summer camp for 12 yr old girls
The YMCA camp at Fairview Lake near Newton is nice.
http://www.metroymcas.org/fairview-lake-ymca/fairview-lake-ymca-camps/
Girl Scout Camp Hoover is excellent, reasonably priced and has many one-week programs for this age group. (If she isn't a scout, you just pay the registration fee as part of your camp fees). A quick search will find you other MOL discussions about it. My daughter and her best friend both went for years.
Look on the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey website if you want to find the brochure and see what is still available.
what kind of activities does she want? The county college has a college for kids program. YMCAs usually have programs (day programs)
or does she want sleepaway real camp experience?
I have NO idea if any of the remaining weeks are available, but this camp is well-attended by MAPSO children and my kids claim it is their favorite place on the planet: http://www.nj4hcamp.rutgers.edu/Summer%20Camp.html
And it's reasonably priced too--good luck!
Camp Hoover is sleep away.
The Girl Scouts also have a very inexpensive day camp in South Mountain Reservation, but I'm less certain that it would work for a 12 year old.
she likes all sorts of activities: kayaking, swimming, hiking, and just playing games - especially w/ other fun gals. i've been calling the places you all have suggested & nothing has worked yet (no one does just a week - or two max - for a 12 yr okd girl). so, please - keep any recommendations coming!!!! thx!!!
Essex County Equestrian Riding School (in West Orange) has a number of 1-week sessions for kids who like riding. Some of the girls (they all seem to be girls, haven't seen any boys in the program yet) haven't had any experience riding. If your daughter likes horses, she might like to try one of the "Beginner" weeks. Our grand-daughter has been riding for about 6 months and is doing a few of the weekly sessions spread across the summer. A typical day is 2 sessions of riding, learning how to groom a horse, tack it up, learning about horses......campers do need riding helmets and boots, though, for safety. Camp day starts at 9 a.m. and pick-up is at 4 p.m.
taaj said:
she likes all sorts of activities: kayaking, swimming, hiking, and just playing games - especially w/ other fun gals. i've been calling the places you all have suggested & nothing has worked yet (no one does just a week - or two max - for a 12 yr okd girl). so, please - keep any recommendations coming!!!! thx!!!
I don't know if there is a particular week you are trying to fill, but I see online that Girl Scout Camp Hoover in Sussex County does have some openings for your daughter's age. I'm not sure if you can access the online information if she is not a Girl Scout, but I believe you can still register. Their sessions are one week. Maybe contact Deb Hooker deborahhooker@gshnj.org to see what weeks are left. It's a very nice camp and a number of local girls go there, so your daughter may know a girl or two there.
My experience isn't very recent, but you might want to check out ISTC in the Poconos, which offers one-week sessions and at one time had a M-F option as well. It has a lot of water sports, climbing, ropes, and organized games. Despite the name, the regular sessions were very much a traditional camp experience and not team-sports oriented. There are options for team sports if that's what interests her. And you can extend the stay if it works out.
The American Camp Association has a search engine on its website. You plug in all the criteria, and it returns all the camps that meet those criteria. It won't tell you whether those camps have any openings. But at least it will generate a list for you, then you can make the calls. I will say, though, that it will be hard to find a one-week program for a 12-year-old.
Here's a link to their search page:
http://find.acacamps.org/
I just did the search with the criteria you mentioned (for accredited camps within 100 miles). Here are the results: (edited to add: The link doesn't bring you to the results from the search, so I listed the camps.)
Camp Lohikan, Lake Como, Penn.
Camp Sloane, Lakeville, Conn.
Kirkwood Camp, Stroudsburg, Penn.
No idea if they still have space, but try the Frost Valley Y sleepaway camps (especially the farm camp) in the Catskills, about 2 hrs north of here.
The first session of most camps will have already started. Many good ACA camps, including the nonprofit ones run by foundations, have both a full-summer option and a half-season option, but even those would require a three or three and a half week commitment. Do you have any neighbors or colleagues you could ask for specific recommendations? There are so many kinds of camps and so many styles, from those with minimal plumbing and open-sided bunks to much more sheltered ones--and there are fine camps in all styles. If you think your daughter is serious about a good all-round camp, you might want to look into the second half season option even if it is for a longer period than you mention. Failing that, I do remember having heard good things about places like Frost Valley, which are cheaper and probably have shorter sessions.
I think it is perfectly possible to start going to camp successfully at age 12 with the caveat that there will be kids with long-standing relationships from past years there as well and that good staffing will make a big difference in how well new kids are brought into the social mainstream. My children both went to camp for years and with the kind of camp I’m talking about you go for at least half a season even if it is a first time. They did start younger, but if anything, that makes the longer commitment less a challenge.
Camp Hoover definitely has one-week sessions. Are they full? If not, I would definitely recommend it. Lots of non-Girl Scouts go there and love it.
Here's a link to the camp brochure: http://www.gshnj.org/_media/2015_camp_brochure_lr.pdf
The Y at Fairview Lake used to have one-week try out sleep away camp sessions.
Just received a note that Lindley Cook camp has room 7/13-7/18--call Ben at 973-948-3550 ext. 21 and/or email him at summercampben@gmail.com
i know this is ridiculously late to post this, but our daughter is interested in a summer camp. as it's her first time doing this, it'd just be for about a week. does anyone have any recommendations? thinking of northeast somewhere??? i have been looking on-line and having a hard time. so, if anyone can recommend a place..please let me know! thanks