Since I am able to blog around my daughter's schedule, I don't need her to be in camp every week. We let her pick three weeks of camp. However, since she is an only child and two of her closest neighbor friends are in summer camp for most of the summer, she gets bored at home with just me. Last summer we met some of her school friends at the park or took turns hosting, but it often turned into an all-day affair for both of us.
This year, I am teaming up with 4 other moms to have our own "camp". We're referring to it as friend camp. When we took everyone's schedules into account, we were able to find two non-sequential weeks that everyone was free, so we will each hold 2 days of friend camp. Two families wanted their days to be consecutive in the same week, while the others preferred to split their days across the two weeks.
We have a total of 7 kids, mostly girls, in our camp ranging from entering K to entering 3rd grade attending friend camp. The only downside to 7 kids is that I can't transport them so we are limited to places that we can walk to.
In our area, most camps run daily Monday-Friday with only a few places offering camp by the day. A friend camp can be a great choice for parents who work only a few days a week since they can take their turn on the days they are not working (assuming there is someone available for each of the days).
When you are setting up a friend camp, there are a few issues to work out:
- Which week it will be held
- Who will cover which days
- What hours will it run
- Who provides food - lunch, snacks, plus any allergy issues
- Who pays for any activities
I still have not settled on a theme for the days that we are having. Other parents are planning: tie-dye, water, and outdoor exploration day. I would consider an American Girl day if all the participants were girls with dolls. I did an American Girl Day for 4 of my daughter's friends last summer and they loved it. I am thinking of possibly having a LEGO or superhero theme. Most of the participants (5/7) are Brownie Girl Scouts, so we have talked about selecting activities that would allow them to earn a badge.
When planning your day if it involves a lot of outdoor time, I suggest having an alternate plan for weather - either rain or extreme heat.
Have you ever run a friend camp? Do you have any suggestions for us?
