With spring break in your rearview mirror and summer on the horizon, it’s time to start planning.  How will you fill your child’s day once school ends? While summer is great for relaxing and recharging, it’s also important to maintain some structure in your child’s schedule. This will prevent the dreaded, “I’m bored” chorus from driving you bananas.

Summer camps are a great way to mix structure and fun. From half-day to full-day camps in fine arts, adventure, sports, recreation, and academic enrichment, there’s truly something for every child. Options are great, but they can also be overwhelming. Fear not. Here's the top three things to consider when choosing a summer camp for your child.

1. Your Child’s Interests. Your child is unique, and their summer camp should be the same. Identify your child’s interests and look for camps that fit their personality. Children enjoy themselves more if they are interested in the subject matter. Also, involve your child in the selection process and reinforce how much fun they are going to have. This will help to ease any apprehension your child may have about camp. 

2. Your Needs as a Parent. Maybe you work full time, or just need mornings or afternoons for errands. Whatever your scheduling needs are, there are plenty of options to choose from. A robust camp program can offer programming throughout the day with extended day care options. Make sure you check your camps offerings to make sure they meet your needs.

3. Your Budget. Not all camps are created equally. It’s important to understand what the cost covers and what might be an additional expense. While one camp may seem more expensive, it’s possible there’s a more experienced instructor, a longer camp day and/or a meal included. A less expensive camp may look like a deal, but additional expenses could be hidden in supply fees, extended day care, and meals.

 With these three tips in mind, we hope you feel empowered to register your child for summer camp.

We also hope you will consider joining The Episcopal School of Dallas for a summer to remember. ESD offers over 150 camps as unique as your child. Remember tip #1? We’ve got you covered. ESD offers fine arts, adventure, sports, recreation, and academic enrichment programs. Some of our most popular camps include Allakazzam Magic, Soccer, All Girls All The Time, Legomania, 3D Game Design, Basketball, Fancy Nancy, Spanish, and Lacrosse. How about tip #2? You got it, we offer camps all day with extended day care options. As for tip #3, we offer a detailed description of each camp so there’s no hidden fees or surprises.

Discover Summer at ESD today.

www.esdallas.org/summercamp