Good sleepaway camp for boy going into 7th?

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 2:42 pm

I've never sent to sleepaway camp before and I don't know where to start. How do I figure out the best place to send my kid? Most of his friends have not gone so asking them is not much of an option. He is currently in a yeshiva type day school.
Any suggestions? Or should I ask his Rebbe? (would that be so nerdy? Smile

boysrus

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 3:22 pm

Bonim ! my son loved it there

amother

Tan

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 4:00 pm

Its a great idea to ask his rebbe.

My ds went to Aguda and cant wait to go back

doctorima

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 4:07 pm

Even if his friends haven't gone, I would check with boys in that school that are in the grade or two above him to find out where they've gone, and to hear about their experiences, to get a sense of what would be a good fit for your son with his background. Agudah Midwest, Bonim, or Tashbar may be good options to look into.

happy12

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 6:20 pm

My sons love Agudah but it is important to find out where boys from his school generally go to.

amother

Seagreen

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 10:31 pm

Thanks for the information!
Being the novice that I am, how do I get info on each camp? Do they have websites? other ways to get information?

boysrus

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 10:42 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for the information!
Being the novice that I am, how do I get info on each camp? Do they have websites? other ways to get information?

Bonim = campbonim.net

doctorima

Tue, Oct 17 2017, 10:52 pm

Many do not have websites. The best source of basic info is word-of-mouth from people you trust and who know your son - Menahel, Rebbeim, other parents in the school or community, etc. Once you narrow it down, you can call the office of each to request an application and a copy of their DVD from last year, which may help you and DS get a sense of the camp environment.

amother

Taupe

Wed, Oct 18 2017, 10:46 am

Be sure to ask about the food - if they serve generously or kids are always having to grab to get. this is something kids will answer honestly and the adults may not realize. u want to be sure they are not skimpy on the food.

also, find out if they have enough sports equipment. are there enough balls, what happens if a kid kicks it over the roof of the bunkhouse... do they have a maintenance staff to come get it? a sports shed they can easily get another? or do they have to stand around doing nothing the rest of the hour.

how is the swimming program run, how many lifeguards, what kind of supervision.

where are the showers, how often are they cleaned

what, if any, is the vetting process for hiring counselors. who handles complaints and how seriously are they taken. is there a set procedure for responding.

IMO, questions such as these are just as important to ask (if not more but don't want to rile anyone up here) as what yeshiva the boys are in.

amother

Hotpink

Wed, Oct 18 2017, 11:04 am

Definitely not nerdy to ask his Rebbe! We asked both the Rebbe and Menahel for suggestions and were given names of 3 camps that would be a good fit hashkafically. We then researched all 3 (talking to campers, parents and staff members, comparing prices, etc.) to make our decision.

amother

Seagreen

Wed, Oct 18 2017, 1:30 pm

Thank you for all of those details!

ruchelbuckle

Sat, Nov 25 2017, 11:23 pm

Original amother: I hope it's not too late, but I have done tons of research on boys camps so I am happy to share with you a few points:

-- try to speak to parents who sent their kids as recently as possible. For example, my son attended a camp in both 2016 and 2017, and I found that there was a lot of turnover, and the "tone" of the camp changed somewhat since I did my research in fall of 2015. While my son had a good time, I don't know if I would choose this particular camp again, as the overall crowd changed.

-- in addition to the office staff, you can ask to speak to the head counselor/division head and/or the learning program director. Get an idea of what the daily schedule is like. A well-run camp will usually have a very clear picture of what the day looks like and there should not be too much transition or down time during the day.

--When you say "yeshiva type day school"-- that's kind of vague. Is your son in an out-of-town day school type of place? Something where there is one class per grade? If the camp has a lot of kids from certain cities/schools, you want to make sure that your son will be okay with the level of learning and it won't be too fast/challengeing. (For example, certain schools in Lakewood, NY, Baltimore, etc...learn at a very fast pace and you want to make sure that a kid coming in from the day school in Worcester, MA isn't totally lost). I just made that up about Worcester, MA..... just to illustrate... Also, some camps have learning every morning for 2.5 hours, others have for 45 minutes. It's important that you know what your son is up for.

--most boys camps are pretty heavy on sports. The camp might advertise that they do arts and crafts or woodworking, or whatever, but if this is important to your son, then make sure to ask how frequently the kids will do non-sports activities.

--Ask if there any camp rules that you wouldn't have thought of. The yeshvish camps obviously don't allow any phones/devices, but some have stricter rules about certain things that you might not have thought of. For example, one camp has a "no shorts" rule. That's something that you wouldn't have necessarily thought to ask about.

--For sure ask your son's Rebbe, the menahel of the school, and any Rabbonim in your city which camps they've heard of other boys in your city attending.

Just off of the top of my head, a list of boys yeshivish camps that I'm familiar with:
The notes are just what I heard...... I could be totally wrong

Camp Agudah: (very in-town crowd)
Kol Torah (Cleveland, lots of Lakewood kids, very strong learning program)
Camp Bonim:
Camp Ruach Chaim (second half only, heard it's a not-fancy Lakewood crowd)
Camp Achim: second half only
Agudah Midwest (supposed to be a great camp, especially for out of town kids, second half only)
Tashbar
Camp Romimu
Camp Rayim
Camp Chaverim (very new and small camp, supposed to also be a very good choice for kids from out of town)
Someone also mentioned a Camp Govoah to me... supposed to be very small and well run, but I never met anyone who sent there.

hope this is helpful! I have done research ad naseum on boys camps, so feel free to PM me.

amother

Seagreen

Sun, Nov 26 2017, 9:04 am

Thank you for your comprehensive reply!
I might PM you if I need to.
Thanks!

turca

Sun, Nov 26 2017, 9:21 am

Where do your sons friends go?
My boys always went along with his friends.
The camp they enjoyed the most was camp Rayim

amother

Mustard

Wed, Dec 13 2017, 2:47 pm

I just want to add that my son has been going to Mogen Avrohom and is very happy there. I've also been impressed with the receptiveness of the staff and the way the counselors make an effort to keep in touch over the year.
If it's his first time away, you might want to send him to a camp where he'll know at least one other boy, even if they're not in the same bunk....