What Parents Need To Know
As Parents and the Astrocamp Staff, we share a common goal. Like you, we want your camper to have an amazing experience at camp – to make new friends, try new things, develop new skills and, most importantly, to have fun! We know that you, the parents, are powerful partners in the camp experience. With your support of camp values and camp policies, campers are much better prepared to fully engage in the camp community and to get the most out of camp. We, in turn, know that it is important for us to communicate with you about your camper. There are many things you can do to help prepare your child for her/his time away from home. Once camp starts, however, the best thing you can do is relax. Camp is a place for campers to learn to be more self-reliant, to gain self-confidence, to develop strong decision-making skills and to become fully involved in a new community. Camp is time away from home, a time for campers to be on their own. Parents of veteran campers know this, but first-time camp parents might need more information. Please click on the links below to learn about how camp runs once the session begins and to find answers to your questions about our policies.
Adjusting to Camp As is the case with any life transition, many campers, especially first-time campers, will have an adjustment period when they arrive at camp. It may be difficult for some campers to shift from family as primary group to cabin as primary group. This experience with temporary separation is an important part of every child’s development, and our program is designed to involve and engage all campers in the camp environment immediately upon their arrival, and to anticipate the relocation needs of individual campers. Initially, you may receive some sad and lonely letters from you camper, describing how much she/he misses you and how terrible things are. Be patient. These letters only indicate that your camper is working through the adjustment process. It’s important to let children work through this process on their own, with the support of the counselors and camp staff. Dealing with this transition on their own helps campers to develop self-confidence and self-sufficiency. And, in most cases, with the lag-time of mail, by the time you receive the letter your camper is having a great time. Of course, if you receive such a letter and have concerns, we encourage you to call the Summer Camp Directors to check-in on your camper. Rarely do adjustment problems persist, but when they do we have been very successful in working with the parents by phone to problem-solve together.
Homesickness For some campers, the adjustment process of camp may be more difficult and persistent and may lead to more severe homesickness. Homesickness is often a normal part of adjusting to life away from home. Homesickness may have physical symptoms such as stomachache, headache or loss of appetite but the core issue is adjustment to a new environment. Our counselors and staff are trained to deal with homesickness and we will always do our best to help campers.
Communicating With Your Camper Astrocamp participates in a program called ecamp. This allows you to send your child an email a day. Due to the large number of campers, campers cannot respond to the emails. You can communicate with your camper at camp via e-mail and regular mail. Campers always love to hear from their families! We definitely encourage you to write or e-mail your camper regularly while they are at camp. Over-communication, however, can be negative. It can send the message that you don’t think your camper can manage alone or it can make it harder for them to focus on the camp program and the camp community. Use good judgment. Campers love to receive letters and e-mails that are informative and positive – what’s going on with the family, how their favorite sports team is doing, what the best summer blockbusters are, etc. These always brighten a camper’s day. It’s also great to express confidence that your camper can succeed on their own and to pass along your excitement about all the fun things they are doing. Lonely letters dwelling on how much the family misses your camper, on the other hand, aren’t helpful. They often do more harm than good, and can pull your camper away from the camp program. If you have any important information that you need to communicate to your camper – especially any information that will invoke an emotional response (i.e. the family is moving, a death in the family, the dog is sick, etc.) please don’t send it in a letter or e-mail but, instead, call the camp directors so we can discuss with you the best way to inform your camper. Again, we want to work with you to ensure your camper has a great camp experience and to promote their personal growth. Receiving emotional news in a letter while far from home can be a shocking, traumatic experience for a child or teenager; we want to assist you so you can communicate with you camper in the best possible way. Mail can be sent to your camper at: Your Camper’s Name
Team Number (you will receive this at camp check-in)
c/o Astrocamp
P.O. Box 3399
Idyllwild, CA 92549 Mail is delivered to camp Monday-Saturday and distributed to campers daily. Campers may also send letters home to you. They can drop their letters off at a mail box in camp and we will deliver them to the Post Office for mailing every day. Stamps and postcards are available in the camp store. Many campers also bring stamps, stationary and the like with them to camp. Please DO NOT send care packages – they will be sent back! Campers can buy snacks, drinks and Astrocamp gear at the camp store. The Food Service Department provides three square meals per day – with many options always available – and snacks throughout the day. If your camper forgets to bring something essential to camp, you may obviously ship that to them. Please call the Astrocamp office to get the mailing address.
Telephone Policy Campers may not receive phone calls. Please do not call camp and ask to speak to your camper. If your camper is having serious adjustment problems, or if any other concern arises, we will always call you. Return campers will tell you that not having access to a telephone is not an issue at all, in fact it’s something they love about camp. Much of the magic of camp comes from being completely engrossed in the camp community, camp program and camp friends. Additionally, please DO NOT send a cell phone with your camper. If a camper brings a cell phone, it will be taken away for the duration of camp and returned to them on departure day. All of this doesn’t mean we are not always available or do not want to communicate with you. If you want to check-in on your camper or if you have any concerns, we encourage you to call the Camp Directors for an update.
Emergencies In case of an emergency or any essential communication, we are happy to arrange a time for your camper to be near a phone, as appropriate. Our camp secretary is on duty from 8-5 Monday-Friday and a counselor mans the phone every night from 6:30-9 pm and on weekends. Additionally, the directors have a camp phone on in their house 24-hours-a-day. Our number is 951.659.6062.
Food Service Our Food Service staff provides three high-quality, well-balanced meals per day. Meals always include a variety of options, including vegetarian items and a salad bar. Campers eat family-style in our dining hall with a counselor at the head of each table. There are separate rooms for the As (8-9-year-olds), Bs (10-11-year-olds) and Cs (12-year-olds). We also often dine in our Barbecue area, where campers sit at picnic tables and eat buffet-style. Barbecues are favorites among campers and staff alike, where the Food Service Staff freshly prepares amazing meals of menus like grilled chicken, hamburgers, ribs, Fajitas, stir fry, even eggs and pancakes at breakfast, right in front of the campers and staff! The food service staff also provides a variety of snacks and beverages to campers throughout the day and at night. If your camper has any food allergies or special food needs we will do our best to accommodate those. Please contact the Summer Camp Director, Caitlin Farr or call her at 909.625.6194.
Camp Store Before camp, money may be deposited into the campers store account by sending a check, separate from the tuition check, to the mainland office. We recommend a maximum of $50. The store then works on a debit system with a camper’s store credit equal to the amount on the check. Any money left in the store account once the session ends is given back to the camper in cash. The store contains a variety of snacks, bottled water, soda, Astrocamp shirts and sweatshirts, and personal hygiene items.
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