Campsick – How to Survive the End of the Summer

August 14, 2018    Camp News

Campsick

DEFINITION: Campsick adjective / ‘kamp-,sik/The opposite of homesick (medically, you’re not actually ill). Intense longing to be back at summer camp.

SYMPTOMS: Afflicted persons may show a variety of symptoms, including melancholy, reminisce, and attempts to incorporate camp culture into “real world” life.

This diagnosis is all too real. Now that summer Twenty-Eighteen is complete, we are here to help children and their parents make the smooth transition from Camp Wekeela to home.

Here are some tips to help ease the re-entry home if you have an out-of-sorts or “campsick” camper:

  • Let your child rest! Camp is such a busy, active time and campers need lots of rest after they get home. Make sure they don’t have much on their schedule when they return and let them have several days to “chill” and get caught up on sleep. Many emotional and behavioral issues can be solved by a good night’s sleep.
  • Encourage your child to talk about camp and share stories. Ask open-ended questions about camp (if they seem open to your inquiries).
  • Have them teach you a camp song or game.
  • Use the photos on Waldo and the camp’s website to spur conversation and help them remember. Print some photos and make a collage or album with camp memories.
  • Encourage your camper to keep in touch with camp friends. Some campers like to write “real” letters to each other to keep the communication “campy.” Phone calls and video chats are also a great way to continue the more “face-to-face” connections they made at camp.
  • Help your child make plans for a visit or reunion with camp friends (or a video chat if that’s all that works).
  • Suggest your camper write a thank you note to a counselor at camp who made their stay especially fun. Doing something kind for someone else, like writing a thank you note, will make your camper feel happier.
  • Have a “campfire” in your backyard and roast a s’more.
  • Plan and do a family outdoor activity together.
  • Kids and their parents all have transitions – both as camp begins, and as it ends. A positive adjustment back home means kids not only stay connected to camp friends, but also display skills and values for a lifetime. 
  • Talk about camp plans and start a count-down calendar to next summer!

We have started working on Wekeela 2019. It will be Ephram and Lori’s 23rd year! Camp Wekeela is only ten months away. So keep those campfires burning; Camp Wekeela, starts June 22, 2019!!