Camp planning during summer swim

[Anonymous]

I fail to sign up summer swim this summer because I screwed up with camp planning/schedules and kid was undecided. That tryout week was chilly and rainy was not helpful. I want to more well prepared for next summer.

I normally sign up 8 weeks of summer camps and do 2 weeks of vacation. I normally sign him up with outdoor adventurous day camp (9am to 3pm/4pm) in mid June to early July, and he gets dirty and more exhausted. Sleepaway camp (for a 1-2 weeks) happen in early July to mid July. The rest of day camps (9am to 5pm/6pm) are less adventurous/some indoors and less exhausted in late July to early August. We do vacation in mid August. He likes to start the summer with camps he likes the most, then sleepaway camp ,and end with camps that he like less at the end. If I sign up with summer swim next summer, what should I adjust with above summer camp planning/registration? I need childcare, so he needs to go to camp. All camp registrations open in early January because they fill out fast.

[Anonymous]

Some camps are more flexible with arrival times etc. Ask at your pool where other kids are going. Or at least tell us where you are located so people can make suggestions. It’s going to be a hyper-local solution.

[Anonymous]

Agree that this is going to be hyperlocal. We are NVSL. We try not to go on vacation during the season. I usually take the first week after school off to give my kids some down time and ease into summer. You could achieve the same with a babysitter. We have then done a combo of rec center or theater camp (super close, starts at 9:30) or babysitters. The rec center camps don't care if you arrive late but it is a lot to do both in one day, especially if an active camp. Next year, I am going to try to nail down a babysitter for swim season, go on vacation for a week once it is over, and close down the summer with a couple of camps.

[Anonymous]

Summer swim is June and July for most. Many teams have an evening practice which would be a good fit for you. It doesn’t replace childcare or camps as it’s only 1/2 hour a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Summer swim is June and July for most. Many teams have an evening practice which would be a good fit for you. It doesn’t replace childcare or camps as it’s only 1/2 hour a day.

+1 to the person who said hyperlocal. Our pool has lot of evening practices especially for younger/ES kids because the cohort is mostly working parents so these kids go to camp. I would look at this year's practice schedule and ask if it generally stays the same year to year.

My kids have practice at 5:30 and 6 so they go to camp first and then swim. But we are lucky with our pool and the specific slots this year (will keep changing with their ages and progress).

[Anonymous]

Does he want to do summer swim?

[Anonymous]

I would try and hire someone to babysit the weeks you want to do summer swim. Do camps/vacation in August.
Most kids don’t want to get to camp late after the activities have started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would try and hire someone to babysit the weeks you want to do summer swim. Do camps/vacation in August.
Most kids don’t want to get to camp late after the activities have started.

My kids have never cared about getting to camp late after swim practice if it’s a camp that goes until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. In fact, I think they kind of like that. It gets them out of the house, but isn’t a super long day there. I work very part-time in the summer so I can manage running them around different places. I pick camps within about 15 minutes of home during swim season so I don’t feel like I have to rush the kids to go from the pool to camp. We get there when we get there. All of the camps are always familiar with summer swim team and a lot of the time other kids are coming late too. Obviously a different situation if it’s some kind of specialized camp or a half day camp that only runs in the morning. And of course different if you need to put in a full day of work, starting at the normal time in the morning. A summer babysitter who can drive makes a lot of sense in those situations.

[Anonymous]

The only way we can make this work is that we belong to a pool that also runs a camp, so they spend the whole day there.

I found the early morning practice plus a 8:30/9am drop off at camp not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Depends when you practices are? Will you take him to a practice and then camp? Our 9-10s practice at 9:40 but the older kids practice earlier. Our pool also offers 3 days a week afternoon practice around 5.

[Anonymous]

Check your pool, check the practice times- you’ll still have to take him to practice and camp. We don’t do camp during summer swim.