Roommate Requests and Making New Friends at Camp!
Can you make sure that my son is in the cabin with all 11 of his friends and that they are in every activity together?
So this is an email request that we get here at camp all the time… and we get it, we understand, we really do. Every parent fears that they will send their child to camp, their child won't make any friends, and will be left wandering alone in the woods while everyone else is having fun. Here's an important truth about camp activities, friends, and roommate requests ---> We are professionals who care about your kids… trust us. When a group of 10 friends is split into two different cabins, the two groups of 5 campers is better for everyone. Camp is about seeing your returning friends, making new friends, trying exciting new activities, learning new skills, laughing, and growing closer to God, all while being encouraged and loved.
Here are a few things you need to know about Cabin Assignments and Friends at Camp:
1) Cabin Set-up - We have six separate camp cabins. At Arrowwood, we take great care in ensuring that each camper has the best possible experience. That's why we thoughtfully place campers in their cabins based on age and grade. We believe this helps your child grow and thrive but also helps the cabin community flourish.
Placing an 8-year-old in an older cabin to be with a 14 yr old “only friend they know from the neighborhood” friend could disrupt the entire cabin's dynamic. By allowing us to make cabin assignments based on age and grade, we can ensure that each cabin reaches its full potential and best serves every camper.
2) 80% of your camp experience is spent outside your cabin - There are many opportunities to connect and “do camp” with your friends - activity tracks, meals, chapel, shelter games, and evening activities are all camp-wide mixed events.
3) Roommate Request Process - We will do our best to ensure that your camper has at least one of their roommate requests in their cabin. It is not healthy or possible for us to work our big matrix of camp requests to get perfect cabin assignments individually tailored to your child. We only have so many beds and staff in each cabin. It would also be a bad experience for a solo camper to be in a cabin with 11 other campers who already know each other. We want to be set up for success - not failure. Roommate requests are found in your CampBrain account on your camper form, most of you completed it when you signed up for camp.
4) Making New Friends is a Life Skill - Our most important task on Opening Day is to build and bond the cabin community and to help new and returning campers bond and make friends -- a skill that will help them the rest of their lives. There is no safer place than camp to learn how to connect and make new friends. Your child WILL walk away from camp a better friend maker!
So to answer the original question: It might be possible to put your camper in the same cabin as their 11 friends from home, but it would not be best for their personal growth, best for their cabin, or best for camp. We are intentional with everything we do - we always have a WHY.
We are happy to talk to you if you have any more questions!
