2016 Summer Camp Recommendations and Reviews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree on the Head First multi sport. Our kid loved it and the swim reports were excellent. never got a single report from Beauvoir.

Unfortunately, we did the Sidwell Jr. Explorers Day Camp. DC seems happy and they've had cooking and Chinese and music but I didn't realize how much inside time they spend. That's on me though. DC likes it but has complained that there hasn't been a single sport all week (when I went to day camp we played basketball and kickball and soccer and still did music and art and crafts). We probably will skip Sidwell next year. The price is right, but summer should be outside.

This is interesting, we have not received any swim reports from Head First multi sport. I guess we should inquire?

We also got a swim report from the multi-sport camp at Sidwell- it arrived in the mail the following week.

[Anonymous]

How To Ride A Bike Camp through Parktakes was...effective. DS is now proudly riding his bike. Drop-off is not convenient - 10-20 min standing in line every morning to sign your kid in. They don't start camp until everyone is signed in. But in the end, I wanted him to be able to ride his bike, and he can. Obviously, if it works as it should, this isn't a camp you repeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree on the Head First multi sport. Our kid loved it and the swim reports were excellent. never got a single report from Beauvoir.

Unfortunately, we did the Sidwell Jr. Explorers Day Camp. DC seems happy and they've had cooking and Chinese and music but I didn't realize how much inside time they spend. That's on me though. DC likes it but has complained that there hasn't been a single sport all week (when I went to day camp we played basketball and kickball and soccer and still did music and art and crafts). We probably will skip Sidwell next year. The price is right, but summer should be outside.

This is interesting, we have not received any swim reports from Head First multi sport. I guess we should inquire?

I'm told kids were allowed to opt out. Did your kid say if they did the instructional swim? Our kid loves swim so this wasn't a problem but apparently they leave it up to the kids at multisport to decid.

[Anonymous]

hits this year include: Wonderkids at Mclean school in potomac, visi arts camp, and a week doing one of the science major programs at ESF. I HATE ESF carpool lane but my son loved the week.

[Anonymous]

We loved Circus Camp at Montgomery College and Imagination Stage's Improv camp. These were definitely our kids' favorites!

[Anonymous]

Did Dietrich's Dojo camp in Burke - would not repeat next year.
Really the kids largely seemed to just hang out all week with occasional games sprinkled in for a bit and 3 field trips. Kids generally liked it but it made me nuts.

[Anonymous]

DC so unhappy with his camp this week. And he's normally a pretty easy to please kind of kiddo. Really bummed at the bad pick and that there's nothing I can do but tell him to suck it up for 2 more days. We go on vacation next week so can't take a random day off even to give him a break from it.

[Anonymous]

Calleva - once again a top pick. Worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

I find it really hard to believe that all the good camps are in MD or DC (plus I suppose Camp congressional although that's crazy expensive) if you want them outside and not only doing county-run camps.

Are there NO good outdoorsy private camps in Fairfax county??

[Anonymous]

My son was not as happy with his specialty camp at Congressional as much as I had hoped. He said the camp itself was fun, but it was just too much time on the bus each day. After taking the bus there, transferring to the bus to Sleepy Hollow Elementary, and taking another bus to the pool on swim days, plus the bus back to the main campus, and then the bus home, he went on up to 6 bus rides per day. He said he'd be happy to go back to the camp if we moved closer and it didn't involve any buses. Not likely.

[Anonymous]

We were disappointed with Lowell this year for our rising 2nd grader after being fans of the place for several years. They seemed disorganized and our kid did not seem to bond with any kids or counselors in the same way. The highlight was swimming and for that we are grateful. Perhaps Lowell is just not as good once the kids get older, but I also think it is because they clearly expanded the number of campers in the program and were not prepared staffwise or operationally for the larger program. Communications were terrible - for example, there is a weekly newsletter sent via email that I never received despite repeated emails requesting it. It was a lot of money to pay for 6 weeks to have things be so chaotic and communications a zero. Made me feel like they just want to make as much money as possible from "the community." It was really a disappointment. We will move our kiddo on to something else next summer.

[Anonymous]

My rising 6th grade daughter loved Junior Lifeguard Camp, a Fairfax Rec camp at Lee Rec Center. I was hesitant because a few years ago we had a horrible experience with a rec camp at Providence but this was totally different. The programming was incredibly engaging and well-run, and the staff was outstanding. One morning the kids put their skills into action at the splash park across the parking lot and my daughter was so proud to be a "real lifeguard". I'm amazed at how much she learned and how seriously she took the training. It was a little out of the way but worth the drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:11:54 - it really depends on the camp. We have one particular county camp (Arlington) we're using for a third straight summer because my daughter loved it so much the last two years. The staff:kid ratios are extremely high and the level of supervision and organization is first rate.

At other county camps and rec classes, yeah, sometimes the supervision is a little lax. So we avoid those.

23:44 - KOC is awesome and my daughter loves it. I wish it were a little cheaper, because it's walkable from our house and it would be great to use it for many weeks. But yes, this is a camp I often recommend to my friends. We've known several other campers at every session we've used.

PP, would you mind sharing which camp, and/or whether it's full day? We are in Arlington and I signed my daughter up for a week of county camp to try it out, but it's only in the morning. She's young so maybe as she gets older, the camps go longer?

[Anonymous]

Another happy Burgundy Farm camper here. My daughter is 4 and has seemed to have the best time. When I asked her if there were any special friends she wanted to try to have playdates with in the fall, she named her head counselor! They have been very warm and caring all summer long.

[Anonymous]

Kids very happy with Valley Mill. Zoo camp as ever a hit, as was Barrie.