Tell me about summer camp for your reluctant/anxious kid...

[Anonymous]

This is our first time needing camp for our rising 1st grader. He's reluctant and nervous about it and already asking if we can just quit work(!).

What was your approach with a kid like that? Did they come around once camp started? Did you do the same camp for the whole summer?

Aftercare does a camp right at his school (and he does like aftercare), but he gets upset even at the mention of it. I think he'd be bored being home with a babysitter and the logistics of that will be challenging, too. We have enough vacation and grandma time that we'll only need care about half the summer.

Lastly, any good camp recommendations?

[Anonymous]

My advice is not to talk about it in advance. That just increases the anxiety.

Sounds like the one at his school would be good (since he'll know the venue and some of the people and kids). Other than that, where are you located? My reluctant DD did well at Sheridan Camp at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advice is not to talk about it in advance. That just increases the anxiety.

Sounds like the one at his school would be good (since he'll know the venue and some of the people and kids). Other than that, where are you located? My reluctant DD did well at Sheridan Camp at that age.

I agree. But is he generally a reluctant/anxious child, OP? Is he nervous about other new situations?

[Anonymous]

Yes, he's generally anxious but warms up pretty well. His issue with the aftercare camp is about spending his summer at his school and being nervous about swim days (which I think most camps have). He's not a strong swimmer but does lessons.

We live in Montgomery County and work in downtown, DC.

We try to find a balance of not talking about and giving him some options (i.e. camp with a friend from school). I think we need to move to not mentioning it at all.

[Anonymous]

I have a similar kindergartener. Last year we hired a babysitter for him and his little sibling because I thought the transition to a new camp and then a new school would be too much for him, but in retrospect, I think camp might have been a better choice. The babysitter was awesome and did all sorts of fun stuff with him, but he seemed down the whole summer and then surprised us by having no problem with the transition to kindergarten, making me think that our concerns about camp might have been overblown. He's a kid though who, while really slow-to-warm in new situations, does really thrive on lots of interaction with other children once he gets comfortable. Personally, I loved having the babysitter, as it made logistics much easier for me, but other than the transition issue, camp seems a better fit for him.

This year, we're signing him up for camps with a good friend. He's actually really excited about it as a result, and while I'm sure he'll be nervous as it approaches, I think having a friend is going to make all the difference for him. Because of his difficulty with new situations, we are mostly sticking with a single camp, but mixing in one or two others we think he'd really like - but again, with his friend. If he likes aftercare, it sounds like that camp might be a good choice for him and things are likely to go well after the first week or so.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where in MoCo you are, but Christ Episcopal School in Rockville has a wonderful little summer camp that's especially warm and home-like. That was the first summer camp I sent my son to after kindergarten, when I was nervous about the whole camp thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where in MoCo you are, but Christ Episcopal School in Rockville has a wonderful little summer camp that's especially warm and home-like. That was the first summer camp I sent my son to after kindergarten, when I was nervous about the whole camp thing.

Second this. They have a great summer camp. Well-planned activities and field trips. We were very happy there last year.

[Anonymous]

Harbor School in Bethesda has a camp that is interesting for that age -- no swimming, and the whole school is small, so everyone knows everyone very quickly, and it's a very warm and supportive environment. We had a child care emergency last summer and I needed to find something quickly for my kids, including one who had never been to school or camp and tends to be very introverted. They were very sweet to her, and it worked out well. The camps have a STEM focus for each week, and do projects/experiments/reading/art that focuses on that topic. For instance, last year they had an archeology week, and the kids excavated toys out of hardened sand, built sugar cube pyramids, etc.

If there's a particular interest he has (science, karate, etc.), I might look for a small camp that does that. My experience is that the big general camps like the Y and Headfirst tend to be a little rough and tumble without a ton of supervision at certain points of the day, so a shy kid might get lost in the shuffle.

[Anonymous]

We had a good experience with our anxious child at St. Columba's in Tenleytown - it is small and very laid back, and teachers are very calm and experienced. The only drawback is that pick-up is at 3 pm.

[Anonymous]

^^ Unfortunately St. Columba's is closed for remodeling in 2015.

[Anonymous]

I have a child like this. Fortunately is has gotten better and I have older kids so she can go with them sometimes. What I've done is try to minimize the number of changes during the summer so I do only one or two different camps. The camp that works best for us is Camp Sonshine and that's because everyone in the neighborhood and beyond uses it. My kids always end up with some of their friends at camp the weeks we use Sonshine. Unfortunately, I cannot use it for the whole summer because it's too pricey.