Do you send your kids to summer camp?

[budlite]

Hi

I work for he school system so I am off whem my kids are off all holidays and all summer. So for the last 8 years I have stayed home with the boys in the summer. But both boys are kinda shy. So my ped said try camp. So last year I put them in half day camp. 8:30 am to 11:45 for 145.00 a week. Very expense for me and i had to save for that money. But they like it. Ok now this summer, my oldest Kyler still a bit sky and not aggressive at all. Never hit back when kid hit him or pick on him. It drive me crazy. Then I read an article , that going to camp boost kids self esteem by 28 percent. I also think it would be good for him to mingle with kids his own age and not have mommy to help out so much. So I signed him up for my local parks and rec camp it was the cheapest and I work for them. Not in the camp dept but at night in there night time program. So he will go to camp from july 5th to July 22nd form 9 am til 3pm. this cost 315.00 for the 17 days . That is like 18.00 a day or 3.10 hr.... I just hope I am doing the right thing for him. I guess he will tell me if he hates it.

I also signed them up both boys for free tennis lesson at a neighborhood park.

Just wondering what you guys do with your kids all summer...

When not in camp



free tennis lesson this year
we go to the local public pool
sprinkler park ( free with lunch too)
puppet shows to
library
movies
and in aug Jersey shore for a week

[tracyb]

sounds like to me that they are going to be having some fun!!!!!Hope he comes out of that I have one like that but as she gets older she is standing up for herself...she is just a tad quiet.

[budlite]

I am glad to hear the older they get the more they stick up for them selves. I feel better already

[cole70]

My DS (7 yrs old) goes to Summer Camp at our local park district. This will be his 2nd yr going and he LOVES it. They have a wonderful program, expensive but wonderful (its $200 a week). He goes from 8am to about 5pm but it actually runs from 6:30am to 6pm. They go swimming at our aquatic park 2x a week and a field trip every Friday. Its an outdoor camp in our HUGE local park but the community center is right there too incase of inclement weather. The kids are seperated into age groups but they do have some activities all togther. My DS has always gone to daycare or after school care because I work full time so he is a very outgoing child. I myself am an introvert and I was worried that my child would be too but I really feel that being exposed to other kids in a day care or camp situation helps kids be more outgoing and helps with their self esteem in general.

[lassss]

Summer camp will do them good....It is not always a good thing for kids to hang around with mom and dad all the time, they need to spend time with kids their own age. My son is an only child and I make sure he goes and does things with his friends. They need that interaction, helps them develop social skills etc. My son used to go to summer camp until he was about 11, they went swimming, Hersheypark, zoo etc. Now he is 14 and works summers at his dad's shop :D

[budlite]

My son will go to camp( like cole 7o program) and it's from our park district too and we also swimm 2x week amd they have trips too and have a great big frield out side for baseball and soccer. And it has a in door gym in case of bad weather. Oh man i hope he has fun.

[kelly12569]

I would LOVE to send my kids to camp but we cant afford it. Not for all five of them :eek: We'd have to take out a second mortgage.... LMAO

Normally the kids are all in sports in the summer and that keeps them pretty busy but no one is playing ball this summer and we are moving the first of June to a new smaller town so not sure what we will do to keep them occupied yet. Normally we camp ALOT but not sure what they will be doing during the day to keep themselves busy. We are fencing in our new yard and putting in a swimming pool so perhaps that will occupy them for this summer until we get to know the local activities, etc. in the new town.

[ang in NC]

Michelle now 18 went when she was 13. SHE RAN AWAY, YES YOU HEARD RIGHT, went to her dad's work. I called the camp, I said do you know where she is. Yes she's playing volley ball. "I said, I don't think so" With #2 we haven't had the $$.

[mommyx2]

I have always wanted to do this for my daughter, but in the summer we are always majorly broke. :(

[queenangie]

When the boys were grade school age,
we had home sitters (teenagers)
and they were very nice girls.

Either the kids were unhappy, house tidy, and regular lunches
or
kids were very happy, house a mess by the end of the day when I got home, and kids ate us out of house & home.

Then, we went with summer camp at the christian church/school.
Lots of kids from their own school classes were there also,
so they got to see their friends daily during the summer.
Every day had planned activities and a good routine - swimming, waterpark,
zoo, picnics, museums, gymnastics, ballgames, etc.

Believe me, we paid for it $$$ (yes, I saved up!), but it was a good atmosphere.

Not perfect by any means, there were drawbacks,
but it was the best solution at the time.

Let us know what your decision is.....

[Mystic32]

funny that you brought up this topic budlite. My son never went to camp for the summer as he was in day care from the time he was 6 mos. old. However, I really wanted to send my dot but it`s just to expensive for the whole summer. So I figured I`d send her for 2 wks. Now i`m going back & forth cuz where we live the weather absolutely sucks. I know no matter what 2 wks. I`ll choose 1 of them will be bad. I just don`t want to spend that kind of money only to have it rain & be cold. So I`m looking for other programs....if that doesn`t pan out she`ll be in day care part time. I think she would absolutely love camp......she`s very outgoing like her mom. I hope your sons do well over the summer. Believe me...My son was shy until he was about 11. After that forget it...Most do outgrow it so don`t despair!

[keen9801]

I send my son to a program called Vertical Extreme, he will go on a field trip nearly every day of the summer. He also gets a pass to the local water park and they take the kids there several times during the summer, he also goes to Camp Coco. He loves it, he had a blast last year. Camp Coco is free cause its for kids who have or have had cancer. Vertical Extreme is kinda expensive cause its 120.00 per week but all the fun he will have it is worth it.

well hopefully camp works out for you son.

[eeyore329]

I am sending my son to a Day camp.......not sure about the overnight thing. My oldest son went to church camp a few years ago. This summer they will be sorta busy

June
5-9 VBS-at friends church
6-7 4-H day camp
26-30 VBS at our church
ball games all month
friends church has several things for them to do all month
local library has weekly things
summer reading program

JULY
11-12 4-H day camp
summer reading program
church things
library things
swimming

August

waiting for school to start back.....LOL sometime late August

we will try to do stuff as a family, but you know how that goes

my little girl has already been to 2 weekend camps.....but she was too young to go alone...so I went to.....it was with the Girl scouts

we will be busy all summer

[Tasha405]

Nope, I've never sent my kids to camp.