ScoopToo

Summer Camps 2010

Posted on 19. May, 2010 by KB in Posts

It’s hard to believe that the end of the school year is right around the corner. Is everyone trying to firm up summer plans? How many of you have children signed up for summer day camp(s)? It’s amazing just how many camps there are available today. When talking with friends and acquaintances, everyone seems to ask the same questions regarding summer, like, where are you vacationing and what camp is your child attending. Today, there is a camp for every child whether it be for an outdoor enthusiast, a sports fanatic, an artist, an inspiring actor, a naturalist, or a musician. The difficulty is patch-working them all together into a cohesive summer program for your child.

Next year, we will, have to write this post in March since many camp schedules are available come January and February–some are filled to capacity within a month. Thank goodness, Denver, has a slew of these camps taking place all summer long, providing half-day or full-day options for your child. It gives the busy working mom a piece of mind that their child is cared for and the hard-working stay-at-home mom a much needed break. Camp is a good way for your child to be actively engaged, inspired, learn something new, take risks, and create new friendships.

I like to choose a variety of camps for my children to keep them well rounded and to avoid boredom.  Also, giving them choices (within reason of course) helps them feel empowered and allows for more anticipation for the upcoming activities they’ll engage in. Let’s face it, we’re not the ones going to camp, they are. This summer, I asked my kids if they’d like to do zoo camp again. They both told me, without hesitation, they needed a break from it. How can I argue with that since they’ve participated in that camp the last few years? A few summers back, I told them we’d be doing a half-day camp at the Museum of Nature and Science. I read them off a list of classes that were available for the week I chose and they decided on which class they’d partake in. It just so happens they chose different camps, African Dance for one, Animals from A-Z for the other (of course, one class was in the morning, the other in the afternoon). Needless to say, I schlepped back and forth four times a day to the museum that week! You learn as you go. Now, I will let them decide on which camp but they must choose from ones that occur during the same time frame!

I believe it’s prudent for a parent to narrow their camp options down to a handful or so while taking into consideration your child’s interests, hobbies, and talents. You also have to factor in expense as well. If you do a variety of camps, for more than one child, they do add up. It’s also helpful to find a friend to carpool to camp with.

Many summer camps have been advertised in the paper or on-line over the past few months. We thought it would be neat to hear from you about which camp your child will be attending or what camps you’ve heard of that are fun, engaging or unique. If you could provide the name of the camp, along with the website (URL), it’d be greatly appreciated. The sharing of ideas may give last minute parents options they didn’t think of before. Happy Summer!

Here’s a list to get started:

For the zoologist: http://www.denverzoo.org/

For the outdoor adventurer: http://www.avid4.com/

For the golfer: http://www.thefirstteeofdenver.org/

For the artist: http://www.asld.org/

For the scientist: http://www.dmns.org/

For the pioneer: http://www.fourmilepark.org/

For the inventor: http://www.campinvention.org

For the naturalist: http://blufflakenaturecenter.org/ OR http://www.myenrichment.com/Default.aspx?tabid=33693

For the creative camper: http://mychildsmuseum.org/

For the artist-in-residence: http://mizelmuseum.org/

For the next Food Network Star: http://stickyfingerscooking.com/

For the dreamer: http://www.dreambigdaycamp.com/

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