First Summer Camp

What an adventure for our daughter L! Her school district offered a summer camp for 5th graders, so we talked with some of her friends in the neighborhood from school and they all decided to try to go together. They were supposed to have archery, leatherwork, campfire programs, hiking to the lake for the Polar Plunge, star gazing, and water activities like a Slip-and-Slide.

There was a hiccup with registration which opened at 6am so I was up in time, but 3 minutes later before I had completed the process it had sold out! She was the only one of her friends who didn’t get in. I put her on a Waiting List, registered for a backup session just in case that didn’t work out so at least she’d have the chance to go even if it wasn’t with her friends, sent an email, left a voice message, and eventually a month later we were able to clear everything up and get into the session we wanted!

We did a little shopping since she had grown out of so many things. We got her some clothing, a swimsuit, water shoes, hiking shoes, and more. I showed her how to wear collared button-up shirts over dresses. She was so excited that she packed slowly over the course of a week. I checked a few stores, and all the disposable cameras were gone. She thought it was so cool that I let her take the instant camera and polaroids.

This would be her first time away from home or a similar environment. Jer and I spoke briefly with her about what she might encounter at camp and being with other girls who may not share her beliefs that we are daughters of God, or values like kindness and honesty. We talked about how she can stick up for herself and others. We talked about safety in things like always staying on the hiking path, and never being alone with or behind closed doors with an adult. She can leave any situation that is uncomfortable to her. It really made me sad to have to answer her questions about these things, but I’m so glad we were able to do our best to keep her safe and well-adjusted.

She came home with tales of giant water slides and glow sticks, giant cabins with only one bathroom, how she found the food so delicious, and hiking with the other girls. She didn’t end up getting too many photos because she wanted to save them—how very counterintuitive—but they ended up being mostly of food lol!! When I went to pick her up in her new matching camp shirt, other girls I didn’t know were so sweet saying goodbye to her, so I knew she made new friends, too.