Camp Gigi: Changing with the Times

Welcome back!  Thank you for your patience as I’ve been on a little hiatus to plan my daughter’s wedding. It was definitely all-consuming! 

I’d like to share how Camp Gigi evolved last summer. As those of you who have been following the blog know, I have been providing a “camp” experience for my two oldest grandchildren for the past four years.  My goal has always been to encourage and enhance the cousin relationship, and to build my relationship with each of them.   

Last summer, with the youngest of my four grands now ages 3 and 4, it seemed the right time to include them. I wanted them to have the same opportunity to build their relationship as cousins as their older siblings have had. And of course, they kept asking when their turn at Camp Gigi would be!   

But I knew it wouldn’t be simple to suddenly double the number of campers—four kids under 6 years old—particularly since Camp Gigi is a sleepaway camp! I gave a lot of thought to what would work best, based on the dynamics among the kids, their ages, their interests, etc. In the end, I decided to split the camp into two camps—one for the bigger kids and one for the littles.   

I used what I had learned from previous years to put together Camp Gigi 2.   

I learned in the first year that having 3-year-olds for a whole week was way too much for everyone!  So, my first decision was to pare down the amount of time with the youngest two. We did it for three days, and it was the perfect amount of time. We did many of the same things we’d done in the first year of Camp: we cooked, we crafted, we made messes, we cleaned them up, we shared stories, we snuggled.   

But the biggest reason for having the separate camps was really more about the dynamics of my grandchildren when they are all together.  They can pair off in an unusual way where the oldest (boy, 6) and the youngest (girl, 3) play together and he also makes sure she is being treated well by the other two girls.  The middle two (both girls, 6 and 4) have lots in common, so they will often play together, sometimes leaving out the youngest girl—and that’s where her older cousin swoops in!  

It works well on balance, but I wanted the younger two cousins to have special time alone together, which they don’t always have the way the older two did when they were younger. Having a separate camp gave them that time together (and with me!) and allowed them to strengthen their relationship without any interference from the older two. It was great!  They had so much fun together and their play relationship has now blossomed beautifully outside of Camp Gigi. 

I realize that as my grandchildren get older, the dynamics will continue to change.  They may begin to have very different interests from each other and their friends will become very important to them.  I know I will need to go with that flow to keep them connected and maintain my relationship with them and keep it strong.  More on my ideas for that in my next post! 

As for Camp Gigi, next summer I’ll be going into my fifth year and will again have two different camps that will focus on their interests and strengths. I’d better get planning!