Camp Policies

Cancellations and Refunds

On our opening registration weekend...  every penny will be refunded if you notify us or cancel your registration before the end of Monday, January 15th.

Up until April 30th...  refunds will be made after January 15th with a $35 processing fee.

After April 30th...  refunds will only be made with a $60 processing fee and only if we can fill your spot from a waitlist. Otherwise refunds are not available.

After June 9th... refunds will only be made with a $100 processing fee and if we can fill your spot from a waitlist. Otherwise refunds are not available.

No refunds will be made 14 days prior to the start of your child's week of camp.

You can cancel yourself at any time from your registration account with the above conditions applied. It's simple to do, but if you need help you can email us at [email protected].

Dangerous Weather Cancellations

In the event of dangerous weather, Adventures in Cardboard may cancel camp without a refund  in the interest of child safety, although starting in 2024, whenever possible, we will try and secure an alternate indoor space if it's appropriate.

Any decision to cancel camp for a day will be based on weather information available by 7:00am on the day in question. Any cancellation will be posted on the Summer 2023 page by 7:15am and notification made to parents' primary email by 8:00am.

Camp will never be cancelled simply for rain. Cancellations would most likely rise out of concern for the safety of campers and staff based on early morning risk assessments for tornadoes, flash floods, heat in excess of 115 F, high Air Quality Indexes from wildfiore smoke or for particularly severe storm fronts or particularly sustained storm activity that would keep us under shelter in a pandemic year. Due to new levels of wildfire smoke Adventrues in Cardboard started to arrange for indoor contingency sites to keep from closing and we hope to have a site prepared for every week of camp in 2024.

If a day of summer camp must cancelled for weather safety without an indoor contingency site we cannot offer refunds or make up days.

 

Shutdowns

If camp is forced to close for a week under government orders or from safety recommendations stemming from a pandemic, a prolonged natural disaster or social instability, Adventures in Cardboard will guarantee your full tuition will be applied to a future week of camp this year or next year without any extra fees applied, even if the price increases in the future.

 

Behavior Management

Discipline is never thought of in terms of punishment at AiC. Discipline is used to help a camper behave in ways that are safer and socially more acceptable. We recognize that discipline problems usually occur when the following basic emotional needs are not being met:

  • The need for satisfaction that comes from achievement.
  • The need for acceptance and understanding.
  • The need for recognition.
  • The need to feel something through the senses.

Meeting these needs helps prevent, as well as end, many disciplinary problems. However, every behavior is a choice and it is our challenge to help campers understand that they are in control of their actions. Our goal is to help guide our campers toward actions that have better consequences.

Sore Losers & Sore Winners! We aways celebrate honor and fair play over victory!  Some campers find it VERY hard to lose bouts of sword-tag and have a hard time calling themselves out. These campers can start to develop reputations as cheaters or sore losers. Other campers can find it hard not to gloat over a victory and celebrate a defeated player's pain at losing. To try and help campers avoid these situations we call to celebrate their honesty, integrity and fair play whenever we witness it.

 

Rules for Campers

Adventures in Cardboard really has just two rules.

BE SAFE  Campers are to avoid situations in which their safety or the safety of others is put at risk.

BE KIND  Campers must strive to be courteous and empathetic to all living things; this includes all people, animals, trees and plants. And we must respect the beautiful places we find ourselves guests in.

Having fun is a by-product of these two rules.

Here's how the rules break down specifically:

Bullying Adventures in Cardboard is a place of acceptance for all people. All people deserve respect, forgiveness, and kindness. Cruel, malicious or intimidating behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Be good to one another.

Age Respect other campers no matter what their age. This is a multi-age adventure. Go out of your way to help little ones feel welcome, respected and comfortable. It is your duty as an older camper to help look after the younger ones.

Gender The same goes for gender. Individuals of any gender, that is: boys, girls and any and all trans or non-binary genders should be respected. Make no assumptions about anyone abilities, likes, skills and desires based on their gender. EVERYONE is an individual and deserves to be treated with respect and without judgment. No exceptions. Strive to understand each other and make friends different from yourself. Strive to kindle a spirit of good will in yourself for all campers.

Visiting Other Areas Do not go into another Activity Area at any time. You may visit other areas if given permission from your Instructor and the Instructor guiding the other Activity Area.

