Life After Camp
Returning Home
You might think you’re in the clear once you pick your camper up on closing day, but there are still some things to keep in mind!
First, not all campers will have similar responses when they leave camp. Some might spend the entire ride home (and many days thereafter) talking nonstop about their camp adventures. They may not need any time to adjust back into everyday life as they thrive on a post-camp rush, celebrating, reliving and detailing every camp moment with you!
Other campers might not be quite as vocal, or they may take awhile to open up. They may have camp withdrawals when they get home – having just experienced an unbelievable summer and formed incredible friendships. Don’t take this as a sign that they are unhappy to be home. Instead, recognize that they thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity you provided of experiencing the life-changing impact of summer camp! Give your camper a few days to adjust and they will start talking. Each child is different and each will respond to their camp experience in their own way.
Check Those Bags
Second, you might unpack some yucky stuff. Your camper’s laundry is washed just before they go home, but some less-than-pleasant things always find their way into the trunks. This is why we encourage you to send old clothes and towels. Additionally, we will return any labeled items your child may leave behind. However, do not be surprised if some things are never found. In the confusion of packing up to go home, some items may get mixed up between campers or accidentally discarded. As you unpack your children’s trunks upon their return home, please let us know if you find any items that do not belong to your camper. We try our very best to make sure each item is returned to its proper owner.
Finally, we continually seek to partner with our parents and camp families to ensure that we provide the ultimate summer camp experience. As part of this effort, you will have the opportunity to provide feedback through an email survey shortly after the close of each session. Your honest feedback helps us continue to improve Camp Highlander year after year.