Moscow Parks and Rec Camp:
This day camp is held in the youth center in Moscow. They do all sorts of neat things with the kids and go on awesome field trips. They went to the Moscow Water Park 2-3 times per week, to the paint-your-own-pottery studio, to the University of Idaho climbing wall, to local parks, and to the library. Lana always had fun stories to share on the drive home. This camp may have been Lana's favorite day camp of the entire summer (it's neck-and-neck with Cougar Kids Camp) and she was bummed when it ended. She met some great new friends and wants to go back next year. Of course the extra miles I had to drive every morning and evening were less than convenient. However, this was the only day camp that allowed you to register (and pay) for individual days and not entire weeks. This worked out very well for us because we had a trip planned and didn't have to pay for the days we were gone. If Lana needs a fun camp for a few days here and there next summer, we'd totally sign up again.
(Sigh. I guess by this point in the summer I was less than enthusiastic and took exactly zero pictures of Lana at Moscow Parks and Rec Camp. Here's a cheesy stock photo instead. Just imagine Lana was as excited as the wild-eyed girl in the upper left.)
Refresher Camp:
So, guess how many day camps there are the week before school starts? Two. Exactly two. One is a sports camp with a similar set-up to the Cheer Camp Lana did earlier in the summer (which filled up quicker than I realized), and the other is Refresher Camp. This camp is designed to get kids back into school mode by doing academics in the morning and outdoor activities and games in the afternoon. It sounded good and the fact that it was the only option available made it a winner in my book. The schedule was 9:00-3:00, which is not working-parent friendly. Fortunately, I know a fabulous teenage babysitter in that neighborhood and she faithfully walked Lana to and from camp every day, fed her a snack, and let her lounge on the couch watching movies until I got her at 4:30. By this point in the summer, movies and snacks were the perfect thing for an exhausted 8-year old.
Refresher Camp was good for Lana. Her horrific summer handwriting became legible again and she remembered how to sit still and behave in class. She wouldn't say it was her favorite, but she did get back into "school mode" and that was the whole point.
Overall, Lana's Marathon of Summer Camps was a success. She was safe and well-cared for every single day. She has a bunch of neat stories and met some great new friends. However, it was exhausting. For her and for me. I felt like I was always making plans and thinking about where I needed to drop her off and pick her up that particular week. I'm not sure what we'll do next summer, but I should probably start making arrangements now : )
