Switching camps during the summer

[Anonymous]

I am starting to research camps for my kindergartner, who will be 6 and entering first grade next summer. I can't decide whether to send him for 8 weeks or so to the same camp, or to send him to a couple of camps for fewer weeks. The advantage of doing different camps is that he could be exposed to different things and not get bored. The advantage of the single camp is consistency.

[Anonymous]

Really depends on your kiid and the camps? How important is familiarity to him? Will the camp do the same thing for all eight weeks, pretty much, or do they mix it up? We changed halfway through the summer for our 6-year-old, and it turned out to be a mistake.

[Anonymous]

(Great, not only does my intonation sometimes suggest unnecessary uncertainty, now my punctuation does, too. Typo!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on your kiid and the camps? How important is familiarity to him? Will the camp do the same thing for all eight weeks, pretty much, or do they mix it up? We changed halfway through the summer for our 6-year-old, and it turned out to be a mistake.

Thanks for the reply. Why did you think swicthing was a mistake? Would your child have preferred to stay at the first camp all summer?

I think he would really like one of the camps we would consider if we didn't do a full-summer camp, but I am worried that if we did two sessions there (for a total of 6 weeks) that he could get bored (it's arts and music which he loves but I am not sure if he would like 6 weeks).

[Anonymous]

Not sure staying would have been the ideal solution b/c it would have involved repeating the same set of activities, but changing just introduced too much uncertainty, esp. since the second camp operated week by week.

Is the camp you're considering CASA?

[Anonymous]

There are some camps that change it up throughout, but require that all students go for a set time. Green Acres comes to mind.

[Anonymous]

OP here- I am considering Barrie camp v. two of the following: Strathmore, Round House Theater, Audobon or CREATE Arts.

[Anonymous]

My older child did not do as well as his younger sister in switching camps during the summer at that age. I found Sidwell Summer's Explorer Day Camp a good option where the schedule could be changed week to week without a new location (Imagination Stage offers dance and drama there and there are sports programs by the week as well. Actually entering 1st grade - is their Junior program... so you don't pick a schedule but the theme changes by week...