If you are a DCPS/PC family, how much do you spend on summer camp/care?

[Anonymous]

Coming to grips with the fact that even if school will be free for DC, we will need to cover the summer somewhere. Initial investigations into camps/classes etc are alarming --are we really looking at spending around $10K for the summer??

[Anonymous]

$2K.

[Anonymous]

PP - is that for the whole summer? What program?

[Anonymous]

We don't do camps for whole summer but have never spent more than $400 a week for any camp.

10-11 weeks of summer break usually breaks down this way for us.

2 weeks - out of town with grandparents,
1 week staycation with a parent taking time off,
1 week family vacation (beach, etc),
6 weeks of camp at $350-$450 each

[Anonymous]

How many kids? What expectations for summer camps etc.? (And keep in mind that the most expensive ones aren't necessarily the best...)
Our tax returns show about $3K per child for afterschool care and summer camps but that's not counting a three-week trip abroad and our own two weeks of family vacation. $2K just for summer if you need coverage every week sounds realistic. I'd say count $300-$450/week, knowing that you may find an occasional program that's less expensive.

[Anonymous]

There is quite a range, but 10k is absurdly expensive.

We are paying ~$2,600 for one kid to attend an art camp for 6 weeks, and $5,000 for a special needs kid to attend a speech/OT camp during this same time.

But even the art camp is expensive. There are cheaper alternatives.

[Anonymous]

$2500 for one child for 5 weeks. This will be our third year doing the camp we chose. The $500 includes before and after care and transportation to and from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - is that for the whole summer? What program?

Actually it's more like 3K this year. We do sidwell summer, sign up before January ends so the cost is $285/week with all the discounts. 2 weeks of family vacation and then a week of hanging around with their grandparents.

[Anonymous]

OP, it looks like most people also save money by not paying for camp the entire sumer.

[Anonymous]

We're doing 4 weeks of camp for 2 kids at $2k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$2500 for one child for 5 weeks. This will be our third year doing the camp we chose. The $500 includes before and after care and transportation to and from.

What camp is this?


To the OP - there are a lot of different options but no matter how you cut it, you need to do something.


Options for younger children include - seeing if their old daycare has a spot. This is probably the cheapest option if you need before and aftercare.
DC Parks and rec - these are extemely difficult to get into - but VERY inexpensive. less than 100 a week with before and aftercare. Filled up within 3 minutes of the system opening this year.

There is the Y, sports camps, speciality camps etc.

If you need before and aftercare and you are looking to some of the more expensive programs, it can cost over $700 a week per child.

[Anonymous]

The dirt cheap way to go is DPR (DC Parks and Rec) camps. The basic camps are around $60/week, plus maybe $20 for aftercare (see DPR Summer Camps for exact prices). So that is maybe $80/week for 8 weeks= $640.

The down side is that the camp is nothing fancy, and you really want your kid to be at one of the better sites (especially if they are young). Spots at those camps fill up within minutes of when registration opens in Feb.

[Anonymous]

Summer is 10 weeks. Mid-range camps are $300-350/ week, in our experience. You will pay extra fees for aftercare and transportation if you use bus service that can add up.

For our child we do a mix of price points and spend about $2500 for 8 weeks, plus two weeks of vacation/stay home with a parent.

[Anonymous]

Totally depends on the camp. DPR are cheap, Y not too expensive, and the ones at private schools are ridiculously expensive. We go for the Y and spend about $300/week, including after care.

[Anonymous]

DPR is about $500 for the whole summer including before and after care.