Summer camp for new Boy Scout - a few questions!

[GopherJudy]

My son Mark will be going to summer camp for the 1st time on July 17th. The troop is going to No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey for the 1st time, apparantly they always go to Yawgoog in Rhode Island. Do most troops always go to the same place for summer camp every year or do they go to different places?

 

Now, do all troops go out of state, out of council for summer camp & if so, is there a reason for that? I'm just curious! My son has camped at our in council camp, Baiting Hollow as a Webelos Scout, did Webelos Woods there (obviously!) & has visited for the day as a Webelos Cub Scout, local Boy Scout troops in our area.

 

At this camp they have a program called "First Class Adventure" for new scouts up to & including those who haven't earned First Class rank. Do most places offer a special program like that for the new boys to work on rank advancements & a few merit badges? They recommend Basketry, Leatherworks & Wood Carving for the boys in this program. I went on the camp's website & found the schedule for this program, they just put it on at the end of June & I showed it to my son & he was very excited about it! To those of you who are experienced in this, what does your troop do & what does the camp that you go to offer for new scouts? Is this the normal thing for new scouts?

 

Also, how are the new scouts with showering at camp? Do they give the SM or other adults a hard time about this because they don't want to shower in public? Are most of the showers private? I know if it's communal, my son will not shower & I wouldn't blame him! I hated that part in gym when I was in junior & senior high! I took activites that didn't require sweating like ping pong!

 

Also, are the boys allowed to bring their own drinks & snacks with them? I was going to freeze quite a few 6 oz water bottles for Mark to take with him so he'd have nice, cold water to drink & wouldn't have to go to the camp store & be tempted to buy soda!

 

How about writing him a letter? Do any of the parents do that? Does it make the new scouts more homesick?

 

He has the checklist of what to bring & we'll be going over that to see if we have to go to the stores to get anything else. He's got a backpack & a daypack & merit badge books for the crafty badges.

 

If anyone has any suggestions, ideas, etc. I'd really appreciate them! Thanks!

 

Judy

[ljnrsu]

GopherJudy,

 

Can't tell you much about other summer camps but I do know NoBe. My Troop is going there July 31 for its 6th year, my 15th year.

 

If your son has not reached First Class then he will enjoy first class adventure. He should go to the class for his next rank ie Tenderfoot goes to the Second Class trail. They will do all of the requirements for that rank during the week. There will be a 5-6 mile hike on Thursday after lunch. First Class adventure is also set up for the scouts to earn swimming MB as it covers the 1st Class swimming requirements(see the MB schedule) or 2 other MB's.

 

The shower house has private changing area and shower stalls. There is a tour of the camp on Sunday that all Scouts take with their camp guide. Most guides encourage the parents to tag along as it ends at the waterfront where the scouts take the swim test.

 

Bringing water is fine,each site and program area has running water from the camps well system. You worry about soda, I'm concerned with the milkshakes that the trading post sells. They have curbed the appetite of a few Scouts in our Troop. Snacks I would not recommend for the obvious reason. There are animals that visit in search of food both day and night.

 

On the camps web site is a link to send e-mail to your son. A few of our parents use this feature. Our SM likes getting the baseball scores one parent sends.

 

There are camp or Troop activities every nite. The Scouts should have a great time.

 

 

[AwHeck]

Judy,

 

I can answer a few of your questions...

 

Some troops go to the same (usually home-council) camp every year, often the same week of the year. Our troop believes that this gets boring for the scouts and leaders after a while. We specifically try to only go to our council camp every 2-3 years and try other camps in the other years. We are in Colorado so there are several camps in-state (including one that belongs to a Kansas council) but we've also gone out of state on occasion. We've found that there are plus's and minus's to each camp but the boys seem to enjoy the variety.

 

When my son and I first joined the troop either the camps didn't have a "first class adventure" program or our troop chose not to participate. The last few years we have and we believe that it can help with the advancement towards the next rank. This year the camp we are going to encourages a "build your own" program and we've decided to do our own version of the "first class adventure" for our newer scouts.

 

Regarding showering - since camp showers are almost always communal showers, bathing suits are recommended. Even with that we've had a few scouts that resisted showering. Personally, if we get them wet and rinsed off at least once, I'm relatively happy.

 

Water is acceptable, all other personal food is discouraged due to critters etc. Keeping them away from the temptations of the trading post is difficult at best. As a troop, we have an adult leader designated as the "banker" for summer camp. The day we leave, scouts turn in their money to the banker - it's placed in an envelope with the scout's name on it and he iitials the beginning balance. Throughout the week, we usually have "bankers hours" twice a day when they can request to withdraw money from the bank. Teh banker usually won't let them take more than a dollar or two at a time without a good reason (supplies for merit badge etc). This helps somewhat. WE DO ask that the money turned in be in small bills ($1s are great, $5 is workable, higher is a problem). Our banker also tries to keep an eye on the "rate of spending" and not let them take all their money out at the beginning of the week. At the end of the week, they get their envelope back with any remaining money.

 

Regarding letters. I can't speak for your camp but it seems that if a letter is mailed to the camp after we have left for camp, the odds of getting it are slim. We encourage letters be given (discretely) to one of the adults going to camp and we distribute them periodically thorughout the week at "mail call". Scouts DO like getting letters from home and rarely notice that it doesn't have a stamp on it. The email option is good but I'm not aware of any camps in our area that do that.

 

 

(long response but I hope it helps)

 

Sharon (mom of 16 yo and committee chair)

 

 

 

[GopherJudy]

ljnrsu,

 

Thanks for your post! Mark has already earned his Tenderfoot so he'll be doing the Second Class rank advancements. He's excited about earning his Totin' Chip & Firem'n Chit, I reminded him that is was a privilege & a responsibility & he's excited about doing archery & rifles! He was so glad to hear that the showers are private & so was I! At least he'll be clean!

 

I'll send frozen bottles of water & some not so frozen for him to drink! I'll have to try 1 of the milkshakes before I leave! I'm glad that I'll be allowed to tour the camp too! Mark is a picky eater so if he's not going to eat dinner one night, than I guess a milkshake will be ok, at least it's not carbonated & make him burp!

 

Do you work at the camp every summer & if so, what do you do there? Thanks again for you answers!

 

Judy

 

[GopherJudy]

Sharon,

 

Thanks for your answers too! I hate to see Mark spend all his money on snacks! I'll talk to his SM regarding money the boys have & about letters from home! Thanks for the suggestion of small bills, I'll make sure I get enough of them before he leaves.

 

That sounds interesting the "Build Your Own Program", good luck with your own "First Class Adventure"!

 

Thanks again for your suggestions, I appreciate them!

 

Judy

[ljnrsu]

GopherJudy,

 

No, I do not work at the camp. I went there as a Scout 1966-1970, SM of my old Troop 1977-1980 and with my current Troop as ASM since 2000. Though I was a lifeguard there one summer while I was in college.

 

The menu for the week has been posted on the camps web site. PB&J is available at all meals. The food is actually very good.

 

If you have any other questions please send me a PM, I will be happy to answer them. In the mean time I will send you some other information that you may find helpful.