Does/Did your family go up to a sleepaway camp in the summer

amother

Wed, Jun 02 2021, 12:26 pm

Do you or dh work in a sleep away camp and you spend your summers there.

What was your experience? Do you enjoy it or just do it to save money? How much less cooking and cleaning is it really? How is the social scene. Please specify if you are in a girls camp or boys camp and tell me the good and bad. TIA.

Oldest

Wed, Jun 02 2021, 12:55 pm

Not me, but my parents spent one year working in a sleepaway camp. It is a HUGE money saver which is why my parents tried it out for a year. It didn't end up working for them though for various reasons.

In terms of cooking and cleaning, the camp provided the cleaning ladies, they came every day to clean the bungalow. All meals were provided by the camp. My parent's bungalow did not even have a kitchen.

For any other questions, make sure to do your research WELL! Find out what the social scene is like and how everyone gets along. Important: Find out what your bosses will be like. This is not the sort of job where you go home at night, your bosses are in close quarters with you 24/7 so you want to make sure they are good people to work with. Also, if you have young children, find out what the day camp is like and whether or not you will be given a mother's helper. (Not essentially a deal breaker, but if you have older children who will be part of the main sleepaway camp, I would suggest finding out how staff kids are treated by the rest of the campers and staff). Also look into what the camp does with older children that are the opposite gender of the camp (ie girls in a boys camp and boys in a girls camp) do they send them off-grounds for an all day day camp, or do they require them to be sent to a sleepaway camp for the full summer.
Remember that working in a camp is essentially a 24/7 job regardless of what your specific job description is. It is hard work. That being said, if it is work that your or your dh really enjoy and the social scene is good and the bosses are good, you may find yourself having an amazing summer.

amother

Slategray

Wed, Jun 02 2021, 1:07 pm

I do, every year and I LOVE it. I work in a girls camp and I have only girls so it works out well. Everything that oldest said above is true and important to know. One more thing. It is NOT a vacation. I work harder in camp than I do all year. But for my family, it’s an amazing set up and we look forward to the next year when the previous year ends.

amother

Wheat

Wed, Jun 02 2021, 1:13 pm

My father works at a boys camp for almost 30 years. We loved loved it as kids, we looked forward to the summer all year long. It's a vacation for my mom, no cooking all summer, she gets a cleaning lady whenever she wants, she has a pool and a good social circle. Though my father is very busy and he wasn't available most of the time to help her out, it still paid for her to go just to get a break and change of scenery for the kids.

amother

Mauve

Tue, Jun 08 2021, 11:23 am

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Same. I work 24/7 in camp but totally worth it. Love the social aspect, girls get free camp, no cooking, trips, etc. After expenses and tips I come home with 10K (but I work hard!).