Questions to Ask When Selecting a Summer Camp

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Now is the time to start planning for summer camp.  There are numerous camp fairs in February and March.  Check out http://www.acacamps.org/camp-fairs for a list of fairs throughout the country.   Many camps also host gatherings for current and prospective campers around the country, so check out the web sites of camps you are considering to see what gatherings they have planned.

There are many excellent overnight camps for children that are ACA accredited.  To find the right camp for your child consider both what you and your child are looking for in a summer camp experience as well as camp foundations.  Does your child have a particular interest that he or she wants to pursue—overnight hiking trips, a particular sport, an artistic interest?  How close or far from home are you willing to send your child to camp and for how long?   Are you looking for a girls camp, boys camp or a coed camp?  When evaluating the camp foundations look at the camp values, the staff to camper ratio, the tuition, returning campers and staff.

As you are considering alternative camps for your child be sure to meet the directors of prospective camps and ideally also talk with parents of current campers.  You can learn a lot about a camp from the attitude of current parents.  Following are some questions that may help you get started in a conversation.

For a conversation with camp parents

1.     Why did you send your child to this camp?

2.     Did your child have any transitional issues at camp?

3.     What were the best elements of camp for your child?

4.     What was most difficult for your child at camp?

5.     What did your child learn at camp?

6.     Did your child make any new friends at camp?

For a conversation with camp directors

1.     Are you ACA accredited?

2.     What are the camp values?

3.     How long has the camp been operating and how long have you directed the camp?

4.     What is the staff to camper ratio?

5.     How many campers and staff return year to year?

6.     How long are the camp sessions and how many sessions do most campers attend?

7.     What are your visitation policies for parents?

8.     What activities are offered?

9.     How much choice do the campers have in which activities to pursue?

What else would you want to know about a camp before sending your child?  What do you wish you had known about a camp before you sent your child?

Tipping Point

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A tipping point—like sitting on a really long see-saw and slowly the person on the opposite end starts leaning back, just a tiny bit, just enough to start lifting me into the air—that is how I feel this week—the magical week when I am precisely equidistant from the close of camp last summer and the opening of camp this year.

Now is the time to start planning for summer camp—whether your child is returning for her 10^th year, just starting her first or you are still considering whether sleepover camp is the right choice for your daughter. 

For those who are still weighing the pros and cons of sleep away camp, there are often Summer Opportunity Fairs or Camp Fairs where summer program directors converge and set up tables to sell their programs to parents and their children.  These programs tend to pop up during this tipping point period, so now is the time to look for these open houses in a town near you and spend a Sunday afternoon talking with camp directors to find a good program for your child.  

I will begin planning programs for my campers and thinking about new activities they can delve into this summer—perhaps I will muse over a camp treasure hunt or look for some new group games.  Even with the snow swirling outside and sleet on its way, I smile as I begin the happy slide toward another summer at camp.