Day Camps for Older Kids?

[Anonymous]

MY DC will be a rising 7th grader this summer. Overnight camps are not an option due to finances. I feel like day camps mostly cater to younger kids (K-5). What do you do with your older kids in the summer to keep them entertained and out of your hair while you are working?

[Anonymous]

My older kids have liked calleva and tic. I agree that general day campus skew young, but if you find a camp specifically for your child's interest it will be more fun.

[Anonymous]

Calleva is the only day camp that preteens/teens seem to like.

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old did KAH’s Adventure Camp this summer; that and Travelin’ Teens seem to be popular. They also have a skate camp, too, I think. Have heard good things about all three from friends with older kids.

[Anonymous]

Camp Sonshine takes older kids. They go on field trips a lot and trips to the pool. My kid is going into 6th this summer and still wants to go.

[Anonymous]

We did a fishing camp through the Fairfax parks department for my rising 7th grader last year. They went fishing on the Potomac in kayaks, did one big float trip down the river, and one day of fishing in the bay. It was great (but you need to like fishing).

[Anonymous]

Calleva / Valley Mill / Landon Summer / Sidwell summer / Kid Museum

[Anonymous]

KAH adventure/travel day camps

https://www.kidsafterhours.com/summer-camp/summer-camps/adventure-camp/

[Anonymous]

^ anything similar to those KAH camps in VA?

[Anonymous]

We did a lot of outschool last year. This was more like a bunch of virtual lessons and whatnot. It was OK. We also did some camps thru the Moco Community college. Some were hit and miss and some just outright stunk.
https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/workforce-development-continuing-education/youth-programs/summer/

In addition to the lists above maybe:
-Imagination Stage
-Visarts
-Sur La Table cooking camps (I don't see them listed just yet)


I'm in the same boat. My rising 8th grader isn't really CIT of age and doesn't do well in the heat AT ALL. So like no outdoorsy camps for us like Calleva.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked into financial aid or scholarships? Most sleepaway camps offer some sort of financial support and some are super generous with how much they offer and to who. I know it can be uncomfortable to ask, but I've found that most camp directors are friendly even if they can't help.

[Anonymous]

Theater camp, volunteering camp, leadership camp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a fishing camp through the Fairfax parks department for my rising 7th grader last year. They went fishing on the Potomac in kayaks, did one big float trip down the river, and one day of fishing in the bay. It was great (but you need to like fishing).

Was that in partnership with Virginia Outside? My 6th grader did a different one of theirs last summer and also loved it (kayaking, whitewater rafting, ropes course, etc).

[Anonymous]

Camp Arena Stage

[Anonymous]

Same situation. The specialty teen camps are approaching prices of inexpensive sleep away camps!

Last year we registered DS in Fairfax county and Falls Church tech camps with mixed results. He had fun with fellow campers gaming during breaks but due to tech problems or less experienced instructors, he didn't learn much for the higher camp cost.

Sports camps are a good bet, especially the single sport camps run by high school or college coaches.