07.2 Selecting a Camp: Features

FEATURES

When evaluating a camp, you should ask: What does the camp feature?  What kind of activities, facilities, environment, and structure does the camp provide?  Here are the specific “Features” questions to know:

What activities does the camp offer? 

• Variety.  Traditional camps offer a wide variety of activities.  Are the activities your child likes on the list?  Are there some activities he’s never tried before?
• Specialty.  Specialty camps have one or two primary activities.  However, even these camps should offer some variety.  For example, a basketball camp might also include swimming in its program so that campers don’t get bored or burned out.  Are there some activities your child likes besides the camp’s specialty?
• Special needs.  Special needs camps adapt activities to the campers’ abilities  However, special needs camps are all different, even if they work with the same type of children.  Will your child be supported, entertained, and challenged?
• Fees.  Certain fun and popular activities cost extra at some camps.  For example, tennis may be included in the camp tuition, but activities such as water-skiing, go-carts, ham radio, rocketry, dirt bikes, trips, and horseback riding may cost an additional fee.  Do the activities your child plans to do cost extra?  Does that fit your budget?

   
What are the camp’s facilities and equipment like?

• Facilities.  Living, bathing, and activity facilities should be neat, clean, and in good condition.  Looking at the camp’s brochure, web site, video, or CD-ROM may tell you something about the facilities, but talking to someone who has been to the camp will teach you more.  Of course, there’s no substitute for actually visiting the camp.  If you can schedule a visit to the camp, check to see whether the facilities are well-maintained and adequate for the activities that take place there.
• Equipment.  Campers with advanced skills have certain facility and equipment preferences.  Serious soccer players prefer regulation-size goals, not small nets.  Serious marksmen prefer match rifles, not BB guns.  Serious swimmers prefer swimming areas with turning boards and lane lines, not bare dock pilings.  If your child has some advanced skills, find out whether the camp has the equipment she prefers.  (Don’t forget that kids can often bring their own equipment, such as a baseball glove or a tennis racket.  Some kids prefer personal gear over the camp’s equipment.)
• Dining Hall.  The dining hall is one facility that all kids want to know about.  As you learned in Chapter 4, there are two basic types: cafeteria style and family style.  In a cafeteria style dining hall, campers stand in line with a tray, gathering their food one item at a time.  In a family style dining hall, campers sit at tables and share large platters of food.  Either style can be structured, where campers sit with their cabin mates, or open, where kids pick their own seat.  Both styles usually offer some food choices, but no camp serves everybody’s favorite food all the time. If your child is a picky eater, or if he has special dietary restrictions, learn whether the camp offers the sorts of food he can eat.  If you have concerns, we recommend that you ask the camp to send you a week-long sample menu.  Do the choices on the menu look good, or is the same food served at every meal?  Are there daily salad-bar or sandwich options for kids who don’t like the main course?

   
What is the camp’s environment like? 

• Type of Environment.  As we mentioned in Chapters 2 and 4, overnight camps offer various environments.  The camp you choose may be in the mountains, on a lake, or on a school campus.  Most camps are proud of their combination of natural and manmade environments.  Indeed, this variety may be the most important aspect of a camp environment.  Does the camp’s environment suit your child?
• Atmosphere.  Don’t be too impressed with acreage.  A camp may boast 300 or 3000 acres of property, but have crummy facilities.  It’s really the combination of space, environment, facilities, and staff that creates the camp’s atmosphere.  Some camps have a commercial, artificial, country club atmosphere.  Other camps have a more natural wilderness atmosphere.  Has the camp used its land thoughtfully?

What is the structure of the camp? 

• Daily Schedule.  Every camp has a daily schedule.  There are wake-up times, meal times, activity times, and maybe chore times and free times.  These times help structure your child’s life at camp, but it may be quite different from his schedule at home.  For example, he may sleep until noon on vacation days, but he’ll have to get up between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. at camp.  Does your child think the daily camp schedule is reasonable and enjoyable?
• Program Choices.  As we discussed in Chapter 5, some camps offer kids the freedom to make activity choices.  Other camps require kids to participate in certain activities at certain times.  Many camps are structured to offer a combination of choices and requirements.  This helps kids try new things they might have otherwise ignored.  Will your child get to choose the activities he does each day?  Or, is he happy to have someone else schedule most of his day?
• Activity Availability.  In camps where kids get to choose their activities, find out how often certain activities are available.  For example, if your child plans to choose archery every day then it’s important to know whether archery is actually offered every day.  A few camps use exotic activities, like rocketry, ham radio, or dirt bikes to attract business, but it may turn out those activities are not offered more than once a week.  Is your child content with how often her favorite activities are offered?

• Grouping of Campers.  Remember, a big part of a camp’s structure is how the kids are grouped.  Most frequently, campers are grouped by age or school grade into cabins or divisions.  They feel most comfortable that way.  If your child is the only 9-year-old in a cabin of 14-year-olds, she may feel awkward.  Is your child comfortable with the way campers are grouped?  Are there enough other campers her age?            Of course, some contact with substantially older and younger kids can be fun and helpful.  We especially like camps that have a “big brothers” or “big sisters” program, where older, veteran campers are paired with younger, less experienced campers.  These programs are great ways for younger campers to feel welcomed, and for older campers to develop leadership skills.

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