several small packages. Even though this might cost more in postage, I’ve learned that 4 small packages has a longer-lasting effect on a camper than one huge package the day before the child goes home.

 

Send something other than food! Trust me, campers are fed well.  The last thing they need is Suzie all hyped up on pixie sticks and M&M’s. Yeah, I know…the kids love it. Send some candy…just not 8 pounds of it. Be original with it too. Candy necklaces go over better than a bag of Skittles.

 

If budget allows, send extras for sharing with bunkmates and friends.

 

Letter (of course!)

Pre-addressed, stamped envelopes for letter home

Money (if camp has a canteen)

Pictures (Silly ones like the dog waving are fun)

Extra socks and underwear (make them silly ones!)

Silly string

Squirt guns

Bubble Solution

Embroidery Floss for friendship bracelets

Temporary tattoos

Glow sticks

Playing cards

Drawing pads

Colored pencil

Yo-yos

Paddleball

Magic Slate

Joke Book

Slinky

Paper fans

Kazoos

Super Balls

Beach Ball