“A child’s life today sure isn’t the same as it was when I was growing up.”

How often have we heard that cliché? Twenty-first century life IS different for kids than the life that their grandparents and parents led. Take the summer, for example. What did children do all summer? They played! What did working parents do? They had to rely on a relative, a neighbor, or the hope that their children would stay near home and stay safe while they were away. Today, though, parents are looking for ways to keep their children not only safe, but active, engaged and happy during those dog days of summer.

 

Fortunately for the people who live in our community, there is a wide array of summer camps available from which to choose. There are camps for preschoolers, school-aged children, and teens. There are camps for children with disabilities, for athletic kids, for artistic or intellectually-curious children. How do parents choose a camp or several camp programs for their children?

 

Parents will want to look at a camp’s philosophy and goals for its campers. Session dates and times, location and price may figure into your selection of a camp. Do you want a sleep away camp or a day camp? Does your child need a variety of activities to stay busy over the course of the day, or might he want to focus on one specific skill? Does a child want to advance a skill, or is she just looking to have fun? Once you have formulated your own wish list of what you and your child are seeking, you are ready to check out the terrific options available in our area. Below you will find information about several camps to get you started in your search. Though not a complete list of all camps to choose from, this review will give you a good review of the wide variety of camps available right in our own scenic city’s back yard!

 

Camp Juliette Low is an independent, private sleep away camp for girls ages 7-17 located in Cloudland, Georgia, forty miles from Chattanooga. Campers take classes and learn to develop traits of self-reliance, confidence and team building. Some readers may remember that Juliette Low founded the Girl Scouts. This is not a Girl Scout camp, but rather is the camp that Juliette established herself, designing and constructing the lodge which is still in use. Thus the camp is on the Register of Historic Places! One and two week summer sessions are available, and these may be combined into a longer stay. One-week sessions cost $640 and two-week sessions run $1250. www.cjl.org

 

YMCA Camp Ocoee, only one hour from Chattanooga, offers a sleep away Ranger Camp for children ages seven through fifteen. One week sessions run for much of the summer, and two week sessions are available for campers who wish to add an overnight camping experience. With both forest and river access, campers get to enjoy a great array of outdoor activities, from mountain biking to kayaking, drama to nature study. Camp Ocoee also offers waterskiing for all ages, river raft trips for those ages ten and above, and a number of electives to enjoy while at camp. One-week sessions cost $530, while two-week sessions run $1060. Additional fees are required for some of the specialized activities. www.campocoee.com

 

Camp Skyline is a private Christian girls’ camp located in Mentone, Alabama. One-week camping experiences are available for girls ages six through eight, and sessions of two to eight weeks are offered for campers ages six to sixteen. Traditional camping activities are offered, including horseback riding. One-week sessions cost $1195, while two-week sessions run $2220. www.campskyline.com

 

GPS (Girls Preparatory School) offers several summer day camps that run in sessions of one or two weeks. Choose from Camp Kaleidoscope or Camp Bruiser, or you may be looking for an athletic camp to focus on a particular sport. Prices vary based upon the camp. www.gps.edu

Baylor School Summer Camps offers one week sports clinics in which children participate in a variety of sports, day camps for ages five through twelve, a boarding summer prep three-week academic intensive program for rising seventh through ninth graders, and a Leadership Baylor one-week program for rising tenth through twelfth grade students. Prices vary based upon day or boarding camps and length of the program. www.baylorschool.org

 

McCallie Summer Programs offers camps for boys and girls ages five and up. There are two-week day camps, athletic camps that focus on a specific sport, and special camps such as art, debate/mock trail, model UN, fly fishing and sailing camp. Prices vary. www.mccallie.org

The UTC Challenger Center offers one, two and four day camps for children ages four through rising eighth graders. From a half-day miniquest for preschoolers to becoming a micronaut or a Mars expert; or building your own pop rocket to launch and learning about how to build a lunar base that may be used as a springboard for further space exploration; campers have great fun while delving into the science of space. All instructors are teachers with camp and educational experience. Dates vary, and costs range from $35 to $250. The Center will mail out flyers with $10 camp discount coupons upon request. www.utc.edu/Outreach/ChallengerCenter

 

The Chattanooga Nature Center offers day camps for children who have completed kindergarten through the age of thirteen. All sessions are one week in length; students are divided according to age. Morning half-day sessions are offered for children five and six-years-old. The camps explore nature through Native American activities, learning about animals, hiking the woods, canoeing, nature games and crafts. Older campers also enjoy a night camping out. Prices for full-day week-long sessions run about $150 for Nature Center members and $180 for nonmembers. www.chattanooganaturecenter.org

 

As a leader in serving children of all abilities, Siskin Children’s Institute offers an excellent referral service for children with disabilities. This year they will sponsor a camp forum on March 27 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Held at the Siskin Children’s Institute, it allows camps from all over the area to set up displays to showcase their camps to a targeted parent audience. Siskin, in conjunction with the Creative Discovery Museum, T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital, and UTC, hosts the Friends’ Discovery Camp at the Museum for children ages five to ten with autism. This is a week-long morning day camp with a fee of $65. Call 648-6045 for information. Siskin also serves as a referral source for camps for children with epilepsy, physical disabilities, developmental challenges and other impairments. Call Beth Oldham at 648-1757 for additional information, or visit www.siskin.org

 

Whether you are looking for enrichment or sports, outdoor excitement or intellectual fun, Chattanooga has a summer camp for your child. What are you waiting for? Sign up today!