summer camp process

[Anonymous]

Our 5yo DS just began school this year, so we are new to the summer camp process. Is this going to be like applying to schools in DC where you have to apply to a lot just to get into something? Is there a directory or listing of DC camps or is it just hit or miss?

[Anonymous]

Mostly it's word of mouth; you hear from friends about camps their kids liked, or work out weeks your DC will attend with a classmate. There are also some on-line resources, and some of the local parenting newspapers will do camp issues, but you still have to follow up with real talk-to-the-parent research.

Some camps are VERY popular, and you have to sign up in January - FONZ and Discovery Creek come to mind. Many camps are full by March for many of the summer weeks. So, you sit down now and work out your preferences, try to get DC into any that are very popular, then fill in the rest of the summer. All the camps I know of are first come, first serve, except they may give preference to returning campers or, if it's a school based camp, to current students.

One piece of advice - at least for my kids, there is a limit to how many different camps they can/could handle, especially at the younger ages. So we did a combination of one or two one-week camps and one or two longer sessions. Too many transitions week to week were very stressful.

HTH.

[Anonymous]

Also for the younger set, going by bus somewhere makes it a very long day. And many do not offer aftercare (typical runs 9-3pm). A friend to go to camp with is also nice.

[Anonymous]

Washington Parent and Washington Family magazines do nice grids of camps - a good starting point. What area are you looking (MD, NoVA, DC)?

[Anonymous]

I'd appreciate any suggestions or tips on the process. We are in the Herndon/Reston area.

Thanks!