Summer 2025 Camp Reviews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 yr old DD loved Congressional. So many fun activities for the kids and communication was great. Pricey but I think worth it.

Tuition went way up this year so we elected to go elsewhere. However, I'm sure we'd all be astounded by just the liability insurance costs.

It is a good program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Now that camps are in full swing, I thought it would be helpful to start a 2025 camp review thread.

So far, we have only done Calleva, and it has not disappointed by 7 or 13 year olds. Calleva is especially good for older kids. One thing to know about Calleva is that they have camp every day, including on Juneteenth and the 4th of July. I love sending my kids on those days because DH and I get date day, as we both have them off.

Calleva is not a safe camp

Love it when the bus drivers go to Harris Teeter for beers
Or when someone gets hurt the rest of the group sits in the emergency room

Never send a kid under 12

Calleva is awesome! Bus drivers do not go buy beer or make all the kids sit in the ER. This is totally made up and laughable. Calleva is wonderful! Amazing counselors and has always been a highlight of my sons' summer.

Oh yes they do I saw them at the 6/12.

I have sent my older ones to Calleva never again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2nd year as a 16 yo counselor says it all. I’m not the original poster, but I have been telling people for years about Calleva having had interactions with their team in a professional capacity. It’s not a safe camp. The training and standards are not adequate for the activities they lead, and the risks are high for serious injury

Are you saying that Calleva isn't safe because they hire 15-16 year olds as junior counselors? You have to be 18 to be a head counselor and even older to be an instructor. What's inherently dangerous about high school students as junior counselors?

Not that poster or the other one however, junior counselors are fine at Calleva it's the over all lack of safety that is the problem.

"Training and standards are not adequate for the activities they lead, and the risks are high for serious injury" is my opinion as well.

Not a fan at all. Especially how they treat accidents when they do happen during camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were disappointed with GDS creative writing camp. Very high instructor/counselor to kid ratio, and uninspiring prompts for writing like "what is your favorite season?" If your kid doesn't like writing much to begin with, this camp will not inspire.

We were disappointed by the non-fiction camp there too. Research seemed to be on Wikipedia and the writing project my kid made was a single poster. Like… what?

[Anonymous]

Potomac Musical Theater Camp was awesome for my DD. A little weird that the director’s daughter participates and gets desirable parts that she seems to have prepared for in advance though.

[Anonymous]

Parkour camp at Motus Crucius in Ivy City was great. Indoors and wore my 9 year old out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s kid at the Shakespeare Theater camps? I’m interested to hear how they are this year.

My 12 year old enjoyed it, as she did for the past few years, but there are 9-11 and 12-14 groups so she was the youngest rather than oldest, and it's at Woolly Mammoth, rather than the Shakespeare building near Eastern Market. It's a touch more intense at older ages, so make sure your kid is interested in theater. They don't have to be great performers or experienced, just enthusiastic.

Thanks! my 6 year old enjoyed it, and we are probably going to continue with classes this fall. -PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really niche, but my kids favorite camp this summer has been TIC at the Langley School campus in McLean. I think they also have other locations in DC and Maryland. Early in the summer when it was SO out outside, they had a lot of great indoor options. (My kids also did a week at Calleva - it felt safe, but my kids hated the bathroom situation.)

Is your kid male? My DD was really turned off by being put in an all boy group with only male counselors for her group at TIC McLean. She was also the absolute youngest (9 yo) in a group of boys aged 10-14 yo. That's too big an age range, IMO. It really wasn't okay and showed poor judgment on the part of the camp.

Did you give feedback to the site director? Historically TIC really tries to support the girls … the Maryland site has the “grow” mentoring program for girls (girls rock our world-grow) and a director who is tasked with running point on gender issues and helping train male counselors about this stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is really niche, but my kids favorite camp this summer has been TIC at the Langley School campus in McLean. I think they also have other locations in DC and Maryland. Early in the summer when it was SO out outside, they had a lot of great indoor options. (My kids also did a week at Calleva - it felt safe, but my kids hated the bathroom situation.)

Is your kid male? My DD was really turned off by being put in an all boy group with only male counselors for her group at TIC McLean. She was also the absolute youngest (9 yo) in a group of boys aged 10-14 yo. That's too big an age range, IMO. It really wasn't okay and showed poor judgment on the part of the camp.

Did you give feedback to the site director? Historically TIC really tries to support the girls … the Maryland site has the “grow” mentoring program for girls (girls rock our world-grow) and a director who is tasked with running point on gender issues and helping train male counselors about this stuff.

This was the Virginia site. And is this really something that requires feedback? They set up the groups so they should of been aware that she was the only girl. They decided to move her up groups because the younger group was over subscribed. They hired all male counselors. Those are all affirmative choices by the camp management.

[Anonymous]

What happened?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never again to Valley Mill. Incompetent management and staff led to dangerous situations.

I haven't had a kid at valley mill in years, but I wonder if some of the criticism of Calleva (which I know well) and valley mill is that kids are doing inherently dangerous activities and sometimes someone will be hurt. We are used to such sterile and safe playgrounds and activities that it seems like injuries must be someone's fault, even when they aren't.

Nope, not in this case. The activity was not inherently dangerous. The lack of supervision was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids have been at calleva for 7 summers and they love it. We are at the VA location and havent had any issues with mean behavior. My kids do learn songs but I don't view them as inappropriate (although they are ridiculous songs (like not inappropriate just talking about gross concoctions or eating gross things). They also sing occasional popular songs during the talent show but I dont consider this inappropriate.

My only concern is that my kid was swarmed by yellow jackets yesterday (not the camps fault). He was stung 7 times and the counselors took care of him appropriately (gave him first aide, comforted him, and fought off wasps, they burrowed in his hair so the counselors had to get them out of his hair). However no counselor told me it happened which i found weird but I guess since he was ultimately fine it was fine. It doesn't change my opinion of the camp because my kids love it and I think running amuck in the woods is good for them.

It is VERY concerning that they didn't notify you of 7 yellow jacket stings! That's not a minor problem.

[Anonymous]

Nothing as dramatic and terrible as the descriptions of Calleva above, but Camp CDS (Country Day School in McLean) was just awful.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on Landon’s Abrakadoodle or Art In Motion camps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing as dramatic and terrible as the descriptions of Calleva above, but Camp CDS (Country Day School in McLean) was just awful.

What didn't you like about CDS camp? We loved it for our then 3 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Camp Acorn in Capitol Hill was a huge hit the two weeks we did in June. The kids did great field trips nearly daily (Smithsonian, Arboretum, Capitol grounds, splash pads, etc) but they also managed the super hot weather really well.

We are there this week (first week for us) and I am thrilled to hear this! Everyone we've met at the camp seems great and it was one of the better run drop offs I've been to. I am mildly worried about the heat just because kids can get so cranky when it's hot out but they seem to have a really good plan in place. Fingers crossed it goes well, my kid is ultra picky about camps and thinks are either a hit or a huge miss.

Sorry if this is a year late, but how was your experience last year? Acorn Outdoor Learning is a strong contender for my rising PreK-4, but there isn't a ton of feedback out there...