MAP, DIRECTIONS & PHONE NUMBER Basically you will take 275 north to exit #57 (Milford). You'll turn left at the stop light off the exit ramp (SR 28). Make a right onto McClelland Drive. That dead ends into Price Road but at that point you'll see a small sign directing you to make a right to go to Cub Scout Adventure World. There is a sign with a flashing light that says "Camp Entrance" before the entrance you want. You'll drive back a gravel road and you'll see all the parked cars, that's where we'll be. The Administration Building is the first building you'll see with staff cabins up the hill to the right and the dining hall to your left. Francis is our Cub Scout uniformed Big Boy. Here's the link to a printable map and remember the phone is only staffed during summertime. Map to Camp EMOTIONAL PREPARATION Please do not let camp be the first time your child has spent the night away from home and relatives do not count as away from home! They will struggle with homesickness a small amount, but spending the night away from home prior to camp is a must. Also if you can do tent camping prior to camp FABULOUS. If they can sleep with a buddy in a two-man tent in the backyard EVEN MORE FABULOUS! This will help them successfully fall asleep to the sounds of nature, the fear of raccoons and spiders (more about that in a bit) and a little discomfort due to lack of air conditioning and their usual mattress and bedding. Your campers MAY NOT CALL HOME FOR ANY REASON while they are at camp so please take the initiative to tell them they are not aloud to and you'll see them in a few days. The leaders have been given a small amount of training on handling homesickness, there are camp staff members fully trained on handling these situations and calling home even "just to say goodnight" backfires 100% of the time and won't be an option. I took a group of 7 year old girls (going into 2nd grade) to camp and they all managed just fine. Of course I read their handbooks to them as a bedtime story...nobody made it through the 4 page section on flag etiquette, they were all out like a light! LOL Wise leaders will not tolerate stories about ghosts, raccoons or monsters at bedtime. FOOTWEAR For camp the kids (and adults!) do a LOT of walking. For this reason PLEASE do not send new shoes that have not been broken in and avoid socks that do not cover the ankles fully as a barrier between the shoes and the skin. Crocks or flip flops are acceptable for walking to the pool or showerhouse only (and I encouraged my kids to leave the shoes on in the shower too). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send a minimum of 6 pairs of socks and a second set of gym shoes would be superfabulous. When the girls get their feet wet (rain, creeking, waterplay, etc) they MUST change socks or better yet socks and shoes to avoid huge blisters they have to then walk miles and miles every day with. Not an exaggeration, learned the hard way with my son. Mail call happens every day. The first day it generally happens at dinnertime, the remaining days it will happen at lunchtime. Most kids do not receive mail but all kids wish they did. You may write letters in advance and put them in envelopes marked with their first and last name, their pack number, and the day of the week you want the mail delivered. The office staff will sort them accordingly and your child will have something fun to look forward to every day from home. Don't hesitate to send more than one involving friends and relatives! Up to two notes per day would be about as much as you would want to send. Just put them all in a gallon sized ziplock bag and give them to your leader at the carpool location or at camp if you plan to take them personally. ELECTRONICS NONE! They can live without their music and games for a few days! And they won't have time for it. Cameras only, NO CELL PHONES, even for picture taking purposes, if they don't have a camera, buy a disposable. MONEY At Cub Scout Adventure World there is a Trading Post the kids can visit to buy small toys (about $3 and under), snacks and miscellaneous scouting items. Rather than send a $20 bill at the beginning of the week it might help your child pace themselves if you put a couple of dollars in their mail every day unless your child handles money well. Some leaders discourage overspending on the first day and smart ones don't permit the purchase of candy bars and tons of junk food but some children are more persistent than others and putting the money in the mail helps kids budget better or "save up" for something big at the end. On Parent Night you will have plenty of opportunity to visit the Trading Post to purchase the "big items" you might want (logo clothing, more expensive camp equipment, books, etc) so there is no need to send your camper with large sums of money they might lose. Some leaders don't necessarily let the boys spend any money. Frankly I never really did. Somehow or other my campers always had all of their money by the end of camp still. I bought them 1 slushie a day and at the end of the week they could spend their money with their parent. Each leader is different, when in doubt, contact their leader. PARENTS NIGHT Parents come the last night of camp to pick their child up and participate in the evening festivities. Flag ceremony