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Whether your daughter
is a returning Fernwoodite or is embarking on her first Fernwood summer,
we ask that you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with a few
very important ideas that will help you to help your child in her transition
from home to camp.
Homesickness comes in all shapes and sizes, and is a very normal part
of the initial few days of camp for new and returning girls. There is
no magic formula for overcoming feelings of homesickness, but we have
every type of resource available to help your daughter through any type
of difficulty she might have. It is natural for children to miss home,
parents, siblings, pets, and friends. Many children experience homesickness
in some form or another. Helping your daughter prepare for camp and for
these potential feelings begins right now.
Here are some important
guidelines and hints:
- Healthy discussions
with your child prior to camp might include making a calendar (you can
put important dates on it ie: Parent's weekend, birthdays, 4th of July,
etc…) to help her visualize the length of her stay at camp. This
will help to assure her that when she gets home things will be just
as she left them. It is also important that she feel confident that
you will look after and love any of her pets while she is gone.
- Have a letter waiting
for your daughter upon her arrival at camp. A cheerful letter encouraging
her to have a wonderful time at camp will help her not to dwell on feelings
of sadness or what she might be missing at home. Letters should be addressed
to your daughter at Camp Fernwood, 48 Camp Fernwood Lane, Poland, Maine
04274. To allow for mail delays, we urge you to mail your letter the
week before your daughter leaves for camp.
- Especially for
new campers, the first few days can be exhilarating, exhausting, and
sometimes a little sad. As always, the directors are available by phone
at camp. Please give us a call (during non-meal hours) if you have any
concerns or questions you'd like to discuss.
- Most importantly,
never discuss a "pick-up deal" with your child. Ie: "If
you don't like camp you can come home", or "Just try it and
see if you like it". Your daughter has committed to camp for the
summer, and it is important that she understand the significance of
commitment and finishing what she has begun. If, at the end of her summer
she decides she does not wish to return to camp next year, she will
have made an informed decision having accomplished her original goal.
Camp is the best
place for your child to learn how to overcome separation anxiety. Should
your daughter become homesick, a special friend (one of our directors,
a counselor, and/or an older camper) will work with your daughter to help
her understand and overcome her feelings of homesickness.
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