Why Our Camp Parents Love Visiting Day!

b5124b96-46bc-45d4-ab80-5020ad2910b9Reflecting on Visiting Day 2015, a common theme of the summer comes to mind: Top 10! Back in June we did a video about the “Top 10 Things to Look Forward to This Summer” (which was a tribute to our Letterman video in 2000). What we could have included on that list (for the parents, at least) was Visiting Day, but not for the reasons you may think!

793a123f-14f9-4c30-8ad2-965dbfcc3137Yes, of course it’s amazing to see your kids after 4 short weeks, give them a 10 minute hugs and shower them with dozens of treats, but it makes our list because it’s a chance for you to really see change and growth in your child, with the gift of perspective and time.

It helped that Saturday was a “Top 10” weather day, but overall we have so many parents telling us the many other reasons why it was a perfect 10! Here’s a few we would like to share:

Top 10 Reasons Why Parents Told Us Visiting Day Was a “Top 10 Day”!

  1. The smiling faces of the campers, staff and visiting families, walking around camp with their feet barely touching the ground.
  2. The true brother and sister relationships the campers have with each other and how their friendships are different because they live together, play together and work together.
  3. The nice relationships the camp parents form with each other over the years– from that first summer right thru the last (we saw many camp parents crying from the Dorm, Club and LITs- sad to see this as their last visiting day).
  4. The authenticity of our staff (who we are so proud of). The kindness, the care and the effort you see them put into their job; wanting to get to know the parents of the campers who have been their kids for the summer! From first year counselors to the senior staff and group leaders— there is no greater comfort than knowing your kids are in great hands.
  5. The thank yous our campers give their parents. Not just for all the “stuff”, snacks and Vistiting Day treats..but more importantly “thank you for sending me to this camp”. Not sure there is anything better than true gratitude from a 10 year old.
  6. The joy of seeing your camper the happiest they have ever been. Back at home, parents are proud of grades, trophies and accomplishments. But at camp, parents are proud to see their children happy, comfortable, confident and trying new things outside their comfort zone. As Dr. Michael Thompson said “we cannot make our children happy”, but after Visiting Day, I think parents will agree that camp sure can!
  7. The excitement camper has to share something that is completely their own. Even for alumni parents, there is nothing better than experiencing camp through your camper’s eyes. Getting to experience your child show them THEIR CAMP, THEIR BUNK, THEIR FRIENDS, THEIR WORLD. Because it’s something they can own and take pride in, knowing it’s special.
  8. The possibilities. When you send your kid to camp, in just 4 short weeks you don’t even realize the growth and development that is possible when they are away from home. Imagine what can happen in just 3 more weeks!
  9. The sibling love. Whether your siblings are at camp, enjoyed sibling sleepover or just spent the day together. Camp makes siblings appreciate each other so much more.
  10. The pride in being a part of the Camp Towanda Family. It’s not easy these days to be surrounded by hundreds of families, staff and Camp Directors who share the same down-to-earth values and can spend the day in harmony.  The energy at our Visiting Day is not chaotic, stressful or emotional. It is peaceful, joyful and a celebration that no one takes for granted.

We are going to ride the Visiting Day high right into Trip Week and then who knows, maybe there will be Olympics. Camp only gets better from here on out!!! Oh if you could just be a fly on the wall…

7b371443-16fd-4daf-8546-6df1b16cf141  674ec467-b01e-47f7-bbc3-15b9fcc0e6a8

Visiting Day is this week!

blueberrieswsteph1
Stephanie blueberry picking with the Jets!

Visiting Day is this week! The campers are now quite settled and into the FLOW of things.  They are in a groove, and adjusting beautifully to camp life with their camp family.  The homesickness hump seems to be behind us and we are so proud of our campers for working through those feelings and for our staff for helping them grow.

Camp offers such an amazing opportunity for kids to actually experience and work through homesick feelings…where else would they learn to work through them in such a safe, nurturing environment?

We are halfway through the summer, and our campers are excited to be reunited with you for the day!  As you can imagine, some of those feelings of homesickness may re-emerge.  We can assure you that they will now be able to cope more easily with these feelings as they now have the skills.

What’s actually cool about homesickness is that once they are able to cope with those feelings, they emerge into what’s called a FLOW STATE (Summer Camp Handbook tells us more about this…it’s a great read; check my Reading List!).

For basically 3 straight weeks from Visiting Day through the end of the summer (including Camp Trips, Olympics and Bunk Feast) our campers get to experience 3 weeks of FLOW, which is amazing f`or their mental health.  In the off-season, we are all so busy and scheduled that this FLOW STATE is unfamiliar.

Be prepared…when your campers come home they will actually be coming off a camp-high! They may even seem addicted to camp! In addition to so many other wonderful things, camp is actually good for their mental health (another gift you are giving your child).

So homesickness is totally normal…your child by now knows how to cope and is surrounded by his Camp Family (who won’t let him/her fall).  The only thing you may want to also prepare for…when your child comes home in just a few weeks, they will actually be Campsick…and there’s only one cure for that!

We look forward to seeing our Camp Families on Visiting Day and getting into a FLOW STATE starting July 22nd!

~Stephanie