Is your child ready for camp?
By Rick McDaniel WNC Parent contributor
Deciding if your child is ready for summer camp can be a difficult decision for parents to make. With some camps taking kids as young as age 6, how can you be sure that your child is ready to spend a week or more away from home? Nancy Hutchins knows a little about summer camps. Her five kids have been to church camp, sports camps, scout camp and day camps. She even met her husband, Greg, when they both worked at the same summer camp. “Some kids are ready earlier than others,” Hutchins said. “I worked at one camp while I has in college where we took 6-year-olds for a two-week session. You just have to take it on a case-by-case basis.” One way to determine whether or not your child is ready for an overnight camp is to talk with them about what they think camp would be like. “Pictures and brochures can help here,” Hutchins said. “A lot of camps also have videos that show what the camp is like.” At the end of the talk, gauge your child’s interest. If they weren’t too enthusiastic, maybe next year would be better. Another litmus test is if your child can stay for several days with a relative or friend, without his parents around, and not be upset. If this is beyond the child’s comfort zone, maybe day camp would be a more comfortable fit.
SPECIAL TO WNC PARENT
Campers at Eagle’s Nest Camp in Pisgah Forest try their hands at canoeing. Each child is ready to go off to camp — day camp or residential camp — at their own pace. Talk with them to gauge their interest. “Sometimes the kids are OK and the parent is the one who isn’t ready,” laughed Jenny Wallace, director of the Summer Academic Adventure Camp at Asheville School, a three-week camp for rising sixth- to 11th-graders. “Sometimes mom or dad is the one trying to be brave as the car pulls away.” Even a child who is mature enough for camp can expect to be nervous and a little homesick. The American Camp Association’s Web site advises, “One
of the most important things for parents to recognize, and to say before any separation, is that it’s normal, not strange, to feel homesick.” “Most kids, even the ones that are a little hesitant at first, usually dive right in and do fine,” Hutchins said. She offered a few tips to ease the homesick blues: Write your first-time camper a letter a few days before he or she leaves and mail it to the camp so it’s
waiting for your camper the first day. Pack a favorite stuffed animal Pack a family picture or a picture of the family pet. Get a buddy involved. Any new experience is less scary when there’s someone there your child already knows. Rick McDaniel writes about food and cooking. E-mail him at southerncooking@charter.net.
W N C PA R E N T P R E S E N T S W N C M O M . C O M , T H E P L AC E W H E R E L O C A L M O M S C O N N E C T
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS Continued from Page 55
April 18
the new Asheville Woodworking School, located in the lower level of Asheville Hardware, will tour the school facilities and meet teachers. For more information, call 252-8088 or visit www.ashevillehardware.com
Home-school day
April 5-6
5-under division
Take a Nantahala Gorge Excursion on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Special school rates available to home-schooled children. Train departs at 10:30 a.m. Call 800-872-4681 for information.
Children’s Clothing Exchange
April 26
Sale of spring/summer clothing (newborn through size 16), toys, books, games, shoes, and baby equipment. 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 5 and 12:30-3 p.m. April 6. Items 40 percent off on second day. A portion of the proceeds benefit ABCCM. At National Guard Armory on Brevard Road in West Asheville. For information, call Kristie at 667-0703.
Johnson Farm Festival
April 6 Family Health and Wellness Fair Jewish Family Services of Western North Carolina presents its first Family Health and Wellness Fair, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Asheville Jewish Community Center, 236 Charlotte St., Asheville. This free event is open to the public and will feature health screenings, exhibits and demonstrations for children, teens, adults and seniors. An officer from the Asheville Police Department will provide free children’s fingerprint ID cards for any family with children 4 years old and older. For information, contact Alison Gilreath at 253-0701 or alison@jcc-asheville.org.
April 12 Impression Parenting Conference Trinity of Fairview Baptist Church hosts the Impression Parenting Conference, featuring Ken Hemphill, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Learn how to leave a lasting impression on your child. Hemphill is a local well-known author, speaker and teacher. Other speakers include Buncombe County Superintendent of Schools Cliff Dodson; Fairview Elementary Principal Sheila Gibbs; the Rev. Tony Hooper, longtime Youth Minister at West Asheville Baptist Church; Jenny Doehla from the Family Preservation Services of Buncombe County; and several others. Cost is $35 per person ($50 per couple). Register before March 15 for discount. Lunch is included. For more information, call 628-1188 or visit www.trinityoffairview.org.
