Program Info
Brighton Woods Day Camp has been in operation for over 40 years, with a focus on getting campers outdoors, working together on camp skills, and having lots of silly fun. We have four mascots: Harriet the Hippo, Civvie the Frog, Flo the Flamingo, and Peggy the Penguin. Some of our traditions include the mascot hunt where campers search for mascots hidden around camp, spending the day with Flo or Mango, the Flamingos, making stone soup and ice cream, earning temporary tattoos, and many more!
Units have a busy schedule full of camp activities! Campers will learn new songs, nature facts, high adventure skills, cooking outdoors, and express their creativity through arts & crafts and our Matinee!
Girl Scouts is scout led, and so is our camp! Campers choose their menus, the next year’s theme, and activities in their units. Our Teen Staff and AIT plan and lead activities while developing their leadership skills. We value our Girl Scouts’ input in every part of our program!
What to Wear
Dressing for camp is key to having a good day at camp! Your camper will be walking on uneven, rough ground, in woods full of ticks and other assorted creepy crawlies. That’s not even mentioning the poison ivy! We won’t police what campers wear except to ensure safety; for example not having sturdy closed toe shoes will mean a call home for new shoes!
- shirt with sleeves
- bandana, hat, or other head covering
- socks that cover the ankle
- shorts or leggings
- sturdy closed toed shoes
Daily Packing List!
- Water bottle and holder
- Two masks per day (optional)
- Two bandanas per day (for drying hands)
- Lightweight rain poncho
- Sit upon
- Lightweight backpack
- Lunch: insulated bag with ice packs! NO NUTS please
- Mess Kit (for snacks!- can be stored at camp)
Some days campers need additional supplies; please refer to What to Bring to Camp Each Day for more details!
Bus Info
Bus pickup and drop off times are between 7:50 and 8:30 am, and 4 pm and 5pm, depending on the location of your stop.
Bus stops are not finalized until just before camp but will in the vicinity of popular locations. Recently used bus stops include:
Grove Shopping Center (near Shady Grove Metro)
EB Wood MS
Northgate Shopping Center
Cloverly Safeway
Eastern MS
Pinecrest ES
Olney, MD
We do not allows campers to be dropped off and picked up at camp daily, unless they are riding with a volunteer. If your child cannot ride a bus, please email bwdc.team@gmail.com and we will work with you to find a solution.
Camper Pick Up
When picking up a camper, the adult MUST be listed on their Authorized Pick Up List AND show photo ID. Please make sure pick up adults have their ID prepared when picking up campers. This applies to bus stops and pick up from camp.
If picking your camper up early from camp, you MUST sign them out at Headquarters, located in Brighton Lodge.
Overnight Info
All campers of every age are allowed to sleep over on our all camp overnight. For many campers this is their first time camping, or being overnight away from parents. Only the parents of the child can really decide if their child is ready for an overnight; campers who leave early will be able to return for breakfast the next morning.
Campers generally sleep in our glen shelters; these are wooden structures with a roof but no cots or beds of any kind. Older units may sleep in tents. A bed roll or pad of some type is a great thing to send with your camper for their comfort, but most kids do fine without it too!
Please keep in mind while packing that campers need to be able to carry their own gear! Sleeping bags will be taken to their unit by their leaders; but they will need to carry their own bag with their clothes/toiletries/overnight items. Let them help pack so they know where everything is, and let them help practice carrying it!
Even more overnight info is here!
Overnight Packing List
- bedroll (a sleeping bag or 2 warm blankets), and a sleeping pad or waterproof cloth
- sleepwear and a change of clothes for Wednesday and a plastic bag in which to keep clothes
- warm sweater or jacket (even in July, it can get chilly at night!)
- washcloth, small towel, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste (in plastic bag), comb, and brush
- flashlight or headlamp with freshf batteries and bulb
- mess kit containing an unbreakable plate, bowl, silverware, and cup
- drip bag (hosiery, onion or other mesh bag, with drawstring) to air dry dishes
- insect repellent (cream or lotion)
- bagged supper — a main meal is cooked by campers at lunch. Can be anything your child will eat for dinner, kept cool with an ice pack.
Emergency Info
We use Remind to send texts to all parents in case of emergency. Please make sure you sign up for our all camp remind as well as the remind for the bus; staff will use those to let you know if a bus is running late or any other information you may need last minute.
Camp Contact Info
The best way to contact camp is via email: bwdc.team@gmail.com. When you receive your unit information you will also receive contact info for your unit leaders and camp directors!
Camp Phone Number: 240-315-1543 – You can text or call; please include your name, camper’s name, and reason for calling/texting.
Medications at Camp
Bringing Medication to Camp Form
You may have already filled out the necessary forms on CampDoc! If you need to fill out a form, we should have contacted you. If you are sure you did not fill out the form on CampDoc, the forms are linked below.
For most medications, please administer them before or after camp; thus no form is needed for us! If your camper needs a medication at camp, please download and fill out this form and send it in with the medication in a ziplock bag clearly labeled with their name and unit number. Medication MUST be in original container. The camper will need to turn that in to First Aid and it will be kept there.
If your child needs to bring an Epi Pen or emergency inhaler to camp, please fill out one of these:
Asthma Inhaler form/action plan
Epi Pen/Allergy Info
SWAPS!
What are SWAPS? Swaps are a Girl Scout tradition and an acronym that stand for “Special watchamacalits affectionally pinned somewhere.” If you haven’t encountered swaps before in your troop, here is some information about the history of swaps in Girl Scouting. We as camp give out a lot of swaps! Unit of the day gets a swap, there is usually a theme related swap, and there may be a swap related to various activities we do. On the last day of camp, during our camp party, everyone is able to swap with everyone else; which is a great way to really get kids talking to each other and getting to know each other and to have something to remember each other by during the year. It’s great to have a place for campers to put their swaps! Some campers put them on their water bottle holders, or on a hat, or on a piece of fabric they hang on the wall; there are tons of ideas if you google “girl scout swaps!” Swaps do NOT need to be expensive or extremely time consuming. As for how many swaps to bring to camp, that really depends on your child and how much they WANT to swap; 50 swaps is a great baseline, but at least 15-20 to be able to participate. We provide supplies for campers to work on swaps during camp, but each unit determines how they use their time at camp.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve read all of the above and still have questions, maybe it is answered here…!
- Partial Attendance: If you have any questions about attendance, please email Ravenclaw!
- Camp Fees: Camp costs $380 per camper unless you are a volunteer. Volunteers receive a discount for their campers and a reduced rate for their pixies and rangers. We do not have the capacity to do partial payments.
- Volunteer Discounts: Volunteers will pay full price at the time of registration. The appropriate discount will be applied and refunded after paperwork and training are completed on time.
- Overnight: If your camper doesn’t want to stay over, you can choose a pickup option that works for your family. That information will be sent out in our overnight permission form.
- Buddy Requests: Unit assignments will be based on age/grade of campers, NOT on buddy requests or troop membership. If your child has a special/extenuating circumstance please let us know by April 17th, but we can only do our best based on the space we have.
- Allergies: We will work with each family on a case by case basis to ensure their child has whatever they need to be safe and successful at Brighton Woods. We should have all your child’s allergy information via your CampDocs forms, but if you have any questions or more information that can help, please email Chickadee to discuss!
Brighton Woods Day Camp 