For the 26 million children who attend 15,000 summer camps across the United States, this is a time for growth.
For many parents, one goal of sending their child to camp is fostering a deeper sense of independence. Learning to grow without constant parental supervision, taking new risks, embarking on new adventures, making new friends are all experiences that create a deeper sense of self and build a stronger independence. But that doesn’t mean that campers don’t still want to hear from their parents. In fact, many are homesick and do want to hear from Mom & Dad! In those cases, it’s a delicate balance between sending just right number of letters to your camper letting him/her know you are thinking about them.
One of our campers attends a sleepaway camp in North Carolina (Camp Rockmont) and the Assistant Director writes a great blog about the value of homesickness. We thought we’d share it. It’s a beautiful post. (Cliff notes: What a blessing that you have created such a wonderful bond with your child and built a loving, safe household that your child misses When your child is homesick at camp, I hope their camp counselors lean in and say, “tell me more.” There is nothing more sweet than the bond of family and the safety and security of home. But this is where the growth happens. Outside of their comfort zone!)
When writing to your camper, we’ve heard conflicting advice. Do you write “I miss you” to your camper, or does that create feelings of angst or guilt if your camper doesn’t exactly miss you or is having a great time? Or, does writing “I miss you” provide security, and is it honest and something you should absolutely share with your son or daughter?
Finding what works for you is no easy task and our only advice is that you be you and follow your heart. Where More Than Paper can help more is sharing the wealth of stationery and unique greeting card options that make letter writing to your camper easy! Here are some great options for writing letters to your camper from home. We think you will be surprised at these innovative solutions for touching base with your camper.
Start with this basic notepad and envelope/return address label set. “Hi From Home” stationery
is non-personalized but you will choose the customization of your return address label sets and choose if you want lined paper or blank. The pad includes 50 sheets.
Up next, we love this set of Games, Puzzles, and Riddles. There’s only just so much news you can report on at home. (Last night, we wrote a note about what we ate for dinner…. Does our camper really care? We think not!) . Your camper can share these jokes with his or her bunkmates and keep everyone laughing. Each set comes with the 8 greeting cards shown with an assortment of colored envelopes!
For sending to your sports and gaming loving boy, we think this sports greeting card pack is super cute! Whether you are wishing them to have a ball or to play like a champion, Send your camper fun letters with these packs of folded note cards. There’s also a “girlie pack” available with makeup, stuffed teddy bears, and more.
This company has created age appropriate card pack sets, like this one that is targeted for ages 10-12. Each set comes with the 8 greeting cards shown with an assortment of colored envelopes.
We also love this just from Mom, “Hi From Mom” notepad and envelope/return address label set. The notepad has 50 sheets and is perfect size for a quick letter to your camper.
Whatever you choose to write to your camper – whether it’s a heartfelt note, a reminder to brush his teeth, expressions that you miss her, or what you ate for dinner last night – we think you will find that More Than Paper has you covered on the ways in which to express your message this summer. Most items are on sale and ship quickly! Get your orders in soon so you can start sending for summer 2025!
