How do you judge a summer camp?

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s that time of year again. We have to choose summer camps again for the kids. Had some disappointments last summer. I guess we’re not too good at this.

I’m thinking about web sites where you can rate a camp and post comments. No need to remind me about talking to the directors, talking to parents, visiting the place, etc.

Also how important is membership in the American Camp Association?

2

I judge a summer camp primarily on its resemblance to 1960s MAD magazine articles. But this probably isn’t much help to you.

3

Wrong! It made me LOL!

4

There are quite a few places which provide consumer ratings of summer camps. Google Summer camp rating and a heck of a lot comes up. CampInsight seems like a good place to start.

5

Well, one way would be by recommendations from your fellow Dopers. I heartily recommend the Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji, MN. I expect they’d be highly rated on the official sites as well, since they seemed to be well funded, well organized, etc. Of course, it always depends on what makes your individual camper happy.

6

I think there are a few criteria to consider:

  1. What interests does your child have? Does the camp have programs that support those interests?

1a) If the camp offers “tracks” based on interests, does it also expect children to participate in other activities? For example, if your child is in the horseback riding track, will he also sail and take archery and play soccer?

  1. How comfortable is your child with being away from home? How long is each session at the camp? If the sessions are short, how common is it for children to stay for more than one session?

  2. How much does the camp itself cost? What will travel expenses to and from the camp be?

  3. Is diversity within the campers important to you and your child? What about within the staff?

  4. Is the camp affiliated with a larger organization, like Scouting, Camp Fire, a church, etc.?

And in the vein of what Harriet the Spry said, I cannot recommend the camp I attended highly enough (I went to several, but this is the one I loved with all my heart): Camp Nor’Wester. It’s simply wonderful.

7

Unless your family’s religious, I’d stay FAR FAR AWAY from religious camps. My experiance at an evalingcal Christian camp is something I do NOT want to even think about. It wasn’t abusive, but it was…too much ALL ABOUT JESUS! It was one of those camps that parents and families that are determined to make their entire existance Christ-specific in EVERYTHING, go to. shudders
I’m very pro libral arts camp…I don’t think most kids should go to a specific program camp, like space or computer or whatever, or one of those academic enrichement program thingys that style themselves as “camps”
One amazing camp that I went to as a teen, was an allgirl’s camp on an island in Lake Winnipesaki. I always cried when I had to leave.
www.campnokomis.com