How to Pack a Child for a Week of Summer Camp

It is time to pack your child's suitcase for a wonderful week of summer camp. How can you help your child remember to wear clean underwear everyday at camp, put on clothes that don't clash, and brush their teeth everyday? A child busy at summer camp isn't likely to take care of daily hygiene or dirty clothes when fun and friends are around the corner. How can you help the counselors and other campers identify your child's belonging so everything packed comes back home. You can help by following a few simple steps to pack your child for a week of summer camp.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Suitcase
• Gallon size baggies
• Pencil bag w/ zipper
• Sleeping bag
• Seven sets of clothing
• Seven pair of socks
• Seven sets of underwear
• Water shoes,sandals, or flip flops
• Tennis shoes
• Diposable camera
• Trial size hygiene products
• Bug repellant
• Suntan lotion(trial size)
• Swim suit
• Three towels
• Permanant marker
• Address labels
• Netted laundry bag

1. Purchase a netted laundry bag to hang on your child's bed at summer camp to put dirty clothes in all week. Purchase a school pencil bag (much cheaper than a toiletry bag) to put hygiene products in like toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, deodorant, body wash, insect repellant, and suntan lotion. Purchase all of these products in trial size. That way if they do not come home it isn't a big deal.

2. Open your child's summer camp suitcase and lay seven sets of clothing around it. Each set includes pants or shorts, shirt, socks, and underwear.

3. 
    
   suitcase

   Write you child's last name and grade on the tag or inside collar of each garment with a permanent marker. Write on the bottom of each sock. Also, write your last name on the tag or inside of swimming suits, towels, hoodies, jackets, shoes, sandals, or any other clothing you are sending.

4. Place each outfit into a gallon size zip lock baggie and zip shut. Place the baggies in the suitcase.

5. Print off a set of labels with your child's name and address. If you cannot print labels, use the return address labels with your name that you place onto your outgoing letters. Place at least one address label on each suitcase, sleeping bag, pillow, dirty laundry bag, fishing pole, disposable camera, school bag with hygiene products inside. You can even put a label on each hygiene product. Anything you send that isn't washable should have a label stuck on it.

6. Place the sleeping bag and pillow inside the dirty laundry bag to make it easier for your child to carry and identify.

7. 
    
   Ready to go

   Put a sticky note on top of the suitcase the night before to remind you to put toothbrush and medicines in the bag in the morning.

Tips & Warnings

• Send fun hygiene products like sparkle toothpaste and fun body wash to encourage use.
• Squeeze the air out of the gallon baggies to fit more into each suitcase.
• We once had a disposable camera mailed to us with camping photos because we had an address label on it.
• Anything you don't mark may be left behind.
• All kids clothes tend to look alike on the cabin floor so do towels.

Resources

• How to Clean Mildew Out of a Sleeping Bag
• Parenting tips 6-12 year olds
• Clean Mildew out of a sleeping bag
• Cut your childrens hair to save money
• How to Care for Caucasian or Caucasian-type Hair

[painthorse42]

on 12/9/2008 Oh wow, I remember these days of summer camps! Great advice - you've covered everything! 5*

[almondspecial]

on 6/30/2008 Point number seven is very important.This is a very good article.Thank you the labels great idea also.