is at 5:45pm but arriving a few minutes early (30-45 would be good) allows your child the option to show you where they bunked, visit the Trading Post, or meet their favorite counselors. The older they are, they farther away they bunked, the more time you'll need. Evening festivities include a flag ceremony, dinner, campfire skits, awards and a slideshow usually. Any time after 5:00pm is early enough for sure, the best way to figure out where to find your child is to call their leader on a cell phone or go to the administration building and tell them your child's program level (Tenderfoot, Explorer, etc) and troop number (OH0522). They'll tell you where to go. If you cannot make it before 5:30pm please make sure your child knows this before you send them to camp and remind them in a letter on the last day of camp. Once the parents start coming, kids get antsy or downright panicky if you aren't there when all the other parents show up. Unless they are prepared of course. MISCELLANEOUS The kids do not have much time for journalling or letter writing but you could send it anyway just in case. Pre-addressed stamped envelopes can easily be dropped off at the office during the daytime for them to send you letters, but they won't arrive to you before we get home, know that going in. I've never known a leader not to carry a cell phone and I've always MORE than welcomed my parents to call me and "check in" at any time during the week. For me the best times to receive those phone calls were during the evening hours of 7:00-9:00pm when the staff plays all camp games with the kids and I just follow around with my camera, but any time is good. My parents have always managed to catch me while I was just watching some activity or walking from here to there and my phone ringer is off during inappropriate times to receive phone calls, I'm sure your leader would handle their phone the same. For this reason texting is a great option if you can do it, I would be able to return a text at any point in the day where I might not be able to take a phone call. Please label the outside of their backpacks, their water bottles, ball caps, everything you want back, label it. Masking tape with a last name, program level and troop number tell any counselor where to return the item easily and masking tape stands out, doesn't come off in the rain (been there done that), and Sharpie marker wipes off all plastics and many metals, but not masking tape. CRITTERS It would be awesome if your camper were not afraid of daddy long leggers. These are plentiful at camp and unavoidable in sleeping quarters it seems especially for older girls who all sleep in tents. Older girls sleep out under the stars one night even, so exposure to the sounds of nature and overcoming irrational fears of things that crawl would be fabulous. It only took me 10 years to get over my own issues. If you send food with your scout PLEASE GIVE IT TO THEIR LEADER to stow away from sleeping quarters. And tell them NO FOOD IN THEIR TENTS if they are sleeping in tents (usually Explorers and above). Food (crumbs even) attracts raccoons. This is bad. *wink* SLEEP I take sleep at camp very seriously. I've never allowed my campers to treat camp like a slumber party, if they stay up, they will be exhausted and miserable the next day and it progressively gets worse effecting their mood, their appetite, their enjoyment, everything. Lack of sleep at camp is bad. Please remind your camper that this is not a slumber party and they will need to go to sleep. If you know in advance your camper has sleep issues please make a plan with their leader to help your child have the best chance possible of falling to sleep under difficult circumstances and staying asleep. There are tons of things you can do if you don't already know what to do, you may call me for suggestions if you need ideas, I'm more than happy to help. Michelle Carver 513-734-4711. WHAT TO PACK You will receive a camp packing list I'm sure but in my experience here is what I've whittled my camp packing list down to and it worked out quite well for my kids so far (been going to scout camp with each of my 3 kids for 12 years and counting now), we each have our own methods so this is my personal advice on camping supplies, not a rule by any means:
CLOTHING ITEMS IN A SMALL BACKPACK THEY CARRY AROUND WITH THEM EVERYWHERE IN A SHOWER BAG IN A SWIM BAG MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OLDER GIRLS - CHECK WITH YOUR LEADER YOU WILL BE GOING TO OUTPOST! You will hike up a large hill to sleep out under the stars with the camp staff at Camp Friedlander and you will have to carry all of your items yourself. This would be a good opportunity to buy your first metal framed backpack if you can since it distributes the weight properly. Borrow one from an older scout if you don't have one and don't plan to buy one. At least make sure your backpack is large enough to carry your items if you can. I used a bungee cord and attached a sleeping pad for under my son's sleeping bag. If your sleeping bag is too large for your backpack, put your other items in your backpack and bring a couple bungee cords or rope to attach your sleeping bag to the outside of your backpack. They have twine available for this as well. LEADERS: ITEMS THAT ARE NICE FOR YOU TO BRING |