Summer camp is upon us
A 2nd year drop-off and Ada's must-pack items for the camp trunk
*This post is in partnership with the Gap.
We dropped Ada off for her second summer of sleep away camp yesterday, an event she’s been anticipating all year long. She’s the kid whose wanted to go since she was five, when she first became aware of havens in the woods where kids do arts and crafts, high ropes, and wander all day between mess hall and lake—a kind of luxurious childhood escape for extroverts, that feels both anachronistic and very wholesome. I never got to partake in sleep away camp (only youth soccer training camp), so the cabin-by-the-woods of it all lives in my mind as some kind of micro-utopia with bunk beds, the best kind of escapist glamping.
Packing a 10 year old for sleep away camp requires planning and some willful collaboration: I wanted her to be involved enough to know what it takes to get her ready (a lot), but also wanted to ensure she has what she actually needs. This required digging through storage, some procurement, and lots of locating miscellany in the apartment over the last month. A mother bird prepares her babies for flight by practicing flapping, feeding them, making sure they stretch their wings. This can feel akin: practice folding your clothes, check if things are clean, put things back where they came from, anticipate the needs, set yourself up to leap.
Fortunately, as a second-timer, there are other things she knows to be prepared for. She knows she wants a top bunk, which requires early arrival. When our plans were waylaid by the unfortunate combination of post-4th-of-July and World Cup traffic, she strategically beelined for a remaining well-positioned bottom-bunk. She knows that a back scratcher is a useful tool for silently passing notes to her friends during quiet time, when you’re not allowed to speak, but writing is encouraged. She knows that you absolutely need a clip-on battery-operated fan even though it isn’t on the packing list, and that it’s helpful to get a pouch you can velcro onto the end of your bed to hold books and markers. She knows her shower caddy needs to have proper drainage, and that it’s better to pre-address envelopes to send letters to friends in advance of camp. She knows to bring more books than you’re actually going to read to have some to swap with friends, and that it curries favor to bring snacks to share with your bunkmates.
Upon our harried arrival, the kid had mandatory lice check, then Jacob, Ada and I efficiently unpacked in the manner of an F1 pitstop crew. Swim goggles and caps went in one designated place. Towels and robes in another. Bathroom caddies had a shelf, as did body wash, toothbrushes, and face wash. Shoes were placed on one shelf, laundry bags on hooks. Other families were all doing the same—politely sharing yet jostling for space, mothers trying to edge out other mothers to make sure their children were comfortably situated, hanging onto the last bits of what they could control in the moments before departing. I made eyes with one mom and we mutually acknowledged the insanity of it all, sweat dripping from our foreheads.
I pointed Ada to where we’d left extra towels and linens, her water bottle, extra batteries for the fan. She nodded, also distracted by new introductions and reunions. She seemed preoccupied, so I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air, waiting for Jacob to return with something from the car.
“Hey!” she yelled, from behind. “Are you leaving? You can’t go until we do a group hug.”
The kid is ready to fly.
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Recs of the week: Ada’s must-pack items for the camp trunk:
Gap reached out to see if Ada wanted to check out some summer styles, so these are her camp wardrobe go-to’s, and some items she wants everyone to know are great both for camp and also work for school.
Butterfly shorts are the go-to shorts of tween girls. She can climb or do any sport in them, and like a skort, they have liner shorts, so they stay secure without being an explicit pair of sports shorts.
These racerback active tops are extremely cute (and I wish came in my size for tennis). Ada likes them because they’re soft and snug (but not too snug), dry quickly, and work for layering. "
Camp asks for three (yes, three) hats for a three week session, so one of them is this denim bucket hat, which I suspect may come back bedazzled as an arts + crafts project.
I am terrified of ticks, so get my kids all tall crew socks, and the kids also like the pulled up styles these days, and these kids crew socks are “sporty-cute,” says Ada.
Although we’re in the middle of a heatwave, camp says to pack a pair of sweatpants (you never know what will happen in July!), and these wide-leg sweatpants are the go-tos. Super soft, and width of the leg is “correct,” says Ada.
As a person who doesn’t like overt placement of brands on any clothes, a trait that’s also been passed onto my kids (yay), Ada does still love a graphic tee, and this one features taiyaki, matcha, boba and macarons, so falls into the “yasss” category.
This pointelle rib cardigan + tank + crew socks is her “Cute for daytime, cute for tennis” look, and as a tennis player, I strive for this level of style and versatility over pure function.
These denim cut-offs “work with everything,” and Ada says for school she would pair them with this rugby shirt.
Here are her other pro tips from Ada if you’re a first-timer heading to sleepaway camp this summer:
A clip-on battery-operated fan, because cabin in a heatwave.
This velcro end-of-bed storage caddy for books and personal belongings.
An assortment of food-themed jellycat stuffies.
A caboodle full of art supplies, like these (better-than-Posca) paint markers, origami paper, and colored pencils.
A letter-writing kit with a whole bunch of pre-stamped and pre-addressed envelopes. (Mr. Boddington’s Notes from Camp set is also very sweet.)
A set of high suspense YA murder mysteries “to scare myself;” A’s pick is the One of Us is Lying box set by Karen McManus.
And, I scoff at the very existence of these, let alone the name, but A says “if your mom will let you get a husband pillow, it makes your bunk so much better.” OK, ok.
Go get ‘em, kiddo, and send me a letter or two.
P.S. Reminder that annual subscriptions are 20% off until the EOD tomorrow, July 7th. Thanks to all who have upgraded already. Looking forward to being able to write and experiment more.
My mom gave Abe an old husband pillow when he was 8 and he thought it was hilarious walking around the house yelling "has anyone seen my husband?" "where did I put my husband??"
Love this description of your extrovert and summer camp - it is exactly matches my son!! He has the same camp trunk...I actually used my mother's camp trunk when I went to camp but it has seen better days. Summer camp was the best.