Best sleep away camp in NE?

[Anonymous]

I didn’t grow up going to sleep away camp, but would like a recommendation for my elementary aged Asian American kid. Can anyone recommend a specific camp or area to check out?

NE because it seems like great weather and history, but is far away enough that I could drop him off an be a tourist for 2-3 weeks while on vacation or working remotely. I was thinking Maine or upstate New York or Vermont.

[Anonymous]

Camp Takoda in NH is one example!

[Anonymous]

*Takodah

[Anonymous]

Call me

[Anonymous]

What does your kid like? Do you want a camp with long sessions or just a week at a time? Single sex or coed? What activities are important? Religious? Do you want a camp that builds bunk community by doing most activities together or a camp that promotes individual choice?

There is no "best" camp -- just best for your specific child.

[Anonymous]

There's one in Lake George NY. Not too far and a fun sporty camp.

Are you looking for sports or does your child have other interests? There are camps for literally everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does your kid like? Do you want a camp with long sessions or just a week at a time? Single sex or coed? What activities are important? Religious? Do you want a camp that builds bunk community by doing most activities together or a camp that promotes individual choice?

There is no "best" camp -- just best for your specific child.

Coed I guess but single sex is ok. 2 weeks seems good but open to longer session camps. Just regular camp activities. No preference for religious but ok with a Christian camp. I didn’t really post details because I don’t have strong ones except what I posted in the OP.

If people have apecialty camps they love for this age group I’d love to hear those as well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's one in Lake George NY. Not too far and a fun sporty camp.

Are you looking for sports or does your child have other interests? There are camps for literally everything.

I’m looking at heritage camps and music camps separately and i think those skew older. So I was asking more general sleep away. But if people have music or math/science camps they recommend for elementary I’d love those.

[Anonymous]

Use Maine Camp Finder to narrow your search. There isn’t a best, it is depends on your kid and which suits them. I’d take a trip to Portland Maine sometime and narrow your search to a handful that are within a couple hours drive (I know at least a few are within an hour) Go see them and get a tour.

[Anonymous]

I have so many thoughts for you, and unfortunately they're not helpful.

I attended and worked at a traditional, secular girls' camp in Maine that I loved. There are many camps that are quite similar to it, and vary only slightly in traditions and the level of wealth of the girls who have historically attended them.

Counterintuitively, when I went there in the 90s and worked there in the early 2000s, it was more diverse than it is now. I think it has to do with more options being available for summer, the pressure of year-round activities, and the change in international adoption laws that has diminished the # of campers of color who were the adopted children of alumnae campers (and who in turn attracted other non-white campers). No one wants their child of color to be an "only" during what should be a carefree summer. So many kids experience that all year round in a classroom or sport or neighborhood.

The camp directors, while very special to me, have made it clear that they would rather just pull from a diminishing group of privileged white kids from certain schools and cities + rich international girls rather than put in the effort to socially integrate girls from other places and backgrounds. There's a massive scholarship fund and it doesn't seem to be leveraged. I can see the camper numbers going down every year but the explanation is always "parents don't understand the benefits of summer camp", not "we do a bad job of making kids of all backgrounds feel welcome." This is not a unique situation and many camps are about 20 years behind the real world.

Anyway, I have a multiracial child and she is not going to my camp. She pointed out at 8 years old that she would be one of the only asian or mixed asian kids there, and she said she didn't want to be in that situation.

This is a good time to try to visit a camp if you want to see it in action. Many offer visit days during sessions or allow prospective families to visit during parents' weekends. Photos are going to be carefully chosen to showcase the most diverse campers, and it's much better to see the actual camp in action. I am the biggest cheerleader for my camp experience but my advice to you is to proceed with caution in your search.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so many thoughts for you, and unfortunately they're not helpful.

I attended and worked at a traditional, secular girls' camp in Maine that I loved. There are many camps that are quite similar to it, and vary only slightly in traditions and the level of wealth of the girls who have historically attended them.

Counterintuitively, when I went there in the 90s and worked there in the early 2000s, it was more diverse than it is now. I think it has to do with more options being available for summer, the pressure of year-round activities, and the change in international adoption laws that has diminished the # of campers of color who were the adopted children of alumnae campers (and who in turn attracted other non-white campers). No one wants their child of color to be an "only" during what should be a carefree summer. So many kids experience that all year round in a classroom or sport or neighborhood.

The camp directors, while very special to me, have made it clear that they would rather just pull from a diminishing group of privileged white kids from certain schools and cities + rich international girls rather than put in the effort to socially integrate girls from other places and backgrounds. There's a massive scholarship fund and it doesn't seem to be leveraged. I can see the camper numbers going down every year but the explanation is always "parents don't understand the benefits of summer camp", not "we do a bad job of making kids of all backgrounds feel welcome." This is not a unique situation and many camps are about 20 years behind the real world.

Anyway, I have a multiracial child and she is not going to my camp. She pointed out at 8 years old that she would be one of the only asian or mixed asian kids there, and she said she didn't want to be in that situation.

This is a good time to try to visit a camp if you want to see it in action. Many offer visit days during sessions or allow prospective families to visit during parents' weekends. Photos are going to be carefully chosen to showcase the most diverse campers, and it's much better to see the actual camp in action. I am the biggest cheerleader for my camp experience but my advice to you is to proceed with caution in your search.

Disagree with this. My children’s Maine girls camp is way more diverse than it was when I was a child.

[Anonymous]

An Asian wimt be welcome in Maine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An Asian wimt be welcome in Maine

This is nonsense. Would an Asian have a hard time LIVING in a place like Skowhegan? Maybe.

But going to camp with kids from Boston and NYC? Fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An Asian wimt be welcome in Maine

Dumb comment. First, most of the kids at sleepaway camp aren’t from Maine. And second, Asian and Indian kids go to my children’s sleep away camp. While they aren’t the majority, out of memory, I can think of several.

[Anonymous]

I would plan a camp tour - it is hard to just pick randomly if you don't know what you're looking for. You can find a list of ACA accredited camps on their website, or you can check in the fall to see if any camp fairs will be held where you live.

For boys I have heard good things about Lanakila, Camp Lincoln, and Camp Lawrence (the latter is a Y camp and much more reasonable if cost is an issue) (I just have daughters who go to all girls camp)