DC DPR camps

[Anonymous]

Has anyone every successfully gotten their kids in the DPR summer camps? I can't find info on the webpage for when registrations opens but I've heard it fills up pretty quickly. Also curious to know what the camps are like.

[Anonymous]

I looked at the website earlier this week and it had registration for “specialty” camps on February 28 and for the others in late March. My 4 and 6 year old did DPR camp last year and enjoyed it. I’ve seen it pretty universally panned on here, though. Perhaps it varies by location.

[Anonymous]

I just thought getting in was winning the DCPS school lottery, and I need a camp for my kid so not going to wing it in March. But I understand the price is great if you do win the lottery.

[Anonymous]

We did the a few camps and it wasn’t that great. You get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

there are usually 4 or 5 sessions - if you are ready to sign up when registration opens, its pretty common to get some but not all of the sessions before they fill up. while i hear a lot of you get what you pay for, i think the quality for discovery camp (older kids 6-10) is good for the price and my kid overall likes it. you need to be okay with supervised free play sessions and friday afternoon movies etc. sometimes preK kids may be better off returning to daycare.

[Anonymous]

My 6 year old got in off the waitlist and did one session last year. We had really low expectations, but she came home happy every day. They had a weekly trip to a pool and the staff did it up for a party on the last day. For the price, convenience and hours it was hands down better than Sidwell Summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the website earlier this week and it had registration for “specialty” camps on February 28 and for the others in late March. My 4 and 6 year old did DPR camp last year and enjoyed it. I’ve seen it pretty universally panned on here, though. Perhaps it varies by location.

I’m the PP who posted this and just wanted to update that the DPR website now says registration starts Apr. 4? Yike that’s late. Anyway, didn’t want anyone to rely on my previous post.

[Anonymous]

I'm making a plan for which camps to prioritize when registration opens. Can someone tell me the difference between Discovery and REC camp? I can't tell what's the difference but they have different prices.

[Anonymous]

We signed kid up for camp for most of the summer, but have a chunk in August that we cannot fill. Would you do Little Steam (4-6) or Little Explorers (3-5) for a 4 year old girl who is kind of physical, fairly capable of sitting and listening.
https://dpr.dc.gov/service/summer-camps

[Anonymous]

i think rec camp only goes until 3 p.m. each day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i think rec camp only goes until 3 p.m. each day

Nope, usually til 5 or 6.

[Anonymous]

I'm also wondering about the difference between Little Steam Engine and Little Explorer's. We did Little Explorer's last year and it seemed like art, playing, sports, and once a week a pool trip. I don't have any sense of what Little Steam camp is like. Does anyone have experience with that?

[Anonymous]

Little Steam is new, assume it’s a renamed version of Little Engineers, which is STEM focused. My kid did projects about flight—airplanes, parachutes, etc.

My kid has done Little Explorers, Discovery, Engineering, Aqua, Tennis, Soccer, and Basketball over the years. Plus the brief session in 2020 when we were all attempting a return to camp. I’d say 90% of the time it’s been good.

REC used to be 9-3 and basically no formal programming—designed to be drop-in. Sounds like this year there’s more to it.

See dprsummercamp.com for all the details. For some reason DPR creates all these standalone sites and doesn’t always share those links from the main page. They are also instituting a waiting room for this year, so the flood of people trying to sign up don’t crash the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Little Steam is new, assume it’s a renamed version of Little Engineers, which is STEM focused. My kid did projects about flight—airplanes, parachutes, etc.

My kid has done Little Explorers, Discovery, Engineering, Aqua, Tennis, Soccer, and Basketball over the years. Plus the brief session in 2020 when we were all attempting a return to camp. I’d say 90% of the time it’s been good.

REC used to be 9-3 and basically no formal programming—designed to be drop-in. Sounds like this year there’s more to it.

See dprsummercamp.com for all the details. For some reason DPR creates all these standalone sites and doesn’t always share those links from the main page. They are also instituting a waiting room for this year, so the flood of people trying to sign up don’t crash the system.

When I click on any of the camps or rec centers for information, it says access denied. Is anyone else getting this? If so, how to access information?

[Anonymous]

This link worked for me

https://dprsummercamp.com/