Submission date: 3/22/10
Original Title: Sending Your Child To Summer Camp
Summer can be a very stressful time for parents with an autistic child. We worry that being home all summer will have a bad affect on our child. We worry that they will regress while out of school. This was always a big concern for me. I soon realized that my son didn’t have to regress during the summer. I could keep him engaged and learning with different activities during the summer. It was my success in doing this that gave me the confidence to home school my son.
In the past, day camps have played an important part of our summer. My son spent two summers at a special autistic, overnight summer camp. It was one week, overnight, and my son loved it. Because of the cost, we have only been able to do this twice with him. There are several day camps in our area that are available for my son to attend. My son has attended some of them and will do so again this summer.
Of course, there has also been the all important swimming lessons during the summer. This is not just an important life skill to learn, it is also a great learning experience for motor planning. Both of my children have enjoyed swimming lessons during the summer. My daughter will be 7 this summer and will need more activities to keep her occupied. I have not planned out what I will be doing with both of my children, but summer camp will be included.
One choice for a summer camp experience for your child is KinderCare. KinderCare centers are springing up all around the country. They offer summer camp programs for children from Pre-school age to school age. This summer, they have several great themes that are designed to encourage your child’s creativity in learning. Such themes include Wild, Wild West and Dig Ancient Egypt. KinderCare has “crafted a summer day-camp program that delivers just what they’re looking for: irresistible learning opportunities, hands-on involvement and unique experiences.”
I don’t have a
KinderCare near me. If you would like to find out if there is a Kinder Care center near you, please visit their
website. I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of KinderCare and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Recommend
Comments (1)
My mom helped to develop the two-year-olds' program for Kinder Care and the person who ran the main center she worked at was one of the regional directors. Because she worked there, I spent nearly every day off from school and a good chunk of time in the summer there. I absolutely DESPISED having to go there as a kid. It was loud, It was chaotic. There was NO privacy what so ever. They made us change our clothes in front of each other (I mean bathing suits and everything). You couldn't even go to the bathroom by yourself, there were two toilets in there, with NO wall. This may be ok for a two year old, but come on, for a school aged kid? NO WAY. I would spend all day holding it because I didn't want someone walking in on me.
Unless a lot has changed VERY drastically, or there are variations from state to state (of the three I went to in PA, they were all the same) Kinder Care has got to be one of the WORST places to send any kid, much less one on the autistic spectrum. That's one of the reasons my mom quit working there. They wondered all the time why the kids were so hyper and difficult to deal with? Try the insane amount of stuff going on all at once, the crazy bright colors EVERYWHERE, not an inch of blank space to be found, not a quiet spot to be had... except at nap time... which didn't exist for the older kids.
There is a chance that things have changed. It has been about 22 years since I was tortured there... but it has left THAT much of an impression on me. I was SOOOO grateful for the day I turned 11 and was no longer allowed to go. I'd take staying home alone all day reading and playing with my Lego set over that any day. Sometimes a break in having to be "normal" is welcomed relief.