If you are lucky or planned better than I did last Fall when I was signing up for camp, your kids may have already been in camp for 1-2 weeks. I thought I would be taking some amazing vacation and opted to have my children start camp on week 2, which was a mistake. We did end up going to the beach for 2 days, so it was not all in vain!
This is our 6th summer of going to camp and I finally decided to create a better system to keep mornings and nights a little bit more organized. I am not always around in the morning to help my husband and the nanny, so I wanted to have something anyone could rely on to know what is supposed to be happening.
Read below for my tips on making mornings and evenings a little bit smoother! Feel free to comment with any suggestions!
- Print a list for needed items. This can be useful for morning or evening, depending on when all the prep occurs. The list of things that go in the back pack has grown and it is easy to forget to add the goggles or sun screen, especially if you used it for something else. I like having the list because no matter who is helping, they can see exactly what is needed.
- Print a list for morning routines. I put the morning routine list on the same list as the needed items for back packs and lunch box as well. This handy sheet goes on the front of the fridge for everyone to see but it is also saved in my computer and I took a picture on my phone. I can easily text it if needed!
- Save important numbers and emails handy. I am very guilty of not knowing where all the numbers and emails of people to call are. I tend to reply to the last email that was sent from camp and that is not always the right person to talk to. This year I went through each email that was sent with the specifics of how to contact the camp and took screen shots, which are now on my phone. If you feel really fancy, you could even make a folder where you can store them and easily access them. You can replace the pics in it every year with new info!
- Print everyone’s schedules. For the first time ever, I also printed the overall camp’s schedule as well as each bunks’ daily activities schedule. I now don’t have to frantically search through my emails to see how what kind of week or day it is (Spirit week, anyone?). Even better, now my husband can see what the kids have to wear each day if needed. These schedules are also on the fridge with the morning routine and list of needed items for back and lunch box.
- Involve the children. I prefer to do this in the evening when we are not rushed. I have them pick out all their bathing suits, clothes to change into, shoes, and towels. We also talk about what food they want for their lunch. I may even start having them pack their own lunch the night before but it has only been one day of camp for us so far, so let’s see how it goes!
List of items for back pack and lunch box as well as the daily routine (I got the template from Word!)
Bonus tip – buy blank labels! I got a huge stack of small, blank labels that you can write on with regular pen and you just stick them on anything. I bought them last summer and most of the are still attached to the clothes they were on, even after multiple washes! Pre-made labels are great but they can be expensive and you may run out. I am always afraid of my kids losing all their socks, so love to have these little labels to put on them!
