Girl Scout overnight camp

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have tips for my first- timer? She's 10.

[Anonymous]

My almost-10 year-old loves Girl Scout camp -- this will be her fourth summer at resident camp.

Following the packing list well and have her pack her own bag. (She'll need to repack to come home.)

Have her take the bus to camp instead of dropping her off. The camp counselors start singing songs as they pull away from the bus stop and they have a great time all the way to camp.

Make lots of "care packages" (in separate envelopes for each day of camp) and leave them in the mail bag at the bus stop.

Give her postcards to send from camp -- and have her jot down names and email addresses of girls she meets at camp.

We love the Girl Scout camps!

[Anonymous]

Not OP but I have a first timer too so thanks for the advice. We debated the bus but decided to drive just so we could have a sense of where she will be...

[Anonymous]

Agree totally with the PP. My DD is going for her third summer this year.

We are having her take the bus and then picking her up ourselves. Driving them prolongs the good-bye (stressful for some kids), they meet kids right away, and they get right into the camp thing.

If your DD wears glasses, consider sending her with an older or spare pair. My DD's glasses got "lost" for awhile last summer and were a little bent up when she got home.

Send them with a bathroom bag/bucket (like for college dorms). They have a lot of stuff to manage for the bathroom/shower and having a container to put it all in really helps.

Make sure they have good light/flashlight AND send extra batteries. Make sure they know how to change the batteries.

Make sure they can pack their own bag and roll up her sleeping bag. I also sent one of those super extra large ziplock bags folded up in her bag and told her if there was anything she couldn't fit in her bag, put it in there.

At pick-up, do a spot check to make sure that they have all their main items.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! I did sign her up for the bus and will do some camp notes and send her with a notebook for addresses. I'll get a shower caddy and she already has a windup flashlight she uses for troop camping.

I was wondering if a sleeping bag is the way to go or if it's too warm? We do have a lighter weight one she could take with a thin blanket. Full size pillow?

She's very excited!

[Anonymous]

Which camp is she going to? My DD was at May Flather last year in August and she said it was COLD at night! And even at Potomac Woods, she wore long sleeve PJs and used the bag.

My DD has this bag: http://www.rei.com/product/762091/rei-kindercone-30-sleeping-bag-girls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was wondering if a sleeping bag is the way to go or if it's too warm? We do have a lighter weight one she could take with a thin blanket. Full size pillow?

DD has used a sleeping bag for the past three summer camp stays (at Camp Potomac Woods). We also packed a fitted sheet (to put on the cot mattress) and a flat sheet (in case the sleeping bag gets kicked off because it is too warm) and a full size pillow.

[Anonymous]

Slightly different question..a received an e-mail about a GS camp care package. I typically would not buy something like that but wondered how many parents do. If she would be in the small minority without I buy her one..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Slightly different question..a received an e-mail about a GS camp care package. I typically would not buy something like that but wondered how many parents do. If she would be in the small minority without I buy her one..

In past years, the Girl Scout camps have operated camp "stores" where the campers could buy small stuffed animals, patches, pens, etc. They are not doing that this year. This year they are including a camp t-shirt (which was sold separately last year and was *very* nice) so I think the camp care package will still be a "nice to have" instead of a must-have. I typically send the equivalent of what is in the camp care package in the daily mail envelopes. (I use large manila envelopes so the daily mail holds more stuff!)

[Anonymous]

7:17 here. We do the same as 8:28. We include a twin sheet and a pillow with her sleeping bag.

I am conflicted about the Care Bag this year. In the past we did it to get the shirt and the patch. This year those are included with the camp itself. In the past, the care bag has come home as a big jumble of crap that she never looked at again, so I am inclined to save the $35. I will include most of the things mentioned (cards, journal, glow sticks, etc.) in the daily "mail/packages" anyway.

My DD is a huge reader and I include the next book in a series she is reading about halfway through the week in her care packages as well.

Definitely attend the camp open house as well. That will make you more comfortable and you get a better sense of what she will really need.

[Anonymous]

This is super-helpful! I was assuming the camp mail was just notes so I'm glad to know now that trinkets are good to include. So like an 8.5x11 padded envelope is good?I'll definitely pick up some things to prepare and skip that camp care package. I agree that most of it wouldn't be things she'd like.

[Anonymous]

13:21 here - I use 9" x 12" envelopes for each day (mark the day in Sharpie marker on the front, plus the name and the camp program) and include a note for that day plus trinkets. Things we have sent in the past include notepaper/cards, stickers, deck of cards, gel pens (to "decorate" notes to friends), glow sticks, Silly Bandz, Sudoku puzzles, crossword puzzles, word finds, and small games. We also "sneak" in small things into her duffel bag. Last year we snuck in a mister (she said her cabinmates LOVED it!) and a small clip on battery-operated fan.

[Anonymous]

This might be a silly question, but do you have to be a girl scout to attend their overnight camps?

[Anonymous]

No..but I think I read that there is an extra $15 fee

[Anonymous]

Not to apply to the camp, but you will pay the fee to become a Girl Scout as part of the application process. That is new this year.