More Parent Info
And Get Ready for Camp!
What to Wear to Camp
- T-Shirt
- Shorts/pants
- Sweatshirt/jacket on all but the hottest days.
- Sweatpants over shorts on cold mornings. Campers can put them in their backpack when it warms up.
- Athletic shoes. The best shoe is an athletic/hiking shoe or sneaker that covers the entire foot and allows campers to participate in a full range of outdoor activities. Footwear such as sandals, slip-ons, crocs, natives, flats, fashion boots, and Mary Jane style shoes are a hazard and not allowed.
- Hat to protect from the sun
Appropriate Clothing: Clothing needs to be modest and appropriate for Roughing It. The fit should be neither too loose nor too tight for participation in outdoor activities. Short shorts and clothing that exposes cleavage or midriff are unacceptable.
Label Items: Even the most careful campers misplace personal items, so please mark all items (clothing, towels, water bottles, etc) with your camper’s first name and last name initial. Use either a fine-tip permanent marker or consider purchasing a pack of stick-on clothing labels.
Camp Store: You can purchase extra Roughing It t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats on our online store.
What to Bring to Camp
- Soft nylon backpack. Check that it fits the size of your child’s back. We don’t recommend hard packs or rolling cases as they don’t travel well over the Reservoir’s dirt trails.
- Lunch in a soft insulated lunch pack.
- Reusable water bottle. There are water stations at camp for refilling.
- Towel and swimsuit on swim days. We’ll email your camper’s weekly swim/ride schedule before the start of camp.
- Sunscreen. We have extra sunscreen if needed. Recommended sunscreens.
- Birthday watermelon. If it’s your camper’s birthday, a Roughing It tradition is to bring a watermelon to camp.
What NOT to Bring to Camp
- Anything electronic: smartphones, iPods, video games, ipads, tablets
- Watches
- Makeup or jewelry. They are not needed nor appropriate for camp.
- Earrings/piercings of any kind. Stud earrings will need to be covered with athletic tape.
- Sports, fishing, or other activity equipment/gear
- Toys, games, trading cards, or stuffed animals
- Pets or any other living animal
- Candy, gum, or soda
Firearms, weapons, drugs, tobacco, and alcohol are strictly prohibited. Possession will result in immediate dismissal from camp.
Lunch Tips
Best practices:
- Keep food nutritious and pack enough calories for a full active day outside
- Include an extra mid-morning snack
- Use an insulated lunch pack with a frozen gel pack (or with the gel built in)
- Boxed juice can be frozen the night before to keep food cool as it defrosts.
To prevent any contamination of food, we ask parents to follow these important food safety rules:
- Avoid perishable food items (cream-based and egg products, besides hard boiled eggs)
- Pack any semi-perishable food products (meats, cheeses, mayo) next to the ice pack. During extremely hot weather we recommend against packing semi-perishable items.
- Our counselors will screen lunches and dispose of any food items that appear spoiled.
- Due to food allergies and dietary needs, there is no food sharing or trading.
Importance of Sleep
- 6 years and younger: 10-12 hours
- 7-10 years old: 9-10 hours
- 11 years and older: 8-9 hours
Camp Rules
- Be respectful and kind to others.
- Cooperate with other campers and be supportive.
- Follow the directions of camp staff.
- Stay with your camper group.
- Leave sticks and rocks on the ground where they belong.
- Tread lightly and be considerate of the environment.
How We Group Campers
We group campers by age/grade, with 12 to 16 campers in each group. PreK/K groups are 12 campers. 1st through 8th grade campers are separated into boys and girls groups. PreK and K groups are coed, along with the CILT group (9th/10th grade).
All groups are supervised by an adult counselor, with younger groups assisted by a junior counselor (a junior/senior in high school).
Grouping is done at the discretion of the camp directors. One of the important life skills we teach — helping campers learn to make new friends — is facilitated by the group counselor. We have a number of activities at the start of camp and throughout the session, including GRIT Challenges, that help campers, friendly or shy, get to know each other, become close friends, and come together as a team.
Vacation
We appreciate that our camper families plan their vacations around the camp session so their camper can be a part of our camp community in a consistent manner. Taking your child out of camp for a trip affects the continuity of the camp experience. Additionally, any camper who will be absent during the first week of camp will miss important orientation and rules, and this may delay their participation in activities when they return. There is no refund for days of camp missed due to vacations.
Absences
If your camper will be absent, please call or email our office no later than 7:00 am the day of the absence. This allows us to inform the bus so they will not wait at your bus stop. If we do not have a record of their absence, we will attempt to contact you before the bus leaves your stop. If your camper will miss part of the camp day and will be picked up or dropped off at camp, please contact our office ahead of time to coordinate where and when to drop off or pick up your camper. There are no make-up days, credits, or refunds for missed days of camp due to illness, vacations, or dismissals. If running late, please see section below: Special Pick-Up & Drop-offs
Special Pick-Up & Drop-off
We will do our best to work with camp families that need special pick-up or drop-off for their camper during the camp day. All requests must be made through the camp office at least 24 hours in advance so we can discuss your request and confirm the arrangements with you.
We are not able to accommodate special requests between:
8:50-9:30am (Morning Circle) and 2:00-3:10pm (Closing Circle)
We will arrange your pick-up or drop-off time in accordance with our camp schedule and your camper may miss an activity period to accommodate the designated time.
