Make plans now if you want happy campers this summer
I hate to be a nag. (Wait, that's not true. I nag all the time. So I really don't mind being a nag, I just hate to be thought of as one.) Whatevs. My point is, I hate to be a nag, but now is a good time to think about summer camps if you want to secure a spot in some of the better ones.
As that classic art house Bill Murray film, Meatballs, implores us, Are ready for the summer?
Not a year goes by in our newsroom when some editor who doesn't have children asks about three weeks before school lets out if we should do a story on summer camps. I then proceed to laugh in his face and tell him what every Momma knows: The time for planning summer camps was months ago. If you don't have your plans nailed down by April, you are out of luck, Chuck.
Even though I have our summer plans pretty much mapped out, I like to throw in a fun camp or two to give the kids a week of learning disguised as fun. But too often the really fun camps don't need to advertise, so I'm not even aware of them until they've long since filled up the spots and have started a long waiting list.
One of our hopes with the Whoa, Momma! blog and the Go Momma Web site has been to use it as a way for us harried parents to clue each other in. So if anyone has some recommendations, I'm all ears. And this spring, our sister publication Go Momma magazine is publishing a 2009 Summer Camp and Activity Guide. Look for it at these locations by the end of this month.
In the meantime, Times staff writer Leonora LaPeter Anton wrote last year about how she packs her daughter's summers with interesting and affordable experiences. Leonora is legendary for her ability to piece together a fabulous summer for her daughter like a quilt full of sports, animals, camping and music. And she does it while working full time, which isn't easy, what with after-care costs or camps that end in early afternoon. In my next life, I want to come back as Leonora's kid.
Among the routes to consider:
Perhaps you choose the less complicated and more economical route of a summer-long program at a city recreation center, St. Petersburg College's College for Kids or the YMCA.
Most camps cost an average of $120 a week but some run more than $200 a week, and the city-sponsored camps are typically the least expensive.
Read Leonora's article for a good guide. She starts thinking about where to send her daughter in March because she found that even in early April, it's too late for some of the better ones.
So your job now, my dear Mommas, is reconnaissance. Start asking other moms what they have loved or hated in past summers and get your name in early to the good ones. And tell us what you think about summer camps you've gone to in the past and why your kids will (or will not) be going back.
-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne
[Photo: Meatballs (1979) HBO Studios]
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
Hi Sharon, I just read this wonderful post. So true, the more popular camps seem to fill up earlier and earlier each year. I run a camp in Los Angeles called Aloha Beach Camp, and we've already started a waiting list! Also, I thought your readers might be interested to know of a new website called camp coupons where you can get free discounts to save money at various camps this year. It's at http://www.campcoupons.blogspot.com.
I'll keep reading your blog...keep up the great work!
Posted by: Eric Naftulin | February 02, 2009 at 11:18 AM