Forest and Animals Do not harm or catch any animals including frogs, toads and snakes. Trees are not to be carved or cut. Branches and shrubs should be left intact and unbroken. Treat the environment as if you are a guest. In fact, we are all guests who enjoy visiting these beautiful places. (Yes, you can kill mosquitos and ticks!)

Litter Be mindful of the junk you accidentally leave in your wake. Pick up all wrappers, cardboard scraps or anything else you drop.

Rocks Do not throw rocks at anyone or anything.

Wandering Don’t do it! Never leave your House without the knowledge of your counselor and activity instructor. During games you will have more leeway to roam, but small groups exploring the trails must always arrange to have a staff person in line of site or at checkpoints.

Water Stay hydrated! Stay cool! Don’t lose your water bottle. Only take water out of approved faucets and spigots with signs that indicate suitability for consumption.

Swimming Swimming and canoeing are only allowed under the Waterfront Instructor’s supervision at appointed times and ONLY at the swimming beach.

Bridges All of our park’s bridges are safe, however they are not made for running, pushing or horseplay.

Fences Fences are erected for a purpose. Do not cross them; it usually indicates private property.

Roads/Railways Some service roads and railways pass through parks. They are marked clearly. STAY OFF THEM!

Lost & Found Found articles are to be turned in at the Main Tent.

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is common at Adventures in Cardboard. You will learn to identify it early in the week so it can be avoided. If you believe you have been exposed, wash the area with cold soap and water. Inform your counselor who will take care of you and follow up by uprooting and destroying the plant where it was found.

Ticks Soaking camp clothes in permethrin is a safe and extremely effective way of deterring ticks and many of our counselors have adopted this strategy. Permethrin is a synthesized chrysanthemum that comes in a spray that will bond to the fibers in clothing and continue to be effective in repelling ticks for up to six washings.

Check often when tick season is high. Tuck pants into socks, shirts into pants and wear light colored clothing. In any case, if you find a tick has attached itself to you, let an instructor know. We will remove the tick, save it if we can and inform your parents about the risks of tickbourne illnesses. However, as long as you are cautious about finding and removing ticks there is little reason to fear either ticks or tickbourne illnesses. And if your clothes are treated in permethrin your chances of staying tick-free increase exponentially.

 

Dismissal for Dangerous, Abusive or Repetitive Behavior Infractions

Adventures in Cardboard may dismiss individual campers from camp without a refund  if a camper's behavior presents a danger to themselves or others or if a continuing willful behavior is a constant stress on others at camp.

Dismissal is usually only considered when a camper continues to willfully exhibit problematic behavior after coaching with counselors. If the seriousness of the situation warrants however, or if the behavior presents real danger, dismissal may be immediate.

To help avoid this situation please look over camp expectations with your children and help them have the best experience they can. Expectations for campers are laid out in your confirmation email and in the behavior management policy below.

In general, Adventures in Cardboard will go a long way to find the cause of unsafe and stressing behaviors at camp and adapt to mitigate these behaviors, but we are unable to provide a 1:1 staff to camper ratio on a daily basis. If your child needs one on one support to succeed at camp, Adventures in Cardboard is willing to work with support that you provide, though we cannot provide that staffing for you.

And please let us know if your kids don't seem to be having a great experience for any reason or reasons unknown. Our counselors though sensitive and perceptive cannot see everything. However, if you let us know you have concerns we have the power and skill to make positive changes quickly and discreetly!

 

Playing in the Rain

Adventures in Cardboard can make peace with rain and sometimes we love it. On rainy days we will have a Rain Circus organized with options for staying out of the rain, but also for playing IN the rain if kids desire this! Before camp begins campers will be advised about what to bring to stay warm if they choose to join counselors in charging the castle in a muddy downpour! Please DO dress your kids to stay as dry and warm as possible, wet little people can get dangerously cold very quickly, even in the middle of summer and we may have to call you for an early pickup. Of course we don't play in lightning storms.

 

Policy on Smart Phones and other Electronics

AiC strives to provide a program free from video games, cell phones, audio players and other devices that can pull our attention away from the immediate experiences and connections we are making with each other in the present. Please don't permit your child to bring any of these items to camp if you can help it.

These items also tend to get lost and destroyed in the rainy woods!

 

Visitors & Friday Community Days

Parents and family may visit at any time, but we respectfully ask visitors to wear face masks in the Armory shelters and be conscious of keeping appropriate physical distance. Most Fridays on a Classic Week we host a Community Day at 2pm for friends and families of campers to come and play some of our favorite games, tour the castles and meet the counselors!