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What did you plan for yiur prek-3 or pre-k4 child to do this summer?
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Anonymous
| I am just wondering how much it cost all of you working preschool and prek parents in money, time, energy and worry to find something for your child to do this summer? I am trying to weigh the cost of taking my three year old out of daycare this year against the effort of finding activities/camps during the summer if we go the dcps route. |
Anonymous
| I have a pk4-er...attending summer camp for about 4 weeks , $800, visiting family out of town for 2 weeks, $400, and will go to Florida for 2 weeks (Disneyworld for 2 days), $2000, summer bday party, $700---wow! This exercise has been quite an eye-opener! |
Anonymous
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My rising PK4-er is enrolled in a DC Parks & Recreation camp a half mile from my house. The cost is $100 for each 2-week session, $400 total for the 4 sessions offered. Camp goes from 9-5; before- and after-care to make it 8-6 is an additional fee ($50 or less per 2-week session).
So far, it seems adequate--my child is getting contact with other kids, which I think is really important, and enjoys most of the activities they do. |
Anonymous
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Camp for four weeks at $275/week. Summer school in her charter school for four weeks, with regular lunch and after-care costs. Family vacation for two weeks, with associated airfare and lodging costs (although we are staying with friends for approximately half the time).
I could have put her in her old daycare on a drop-in basis for the last two weeks, which would have been $350/week, I think. |
Anonymous
| Summer school at the charter. Free for the 4 year old. $500 for the 3 year old (rising PS-3). FOr the month of July. Daycare offers slots for "alumni" for 2 weeks in June and 2 weeks in August if we wanted them $295/week. You can almost always find a full time daycare spot for a 4 year old. |
Anonymous
| Also doing DC Parks & Recreation camp for my rising pre-k 4-year-old. I am pleasantly surprised at how good it has been, considering the very affordable cost ($120/2 weeks, including aftercare, which is $20 of the $120). And they do one field trip a week and feed them breakfast and lunch. She has been safe, entertained, and has made a couple of new friends. |
Anonymous
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We are going to back to our old daycare for the summer this year, which was a safe and familar option, cheaper than the pricier camps I was looking at, for $1175 X2 for July and August, and we took some vacation in late June.
Talk to your daycare director - a lot of kids leave daycare at age 4 and you may find they would welcome you back for a few months next summer. |
Anonymous
Curious about your camp experience, was is hard to get in at registration (I hear they fill up fast, like swim lessons) and which centers did you consider? |
Anonymous
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We chose the camp near us (Petworth), and it didn't fill up right away, in fact I think they still have spots.
I think some of the more popular camps fill right away, but not this one. One thing I like is that it's only for the tiny ones, I think they are called Little Explorers. It's nice because the spraypark is right there, so they can go there on hot days. |
Anonymous
Have you tried the DCUM forum for preschool/daycare and forum on summer camps,classes? It wasn't clear from OP if looking for the next few weeks and how this connects to DCPS. Did you mean DC parks & rec (DPR)? For this summer it's probably not worth the hassle to create a new routine for your little one (and you  ) GL
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Anonymous
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NP here. It sounds like she is trying to figure out whether it is worth the 'childcare hassle' over the summer months if she puts her child into PS or PK. I must admit the same q has popped into my mind.
As someone with a kid going into a charter for PS, I found the answers helpful, so thanks to PPs. |
Anonymous
| My twins are going to PS at a DCPS school in the Fall. I pulled them out of daycare for they could be at camp with my 7 year old and so I am not paying for childcare when we are on vacation. I am paying less than I would be for daycare for the summer. I am also hoping that having a couple different camp experiences and being around older kids is getting them ready for their DCPS school. Planning the summer for the 3 kids was a bit of a headache but I enjoyed it too. |
Anonymous
| @ 9:30. I am the original poster. When posting, I had no desire to hear about the pros and cons of any camp in particular. As you wrote, that is what the camp forum is for. I wanted to know estimates of how much people have had to shell out for their DCPS PS3 or PK4 child over the summer. That is a valid consideration when thinking about paying for 12 month daycare versus the hassle of researching, stressing over and paying for camp for a 3 year old. Thanks to all who were willing to talk about their experience. Your opinions.....PRICELESS! |
Anonymous
| OP - I've done this with two children. I maintained a good relationship with my child's daycare, and used that for summer/winter/spring breaks when DC were not quite 4 (between PK3 and PK4). After PK4, I felt more comfortable using other options for camp. JCC has a good (but expensive) program. The Y at Dupont Circle also has some good programs for rising Ks, and the price isn't bad, either. |
Anonymous
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OH -and as for how much I had to shell out - $300/week for summer camp at the daycare
YMCA - $200/week JCC - $400/week Did one Smithsonian Zoo Winter Camp - great experience, but very pricey at $400/week We do family vacations at the end of Summer for two weeks and in Winter for one week to defray some of the cost of camps - what we would have spent in camp, we spend on vacation. |