April 15
6-12 division
The 18th annual festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., is a celebration of spring and our mountain heritage for all ages. It features wagon rides and farm animals, bluegrass music and dulcimers and entertainment all day, square-dancing, homemade pound cake and other tasty food, craft demonstrations of 20-plus old-time customs and skills, and a children’s activities area. House tours, the barn loft museum featuring farming implements and memorabilia, nature trails and the farm animals, as well. Rain or shine. Rain location is Rugby Middle School. Historic Johnson Farm is at 3346 Haywood Road, Hendersonville. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for children. Lunches, drinks and snacks are for sale at food booths.
Birthday Club
Avian Pertiller of Asheville
Simon Farr of Asheville
Congratulations!
As the WNC Parent Birthday Club Winner, you will receive great presents from these businesses:
HAHN’S GYMNASTICS CROLEY’S MARTIAL ARTS CENTER
Through May 11 ‘Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders’ “Dr. Entomo’s Palace of Exotic Wonders” will be on display through May 11 at the N.C. Arboretum’s Baker Exhibit Center. Children will learn about bizarre live insects from around the world in this exhibit featuring a butterfly house as well as more than two dozen living and mounted bugs ranging from glow-in-the-dark scorpions to bird-eating tarantulas. School and home school groups should register now for educational programs; fees vary. The arboretum is in Bent Creek at N.C. 191 and the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information, contact the arboretum at 6652492, or visit www.ncarboretum.org.
Birthday Club Winners receive: Age 5-under division winner:
Age 6-12 division winner:
Invitations from Hallmark Two WNC Nature Center passes $5 Certificate from The Hop 1 Month Free at High Flight Gymnastics Free Photo Session and $75 of free photos with Eden Photography
Invitations from Hallmark Martial Arts Party at Croley’s Free Membership & One Free Bouldering Pass to Climb Max 1 Month Free at Hahn’s Gymnastics Child’s Haircut from Cut Above Free Photo Session and $75 of free photos with Eden Photography
Through May 22 Spanish immersion program An age and grade appropriate program taught in Arden by professional native speakers. Kids will learn through fun experiences, music, visual aids, books, and games, all in Spanish. Classes for kids 3 to 12 years old. Limit 10 per class. Discount for siblings. Call Claudia McMahan at 681-0843 or Beatriz Riascos-Socarras at 6879620 or e-mail mm_spanish@hotmail.com.
No purchase necessary to win. If you would like your child to enter the WNC PARENT Birthday Club, complete this form along with a recent personal photograph of your child (one that you do not need returned) and mail to: WNC PARENT, P.O. Box 2090, Asheville, NC 28802. Entries must be received by the 15th of the month prior to the month the birthday occurs (ex: birthday in February, entry by January 15.) Child must be under 12 to win. By entering, contestants and their parents (or guardians) release the photo to WNC PARENT with no further obligation to Gannett Pacific Corp. and give consent to WNC PARENT to reproduce and publish any photographs submitted whether or not the entry is chosen as a winner. All entries must be signed by the parent/guardian. Employees and family members of WNC PARENT and contest sponsors are not eligible to win. One winner will be selected randomly from all entries received for age divisions 5-under and 6-12 years. One entry per child.
**Entries must be accompanied by a photo. No inkjet or photocopies please**
Ongoing
Child’s Name _________________________________________ Child’s Birthdate: ______________________
‘Peter and the Wolf’ N.C. Arts Council’s “cARTwheels” program and Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place present The Carolina Ballet in “Peter and The Wolf.” The 10 a.m. and noon shows are for area school groups and are offered free of charge. Recommended for third- to fifth-graders. For tickets or information, contact Rae Geoffrey at 257-4544, ext. 307, or rae@dwtheatre.com or make reservations by visiting www.dwtheatre.com.
Music Together
City/State/ZIP: ______________________________________________________________________________
Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music program for children ages 0-5 and the adults who love them. Spring session classes in Asheville, Weaverville, and Black Mountain begin in early April. Free demo classes in March. Contact Kari Richmond at karirichmond@charter.net or 545-0990. More information at www.AshevilleAreaMT.com or www.musictogether.com.
Day Phone #: _____________________________ Evening Phone #: __________________________________
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Address ____________________________________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s Name:______________________________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian’s Signature: __________________________________________________________________ How do you receive your copy of WNC Parent? __________________________________________________
Send entry and photo to: WNC Parent Birthday Club, P.O. Box 2090, Asheville, NC 28802
WNC PARENT I MARCH 2008