So I asked my dad this morning outright if he would pay for one of my kids for a summer camp session if we paid for the other. I was originally looking at JCC, which is something to the tune of 850$ per child for 4 weeks (1500$ and change for 8 weeks) *plus* 136$ for a JCC family membership. Wait, it gets better. Plus money for the bus.
Skip ahead a bit, I looked up some gymnasium info to see about enrolling the boys in locally and it turns out one of the ones that popped up not only offers free gym sessions (free as in not a class, not free as in no money) but they have summer camp programs, after school programs, plus 2, 3 and 4 y/o preschool.
So this morning we stopped at this other place (I’d like up the website, but I bet I’ll give you 500 times more info than their website, it’s pretty bad) to find out if their program was only the gym and pool or if it was more structured like the JCC is. Holy Cow is it structured! They have an indoor heated pool (plus swim instruction as needed – all my kids need it), a good sized gym including balance beams, rock climbing wall, foam pit, ropes, huge trampoline, tumbling mats, etc.., play equipment outdoors (fenced in), arts & crafts, etc.. plus they offer breakfast, lunch and a snack. They are open from 7:30 to 6, and as long as we drop off by 9 we’re good. Get this, it’s 135$ a week or 27$ a day (plus a small discount for siblings). Waaaay better than the JCC prices. It’s also under a mile from the house.
We took the boys by this afternoon after school so they could check it out and they loved it. I’m pretty excited. We’re going to send them three days a week and my dad is going to pay for one of the boys. I am undecided on sending Eshiva for the summer.
I am considering sending her to preschool 2 days a week. They offer free VPK, but it’s only for age 4, and she wont be 4 until halfway through the school year *next* year. I’m interested in her making some friends right now, so I think we’ll find the little bit it costs to send her twice a week. It was easier when the boys were little, they were both home. She is so independent and so smart I feel bad keeping her home all the time. They gave me a copy of their curriculum and it’s about what we do here, so good stuff!
