Homesick To Happy

Friday is here and we can’t believe that we are already to the weekend here in Session 4. Last evening’s NA (night activity) was the famous, famous, MOST FAMOUS Talent Show. Campers took to the stage to show off their one-of-a-kind gifts. Last night’s show saw everything from ninja skits to monologues to fantastic gymnastics.

One story in particular stood out that I wanted to share with you. We have one camper who has been pretty homesick this session. Last night was a turning point for him. This camper was not planning on doing anything for the talent show, until one of our directors, Juanse, encouraged him to try. Juanse had noticed in this child one of his giftings— rapping. On a whim, Juanse encouraged the camper to get on stage and share his gift with all of Camp. The camper challenged Sarah P. (counselor) to a battle rap, and in the last talent of the night, this camper shined and beat Sarah in this epic rap duel. The rest of the story is that this camper, once homesick, is now in the flow of camp and happy. When I asked him what he was feeling on stage in front of all of Camp, he replied by saying, “I felt calm.” He went from homesick to happy! It was encouraging seeing him and so many other campers last night stepping out of their comfort zones. These kids are literally growing up in front of us this week.

Today marks what we call the turn, as we turn up the amps a bit tonight with our first Tribal Competition event in Huawni Soccer. Tomorrow we will slow things down a bit as we’ll take the 1/2 mile hike to the Carving Trees. Once there, we’ll feast on ice-cold watermelon after a thorough mud bath in the Pinson Creek.

Your campers are really starting to grow close this session and we are all excited about the weekend!

Tribal Competition Teams Announced!

Last evening we hosted our Tribal Competition Team Announcement Ceremony. First-time two weeker campers were inducted onto one of our two tribes— Caddo and Tejas. Without further ado, here is a list of our new Caddo and Tejas members!!

Caddo

• Penny M.
• Sloane W.
• Diane R.
• Payton B.
• Sydney D.
• Caia M.
• Colin L.
• Weston R.
• Dylan K.
• Evan C.
• Gavin K.
• Walker W.

Tejas

• Leah C.
• Etta H.
• Cynthia Z.
• Ella S.
• Vanessa C.
• Auggie H.
• Ryan H.
• Stanley W.
• Wyatt R.
• Colton M.
• Max E.
• Chris W.
• Diego R.
• Evan D.
• Ryland K.
• Sterling K.
• Carlos J.
• Harmaz K.

What to do about homesickness at summer camp

Do not offer a pickup promise. "If you hate it, call me and I'll come get you" is the most common well-meant mistake in camp parenting. It hands your child an exit ramp on the hardest night, and almost every camper who would have taken it is unrecognizable by Thursday. Say instead: I will see you on closing day and I cannot wait to hear everything.

Expect it to peak early. Homesickness that is going to appear shows up in the first two days. By the middle weekend of a two-week session, the camper who was struggling on Tuesday is usually the one running the cabin skit.

Write cheerful, specific letters — and go light on how much everyone at home misses them. Campers read letters out loud in the cabin.

Ask the camp how they handle it. Not whether they do. Ask them to walk you through a specific homesick camper from last summer. A camp that answers concretely is telling you more than any brochure can.

At Huawni, small cabins are most of the answer: a maximum of 14 campers with 2 counselors means nobody disappears into the group. More for new families on our first-time parents page, and more on readiness in is my child ready for summer camp.