The Best Summer of Your Life
We’re here. Wet but happy. All buses arrived on time and rainy day activities were in full gear by mid afternoon. Smiles, high fives and hugs brought sunshine to an otherwise rainy day. Bunks set up, bags unpacked and health checks completed, camp is in full swing. You can hear the laughter, smell the pines and feel the warmth. Pine Forest camp is alive again! Let the 85th season begin. The best one ever!
It’s incredibly natural to go into apocalyptic mode in these next 24 hours.
You know what we’re talking about:
What do you want your last meal to be?
Do you want to see a final movie tonight or just relax and hug?
When would you like to take Rover for a final walk?
How about Grandma and Grandpa? Let’s give them one final call!
Give your sister one huge final good kiss goodnight! You won’t again till August!
We know you’re well-meaning, but we have some advice for what it’s worth: Stop. STOP! You’re freaking them out! Let’s all try to remain normal and happy and calm. Be cool! Let’s enjoy final pre-camp moments but not belabor them. Let’s focus not on what your kids are missing at home but what they’re about to embark upon at camp. In our experience, end-of-world conversations and conversations focusing on home breed anxiety for a number of reasons. Here are a few of those reasons, and here’s what your kids may be thinking: I don’t know what I want my last meal to be! Oh my gosh, but what if I pick the wrong one and I want mom’s mac & cheese tomorrow and I can’t have it! How can I live with that regret! I hadn’t thought about seeing a movie or walking Rover, and I’d sort of forgotten that I wasn’t kissing my little sister goodnight all summer. AH! That’s scary! Am I SURE I want to give all of this up?
Of course the answer is a resounding “YES!” The gifts of camp are immeasurable and what they’ll be experiencing in a few days is life-changing. So let’s not focus on a final tuck-in or that one last hug. Keep your kids happy and focused on moving forward towards camp. Will you treasure those final moments? YES! Should you talk about them with your kids? Probably not. We’ll say it again: play it cool.
Smile, keep calm, talk about the great adventure they’re about to have. “Goodnight, Honey. I love you, and I’m so excited for you” always works. It’ll make it easier for your kids to get on the bus, and it’ll give them the courage to get off that bus once they’ve arrived “Up Where the Sky Begins.” We’ll take it from there!
We look forward to welcoming your children to camp in just a short time. On the first day of camp, as we have in the past several years, our camp nurses will do a health check of each and every camper. Included in that process is a head check for lice.
This summer, to improve the process, we have hired Lice Be Gone, professionals in the field who will do each camper’s head check. They provide this service for many camps and schools. If a camper has lice, Lice Be Gone can treat it directly or our nurses can treat it with a medicated shampoo. The strategy is to find and eliminate it promptly, even before campers settle into their cabins, where it could spread. Of course, if lice is detected we will be sure to call you immediately.
Going this direction will allow camp to be free of lice and to ensure that we all have a happy and healthy camp season. We are doing our part and ask that you proactively check your camper for lice before they head up to Greeley for a summer of fun!
If you have any questions or concerns please reach out.
Healthy campers are happy campers!
Yes, that will be me this Saturday, hiding behind my sunglasses, holding back my tears. Me, who promotes camp to other parents and me, who believes wholeheartedly in the unparalleled benefits and fun of overnight camp. Even so, that’ll be me.
It doesn’t matter how much you know they’ll love it. It doesn’t matter that you know they’re about to make friends and memories that will last a lifetime. It doesn’t matter that you know they’re about to have more fun than they ever thought imaginable. The bottom line is, letting your child go, allowing and empowering them to spread their wings without you is hard. Really hard. I think of this as the most “selfless” thing we as parents have probably ever done. Putting our needs and wants second to what we know is best for our children is something we do every day, but this is the granddaddy act of them all.
