2016 Summer Camp Recommendations and Reviews

[Anonymous]

My DS loved lego camp at Sidwell last year, and so I signed him up for a few weeks this year. We were both disappointed that they build the exact same projects every week (which were the same projects as last year). He was happy that he got to be the teacher's helper because he already knew how to do them, but I would not have signed him up had I known.

[Anonymous]

Daughter had a great experience with th horse camp at Calleva.

[Anonymous]

Got kids at Valley Mill currently. Lots of wasps at lunchtime. Lots of wasps. Kayaking and canoeing and swimming all fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Loved JCC in Rockville. My kids go every year and their friends come back also. Lovely group of counselors.

[Anonymous]

DD has loved her first year at Congressional Camp. It's expensive but well worth it. Rising 2nd grader.

[Anonymous]

We finished out second summer at Lowell (the rising K-2 group) and were disappointed. Something was missing this year. The young staff seemed less enthusiastic, and my very social kids who always gives full reports of their day never even talked about counselors or friends.

I don't know if my kids have outgrown the camp or if something was different but I heard a lot of talk about cliques and kids feeling left out.

[Anonymous]

This year we've done a mix of camps

Headfirst Multisport- fun, even for a non sporty 6 year old; very easy drop off/pick up; extremely attentive staff who called on day 1 to determine how to best help adjust to camp setting and made the rest of the week a fantastic time; BONUS- loved the report on swimming lessons, the best/most informative recap rec'd from any of the 3 camps dc attended

Valley Mill- fantastic! our first time there this year but dc has loved it. they matched with friends from school as per registration request, and are busy doing activities all day long. Even better? The campers are given options- so they can choose between options, providing them with a modicum of control over how they spend time. The counselors have been warm, and inspiring to kids. Feel that they've also taught social skills well in a fun setting

[Anonymous]

My kid is having a fantastic time and learning a lot at Levine! (DC Upton campus)

[Anonymous]

I think I am giving up on expensive camps. We've tried Congressional, Browne, and my son didn't like any of them as much as the cheap camp at the Tae Kwon Do place in our neighborhood. I have no idea why, they seemed like great camps, but if he'd rather just do the Tae Kwon Do place, it's cheap and convenient, so fine by me.

[Anonymous]

For a less expensive option, my kids were happy at Rockville Summer Blast. The new program at Twinbrook was better than their experience at another location last year, but that might have been just on account of the staff. They were less enthusiastic about their weeks at Sandy Springs, which I thought they would love, though that might be personality dependent (they complained mostly about too much singing and performing).

The Biggest hit though was the grandparent/grandchild nature center camp run by MoCo. Both grandma and kids went in skeptical but loved it.

[Anonymous]

DD loved the Burke Lake Girl Scout camp last week. She's already said she wants to go back next week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a less expensive option, my kids were happy at Rockville Summer Blast. The new program at Twinbrook was better than their experience at another location last year, but that might have been just on account of the staff. They were less enthusiastic about their weeks at Sandy Springs, which I thought they would love, though that might be personality dependent (they complained mostly about too much singing and performing).

The Biggest hit though was the grandparent/grandchild nature center camp run by MoCo. Both grandma and kids went in skeptical but loved it.

I'm going to have to check this out!!

[Anonymous]

Agree on the Head First multi sport. Our kid loved it and the swim reports were excellent. never got a single report from Beauvoir.

Unfortunately, we did the Sidwell Jr. Explorers Day Camp. DC seems happy and they've had cooking and Chinese and music but I didn't realize how much inside time they spend. That's on me though. DC likes it but has complained that there hasn't been a single sport all week (when I went to day camp we played basketball and kickball and soccer and still did music and art and crafts). We probably will skip Sidwell next year. The price is right, but summer should be outside.

[Anonymous]

So far we've done 5 camps; we have 2 more.
Knights of Columbus - not cheap, but always fun.
YMCA Delicious Delights - disappointing, as there was not much actual cooking, but the hours are convenient, the bus from North Arlington is convenient, the counselors are good and the price is pretty good.
YMCA Cheerleading - all the pluses of the other camp, with none of the cons.
Camp Kids Place - hard to get into, but cheap, and my kid loves it.
Renaissance Child: AM American Girl camp, PM Minecraft camp. The Minecraft portion has been disappointing, as they were supposed to be coding and instead they're just playing. But the American Girl portion has been a hit with my 7-year-old. The hours are short and the price is fairly high but the location is convenient.
Next up: Arlington county art camp and a Mad Science camp. (we're 3rd year at one and 2nd year at the other.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree on the Head First multi sport. Our kid loved it and the swim reports were excellent. never got a single report from Beauvoir.

Unfortunately, we did the Sidwell Jr. Explorers Day Camp. DC seems happy and they've had cooking and Chinese and music but I didn't realize how much inside time they spend. That's on me though. DC likes it but has complained that there hasn't been a single sport all week (when I went to day camp we played basketball and kickball and soccer and still did music and art and crafts). We probably will skip Sidwell next year. The price is right, but summer should be outside.

This is interesting, we have not received any swim reports from Head First multi sport. I guess we should inquire?