As we end the third week of camp, we now turn our attention to an exciting time of the season when the parents come to visit. I will share some thoughts and suggestions in my blog posts this week about how you could approach the day, in hopes of making this visit a happy and special occasion. While visiting day, rightfully so, is a highly anticipated occasion, it is often times met with great emotion as a camper sees the sands of time slipping through his fingers with each passing minute of the day. Please know that my entire staff joins me in offering our help and assistance to make this the best day of your summer.
Visiting day starts at 9:15 AM, but please be aware as you enter camp, it could take you ten minutes to come down the camp road, park your car, and assemble at the arch. I would highly recommend that you leave whatever items you are bringing for your son in the car so you do not have to carry unnecessary items during the morning as you travel with your child from activity to activity.
Our staff will be waiting to greet you at the entrance arch of camp and will have your son’s morning schedule available for you. We request that you stay at the arch until you hear the whistle for morning activities so our campers can finish their morning bunk clean-up and prepare for morning activities. You will meet your child at his first activity. We do this for two reasons. First and foremost, if you meet your child at his cabin, there will be a tremendous delay in getting him to his activity on time. Secondly, if you are running a few minutes late, I know you would prefer that your child be at his activity, not sitting in his bunk waiting for you.
We are very proud of our program and are very excited to have you visit your son to see our program and staff in action. We highly recommend that you do not skip an activity for two reasons. First, we cannot run our activities if the children do not show up. Secondly, there is ample time throughout the day’s schedule to just sit and relax. Between lunch and rest hour in the middle of the day, you will have close to two hours of family time without interruption. When you remove a child from his activity, you are also disrupting his routine. This is usually a recipe for disaster. The lack of structure and routine often creates emotional distress for the child and for his parents.
Visiting day ends at 5:00 PM. In anticipation of some emotional goodbyes, our Warrior Camp will assemble at their line-up area (the Warrior basketball court). Through experience, we have learned that our goodbyes are much easier when they take place in a group. If you anticipate an emotional goodbye, please make sure you share your concern with your son’s counselors so they can be there with you when you hug your child goodbye. Please do not prolong your departure. Once you hug, kiss, turn and walk away, please know that if you then turn back, you will turn into a “pillar of salt.” I promise you, no matter how emotional a goodbye may be, your son will be in the dining room, having dinner and laughing with his friends within thirty minutes.
I’m looking forward to sharing more tips with you tomorrow.
- Today in Warrior Camp, we held brother/sister/cousin events with Camps Vega, Mataponi, Pinecliffe and Fernwood. It was an outstanding Lazy Man’s Morning with late breakfast and a morning full of fun activities. Tonight, we will be singing campfire songs outside with all of our Warrior campers.
- In Junior and Senior Camps, we had a regularly scheduled day. This morning, we sent boys out for Brother/Sister Days at neighboring camps. This afternoon, there is league play competition.
- Our campers were at the Camp Takajo climbing wall this morning to compete in a climbing competition.
