Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is only 4 yo but wanted to give a shout out to Brookside Nature Center - we have loved their morning camp for the littles!

Oh, my kids used to go to Brookside Nature Center camps when they were younger, and the camps were excellent! Glad to hear your kid is enjoying it!

Thanks! For anyone else with young children reading this, we are doing the one where one of us has to attend with the child, and it's been a really nice bonding experience (and Brookside is beautiful!). But I have definitely heard the other camps are excellent as well.

Anonymous wrote:Henry’s Sweet Retreat was a huge hit with my youngest. Came home with treats and crafts every day and it was an unexpected extra that they also served lunch every day. I have never not had to pack lunch for a day camp!

I just looked because this sounded interesting….
$371 for 4 3 hour days is a lot of money.
Thats $93 for 3 hours.

Anonymous wrote:My child is only 4 yo but wanted to give a shout out to Brookside Nature Center - we have loved their morning camp for the littles!

Oh, my kids used to go to Brookside Nature Center camps when they were younger, and the camps were excellent! Glad to hear your kid is enjoying it!

My child is only 4 yo but wanted to give a shout out to Brookside Nature Center - we have loved their morning camp for the littles!

Henry’s Sweet Retreat was a huge hit with my youngest. Came home with treats and crafts every day and it was an unexpected extra that they also served lunch every day. I have never not had to pack lunch for a day camp!

Browne Academy summer camp in Alexandria has been excellent. Happy kid every day.

My kids go to Travelin Teens through KAH. They love it and have gone for multiple summers. The trips are great, but it gets really expensive as a parent with kids buying their own lunches/snacks, especially now that places are cashless and kids are carrying debit/credit cards.

Anonymous wrote:Tween was very disappointed in VYS soccer camp. According to them it was meant for little kids and was “fun” games with a soccer ball all day vs soccer skills and playing actual soccer.

My teen is working at this camp this summer and this makes me sad to hear, as they've been working really hard to keep the kids engaged, having fun, and practicing some soccer skills despite the heat. To note, there is only one full sized grass field with limited shade, and one small field at the camp. While the bigger kids get more space, I would hope they don't expect full sized games. There is a range of skill levels but it isn't meant for travel players to get better. The camp is for little kids up to U14. Additionally, the cost is $170 for 3 hours/day and $270 for 6 hours/day, so its pretty affordable given how much coaches cost. Many of the workers are teen volunteers who don't get paid. From the website:

VYS Camps are an opportunity for players of all levels to enjoy the game during the off-season. Led by experienced and qualified coaches, players will be led through age-appropriate games, in a fun and engaging environment. Campers are split into age appropriate and ability specific groups throughout the week.

The schedule is as follows:

Monday Dribbling & Turning
Tuesday Passing & Receiving
Wednesday Attacking & Defending
Thursday Small Sided Games
Friday Camper Favorites

Anyway, I hope others are able to go and enjoy the camp despite its skill-building limitations. My teen loves all the kids attending.

Anonymous wrote:Interested in any feedback on DC JCC - for the younger aged camp, is it mostly children who are already enrolled their for preschool?

My kiddo did the first session and LOVED it. Has done two other camps since and keeps asking to go back to JCC

Kids Language Art has been excellent for the third week now. Lots of great projects and really nice French teachers.

My child really liked Camp Halfblood in Rock Creek Park. It is a Greek Mythology camp based on the Percy Jackson series.

My kids are loving Camp Columbia at Columbia Baptist. It’s been really well run, and we’ve been happy with it overall. This is our 4th summer there and we keep going back because they enjoy it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tween was very disappointed in VYS soccer camp. According to them it was meant for little kids and was “fun” games with a soccer ball all day vs soccer skills and playing actual soccer.

This is the case for most club soccer camps. You need to sniff around for the decent programs.

Maryland United has a solid one with lots of kids up to 13 year olds and professional coaches instructing.

Anonymous wrote:Tween was very disappointed in VYS soccer camp. According to them it was meant for little kids and was “fun” games with a soccer ball all day vs soccer skills and playing actual soccer.

This is the case for most club soccer camps. You need to sniff around for the decent programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids did Bretton Woods and were happy there. All day outside and the weather kind of sucked the week they went but camp carried on as usual. The best part - they provide the lunch and snacks!

Was it traditional day camp, adventure camp or a different one?

Not PP. I want to try their adventure camp but my kid is a nonswimmer. I am not sure how safe it is since I see many water activities. I also wonder how kind of lunch do they provide because I have a picky eater.

Kids wear flotation devices during water activities. Lunch is kid-friendly stuff - pasta, tacos, grilled cheese, chicken tenders, pizza.