“Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh!”
Hopefully, your child’s letters home from camp don’t sound like the infamous Camp Grenada song. We thought it would be good to pass along some helpful letter-writing tips from Camp Bear Creek.
First, for your child’s letters home, it helps if you send kids with stamped, self-addressed envelopes. We have many letters that end up in our outgoing box addressed only to “Mom” and it’s often next to impossible to determine who wrote it and where it needs to go. Especially for young kids, make sure that you write the address for them so it has the best chance of making it to you!
Most campers will have a “rest time” at some point during their day at camp. This is the best time for them to write a letter home. If you are counting on letters home, make sure to talk about it before they leave and let them know you’d like them to put in the effort to write you a letter. Many envelopes and letters end up squashed at the bottom of a suitcase and ignored otherwise! Our mail service here at camp isn’t always the speediest, but we do our best to get the outgoing mail to the post office every day.
When sending letters to your camper at camp, you have two options: 1) Pre-write mail and drop it off with the check-in greeters at the door of the Dining Hall when you arrive or 2) Mail your letters.
Pre-written letters are great because you know there’s no chance of it getting lost or delayed in the mail. We sort and hand out mail daily, usually right after lunch. Kids love getting mail, so consider having multiple family members, friends, and neighbors write letters for your camper. It helps if you write their name, camp program, and what day you’d like it delivered on the outside of the envelope.
You are more than welcome to send letters through the mail as well. Again, make sure it has your camper’s name and camp program on the envelope, and we’ll deliver it the day it arrives at camp.
Please don’t send things like candy, snacks, or treats, as these are not allowed at camp and can attract critters into their cabin. Kids love things like letters, photos, stickers, or cards! Make sure all of your notes are encouraging—tell them how proud you are that they are spending time at camp, making friends, and having fun. Remind them of how much you love them and that you’ll be there to pick them up at the end of the week. Encourage them to make the most out of the time they have at camp.
In a world of instant communication, snail mail is still a fun and unique part of life at camp. We hope to see your camper here this summer!
Technology at Camp