It is important that you follow all of our special pick-up and drop-off procedures so that this can be a smooth transition:
- Upon parking, call the Camp Office so we can alert the Camp Administrator of your arrival
- Walk up to the Craft Tree (near the playground structure on the east side of the Reservoir)
- Check in with the Camp Administrator to drop off/pick up your camper
To ensure the safety and whereabouts of your camper at all times: you must accompany your camper at all times when dropping off, until checked in by the Camp Administrator. Likewise, for special pick up, you must check out with the Camp Administrative before receiving your child.
Please Contact Us to make a special pick up or drop off request.
Transportation
Bus Times: We email exact bus times the week before the start of the session. You can contact us earlier if you would like to get an approximate time. The bus may run slightly behind the first few mornings as the bus captain greets campers and parents for the first time and the driver gets the route down.
Authorized Release: Bus captains will only release campers to authorized adults who are on the release list. Parents are already included. You can add nannies, grandparents, and other camper families to the list by updating your authorized adult list online. Please notify us by email of any additions to this list if camp is about to or has already started, as we may have already printed the list for your bus captain.
More info about transportation and policies can be found on our Transportation Page.
Visiting Camp
All visits to camp need to be made through our camp office. Please Contact our Camp Family Coordinator if you would like to visit camp so we can set up a tour. For the safety of our community, Roughing It is not able to accommodate unaccompanied parents, family members, or guests coming into camp during the camp day. Our goal is for campers to have a positive camp experience in a safe environment.
Parent Communication
We welcome the opportunity to talk with parents and get to know our camper families better. We feel that being partners with parents is the best way to make camp the most positive experience possible.
Our unit leaders, program supervisors, and group counselors are happy to speak with you. Directors Amy, Ann, and Hobie are always available should you wish to speak to them directly.
You and your campers can get all the latest news and updates on camp by visiting Camper Caboodle. Every day we post news, pics and videos from camp. Contact us if you need to the secret code to log in.
Health & Illness
Campers must stay home from camp if they are sick or have flu/cold or COVID symptoms. They should not return to camp until all signs of illness have passed. This is to prevent the spread of illness and to give campers a full recovery. If a camper is not feeling well or has flu/cold symptoms to camp, parents will need to make arrangements to pick them up and take them home.
Please see our Health and Safety Page for what to do if your child is sick.
We will follow COVID Guidelines as conditions in our community change, and in accordance with the guidance of our regulatory agencies.
Medication
Parents must notify Roughing It if their camper will need medication at camp. Parents must provide medication with instructions and give Roughing It written permission to administer prescription and non-prescription medication (including any aspirin, Tylenol, and cold medicine) to the camper. For Epipens, inhalers, and any medications needed for life-threatening conditions: campers will keep these in their backpacks which will be with them at all times to be used as needed under the guidance of their counselor. Roughing It requires medication instructions to be provided from both their doctor and parent before camp. All medication is kept in our secure medical box at camp and will be administered by a Camp Administrator to the camper as specified in the medication instructions.
Injury & Emergencies
When a child is injured and requires professional medical attention, parents will be notified as soon as possible. If the injury requires immediate attention we will coordinate with EMS to provide advanced care.
For minor first-aid treatment such a band-aid or cold compress, our staff will administer the first aid and contact you by the end of the day.
In the event of an emergency, Roughing It will attempt to contact parents and guardians first, followed by emergency contacts on file. Campers will only be released to parents, guardians or other authorized adults as listed on file.
Hot Weather
During hot weather days, we follow a “beat the heat” plan where the camp schedule and activities will be modified to provide campers and staff additional time to rest, recover, and have water breaks in the shade.
Staff & Gratuity
We work all year to find and hire the best role-modelling and nurturing staff for our campers. For details on our staff and hiring standards, visit Meet Our Staff.
Roughing It does not allow our staff to accept monetary or expensive gifts as it is unfair to other staff. To recognize a counselor’s exceptional performance, consider letting your camper make a card or other small token of his or her appreciation. We also love to hear stories from our parents on the ways our staff have made a difference in their child’s life, and staff find it very rewarding when we pass along the great feedback.
Sun & Tick Protection
Tips for New Campers
A major reason for sending your child to camp is for them to grow as an individual. Growth can come with some struggle and take time to work through. Our goal is to help your child see challenges as opportunities and not to fear the uncertainty of new situations.
When a child is confronted with a new challenge, they may say:
- “I don’t want or like to swim, hike, etc.”
- “Camp is boring, too exhausting, full of mean kids, too hot, too cold, etc.”
How, as a parent, can you respond to this?
- Acknowledge their concerns. Whether it is real or imaginary, it is real to them.
- Ask for specifics: What makes you feel that way? What happened and when and who was there?
- Brainstorm options for solving the problem. Remember not to over-rationalize with your child or get trapped in a chain of excuses.
- Provide encouragement and belief in your child to work through the challenge: “You can do this!” “I believe in you!” “We are here to help.”
- If you need additional help: Contact our camp office. We’ll work with you before your child returns to camp the next day.
What not to do:
- Writing a note saying that he/she does not have to participate in an activity. Such a note ties our hands in trying to assist your child.
- Letting your child stay home from camp.
- Offering material rewards or money to to do what they are afraid to try. This can undermine you child’s self-confidence.
