Summer camps can be a fun way for kids to learn about outdoor skills, science, music, or any other activities they might be interested in. At the same time, they’ll get to spend time with other kids their age they would never have met otherwise. It’s a unique growing experience, or at least it can be if it doesn’t become a major disaster instead. Summer camp is a great idea, but you should be sure you and your child are prepared for it before you drop them off.
How Long Does the Camp Last?
Day camps like Zoo Atlanta’s summer sessions are a better choice for younger kids, especially if they aren’t used to spending nights away from home or away from their parents. All you have to do is drop them off at the start of the day and pick them up in the early evening, just like how daycare works. Overnight camps have your kids staying on location from start to finish, whether that means a weekend, a week, a month, or the entire summer. Like with day camps, longer stays are more appropriate for older kids.
What Does Your Child Want to Do?
Different camps focus on different topics. Some of them are camps in the classic sense: pitching tents in campgrounds, learning how to forage for food and set fires, and otherwise spending time away from civilization. Other camps focus on things like science, math, acting, sports, or music.
A dedicated camp like the Spruill Center Summer Camp can be a good way for a child to get into a new hobby or learn a new skill, but if it’s something they don’t like then spending all day for a week on it can feel like torture. That’s why you should make sure your kid knows what kind of camp they’re going to and that they’re interested in the camp’s subject. You could even offer a few different options so your child will have some say in where they go.
What’s Your Budget?
Summer camps can be expensive, even if they only last for one week. They tend to start at hundreds of dollars and go up from there, and some specialty camps can cost $1,000 per week or more. On the bright side, this cost covers just about everything the camp uses, including equipment, supplies, food, shelter, and anything else a specialty camp might need. Still, you shouldn’t plan on sending your child to any summer camp unless you know for sure you have enough room in your budget for it.
A summer camp can be a fun time and an important event in a child’s life, and if you can afford the tuition fees for even one week of sessions it can end up being an important experience for your kid. Just make sure that you’ve planned everything out, your child knows what kind of camp they’re going to, and you’re aware of the costs involved whether it’s tuition or the extra supplies you’re expected to bring.
Photo: “Summer 2017 Moment” by Gem Webb licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 | Cropped from original
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