Sample List of What to BringCamper's Personal Money
Here are some suggestions for safeguarding campers’ personal spending money if you feel such steps are necessary:
- Collect all of the camper’s money and put it in the camp bank.
- Explain that this is so campers will neither lose nor have their money stolen.
- Explain that campers can use their money during the week.
- Do not keep money in your cabin at any time. The camp bank should be in a designated area and open during a specified time each day.
- Give campers their money to spend for one day at a time. Mark immediately on each camper’s envelope/record how much you give out each day. Keep accurate accounts.
- At the end of camp, return the remainder of the money to the campers.
For many children, camp is their first opportunity to “be out on their own.” This can be a frightening experience if the child is not properly prepared. It is important to train counselors how to deal with homesickness.
What is homesickness?- Homesickness is physical upset brought out by the anxiety of being in unfamiliar circumstances.
- Homesickness can cause serious physical discomfort, including nausea and vomiting.
- If homesickness is not dealt with promptly, the anxiety deepens.
- The anxiety associated with homesickness is lessened when the child is busy with something that interests him or her.
- The anxiety associated with homesickness is lessened when the child feels accepted by those at camp and has established a comfortable routine.
- Group campers with other campers they know. Since homesickness is caused by anxiety brought about by unfamiliar settings, try to surround the camper with familiar people. Keep children from the same church in one cabin or “family group.” Introduce campers to people in their cabins they may not know. Use the “buddy system” to ensure that every camper has at least one friend.
- Build routine into the schedule. Routine makes camp life predictable, and therefore feels less anxiety-producing.
- Train counselors to assume the role of parent. Campers experience less homesickness if their counselors quickly establish caring, supportive relationships with them.
- Limit outside contact. Children may want to call home or parents may want to visit their child. Such contacts only renew the anxiety the camper feels. Controlling the phones is easier than restricting parental access to their children during the camp. This is particularly true now that many organizations suggest unannounced parental visits as a way to protect against child abuse. If parents do arrive unexpectedly, encourage them to observe the campers at enough distance to assure themselves that their children are fine, while minimizing the possibility that the child will see his or her parents. Parents can become quite “homesick” for their children. If this happens, the probability is high that the child will end up going home early.
- Design an active schedule. Keeping the child involved in interesting, enjoyable activities can reduce the time he or she has to think about home. Free time, rest time, and excessive waiting time in group activities are all occasions for children to become anxious.
- Plan to deal with homesickness when it is first evidenced. Like any anxiety attack, homesickness worsens if it is not dealt with. Counselors should be aware that it is more likely to strike around mealtime, bedtime, or playtime if the child is alone.
There are some children who are sent to camp before they are mature enough to deal with the anxiety. This maturity has very little to do with the child’s age. It is most highly associated with the degree of independence the child has experienced at home. Although there are some children who should be sent home, others should be given the opportunity to “recover” from their homesickness and enjoy their stay at camp. Here are some strategies for dealing with homesickness in the early stages:
- When the child reports that he or she is ill, take the report seriously. Visit the camp nurse or doctor for diagnosis. Only medical personnel are qualified to rule out any serious illness. The camp medic may have his or her own proven homesick “medicine.”
- Comfort and reassure the child that his or her feelings are valid ones. Do not deny the child’s feelings. Help the child work through them instead. Encourage the child to talk about the feelings. Point out that many campers feel homesick for a while, but they usually feel better after they make friends.
- Direct the child to activities that will be interesting. If possible, allow the child to make choices as to what he or she wants to do. For example, the child may want to go home, but you can ask, “Would you rather play ‘Chutes and Ladders’ or go swimming?”
- Praise the child sincerely for his or her accomplishments. Help the camper realize that camp is a place where he or she can succeed individually.
Painless DisciplineCorrecting misbehavior can be a pain for both camper and camp director. However, there are some ideas that can reduce the pain, at least for the director. We asked camp directors how they handled discipline problems. Almost everyone recommended avoiding them in the first place by having an interesting, activity–filled camp. But when correction is needed, here are some ways to handle it.
“Counselor, Director, Coordinator is our discipline chain of command. The counselor is closest to the boy or girl and almost always can get the best results.”
“I ask the counselors to handle these problems; but, at any time, they have my assistance. We have a counselors’ workshop before camp and deal with some of the more common issues. When a problem arises, privileges are taken away, like swimming. If a problem persists, the child is brought to me.”
“We handle discipline carefully. We want to maintain discipline but, at the same time, not lose the child. We always start with a counselor/camper relationship. The counselor knows that camper better than anyone else. Hopefully, the counselor and camper can talk things out. We use timeout from activities for the child if it goes beyond talk. If worse comes to worse, it comes to my attention; and I talk to and counsel the child. Prayer does many things we cannot do.”
“We eliminate potential problems by firmly reviewing camp rules with the children during orientation on the first day of camp. Question and answer time follows this, with a tour of the campground. Being consistent with rules is extremely important. Don’t back down on the punishment! Taking away privileges is very effective. Also, we try to see that the punishment fits the crime. For example, if a child is throwing food, they have K.P. duty for extra meals. We only send a child home as a last resort. Camp staff prays with each child that needs help and lets them know we are on their side and are there to love them and guide them. Lots of praise is essential—catch them being good! Reward with a sticker, a note, a hug, and a smile! Also, we never leave the children alone on the playground, dorm, or cafeteria. Supervision is a great way to keep order.”
Camper Follow-up IdeasWe send a letter to each church who sends children to camp. This letter is intended to be read to the whole congregation, encouraging them to nurture and help these children to grow.
--Betty Patton
We have pastors and parents that sit in on an assigned service to observe and participate in the altar times. In the dorm devotional time in the evening, the counselors allow a sharing time to talk about any spiritual commitments made during that day's services. We share with the pastors about their responsibilities to monitor after camp the children's decisions made during the week.
--Ken Beatty
We used the new Basic Bible Studies for Children. A full packet was mailed to each pastor as preparation. Then, at camp, each child who accepted Christ received Session #1, and certain staff were assigned to go over it with them the following day. The rest of their packet was then mailed or given to their pastor for follow-up.
--Barry Beverage
We encourage counselors to get all the children's addresses before leaving camp. We tell them it is a big encouragement for the children to hear from their counselors.
--Janet Ritter
Click here to download a copy of the "How Did we Do? questionnaire