kakemaster

Six tips to help parents limit their child’s potential for homesickness

Learn About Camp
Weeks before hand, start talking about camp, explore the camp’s website, and share any fun details you know about the camp.

Prior Experiences
Explain how long they will be at camp by comparing it to another experience they have had before: “Remember that…[Read more]

We have 3-4 Registered Nurses on duty, 24 hours a day at camp. They are there to serve our campers and our volunteers. All medications and treatments are dispensed by our nurses. No medications are kept within the dorms, but remain within the nurse’s office. Most of our nurse’s have experience from prior years of camp, as well as having family mem…[Read more]

Special Camps office is run out of our camp directors home in Winfield. The address is, 26W684 Lindsey Avenue, Winfield, IL 60190. We rent Camp Red Leaf in Ingleside, IL.

Check in times are assigned, so that we don’t have everyone dropping off their children at the same time. Your check in time will be approximately 1-4pm. It will take 2 hours to check in. Check in time includes time for your camp counselor to meet with you, so that you can give any extra tips to them at that time. You’ll also meet with our nur…[Read more]

Camp Red Leaf provides most of our meals for camp. They are able to accommodate most dietary needs. Please notify us of all allergies and other food needs with the application, so we can notify the ranch ahead of time. We do offer breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and evening snacks. Bringing snacks to camp are allowed but unnecesssary unless your…[Read more]

Camp counselors are high school and college age. More than half return from previous years, because they love camp as much as our campers do. We only select the very best camp counselors from previous years, to re-apply for Special Camps. If you know of a teen that has enthusiasm, compassion, and great social skills, encourage them to apply for…[Read more]

Two adult, non-relative references are checked. Teens are encouraged to list someone from their school as a reference as well as someone from the community. All references are checked, those that best meet our needs are then chosen. All adults over the age of 18 also receive a police background check. We always travel in groups, as our policy is…[Read more]

Teen camp counselors, adult staff and camp nurses attend an intensive 1 day training prior to the opening of camp. New volunteers are then paired up with returning volunteers who guide them throughout their week. Our Volunteers love camp as much as the campers they serve. On our name tags you’ll see the number of years we’ve attended Special Camps.

Yes! We encourage you to exchange cell numbers with your child’s camp counselor when you meet them. They can then briefly let you know how they are doing and hopefully send you a few cute photos during the week. They are however not allowed to use their phones except during their break time, so the call would be brief.

Sorry, we’re having so m…[Read more]

We’ll try to pair you up with the same counselor as last year, if you remind me of their name on the application.

Most families do not pack snacks. We provide breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and an evening snack each day. If your child is an extremely picky eater, we can store their snacks and give them to your child during our designated snack times.

Yes, you will.

There is nothing to purchase at Special Camps. Everything is included. Please do not send money with your child.

In most cases yes. If both friends place their name as wanting to share the same camp counselor on their application, then we’ll do our best to place them together. Sometimes people place 5-6 names together, and we try to also place these campers within the same dorm area. We do not have you sharing the same camp counselor if one friend is f…[Read more]