Camp is great for so many reasons… fostering independence, learning how to make new friends, learning skills… and now, it may also be good for your kids’ vision as well. Turns out that that the more time your kids spend in sunlight, the less likely they are to develop nearsightedness. Sure, some kids are going to develop nearsightedness regardless of how much time they spend in the sun. But the typical child will be less likely to develop it if they spend time in the sun, according to The Wall Street Journal (requires subscription). I’m not a medical expert, but I’m sure that sun-exposure has ..read more

I’ll admit that when it comes to writing letters to camp, nothing beats the immediacy and ease of email. BUT there will always be a place for hand-written, personal letters to your overnight camper. So today, I’d like to introduce you to the man who began producing the ballpoint pen in 1944, Ladislao José Biro. Today would have been Biro’s 117th birthday. Here’s an excerpt from the UK Telegraph: He created a ballpoint nib which was coated with a thin film of ink from the cartridge as it made contact with paper and spun in its socket. Read more here Photo CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA ..read more

One of our kids, a counselor, came home about 2 weeks ago and the excitement was obvious – great campers, lots of exciting things happening at camp, bubbly anticipation of the second 3 1/2 week session etc. Then they came home 2 days ago and while happy, were a bit more subdued.  Happy and content but subdued. I wondered what was happening… were they still enjoying their summer? Yes, of course they were, but more quietly. I bet you’ve experienced the same thing from your full-summer campers (ie kids who stay for the whole summer). The letters get a little more quiet, less e ..read more

#GirlsCanWrite Every year parents labor over what goodies to send their kids in a care package.  Stickers? Card games? Stationery? Pens? Autographable pillowcases? Candy (if allowed by the camp)? Ah the possibilities are endless (and several are available in the Letters to Camp Store powered by Amazon). How about this: send your camper a book, written by a kid like them. As it turns out, I am acquainted with two such authors, Citra Tenore (age 12) and Maddie Siegel (who wrote her book when she was age 9). (See important note at the bottom of this post) Summer with a Twist Citra Teno ..read more

A variety of resources can help you to write the best letters to your sleepaway campers.  Today we’ll look at a few national organizations as well as summer camps themselves.  In part II (tomorrow), we’ll look at what parenting experts and bloggers have to say. Advice from national sleepaway camp organizations Guide to sending your child the very best letters at summer camp, from the  Reform Judiasm.org — This organization runs many overnight camps so they speak from experience. They advise parents to send lots of letters, get a head-start by sending letters before camp st ..read more

Humor: the top challenge when writing to kids at summer camp Did you know that writing funny letters to kids at summer camp is the top challenge for letter-writers? The good news: relief is sight… One of the best ways to amuse your summer camper is to include a joke or two in your letters and emails.  Following is our updated list of kids joke sites, most of which have clean jokes that you can send to your younger campers. Jokes are like a gift that keeps on giving: once you share a joke with your camper, they can share it with their friends too.  And it will give you something to t ..read more

Recipe for a Great First Letter That very most dreaded Monday morning has arrived. Not because of work. Or the start of another week. Or that important appointment. Or because your in-laws are stopping by.  No, today is dreaded because you have to write YOUR VERY LETTER TO YOUR OVERNIGHT CAMPER! You Can Do It! I know the feeling. And it’s OK, you can do this.  Of course you can! (Yay you!) Every Monday, campers’ parents and family people desperately search for tips on how to write letters to their sleepaway campers. But it’s OK, because letter writing (do people actually do ..read more