Growth and Preparation from a Mom Perspective: New Camper Blog Series

Hi everyone! I’m Caroline Mayberry. A former camper turned counselor turned enthusiastic camp parent. My daughter, Charlie, is anxiously awaiting her second year at August camp. I am practicing restraint by not packing my trunk to join her. :)

I have a deep appreciation for this slice of heaven tucked in the mountains of North Carolina. As a young girl, I learned that camp is a safe, warm hug that just so happens to also teach you life skills. Sure, there are the obvious: gaining confidence when overcoming obstacles like climbing high and taking the “Leap of Faith” at the High Ropes course. But what I’ve found, and why my husband and I continue to send Charlie back to camp, is that long term life skills are forming in the nooks and crannies of our girls’ time at 21 Camp Greystone Lane.

These pivotal moments aren’t always obvious but they can be found everywhere at camp. It’s holding a conversation at the dinner table with 7 new friends, time management when there are 4 girls in line to use the shower and you have to wait a minute, completing your cabin chore because the cabin is not going to clean itself! It’s also in the quiet strength mustered on your walk to the Health Hut because you did in fact stub your toe silly when getting out of the pool. It’s even found within the first few hours at camp when selecting your jam packed class schedule as you’re wanting to take some classes with your cabinmates but also having the agency to say, “I can try new things and meet new faces at riflery, riding, or golf!”

We hand over these special souls to be both loved and stretched. To teach them how to participate in the world and be kind to others because what they learn at camp will go far beyond the bounds of the 28790 Zirconia zip code. It will travel with them to college, be alongside them as they experience their first job interview, and it will teach them what to look for in friends and companions.

Greystone never leaves you; instead it stays in your heart forever and asks you to expand on what you learned and share it with others. Your daughter will take camp with her wherever she goes, with whatever she chooses to do. And that is the beauty of Greystone.

Here are a few suggestions to set your daughter up for this success:

Time those showers. Before her first summer at Junior Camp, my daughter would take nice, long showers. Knowing she’d soon be sharing shower time with 10 others, I asked Charlie to start taking quick, efficient showers a few weeks before she left for camp. It worked like a charm and got her into the mindset of being part of a cabin community - that shower time is valuable to everyone!
Talk about her class schedule. Walk her through all of the amazing classes she can take at her session! Explain that it could be fun to schedule her classes at the same time as some friends, but it’s also ok to enjoy a class and make new pals when class begins. Trying new things and building skills is one of the best parts of camp! (And as a reminder, Junior campers travel to their classes with their cabin group as they sample many different options, and August campers schedule their classes independently on Opening Day).
Walk through a map of camp. For all those visual learners out there, it can be helpful to show your daughter Camp landmarks. Point out where the Dining Hall, Health Hut, and Flagpole are. Point out the Pool and the Pavilion. Camp is easy to navigate, but I found it helpful to show our daughter places she might frequent.
Pump her up! Talk about what you hope her camp session will be for her. Before leaving for camp, I made sure Charlie knew that I hoped she had the most fun at her session but I also expressed my interest in her growth. It was helpful to walk her through the daily schedule and talk about all of the fun things she would get to do at camp!

As you get ready to send your daughter to camp, remember this: you are not just packing a trunk or checking off a list. You are giving her the gift of practice. Practice in being brave, being flexible, being thoughtful, being a good friend, and being part of a community that is bigger than herself. There may be a few wobbly moments along the way, but your daughter will be surrounded by people who want her to thrive. Then on Closing Day, she will come home talking a mile a minute, standing a little taller, and carrying something new on the inside, and you will realize that camp did exactly what you hoped it would do.