How many camps for rising 7th grader

[Anonymous]

My kid has a few weeks of “freedom”, but is otherwise scheduled for half or 3/4-day camps. They’re all interesting and great experience opportunities that he didn’t have during Covid or when he was younger and I couldn’t afford to send him to camp. He’s excited but also now says he wanted more time to do “nothing” (ie, watch YouTube and game).

It didn’t seem odd to me to sign him up for so much, but most of his friends seem to only be in one - two weeks of camps and those are one they’re doing with my kid.

Just wondering what others have scheduled (or not) for their kid.

[Anonymous]

Mine is doing day camp or sleepaway for most of the summer (aside from the first week off and vacations). If she wanted a couple weeks of no activities I'd be fine with that, but I wouldn't want her sitting around at home all summer and the adults are working.

[Anonymous]

Rising 6th which I guess is not your target response. But 5 weeks of camp. I would probably do the same next year. The weeks she’s not in camp she has swim team in the morning.

[Anonymous]

My son is doing 4 weeks of half day sports camp. Rising 7th grader.

[Anonymous]

One week sleepover camp, one week with each set of grandparents, one week staycation with mom, one week staycation with dad, one week family camping.

Last year was the first year we did individual parent staycations rather than the whole family and it was really fun to play tourist one on one. I was worried last year might be the last time they'd want to hang so much with parents, but they asked for it again. Some days we bring along a friend for the outing, but it's mostly just parent and kid. My husband's week is when I'm on a work trip and mine is when he's at a big local conference. Hopefully tween likes it again this year.

[Anonymous]

Zero

[Anonymous]

3 weeks of camp, 2 weeks of crew (mornings, rest of day free), and 4 weeks vacation (divorced parents, so 2 weeks each). She likes to have a lot of activities and keep busy.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like fun, honestly. It's hard to find a good mix of camps that don't overlap with each other and planned family travel. And he's the perfect age to get a lot out of camps. If at the end of summer he says it was too much, then do fewer the next year. Don't worry what his friends do.

[Anonymous]

Mine go for eight weeks of camp. They get one week to do nothing, and one week we go on vacation.

[Anonymous]

1 sports camp with a friend in June

2 weeks total at grandparents in July, split up, at both sides.

Possibly 1 half day sports camp with a friend in August, depending if there is still availability and if they both register.

[Anonymous]

No freedom weeks because they get filled with electronics and that's what he's obviously angling for with "freedom weeks". Friends are all booked too. They chill on the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No freedom weeks because they get filled with electronics and that's what he's obviously angling for with "freedom weeks". Friends are all booked too. They chill on the weekends.

Agreed. Mine is going to six weeks of camp and 2 weeks of travel with grandparents, so she will have one or two unscheduled weeks and that’s more than enough.

[Anonymous]

I miss all the nothing I got to do as a child in the summer. There were activities and a family vacation, but nothing so structured as camps for half, let alone all day or sleep-away for me. And I was sick of that structure by the end of the school year.

It will likely never happen again. My kid is getting some extra music lessons and is otherwise free range - with limits on gaming and Internet time (with exceptions for truly awful hot days or other particularly bad weather).

Luckily he's a Calvin & Hobbes fan. Not that this will fill his summer - but I gave him the complete collection, he does spend hours on the floor leafing through and reading it. And reading other things... and getting inspired to make trouble outside.

[Anonymous]

Nothing the first and last weeks of the summer, a family vacation for one week, the rest is camps. Mostly one camp he's done before and likes and wants to CIT at next year A couple weeks are a "teen trips" camp with a bunch of friends. They'll be out every day going to amusement parks, water parks, mini golf, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I miss all the nothing I got to do as a child in the summer. There were activities and a family vacation, but nothing so structured as camps for half, let alone all day or sleep-away for me. And I was sick of that structure by the end of the school year.

It will likely never happen again. My kid is getting some extra music lessons and is otherwise free range - with limits on gaming and Internet time (with exceptions for truly awful hot days or other particularly bad weather).

Luckily he's a Calvin & Hobbes fan. Not that this will fill his summer - but I gave him the complete collection, he does spend hours on the floor leafing through and reading it. And reading other things... and getting inspired to make trouble outside.

See and I never did that as a kid. I always had camp until I was 14, when I worked two jobs all summer. But before 14, it was always a full summer of camp.