City of Southfield • Cultural Arts Division

Presents

Two Exciting Day Camps

Art Camp

Ages 7-14

Packed!

Inside the duffel bags ofhi ghly
success l campers.

DAVID ZEMAN STAFF WRITER

Layne Schwartz: Packing for camp.

H

aving your name sewn
into your underwear has
been the embarrassing
price most children pay
for attending summer camp.
But more troubling — to your
children, at least — is a dis-
turbing new trend: A ban
against food-laden "care pack-
ages."
"If kids bring their own food,
they're not eating what's being
served by the camp," explained
Camp Tanuga Director Sid
Friedman, losing sight of the
chief benefit of care packages.
Alas, little else has changed
over the years in the annual
ritual of packing your children
off for the summer. For the most
part, the list of camping supplies
remains frozen in time: swim-
suits , gym shorts, tennis rac-
quets, insect repellent ... and
post cards, lots of post cards.
Oh sure, some updates are in-
evitable. Kids at Camps Tanu-
ga and Tamarack, for instance,
are told to bring the fax numbers
as well as addresses of family
members. And the bulky trunks
of yesteryear are most definite-
ly out — while multiple duffel
bags are in.
But as summer camp has be-
come big business, the camps
themselves have refined the list
of clothing they recommend,

making it easier than ever to en-
sure your child has all the prop-
er gear. Naturally, some parents
go too far.
"They just pack too much of
everything," Mr. Friedman said.
"They forget laundry is done
once a week. They forget kids
tend to wear the same things re-
peatedly — but hopefully, not
their underwear."
"Less is more," agreed Ina
Stevens, a longtime director at
Camp Walden. Ms. Stevens and
Mr. Friedman suggest children
bring a 10-day supply of cloth-
ing — no more.
Of course, Marc Shindler, who
furnishes clothing to summer
camps in Michigan and Canada,
takes a more liberal view on
such matters. The owner of
Brody's Boys & Young Men's
Wear suggests a 14-day clothing
supply.
Mr. Shindler reminds parents
that kids can fly through a stack
of T-shirts and socks when
the weather gets sticky. During
last summer's heat wave,
campers deluged his West Bloom-
field Township store seeking
mini-fans, including one kid who
demanded a swanky $50 model.
Mr. Shindler concedes that in
recent years he has had to "tone
down my reputation for over-
selling" to campers. Still, he ini-

tially balked when asked to
name the most useless item kids
bring to camp. "If I told you, I'd
lose business," he said.
Finally relenting,
Mr.
Shindler noted that Camp
Tamarack lists a rain hat as "a
must" for campers, but that his
young customers confide that —
to be frank — they wouldn't be
caught dead in a rain hat.
"If their mothers are not there
to tell them to put it on, they
won't put it on," Mr. Shindler
said, a trace of melancholy in his
voice.
In recent years, the list of
items that camps discourage
children from bringing has
mushroomed. Chief among
them, electronic gadgets that
directors find antithetical to
traditional camping. In other
words, camp directors don't
want their charges studying
their Game Boys as they hike
through outdoor trails.
While each camp has its own
suggestions for what children
should pack, parents should re-
member a few general rules:
* Think of your child's med-
ical and physical needs, said
Camp Sea-Gull Director Jack
Schulman. Make sure all med-
ication is clearly marked and up
to date for the camp's infirmary.
If your children wear glasses or
contacts, make sure they bring
a back-up pair.
* As you watch your children
pack expensive or high couture
items, think back to the chaotic,
mud-infested cabins from your
own summer-camp experience.
Then remove those CD players,
gold bracelets and $150 dresses
from their duffel bags and send
them on their way.
* Actually, there are valid rea-
sons for banning care packages,
jealous cabin mates and wild
animals chief among them. Mr.
Friedman said he is amazed
that some parents attempt to
skirt the food ban through the
mail. "That's not sending a real
positive message to kids — that
if you don't like a rule, you sneak
around it," he said.
* The wisest course is to label
everything with your child's full
name.
* It is essential that you and
your child pack together, said
Ms. Stevens. You are reassured
that your child packed his tooth-
brush and did not pack his ham-
ster. And your child has the
benefit of knowing which clothes
are hers.
* Remember the playground
rule, which holds: Don't pack or
send anything that will embar-
rass your child in front of other
campers. That means not pack-
ing those adorable bunny paja-
mas for your 11-year-old son. It
also means not calling your child
by his or her "baby name" on
post cards that other children
might see. ❑

Activities for beginning and
advanced students include painting,
drawing, mask making, ceramics,
T-shirt painting and more.

9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The Burgh Art Center
Civic Center Drive and Berg Road

Theatre Academy

Ages 7-15

Experienced professionals will give
the campers training in drama,
music, mime, improvisation,
make-up and more. BIG SHOW
each session starring the campers.

9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Southfield Centre for The Arts
Southfield Road at 9 1/2 Mile Road
Three 2 Week Sessions

For Further Information Call
(810) 354-9603

Something Wonderful
Happens to a Child in
Young Judaea...

UPCOMING EVENTS:

WinteT Convention
January 26-28,1996
All 3rd to 7th Graders Welcome

Mere lay Multi-R_egionai Convention

March 8-10, 1996
All 8th to 12th Graders Welcome

Tu-Es -"vat Celebration

February 4, 1996
all 3rd to 7th Graders Welcome

youth, 8,7

sc\

CAMP DATES:

t7

49

Session 1: June 24-July 17
Session II: July 23-Aug. 15
Mini Session: July 23-Aug. 6

6-

For Information and Registration Contact

YOUNG JUDAEA the Zionist Movement Sponsored by Hadassah

308-1/2 South State Street, Suite 31 • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Phone: (313) 994-8500 • Fax: (313) 994-7874

.4—Perfect Family Gift...
as A Subscription to the Jewish News.

810-354-6620