The Gift is Camp

If you are like many camp parents, it is easy to get caught up in the Visiting Day hoopla. When did Visiting Day go from bringing ritz crackers and spray cheese to window shopping through endless Instagram photos of gifts and baskets and cellophane-wrapped camp-themed goodies? Visiting Day fever is a real thing that parents can catch (and it seems contagious)! It’s even in the news.

As you pack up your cars this Saturday and head for the hills of Honesdale, please remember that the real gift IS camp. It was only just 4 weeks ago that you shipped off your camper with trunks full of clothing, new camp swag and the promise of an amazing summer. Your campers have not forgotten how lucky they are. They are well-fed and enjoying canteen, dippin’ dots, birthday cake, milk & cookies, and trip day treats! They are sharing their clothes with their groupmates (which means they have 10x the clothes they even need!). They are learning how to spend unstructured time, unplugged with simple games, tetherball and jacks. They are busy cherishing every moment they have at camp with their summer family. They are also learning through our community service that not everyone gets this incredible opportunity. And most importantly, they know none of this would be possible without the amazing gift of camp that you already gave them.

So bring up some of their favorite comforts from home (maybe a NYC bagel or some Dunkin Donuts…you can leave the sushi behind!). And remember the day is really all about one thing.  It’s not about toys, or bunk gifts (which we don’t allow), or endless amounts of candy (that they won’t have time to eat).  It’s about your camper showing off THEIR camp, their friends, their counselors, their experience. It’s about seeing Towanda all over again through the eyes of your camper. It’s about pride, love and a taste of home. It’s about getting a peek into their world and then walking away for them to experience the best that is yet to come. And it’s about knowing they are growing, learning and ready to take on the next 3 weeks.

As you drive away on Saturday afternoon, you can feel amazing knowing that the best gift you gave your camper wasn’t wrapped in cellophane… it is the gift of camp! It is the gift that keeps on giving!

~Stephanie, Mitch and our entire terrific staff

About Camp Towanda:

Camp Towanda is an independent, traditional, co-ed sleep-away camp in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. It is privately owned, operated and directed by Mitch and Stephanie Reiter (who are celebrating 28 years as owners and directors).  For 95 years, Camp Towanda has continued to define what camp should really be. Our program offers state-of-the-art facilities, an excellent and professional athletic department, waterfront, extensive arts, drama and adventure programs, and special events.  We are highly regarded and respected as an industry leader and are involved in giving back to various organizations throughout the year.  Camp Towanda is accredited by the American Camp Association and a member of the Camp-Alert-Network, Wayne County Camp Association, Camp Owners and Directors Association and the Pennsylvania Camp Association.

Visiting Day is this week!

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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