Has anyone sent their GIRL to Valley Mill?

Mine responds to Silver Knights Chess each summer. I always think he will get bored but he doesn't.

We did Valley Mill for our rising first grader last year and he loved it. Came home everyday filthy, happy, and tired. We sent him there all summer. I really like the long sessions too which allowed him to make and keep friends although he seemed to have developed a lot of independence at the camp. We watched him turn from a kid pretty much scared to trying anything to one who was willing to jump in and try everything. He loved the kayaking program there and playing soccer with the counselors. Swimming was a big plus for us. All that time in the water really developed his skills and by the time we went on our summer vacation at the end of the summer he was competent to be in the water by himself (us watching him of course).

The downside, and the reason we didn't do it again this year, was that coming from Arlington the logistics were difficult. I sent an email to the head of the camp to see if something could be arranged closer to Arlington in terms of pick up and drop offs, and even suggested that VM might want to join the Arlington County camps open house. But my email was never answered.

In the end we chose Camp Congo which was fabulous. Our son really enjoyed it and had a lot of his friends from school there. Pick-up and drop-off was a breeze and that even cater lunch so we didn't have to pack that. The price is the same as VM and actually maybe even a little cheaper all things considered.

The only downside is that the venue for Camp Congo is like a country club. Valley Mill is in the woods in Maryland with lots of up and down climbing and shade provided by large trees that keeps it pretty cool during the day so it's not a problem for the kids to be outside all the time.

We'll do Congo again next year most likely.

I wasn't impressed by Mad Science (N. Arlington) when I dropped my daughter off the first day. It was pretty low-key, a small program in a drab church basement. 23 kids, 2 counselors. But the counselors were engaged with the kids, the kids seemed to get along and my daughter had a great week. They did get some outside time at the nearby playground. The hours were pretty good for working parents, and the cost was on the higher side but not super high.

So we'd consider going back.

Anonymous wrote:We won't do Mad Science again. It was very poorly run.

We're having a different experience. DS is in a Mad Science camp now at the local FFX county rec center. I didn't realize it was run by MS until I dropped him off the 1st day (signed up through Parktakes, and it didn't mention them in the camp description). DS is really enjoying it. He's been at Valley Mill most of the summer so this is a very different set up. He asked to do it again.

Evergreen Summer (Wheaton) and Silver Stars. We love the nurturing environment at Evergreen and DD (3.5) loves going to Silver Stars. Yesterday she asked if she could go back after dinner!

He is 13... I think it ends at 14.

Anonymous wrote:Wish we could be so positive at Valley Mill. It was our first year and two emailed questions were not replied to at all. Some of it was likely because he was on the older end of the age range and there were not many kids his age. We did many summers of Calleva and thought this would be a good option too. Did not like the sharing of computers at TIC. My son said only teen focused camps for this year on..and he stays home more now too.

PP, how old is your son? Wondering at what age Valley Mill starts to thin out for same-age boys. Is he 13 or 16? I think there's a big difference between the early teens and later teens.

We won't do Mad Science again. It was very poorly run.

6 yr old DD went to Steve and Kate's on Capitol Hill this summer. She REALLY liked it; am looking forward to doing it again next summer (and not having to do a summer camp scramble).

DD (10) will definitely return to Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies. She was so sad to come home after her week there. Next year will be two weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not returning to Imagination Stage, at least until DD is a bit older. Preschool/K class there was a letdown.

Interesting. My rising K loved it. Commotion in the ocean is the one he is doing. He also loved mini sports camp at the Y.

Glad it worked for you. DD was hoping that the kids would have had more creative input into the stories like they did in last years classes. I was disappointed that 100% of their "crafts" were photocopies and crayons. I was also annoyed that the teachers in the magic suitcase section made the girls' parts "very scared" and the boys' parts "very brave to rescue them."

We will return to Valley Mill as well next year, for reasons others here have described. I would agree with a previous poster that communication via email is not their strong suit. I once emailed regarding an incident where another kid hit my kid, and never received a response. Not sure that I emailed the right person though, and since he was fine and camp was pretty much over for him, I didn't follow up. Communication is definitely something they could work on, but otherwise it is a great place. The counselors and staff are really terrific and enthusiastic, the day is structured but fun, and our child was exposed to tons of new "outdoorsy" activities that he loved. The silly songs are also fun to hear.

Anonymous wrote:Not returning to Imagination Stage, at least until DD is a bit older. Preschool/K class there was a letdown.

Interesting. My rising K loved it. Commotion in the ocean is the one he is doing. He also loved mini sports camp at the Y.

Wish we could be so positive at Valley Mill. It was our first year and two emailed questions were not replied to at all. Some of it was likely because he was on the older end of the age range and there were not many kids his age. We did many summers of Calleva and thought this would be a good option too. Did not like the sharing of computers at TIC. My son said only teen focused camps for this year on..and he stays home more now too.