A Better Way to Ask, “How was Camp?”

Camp is such a rich experience filled with moments of discovery and personal growth. Lasting memories can be forged among the trees and shacks of camp so why won’t my camper tell me about camp? If we ask the question, “how was camp?” Why do we sometimes only get a quick shrug and “it was okay.”? How can we encourage our kids to tell us about camp? Maybe we aren’t asking the right questions at the right time. 

When we load up in the car from camp and everything has finally come to an end and our camper is sitting still for the first time in a week then it’s understandable if they have a sudden moment of overwhelming tiredness. If this is the case, maybe we should give our camper some time to rest and we should simply make a statement to prepare them to share their experiences later. Maybe, something along the lines of: “I am looking forward to hearing all about your time at camp.  The counselors, the campers, the games, the lessons, and all of your favorite parts. I’m so glad that I got to pick you up today and I am excited to hear about camp.” Giving them a little time to process the week and their level of tiredness may help us have better conversations later using  some specific camp questions like these:

What was your favorite camp meal?

This is a good way to start the conversation. Campers have been talking about the food all week so this should be a pretty easy question to answer. 

Did you do any crafts at the craft shack?

The craft shack has an assortment of crafts to be made and this is a great place for our campers to use their creativity. Some campers spend almost all their free time in the craft shack. 

Who was one of the people in your cabin that you met on the first day?

Most of our campers know at least one other camper in their cabin before camp even starts. This is an easy question and sets you up for more questions later. Your camper is likely to tell you about a new best friend or the one kid they did not get along with at camp. Either way now you have a new character to explore the story of camp with. Did “Sam” eat lunch with you? Did “Sam” play Gaga with you?

Where did y’all have Bible class?

At Midsummer Bible Camp, we get creative with our class locations. There’s on the porch, the hillside, the craft shack, the pool, the creek, and the snack shack just to name a few. This can be a good segway into the next question. 

What was your favorite story you studied at camp?

Each camper receives a camp book filled with the lessons from the week. (There’s also good info in there for the parents as well.) Flip through it and see which stories they studied and they may have some cool scribbles in there as well. Most of the teachers encourage scribbling and doodling during class.

Who got “Susie” this week and what was their challenge?

This is a unique MSBC experience. There is a tiny slip of paper with the name Susie on it that is hidden on a camper. At lunch each day we sing the song, “Where or where or where is Susie?” and who ever has the slip of paper on them has a challenge to complete from the person who successfully snuck Susie onto them. This is normally a very memorable part of camp. Someone almost always ends up singing “You are my sunshine” to someone else in front of the camp! It’s all good fun.

What was your favorite night game?

Each night after evening worship we play a game with all of the campers. The games are mix of field games and other challenges but the campers almost always have a favorite. This is a good opportunity to ask what they think their new friend’s favorite game is too. 

How will you use what you learned from camp at school?

This is a good way to help them apply what they learned at camp and another great follow-up question to what stories and concepts they studied at camp. 

What was your favorite sport?

Camp Leatherwood has a few courts and fields including basketball, volleyball, Gaga, and Ping Pong to name a few.

Did you learn any new skills at camp?

Camp offers every camper the opportunity to learn new skills taught by our staff and older campers. There are a range of these and they change each year. Some past examples include: pour painting, singing, flower arranging, how to read the Bible, photography, and relaxation yoga. 

Bringing It Home

These questions should help our campers share their stories with us. Our campers have stories and their own voice so lets figure out a way to hear them. We only need to know the questions to ask to help unlock the untold adventures. Hopefully this added some more tools to the toolbox for when our campers come home from camp and are not feeling chatty.