Summer Camp

When I was 11 years old, I went to peace and justice camp in West Caldwell, New Jersey. After 24 hours I was ready to go home, but the staff insisted that I stay. The solution? A hunger strike. Yes, it worked.

As a child I didn’t like sleeping away, and the word “camp” would send chills up my spine. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking a lot about how important it could be for children of this generation and the next to go to camp. Wherever I choose to raise children it will, most likely, be urban. I think that sending children to the woods for a few weeks could be fantastic and life changing.

Summer camp seems to be sewn deep into the blanket of our culture. I was so inspired by this article featured in Domino (1998) of Tom Filicia’s lake house. He called it “summer camp for adults” and even included owl knickknacks and bug-patterned sheets in the guest house.


Wet Hot American Summer is my favorite summer camp movie, with Camp Nowhere in a close second. I LOVED Design Sponge’s design interpretation of the film. You can check the whole post out here.


I would absolutely send my child off to camp with lots of stationary and stamps. There’s something so special about handwritten letters and receiving mail. This Yellow Owl Workshop set featured on Design Sponge looks like the perfect stationary for campers of all ages.


A few summers ago, I welcomed a bunch of friends out to the lake by my parents’ house in Jersey for Camp Chrissy. We swam, crafted, ate pizza, played games, and sang songs. It was fantastic! We even performed first aid on Heather after she cannon-balled into the lake and hit her foot. We talked about having camp again but just got too busy. Maybe summer 2011 is the second summer of Camp Chrissy!


What’s your favorite camp memory?

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