Summer. It’s amazing how you view it differently over the years. As a kid you can’t wait to sleep in and not have homework and as an adult, we just dread the humidity and heat blasts in the underground subways.
And the fact that we as adults, still have to work through these dawg days of summer adds insult to injury.
So welcome to summer camp season here in NYC – one of the hardest items to navigate outside of pre-k lottery placement in the NYC DOE. Which camp is best? What’s the best pricing? Will they have fun? Is there enough staff? Are 14-year-old summer students getting paid to WATCH my kids?
As a single mom of a six-year-old, I’ve tried a few around the city. And while I’m not ready for sleep-away camp just yet, I am feeling pretty expertise on summer camps. So if you’re still looking to figure this out, there are lots of options out there (including our favorite this summer, Chelsea Piers!).
1. Look for variety.
If you’re going for a full week or all of the summer, you want a summer camp that mixes things up. Chelsea Piers offers 16 different sports camps (SIXTEEN!). Everything from soccer to gymnastics and everything in between. Plus, each day they have different activities. Example: Mondays Max goes on a two-hour cruise for lunch (with a DJ!), Tuesdays he takes his swimsuit for the waterslides, Thursdays are ice skating and Fridays are bowling – not to mention all the sports throughout the day including hockey, soccer and basketball with coaches for training as well as real games.
2. What are the hours?
Summer camp always sounds glamours until you realize the hours aren’t on your work schedule (or you have to schlep the kids clear across town at 6am – talk about not sleeping in for summer!). Make sure to do your homework before booking – most camps end at 4pm (but offer extended afterschool until around 6pm for a fee). Example – Chelsea Piers has aftercare available for those parents who need a little extra time from 4:30pm – 6:00pm for either $150/week or $40/day. This year they also added a Junior Gymnastics extended day option from 2pm – 3:30pm for either $120/week or $30/day.
3. Speaking of, are they flexible?
Chelsea Piers is one of the only camps in the city that let you sign up for any week you want/need. Example of flexible enrollment – if you only need week 2 you can just sign up for week 2. If you need week 3, 6, 8 you can do that too! Plus, this summer they had new short-week options and combination week options for additional flexibility (like the 4th of July holiday this week!) where you could pick-and-choose the days that fit your schedule. Camps run June 18 – August 31.
4. Can you get there?
Sometimes summer camp sounds like a dream until you have to get up even earlier for work to get them there on time. Not to fear, that doesn’t mean you have to opt into the lame camp that’s next to your home. Some, like Chelsea Piers, even have bus transportation available to and from. Chelsea Piers has different pickup/dropoff locations all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, so you don’t actually have to GO to Chelsea Piers everyday, unless you want to! They are even so high tech as to have a text message system in place that parents can opt-in to receive transportation alerts. $150/week. Estimated pick-up time is 7:15am – 8:05am and drop-off is 4:35pm – 5:15pm.
5. Is lunch included?
Seems like a silly question, but aren’t you tired of packing lunch every morning? Give yourself the summer break you deserve, too, and use a camp that provides lunch! Not only does Chelsea Piers provide lunch, they have fun themes (like Mediterranean) and vendors include Abigail Kirsch Catering, fresh&co and Piers Pizza Company. This isn’t your average pb&j lunch dates! They also have vegetarian options included and are a peanut-free camp. Bonus – Chelsea Piers not only serves fresh&co, they are located next to the Field House for froyo after camp!
Still have summer camp questions? Feel free to ask me or reach out to Chelsea Piers directly at camps@chelseapiers.com or 212.336.6846.
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Momtrends.com and Chelsea Piers. All opinions are my own.
