Make the Most of Your Penpal - New Camper Blog Series
Don’t you just love having a camp Penpal? It is one of our favorite Greystone traditions. This week, as part of our New Camper Blog Series, we are sharing some pointers on how to make the most of your Greystone Penpal. We also have some great mom suggestions below, so don’t miss those. Here we go!
The best way to connect with your Penpal is to write. I know this sounds silly, but you’ve got to send that first letter, and some follow-up letters, to get the relationship going. If you’ve written your Penpal and haven’t heard back, write again! Often, your first letter may have come at a busy time or while the family was out of town. A second letter usually does the trick.
Next? Connect in a different way. When you write your first letter, share some other ways to connect. If you have an email address, you can share your information. Have social media? Share that as well. Parents, many moms will write a quick note to their daughter’s Penpal, including their contact information, so that the moms can also touch base. This helps a lot!
Staying in the area the night before? Find out if your Penpal is coming in early as well. It is so much fun to meet your Penpal the night before camp. You can grab dinner or get some ice cream – something easy and fun. This helps to calm girls’ nerves the day before camp begins, especially if it is their first summer. Your daughter will already know someone!
Here are some pointers from seasoned camp moms on ways to connect with your Penpal before camp:
- If your daughter has a phone, include her cell phone number. My daughter went to August Camp for the first time last year, and they loved texting each other before camp.
- If your daughter doesn’t have a phone, consider letting her text on your phone. I let my daughter do that, and if both parents are okay with it, works great.
- Our Penpal sent a little care package, and we sent one back. The girls loved it!
- We shared the moms’ cell phone numbers so the girls could FaceTime. They really felt like they knew each other by the time they got to camp.
- We always send a picture, and they send one back.
Finally, make sure to check out these past articles for some final Penpal pointers:
We hope you love writing your Penpal before summer and are counting down the day until you meet your penpal this year!