How do you plan your summer (camps)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always organized summer like this:
10 weeks of summer
1-6: hired babysitter to watch all three kids, they all did summer swim team and activities around our neighborhood.
7: sleep away camp, each kid picked their own from ones that were affordable
8: family vacation
9 and 10: day camp, same location for all three.

We just started almost this exact approach with our kids last summer and really liked it.

The hard part of this is finding a babysitter for full time work for only 6 weeks.

The early weeks of summer is probably the easiest time to find a sitter with all the college kids looking for temporary gigs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are these all day camps for childcare, or just camps for fun? That would make a difference.

OP here. Sorry, what is the difference? My elementary school aged kids don't have school during the summer and I am looking for something fun, that's not a logistical nightmare and will not break the bank to keep them occupied.

Why do defensive? Sounds like you are a SAHM. They aren’t all going to like the same camps at the same time. You have to decide how much you want to cater to their interests vs do what’s easiest for you. I am a SAHM and each of my 2 girls picks 3-4 weeks of camp they want. I don’t care if it overlaps or is convenient for me, I suck it up because they are specific camps for certain weeks at certain locations. Several of the camps they like are only offered 1-2 weeks the whole summer, they can’t just “pick a different week.” Then we vacation or relax the other weeks. I would handle it much differently if I would also juggling a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are these all day camps for childcare, or just camps for fun? That would make a difference.

OP here. Sorry, what is the difference? My elementary school aged kids don't have school during the summer and I am looking for something fun, that's not a logistical nightmare and will not break the bank to keep them occupied.

Why do defensive? Sounds like you are a SAHM. They aren’t all going to like the same camps at the same time. You have to decide how much you want to cater to their interests vs do what’s easiest for you. I am a SAHM and each of my 2 girls picks 3-4 weeks of camp they want. I don’t care if it overlaps or is convenient for me, I suck it up because they are specific camps for certain weeks at certain locations. Several of the camps they like are only offered 1-2 weeks the whole summer, they can’t just “pick a different week.” Then we vacation or relax the other weeks. I would handle it much differently if I would also juggling a job.

OP here. Not sure what is defensive, I didn’t honestly understand the question. I think another PP clarified it for me. Thank PP.
FWIW I am not a SAHM, and camps last year was a bit chaotic with 3 drop offs but one was walking distance. And we found a car pool for the other kid. I am trying not to repeat that lol. So any tip is welcome.

[Anonymous]

Definitely try to keep the same location. Rec centers tend to have multiple camps running so you could pick the location and tell your kids the camp choices that week and then they can pick their program but your drop and pick up is the same.

[Anonymous]

I send them both to 4 weeks of overnight camp. Then 2 week vacation around the 4th and one week of watching tv.

[Anonymous]

At that age (until oldest was 11 or 12) they were all in the same camp all summer. One drop off. They all liked it, though, more or less.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 5 and 2. One will attend a toddler day camp at her preschool, and the other is off to a more k+ appropriate day camp that will require a bus. Eventually I hope they will be in the same day camp. I currently enroll my kids at the same camp for 8 weeks. Ideally I’d prefer to keep things simple and have the kids in one camp the entire summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are these all day camps for childcare, or just camps for fun? That would make a difference.

OP here. Sorry, what is the difference? My elementary school aged kids don't have school during the summer and I am looking for something fun, that's not a logistical nightmare and will not break the bank to keep them occupied.

Why do defensive? Sounds like you are a SAHM. They aren’t all going to like the same camps at the same time. You have to decide how much you want to cater to their interests vs do what’s easiest for you. I am a SAHM and each of my 2 girls picks 3-4 weeks of camp they want. I don’t care if it overlaps or is convenient for me, I suck it up because they are specific camps for certain weeks at certain locations. Several of the camps they like are only offered 1-2 weeks the whole summer, they can’t just “pick a different week.” Then we vacation or relax the other weeks. I would handle it much differently if I would also juggling a job.

OP here. Not sure what is defensive, I didn’t honestly understand the question. I think another PP clarified it for me. Thank PP.
FWIW I am not a SAHM, and camps last year was a bit chaotic with 3 drop offs but one was walking distance. And we found a car pool for the other kid. I am trying not to repeat that lol. So any tip is welcome.

It makes a difference if you will need it as childcare for typical workday hours. Lots of camps from 9-4. If you have to work 9-5, then you will need to find something that either starts earlier or have childcare before/after options. Many camps don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I send them both to 4 weeks of overnight camp. Then 2 week vacation around the 4th and one week of watching tv.

I see posts like this a lot. What do you do the other 3-4 weeks (since summer is 10-11 weeks long?) TV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I send them both to 4 weeks of overnight camp. Then 2 week vacation around the 4th and one week of watching tv.

I see posts like this a lot. What do you do the other 3-4 weeks (since summer is 10-11 weeks long?) TV?

Send them to grandparents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 6, 8, and 10.

I start a spreadsheet right around now for every camp I’m considering and put in weeks, cost, and if they have before/after care, registration opens, etc.

Then I have another spreadsheet with each week of the summer and start filling in camps. I have a first choice and second choice for each week.

I have found that my kids don’t like trying a new camp each week - so I don’t sign them up for less than 2 weeks at any camp. I also pick camps with multiple options at the same location so I don’t have to manage multiple pickups/drop offs.

Internet search and asking around is the best way to find camps - there are many, many camps in this area, so there isn’t really a single place to learn about them. And even then, it might not be a good fit for your kids - there have been three camps which were absolutely not the right for for my kids, and we just didn’t repeat those again. And one camp has been such a huge hit that my kids want to do it all summer (but I want them to branch out a bit, so I usually sign them up for at least 3 different camps).

OP here. This is helpful, thanks!

We are in Bethesda and always did Green Acres (7 weeks plus swim lessons) when they were little and then Stome Ridge when they were older. Stone Ridge has a mix of on and off campus options. Their adventure camp is great for the older kids.

[Anonymous]

Just registered my kid for KAH camp. She liked it last year and it was easy drop of etc. We take a short vacation early in summer and then a longer one in august. Shes in 2nd grade, probably ready for more interesting things than day camp but thats challenging in terms of dropnoff and I'm saving the $ for the family vacations.

[Anonymous]

6-9 is a good opportunity for camp like YMCA or outdoor camps with various offerings. One drop off but separate options such as one swims and one does tennis, etc.

[Anonymous]

Some camps have buses. We like those camps.

[Anonymous]

I made my kids go to the same camps last year at age 6 and 8. They mostly did general camps like Congressional where they get to do swimming, sports and crafts. They did a few weeks of specialty camps which meant my nerdy kid did a week of super dude-bro sports camp with his brother and my lax-bro kid did a week of coding camp.

The older one knows when he is a rising 6th grader he can pick some half-day camps or camps that are nearby and he can ride his bike to/from alone - I work at home 100%. If we have carpool buddies, I will consider specialty camps, but my spouse can’t do drop off or pick up 2 days a week and I can’t be in 2 places at once.