Summer may still seem a long time away, but many of us are already scoping out summer "opportunities". Every year, I get to this time when the snow has just melted and the camp brochures start flooding in.
Back in the day summer was about swimming, wasting away in front of the TV or roaming the neighborhood. But summer camp now is a must for my family or at least some kind of planned activity.
Since I work part-time from home, summer camp is also the time when work, but I would never call it glorified childcare. At least if you find the right camps. Camps can do something school cannot. It gives kids a much less structured place to learn and play. If your kids are in preschool and they get used to the routine of getting up and going off to school, no matter how many days a week, the summer break can be a battle after a few weeks of nothing. (Lucky are those who get to go away and travel during the summer.)
Here are a few of our tips from a Baby Bunching standpoint to consider when looking for summer camp programs for your kids.
1) Age of the counselors. Teenagers are great, but upper level college kids are even better. The first camp I sent my son to when he was 3 1/2 was a 3 hour farm camp. It was basically run by his preschool at the time. They brought in college-level (and had high school kids assisting). The program was great, but they were not well trained in helping with child separation at the beginning of the morning. Once I understood the situation I made sure to bring my son on the later end of drop off when I knew his friends would be there to engage him and help alleviate the drop-off process.
2) Certification. In the earlier days when day camp was just playing in the woods, my main concern was that everyone had basic first aid training in case of bee stings, but now that swimming is involved at many of the camps, I need to be reassured that these young counselors can take the necessary steps to jump in and save my kids, if necessary.
3) Proximity. I don't care how great the camp is. If it's across town and involves a 30 minutes drive for a 3-hour morning camp, this is not worth it for me. Take not of where these camps are before you spend your whole day driving all over creation.
4) Age of other kids. Many of the younger camps here are ages 3-6 and then move up to 6-12. Make note of this if your kid is on either end of the spectrum. If you child has JUST turned 3, find out if they group the kids by age. Surprisingly sometimes they do not. Do you want your kid playing with 6 year olds? And realize those 6-year olds may be soon turning 7. Same on the other end. My son is about to turn 7. Will he be bored playing with those who have just turned 3? Find out how they are grouped.
5) Price. Many summer camp programs will charge and arm and a leg for "camp" because parents are desparate to find childcare for the summer months or at least a break. Ask around and find out if the price is worth it. Where we live the average weekly, half-day camp (keep in mind I live in a very expensive area) is about $100-$150 per kid. If I see a camp that's $250 for the same timing. I often wonder why the extra cost. Realize that you should be able to find an fun, affordable option that will give your kid some varied fun.
6) Outside vs. inside. Indoor camps (art, dance, theater, vacation Bible School) are great to get your kids out of the heat, but there is a great benefit to having your kids outside playing, especially in the morning. Kids are often not bothered by the heat like we are. And running around in the outdoors makes nap time/rest time in the afternoon much easier to implement. We usually do a nice mix of these throughout the summer so kids can have some outside time to run and play and indoor time to help offset the pool in the afternoon.
Remember that summer is about having fun, and a good, well-run camp can be not only a little breaklet for you, but a wonderful way for your kids to interact and play with a whole new set of friends, even if only for a week.
Comments