When it comes to camp, I find all the comfort and solace I need knowing my children will be safe, loved and cared for by some of the most amazing people I know. That they will be making friends and living with other amazing children who, like them, just want to have fun and take in all that camp has to offer. Pure, unplugged fun. I will, like you, pour over the posted pictures each night and hang on every word that comes to me in letters. All the while, reminding myself how lucky we all are…the kids who get to go and us parents who get to send them. The summer of 2015, Pine Forest Camp’s 85th summer, is going to be incredible and I truly can’t wait for my children to get there.
Good luck Saturday, parents. I like to keep the morning short and sweet and without a lot of fan-fair. That’s my advice. And, of course, wear your tinted sunglasses :).
Hilary Slovin
Camp Mom
This letter from a Pine Forest parent was sent to the office just yesterday and we reprinted it with her permission.
Hello PFC summer staff 2015-
I am a parent sending [my children] to PFC this summer. They are so excited, and we are thrilled and grateful to be able to give them this gift of camp. However, my sleepless pre-camp nights have begun, because letting your children go away and leaving them in the care of others, is not a mother’s natural inclination. It is definitely unsettling.
I tell you this because I want you to know, that in caring for my children this summer, I consider you to have the most important job in the world! You probably have some friends who may be studying in a science lab or working for a judge or taking summer school classes…all to better their resume’ and prepare for their future. But if I were an employer looking to hire…your job as a counselor at camp would far outweigh those supposed resume building experiences. You have an opportunity to really care for and truly influence an individual. If you do it right, you can do anything well! To me, you would be the definition of a successful person.
So, thank you, in advance, for trying your best each and every day, even when it isn’t easy, and thank you for keeping my children safe and happy. You should feel honored and proud to have this most important job!
Enjoy!!
We are thrilled to announce that we’re bringing these exciting special guest instructors to camp this summer for ALL campers!
SOCCER: Gordon Hill, a soccer legend! World renowned former Manchester United star and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) “A” licensed coach, the highest coaching designation in Europe.
ART: Steven Charny, PFC alumna and former Art Director at Rolling Stone Magazine will create a special mural with campers.
BASEBALL: Frank Decembrino, Head High School Baseball Coach and Former Associate Scout for the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club will host his Elite Baseball Clinic.
CHESS: Danny Kopec, International Master Chess Champion and teacher and Director of TOP Chess Camp.
SELF-DEFENSE AND FITNESS: Eugene Gershman of Krav Maga Centers of America
SPORTS BROADCASTING: Jeremy Treatment, TV play-by-play, color announcer and reporter. Campers will learn and practice the art of sports broadcasting.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Philadelphia Spinners Team Members.
DANCE: Kelli Moshen, Owner/Founder of Moshen Dance Project, performer and teacher. Back by popular demand!
And there are even more to come. Stay tuned!
Last week, the Hoops guys, camp friends from the 1970s and 1980s at PFC, quietly dedicated the red barn at the entrance to camp in memory of their dear friend Ricky Charny who passed away this year. They installed a small metal plaque that reads:
“In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light.
Beam on.”
Rick would chant these words while on OD at camp and then turn on his flashlight to surprise campers and counselors to their delight and to his.
Rick Charny was a bright light for anyone who knew him and he will forever be a beacon of goodness, courage and joy at Pine Forest and in our hearts.
Join us on the 85th Anniversary Weekend when we “officially” dedicate the red barn in his memory.
Wow! What a weekend! Pine Forest Camp was filled with new families, new friends and fun for the overnight New Family Weekend. The sun shone on a glorious two days at camp. It started with bunk assignments, introductions at Netsy Playhouse, and then families went off for a tour of camp and activities were in full swing. Campers and their brothers and sisters climbed the climbing wall, canoed to Blueberry Island and even inaugurated the boys’ pool, with a splash.
Later in the day, Moms and Dads had a chance to meet the camp leaders at a question and answer session about getting ready for camp, while campers played games and practiced for the talent show campfire.
