By Ben Wong, URJ Camp Newman Communications Coordinator
“How was school today?”
“Fine.”
“What’d you do?
“Same stuff as yesterday.”
Heard that one before? I bet.
One of our goals here at camp is to give your child an experience that they can’t stop talking about when they get home. We want you to hear about what excited your child so much, the new friends they made, and get a portrayal of camp through their eyes.
Here are a couple guidelines and question suggestions to get you started.
If you have a first-time camper…
Start at a basic level. Camp can be a pretty overwhelming place, Every day, your child is going through a schedule they’ve never followed before, in a different place, with hundreds of people that are new to them.
Specific questions are a great way to start. Asking questions with direct answers can help open up your camper. Some examples include:
- The “How Was It?” Questions: Follow these up, if necessary, with “how was it?”
- Did you climb the tower?
- Did you go swimming?
- How was the waterslide?
- Did you have Yom Sport?
Other good basics:
- What was your counselor’s name?
- What was your cabin’s name?
- Did you have a top bunk or a bottom bunk?
Questions like these start specific, but provide an open end for your child to expand on their experience.
The pictures on CampInTouch can be helpful. Take a look at the activities their session did, think about which one they would like the most, and go from there.
Though we suggest this for campers of all ages, ask about the friendships forged at camp. There is a special bond between friends made during first summers.
If your camper isn’t new to camp…
For those who’ve attended camp before, you can start with some more open-ended questions. Again, emphasize the friendships.
At this point, there is not a lot that’s new for the campers in terms of the day-to-day activities. They’ve hiked to the star, they’ve had a campfire, and they’ve played “night fox.”
But new bonds happen at camp every year. Ask about new friends, counselors, and the Israeli staff.
Your camper will probably come home with lots of stories and information, so try to ask questions based off of what they’re saying. Odds are, if they bring up a topic, they’re more likely to answer questions about it and talk at length.
If you have a very experienced camper…
An older kid shouldn’t need too much prompting to tell you about camp. They have enjoyed their prior experiences and add to them each time they return.
Friendships are one of the main reasons why we all come back to camp, and so asking about the friends that you already know is a good place to start. Afterwards, ask about any new friends.
A fun conversation to have with an older camper is to compare and contrast the session they just finished with ones from years past.
What did they enjoy this time that they hadn’t previously? What do they enjoy every time? What do they love about camp now that they didn’t as a younger camper?
This is a good way to evaluate what they really enjoy about Newman and how they want to live Jewish going forward.
Questions to ask every camper:
Ask about differences, and Jewish differences in particular. When we walk through the camp gates, we transform from a minority into a majority. That is pretty powerful and the meaning of that manifests itself differently for each camper. Some questions to explore that are:
- What was Shabbat like?
- How was Shabbat different from Shabbat at home?
- Was it cool to see everyone in white on Shabbat?
- Did you learn any Israeli dances?
- What was it like to be around so many Jewish people?
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We hope these guidelines can help start some quality camp conversation in your home. Here at Camp Newman, we want to create an experience that can live on long after our campers exit our gates.