In the wake of the recent flooding tragedy in Central Texas, many North Texas families are rethinking summer camp plans, especially those involving overnight stays. As anxiety rises for both parents and children, some local day camps are working to provide a sense of normalcy and support.

At Camp Skylark, which operates day camps at five churches across North Texas, the goal has always been to bring the magic of overnight camp experiences to working families.

"We want them to have had a great time, to have had so much fun," said Sarah Craft, vice president of operations at Camp Skylark.

Day camp mirrors sleepaway experience

Many of Skylark's daily activities mirror those of traditional sleepaway camps like Camp Mystic, where the deadly flooding occurred.

"I did camp not too far from there in the Hill Country," said Ryan Dunleavy, director of communications for Camp Skylark. "Just imagining the situations that those counselors were put in, that those families are currently in... And then as more and more news came out, realizing that, oh man, there are people directly impacted that will be on Skylark's campuses, and how do we care for them?"

Parents focus on emotional well-being

This week, camp staff have been fielding calls from concerned parents. Their questions are less about logistics or physical safety, and more about emotional well-being.

"Are you going to bring it up or are you going to let them bring it up?" said Craft. "Is there going to be curriculum around this that's going to impact it?"

Support for grieving or anxious kids

The Skylark team made a point to identify campers who personally knew any of the victims. They also trained counselors to handle difficult conversations and support kids experiencing grief or fear.

"But other than that, we kept a lot of camp as normal as we could for the kids," Craft said. "We had the same level of excitement coming in, the same level of rally, and our activities. We really wanted to keep the sadness, as much as we could, at bay for the majority of our kids, but then give space for those that needed extra space to process."

Faith and care at the center

That space, camp leaders say, is rooted in love, support, and faith.

"Our ultimate goal is that they would know that they are loved and cared for by us, because they're loved and cared for by Jesus," said Craft.

Camp Skylark is serving about 1,000 children in North Texas this summer.