Making Happy Campers

Flying Solo or Grouping with Friends?

The majority of children that attend camp come without built in buddies from school.  We know this and plan for it by starting every day with group time which includes ice breaker and get to know you games.  We also use the buddy system for all ages and love children that are open to meeting the entire group, as opposed to just sticking with their built in buddy.   Many campers come back year after year to see their “new” camp friends that they would never have met without camp since they don’t live by each other, nor go to the same school, or play on the same athletic team.  We feel this is one of the greatest benefits of camp: new friendships.

For other children, camp is about going with your best friend as school often leaves little time for actual playing with peers.   We love families spreading the word about Camp James and getting their friends to try out camp.  We do, however, recommend that you limit the number of built in buddies within any given group and or day to just a couple.  We find that large groups of friends often end up having more issues with each other as well as have fewer opportunities to interact with potential new friends.  Have a lot of friends who want to come to camp?  Spread them out over the course of the summer to truly allow them to connect on a more individual level with your child one at a time.  Have a whole class or team that wants to come?  Consider spreading them out between two or three groups as opposed to filling one whole group.  We appreciate your understanding that we have a maximum number of children permitted in each group and will not exceed the ratio we have promised our families.