Tina C.
October 25, 2017 15:07
My 2 boys did camp here in the month of August. Pros: My boys enjoyed going to camp together and meeting new friends. They group all the kids together and they seemed to get along really well, so my 4 year old was directly spending time with my 6 year old.It was a relatively small group and all the kids seemed so mature and well mannered. My boys enjoyed the morning activities which included some free play and then a structured karate activity from 9-11. On Fridays, in the afternoon they go to the Bethesda outdoor pool, and they really enjoyed the pool time. Cons: In general, my boys love being outside, but they don't like going out when it's hot/humid >90 degrees and feeling as if it's > 100 degrees. The first day, on Monday, August 21, the only thing my boys complained to me about was that they were "outside at the very sunny playground for way too long." The weather report on that day which was the day of the eclipse was 90 degrees at noon in Bethesda which was the time they were outside. It felt even hotter due to the humidity. After talking to the instructors, I figured out that they go outside and eat near the playground from 11 am to 1 pm. Now, every time we drive by the playground, my sons scream out, "There's the sunny playground." After that day i decided to check the weather report and if it was too hot, i would pick them up early. Also, the owner said that it was Maryland law that they were not allowed to directly apply any sunscreen to my children. This was very confusing to me and I read online later that as long as a parent gives written permission, then summer camps may apply sunscreen directly to the child. This was NEVER given as an option. Instead, the owner told me he would ensure that my 4 year old son would not get burned, but could not say out loud that he could directly apply the sunscreen????? Lastly, they showed movies on the camp's TV twice in the afternoon during the week which my kids didn't complain about, but I can have them watch a movie at home. I would rather they interact, socialize, play games, sports, arts/crafts in the afternoon than watch TV. They attended all 5 days of camp, but I picked them up early on Tuesday and Thursday. I picked them up early on Tuesday because it was another hot day of 90 degrees and the owner did not decide if they were going to play outside again or go to an indoor rec center. I picked them up early on Thursday because they were watching another movie in the afternoon. I initially gave this camp 4 stars but after reading the owners comments below, I was disappointed to see what he wrote is NOT completely honest. I'm giving it 2 stars because my boys did have two great full days of camp out of the 5 days they attended.