I don’t remember there being endless summer camp options when we were kids, but unless my parents told me about them or a friend went, how would I know?
(I’m pretty sure they increased with the increase in any/all parents working full time year round and were not as common when we were kids.)
What I love about day camps is the opportunity The Kid gets to learn more about something he’s interested in that he doesn’t get to do in school, without it becoming a busy school-week activity.
It gives him the opportunity to spend time with new and different kids and to learn different group norms.
Over the last few summers, he’s gone to camp for rock climbing, arts and crafts, Lego engineering, Minecraft, and at the zoo. We were going to do space camp this year, but the facility is closed for renovations.
While he has enjoyed them all, not all of the camps have been excellent, from my point of view. Some camps that we won’t return to. Fortunately, he hasn’t requested them.
Usually, he does half day camp in the mornings and is with us in the afternoons. We still have time for unstructured play at home, and playing with friends, and so on. If we needed to do full days, it would be like a regular school week.
I can’t wait to hear what was exciting today.