My 12-year old does the Kids After Hours Travelin' Teens and Adventure Camps. He loves them, and they are for kids his age -- I think for rising 5th (or maybe rising 4th) through rising 9th.

Anonymous wrote:She is too old for camp. Mine stays home by himself. He is 11. He has a phone to contact me. I prepare his food so he just has to heat it up. Most of the kids in the neighborhood are home by themselves too. No one does camp. They bounce around to each other’s houses. If I stay home one day, then I take them all out to local places like skyzone, movies, etc. the other parents/ older siblings do the same. In addition, we do two family vacations for a week long each

She's not too old for camp just because your son doesn't go to camp.

Anonymous wrote:She is too old for camp. Mine stays home by himself. He is 11. He has a phone to contact me. I prepare his food so he just has to heat it up. Most of the kids in the neighborhood are home by themselves too. No one does camp. They bounce around to each other’s houses. If I stay home one day, then I take them all out to local places like skyzone, movies, etc. the other parents/ older siblings do the same. In addition, we do two family vacations for a week long each

My 11 year old still loves calleva camp, and he chooses Sports camps or other special interest camps for several of the other weeks. I don’t think 11 is too old for camp, and I certainly wouldn’t leave him home all day for the entire summer.

I would also recommend Takoma Sports camps, they go to rising 9th graders, and my 12 year old is happy there. He hangs out at the Takoma Park library afterward.

Anonymous wrote:PP who did Teens to Go. Have you had a good experience with the camp and how it's run, etc? Thinking about sending my tween and young teen in a couple of weeks.

PP here - We aren't doing that particular program, but one similar to it! I will say my child has loved going on daily field trips. I worried it would be exhausted by the go go go....but it has been great.

Another vote for Teens to Go =- my 13 year old loves it.

He also goes away for sleep away camp, does Calleva and two weeks of sports camp for his sport.

(but it's been a few years since he would agree to go to a regular type day camp) Just start looking for some older looking options plus get other stuff done (tutoring if necessary, SSL hours, work, whatever)

Anonymous wrote:PP who did Teens to Go. Have you had a good experience with the camp and how it's run, etc? Thinking about sending my tween and young teen in a couple of weeks.

I think thats me? He liked it, he was supposed to go with a friend but the friend dropped out and he still went. he had a good time. He was exhausted each day and had swim team at night, so that was rough. It is run very well, it is very organized.

This is the first summer we aren’t doing the day camp he’s been at since forever. He aged out, or else he’d still be there, he had two or three friends and enjoyed the daily outings (it feels a lot like a camp a pp talked about, but for all ages up through rising 7th grader).

He is going to three week-long specialized day camps for his age. He’s going on a two week family vacation. He’s going on a one-week sleepaway camp (this is the third year), which he loves.

The rest has/will consist of biking, swimming, neighborhood friends/playing in or outside, reading, Netflix/video/computer games (two hour limit per day), schoolwork bridge pages, and some targeted spelling work.

Ugh video games, reading swimming and simple chores. Please send advice for working parents with little extra cash to pay for camps and kids to young (9-12) to work.

PP who did Teens to Go. Have you had a good experience with the camp and how it's run, etc? Thinking about sending my tween and young teen in a couple of weeks.

We chose a new camp after him being at the same camp for the past 6 years. We chose a camp that does daily field trips (tweens on the go.) They go to water parks/trampoline parks/ninja courses/scavenger hunts/etc. He goes with his BFF and they have had a great time. It has also kept him active and more or less on the same schedule as the rest of the year (he has to get up at 7am and is usually in bed around 9...exhausted.

He will have 3 additional weeks this summer without camp or vacations. He will read, play video games,and do his math summer enrichment packet while DH and I are at work (we will alternate going in later/leaving early.)

We do a mix of activities. Some weeks are set aside for sleepaway camp. 10 days for family vacation. The other weeks we fill with partial-day sports camps, so the kids have a little structure (usually in the mornings through noon or 2 pm) and then free time the rest of the day.

One of mine does a couple weeks of sleepaway, a 1-week church mission trip, 2 weeks of favorite local camps that run through age 15 and then a few weeks of just hanging out at home, mostly spending time with a few friends who also are not in camp.

My other started volunteering with a camp the summer after 6th grade and does that for all but a couple weeks. This was the only camp he really loved when he was of camp age and he's tried but didn't like sleepaway camp.

3 weeks of specialized camps he picked. He really wants to go to one based on interest. He signed up with a good friend to go to the other two. He will spend 3-4 weeks away visiting relatives. We have jobs where we are able work less in the summer. Right now he’s playing Fortnite. I’m fine with having more downtime in the summer. This is the first year he has more friends around instead of everyone at camp. They get together and go to a pool or hang at someone’s house if an adult is home. Kids are 10-11.

Various STEM day camps. One week of an outdoor adventure sleep away camp. Continuing weekly sport lessons. Chipping away at SSL hours. Working on summer assignments.