APS: Summer Camp

[Anonymous]

What summer camps are people liking right now for their elementary age children in APS? How are hard is it to get in private camps? This will be our first summer in the area and I’m trying to figure out what to do and also estimated rates for our twin boys. Thanks! 🤪

[Anonymous]

We do most of our camps through the county. My son’s favorite last year was one of the super cheap ones ($170 or so) but most are between $250-300/week. You are wise to start looking now because they fill up quickly, though I was able to get on to some county camps a week or two before by going in the waitlist.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I’m not going to bank on getting in to county camps just because I know our luck. Ha! Are the “private camps” about the same price or are they much higher per week? I’ve tried to find pricing and some websites do not have information for Summer 2022.

[Anonymous]

What are your kids interested in? The cheapest summer camp options fill up on the day registration opens, but the slightly more expensive specialty camps don’t fill up as fast - unless it’s something really popular. The county dept of parks and rec handles registration for the county offerings. The have a brochure that lists everything hosted on APS or county property. Set your alarm for the day registration opens. Create your account ahead of time.

My kids liked All American Sports camp- sporty but they can play different things every day. They also liked Kidrealm.

[Anonymous]

Look at Calleva

[Anonymous]

Camp Kids Place. But they haven't posted info for next summer yet.
http://campkidsplace.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at Calleva

Pretty sure Calleva is all book up already. They opened reg in dec this yr.

[Anonymous]

My kids will do a combo of Congressional, Columbia Baptist, NoVa Fencing, Lego+Chess with Silver Knights and a TBD Fairfax County camp near their grandparents house.

[Anonymous]

How old are your kids?

[Anonymous]

8 years old.

It seems like a lot of people do a mix of camps. Is that due to availability or kids wanting different “themes”? We were in an area with limited camp type options, but there was ample availability. Having to plan this far ahead to register is a bit of a new concept.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8 years old.

It seems like a lot of people do a mix of camps. Is that due to availability or kids wanting different “themes”? We were in an area with limited camp type options, but there was ample availability. Having to plan this far ahead to register is a bit of a new concept.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info!

I think it's a bit of both. When DS was in elementary school his, by far, favorite camp was Camp Kids Place. He'd happily spend the whole summer there so we booked as many weeks as we could and then filled in with others as needed. DD didn't particularly like CKP (she preferred quieter art/outdoor camps). So she'd do a couple weeks there because it made my life easier for the kids to be at the same place sometimes but only for the themes best aligned with her interests. And then went to other camps that typically only offered a week or two for her age group or were more expensive so our budget only allowed a shorter time. She liked Potomac Overlook, an art studio, Adventure Links. There's also the added challenge of coordinating some camps with their friends. So she did the county art camp for a week because her friend was doing it, even though it wasn't a favorite.

[Anonymous]

I have found camps range from $180 a week (county run camps) to up to $500 (places like Congressional).

The hardest 2 weeks to book are the 2 weeks right before school starts, so if you find a camp offering something one of those weeks, pounce on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8 years old.

It seems like a lot of people do a mix of camps. Is that due to availability or kids wanting different “themes”? We were in an area with limited camp type options, but there was ample availability. Having to plan this far ahead to register is a bit of a new concept.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info!

Part of why we do different camps is so that my DD can try new places. Sometimes one camp turns out to be just so-so. I'd rather find that out after a week than an entire summer. My DD is 7, so we haven't had a normal school summer break yet. The first summer I had booked up after K (summer 2020) got completely cancelled. Summer 2021 was better, but since she wasn't vaccinated we did more outdoor camps and half day camps than I would have in a normal year. So even though I am not new to the area, I am still piecing together the camp scene for summer 2022.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have found camps range from $180 a week (county run camps) to up to $500 (places like Congressional).

The hardest 2 weeks to book are the 2 weeks right before school starts, so if you find a camp offering something one of those weeks, pounce on it.

Prices are more than that now.