Barbara served a delicious barbeque chicken dinner with homemade apple cobbler and ice cream for dessert. We all saved room for s’mores at the campfire, and what a campfire it was! Songs, jokes, skits, karate demonstrations, Rubik’s cube feats, and even yo-yo tricks by Chad. At the end, both new campers and old, Moms, Dads, and even grandparents, linked arms and sang for the first time this year, the songs that we have been singing around that same campfire for 85 summers, “Taps” and “Friends.”
The next morning, everyone looked settled into camp life in their pajamas as we met for breakfast and goodbyes. It won’t be long before those new campers are back for the real thing. Hopefully they will be more confident and secure than ever as they arrive at their summer home. The best is yet to come!
Thanks to all for a spectacular New Family Weekend! See you on opening day!!
We will be on the look out to take the best care of your kids, but it won’t hurt to review this list!
10. Homesickness – It is real. So if your camper is talking about not feeling well, also encourage them to focus on feeling happy. Know that they might be feeling sick but they also might feel H.A.L.T.D (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, Dehydrated). Ask them to share their concerns but also ask if we can address H.A.L.T.D.
9. Hand washing – In the last 100 years, this might be the most radical change in health. The amount of bacteria that lurks around campers and activities is high. We can’t really do much about it but we can wash it away! Encourage your camper to wash after using the bathroom and before eating. If they shower on a regular basis (which they do at camp), that helps too!
8. Bugs – Bugs bite. But how we respond to them is important. Encourage the camper to not scratch them and turn annoying bites into infected wounds.
7. Ticks – Show your camper what a tick looks like and the importance of self-checks. Let’s not get involved with Lyme Disease.
6. Wear the right clothing – When hiking, wear long pants and know what poison oak and poison ivy look like.
5. Eat well – Campers are encouraged to make healthy choices. Fruits and vegetables are available at every meal. Encourage them to make good choices and to recognize how too much sugar and caffeine might make them feel.
4. Drink water – Send them with a water bottle and beg them to drink water. Water will help them feel great and enjoy all of those activities they came to do!
3. Actually drink water!! This is very important!
2. Sleep – The best way to make the most of camp and take part in all of the activities is to rest the right amount.
1. Encourage campers to talk to their counselor if they do not feel well. There is nothing wrong with not feeling well and it is bound to happen over the course of the summer. Keeping counselors in the know is the most proactive way to stay healthy throughout the summer.
New Family Weekend is just one week away! The comfort and excitement of our new campers and their families is a top priority, so PFC opens its “doors” just three weeks before opening day! It’s our official start-of-summer!
To truly experience camp life in all its glory, each new camper family gets a cabin to stay in overnight. It’s really a perfect way to see the facilities, experience the activities and get a taste of bunk life. This weekend is also a perfect opportunity to meet new friends, their families and our awesome camp leaders.
There is nothing like these first sounds of summer: children’s laughter echoing throughout camp, balls bouncing on the courts, crickets chirping at night and even the sound of the cabin doors opening and closing. It’s a right of passage for all PFC campers to smell a campfire and taste a s’more. And there is nothing that brings the day to an end like breathing in fresh mountain air, gazing up at millions of stars in the sky, singing “taps and friends” arm-in-arm with incredible children and adults, all with the same goal in mind: becoming acclimated and excited for the best summer ever.
I attended New Family Weekend last year with my son, my second PFC camper. Having this inside perspective and first-hand experience of what camp is truly like was incredibly valuable for me as a parent. The weekend gave my son (and me!) that extra bit of confidence and comfort, and he made his best friend of the summer that weekend (I made a few new friends as well)!
Created so that each new camper’s first night at camp, is not actually his or her “first night at camp,” this weekend is truly such fun and so very special. Wishing you a great first camp adventure!
Hillary Slovin
Camp Mom
We invite you to schedule a one-on-one, interactive family tour of camp, led by one of our awesome camp leaders. You'll meet our owners/directors and learn more about our amazing, 95-year camp history and traditions. Come feel the love and warmth that Pine Forest Camp has to offer! Email hillary@pineforestcamp.com to coordinate!
