June 22, 2024
As adults, we are dying for information from our children! I’m always joking (kind of) that I wish I could be invisible sometimes and watch my kids at recess or in their classrooms to see how they act and how they are doing. Often times, our only opportunity to hear about how their day went is the short car ride home with a tired, sometimes reluctant-to-share child or teen.
Over the years, we’ve found that some of the typical questions parents ask yield minimal results. If you’d like a few new ideas for your after-camp questions, here are our favorites:
| INSTEAD OF THIS: | TRY THIS: |
|---|---|
| Did you make a friend? | Who are you glad is in your group? Who might make a good new buddy? Who did you talk to (or sit by) the most? Who was your bus buddy today? Who are hoping to get to know better? What questions can you ask them? |
| Do you like your counselors? | Who helped you today? Which counselor did you talk to (or sit by) the most? What did your counselor lead or teach you today? What do you like about your counselors? |
| What did you do today? | Which part of the day was most fun? What was different or special about today? What did you do in your fort? (nature preserve) Who did you play with at pool? Did any of your counselors help lead Blitz today? (morning assembly) Did your group go up at Campfire today? (afternoon assembly) |
| How was your day? | Which part of the day was your favorite? What outing did you have? (Senior Outpost) Who was your partner? What happened today that was funny? If something was tricky, who did you ask for help? What would you the same or differently next time? Has your group found another group's flag yet? Has anyone found your group's flag? What are you excited about tomorrow? |
And if you’d like information about your camper’s day, please ask us! It’s our pleasure to share with you about how their camp session is going.
Dr. Kelly Jones
Executive Director, Outpost Summer Camps
Community. Connection. Outdoors.
