While your son is at Camp Chippewa, he will spend some valuable time being “unplugged” from his devices. However, this does not mean he will be totally cut off from communication all summer. In this Handbook Helper we’ll be going through the various ways to keep in touch while your son is adventuring in Minnesota’s Northwoods.
Keeping in Touch
Aside from birthdays, we have a no phone call policy. However, all campers write at least one letter home every week. We recommend packing pre-addressed, stamped envelopes and plenty of paper and a pen with your son. If you live outside of the continental United States, we will scan his letter and email it to you! If you, a family member, or friend would like to send a letter to your son while he’s at camp, use this mailing address:
Camper’s Name
Camp Chippewa for Boys
22767 Cap Endres Rd SE
Cass Lake, MN 56633
Homesickness
When keeping in touch with your son while he’s at camp, you may receive a letter about how homesick he is. If this happens, you don’t need to buy the next ticket to come and save him! Especially if it’s the first letter home. This first letter may be filled with your son’s feelings of uncertainty as he is not quite settled into the camp life. In our experience, by the time the letter arrives at your home, most of the homesickness has faded away and he is busy bonding with his cabinmates, working towards a higher rank in his favorite activity, or getting excited about his overnight camping trip. We have a few tips on how to write a letter to your son to avoid eliciting homesickness:
Emphasize what your son is doing and accomplishing at camp- Avoid mentioning how much you miss him
- Stay away from mentioning other family fun he is missing out on
- And of course, tell him how proud you are of him and his accomplishments! Going away to a summer camp for 2, 4, or 8 weeks is no small feat.
If you’d like to learn a bit more on homesickness, we suggest you check out Audrey Monke’s blog: Sunshine Parenting, and Michael Thompson’s book: Homesick and Happy.
All our staff learns how to meet homesick campers with patience and empathy. We will always do everything we can to make your son feel at home at Camp Chippewa. As always, please feel free to contact the camp office with any concerns.
Care Packages
We have a new care package policy at Camp Chippewa this summer. Please do not send care packages with items like toys, gum, candy, or other food items. As mentioned in the previous blog on packing, we have very limited space in our secure storage. In the past, items like toys or foodstuffs were stored in the secure storage area with electronics and personal items. Campers have received such a volume of these items in care packages that we ran out of storage space by the end of the session. And it makes packing for his return trip home more difficult.
We will accept packages containing books, magazines, or other reading material. If you need to send a larger item like a forgotten sleeping pad, clothing, or gear, please contact the camp office first so we know to look for that delivery. All packages are opened in the camp office by the camp director in your son’s presence and items that are not acceptable will be discarded or returned at the sender’s expense. Please be sure to share this new policy with family and friends that may be interested in sending something to your son during his stay at Camp Chippewa.
Correspondence with Camp Chippewa
Up north at Camp Chippewa, we have limited internet access. Our current internet is provided through a cellular data hot spot, so we must be mindful with our data usage to make sure we can keep doing all the things we need to run the camp. We will do our best to share photos via our social media when we are able and our internet allows!
On your son’s first night at camp, we will send out an email to every parent letting you know of your son’s safe arrival at camp. If you have questions about how your son is doing, we can schedule a call a few days into the session. Contact the camp directors if that interests you.
After all this, the bottom line is: no news is good news. While at Camp Chippewa, your son will be busy and having fun!
