5 steps to choosing the right summer camps for your kids

I love so much about summer — the warmth of the sun, long days at the pool, sticky hands from the perfect cool-down treat and long days that bring plenty of moments for friendship and family. Yet long before I’m checking my tubes of sunscreen for their expiration date, I find I’m faced with a larger dilemma. What to do about summer camp? How do I choose the best summer camps for my children?

I am a mom of 5 kids who also holds an executive-level job, and as each summer approaches, I have a growing number of other parents asking for my summer camp spreadsheet. That’s right; I have a spreadsheet! Through the years I’ve learned to look at summer camp a little differently than just a place where my kids will have fun while I’m away at work.

For me, summer camp has become a rite of passage for my children as they discover who they are and build the skill of being open to new experiences. But, because there are endless summer camp options, if you come in without a plan, it’s going to feel overwhelming. These are the steps I take to choose the best summer camp for my kids and for our family as a whole.

(Editor’s note: A great place to start your planning is MetroFamily’s Summer Camp Guide filled with a variety of camps to fit any interests.) 

1. I start from the position of getting curious with my kids. I make notes of any comments throughout the year that may be tied to an interest. Even easier: I just ask them. This past summer, my two oldest boys expressed a desire to learn how to sew. No problem! The City of Edmond’s parks and recreation center offered a weeklong minicamp where they learned how to best their mom in their use of a modern sewing machine. What a win for me, but also for my strong, confident boys who had the time of their life learning a great skill. Other times, my kids have varying interests, which led to enrolling one in a weeklong goalie camp while the other delved deep into science and tinkering. Start from this place of interest. While the kids are dreaming up what’s possible, and sometimes dreaming up camps that definitely don’t exist, you can move on to your next task.
2. Knowing your budget and bandwidth is an important part of how you’re going to build your schedule. Summer opportunities can run from very cost-conscious to high-dollar investments. Instead of looking at each camp individually, have a broader view of your summer spending to help you balance out desires and reasonability.
3. A common question I get is how I make the summer camp schedule work with these five kids of mine. It’s not easy, but it’s doable. Having multiple kids means that I must think about competing schedules all the time, not just in the summer. For times when I can’t make the scheduling magic work, I lean into the art of trading an interest-based camp for a more standard camp experience for the good of the gander that week. There isn’t anything wrong with a more traditional full-time camp. They are full of great lessons and experiences such as fishing, swimming, hiking and learning how to develop new friendships.
4. Remember that you don’t have to do this alone. It’s OK to ask for help. Communication with camp directors and coaches can help you identify when you can do a late drop off or early pickup. It can feel brave to ask to help from friends or other parents, but I have found that it brings greater connection to my relationships with other parents and often ignites their ability to ask me to support them from time to time as well, which is an incredible gift to my heart. There are very few times that you can’t work it out with a little bit of timing, strong coffee and friends who are willing to pitch in and give a ride or hang out with your kiddo while you’re on the way.Asking for help in the planning process can be helpful, too. Reaching out to the parents of your children’s friends can create even more opportunities for your child to enjoy their summer. I just had coffee with the mom of my oldest child’s best friend, and we identified a summer camp that they would try together, but not alone. What a great experience this will be for them and for their friendship.
5. Finally, I keep a list of all the things I couldn’t make work in the current year, with notes on when those activities were offered, pricing and when sign-ups went live. Though not a perfect guarantee that things will remain similar the following year, it helps me prioritize. After all, each summer brings a new opportunity for our children to experience the freedom and joy of finding themselves.

Happy planning, and maybe I’ll see you at camp drop off!

Erika Cerda is a mom of five and the associate vice president of human resources at the University of Central Oklahoma.