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Finding a Summer Camp for your child takes some work up front. First decide if your going to a Coed Summer Camp or a sigle gender camp, like a all girls.
Each have their own benefit. Maybe a Coed Camp is best for your child. Next, help your child to find a camp that will increase their interests or expose them to new activities. After you have 3 or 4, here are the top 10 questions to ask a summer camp director. This list was compiled by the American Camp Association.

What’s the camp’s ideology? Are you comfortable with this ? Is it a good fit for your child? Is competition or cooperation emphasized? What religious observances or practices are part of the program? I

How does the Summer Camp get and train its staff? Do counselors have criminal background checks? First aid training? Drug Testing? What’s the training all about?

What about return rates? How many counselors are returning this year? How many campers are returning? ask the director why?

What’s the ratio of counselors to campers? ACA guidelines for overnight camps call for a 1:6 ratio for ages 7 and 8, 1:8 for ages 9-14; and 1:10 for ages 15-18. Day camp guidelines call for 1:8 for children ages 6-8; 1:10 for children ages 9-14; and 1:12 for ages 15-18.

What’s the Staff Ages ? Eighty percent of the staff be 18 or older and that all staffers be at least 16 and a minimum of two years older than the campers they supervise. Are the staff a paid position or volunteers?

What about Health Care? Overnight camp have a licensed physician or registered nurse on the site daily, Day camps should be have direct phone access. Be sure you are comfortable that the camp will be able to handle your child’s special health care needs.

How does the camp handle conflicts and Discipline? Find out what the camp’s rules are and what breaches would result in a camper being sent home. You should be comfortable that the camp’s practices are in line with your parenting practices.

What is a day at camp like? This will help you know if your child will find happiness with the level of activity. Is their choice in selecting activities.

How does the camp provide transportation? How often are the van inspected? Who is driving, what’s the training.

Get References and more References, Get the names of parents with children who have attended the camp. They will tell you what makes camp so special and why they want to return.

Need more ideas to help you make a smart decision? Check out Summer Camp Advice A Summer Camp

Jeff and Lonnie Lorenz are the Owners of Swift Nature Camp, a non-competitive, traditional coed overnight summer camp near Minong, Wisconsin. Boys and Girls ages 6-15 enjoy playing in nature, caring for animals, and learning science. It’s like a Home School Summer Camp. Traditional camping activities include canoe trips, horseback riding, waterskiing and more. Swift specializes in programs for the first time camper! Learn more at Childrens Summer Camp

Animals at Summer Camp? Say Yes to Letting your kids play with animals this summer as a part of the fun they can have at camp. Find a science camp, or a more broadly defined summer camp that includes animals as a part of their program offerings.

For many children making a connection with animals is a great way to reconnect with nature. Campers can find and develop a desire to know more about the nature they find all around them. When they follow that desire, they begin to acquire a deep respect for nature that will serve them all their lives.

Swift Nature Camp best known as a Environmental Summer Camp has a pond aquarium that offers a unique way to see the world from from a frogs point of view. This Wisconsin camp also maintains a live animal collection called Natures Neighbors. Campers can bring their own small animals to camp with them where the animals can live in the camps Nature Center and be available to all the children

Kids at Swift Nature Camp have the opportunity to understand the natural world from hands-on learning experiences. These include field trips to a fish hatchery, to watch goose banding projects and butterfly counts, and even a close encounter with a live wild owl.

Animals are a part of Swift Nature Camps voluntary merit program, in which campers can earn special patches by learning skills in categories such as insects, bird watching, pet care, and horseback riding. Acquiring skills is never separate from the fun and play that is a part of being a camper.

The summer camp you choose should facilitate a blend of play and challenge that is free of the stress of the school environment. The presence of animals in a natural environment can open the door to discovery, adding depth to the fun of going to a traditional summer camp.

Every camper is an individual and benefits from his or her own particular mix of play and skill development. Swift Nature Camp has found a way to accommodate that range with a voluntary merit program that includes experience with animals. A camper’s interaction with animals can be refined into skills involving horseback riding, insects, pet care and bird watching. These opportunities never come at the expense of fun!

The joy of discovering nature is the joy of discovering the world we live in. Living in a natural environment with access to animals is a perfect invitation for expansive play. Camp is a place where children can learn about animals as a participant rather than just receiving information. Camp is more fun and less stressful than school, and the world becomes the classroom.

You can learn more about selecting a wonderful summer camp by visiting Summer Camp Advice Summer Camp

Jeff Lorenz has been the owner of Swift Nature Camp for over 15 years. Swift is a , a non-competitive, traditional Wisconsin Summer Campfor Boys and Girls (6-15 years). At this Animal Summer Camps kids enjoy animals and nature as well as traditional camping adventures. Swift specializes in programs for the First Time Camper as well as teen campers.