Drop in summer camps (or the alternative to emergency childcare)

Summer is here,  and many parents have lined up several weeks of camp and several weeks of  downtime for their kids.  But what happens if you get in a bind during those downtime weeks? You have an appointment that can’t be rescheduled or an opportunity for a short project —  or maybe there’s just too much downtime (your child’s friends are at camp and he or she is getting bored). This is when a drop-in camp can be a lifesaver.

We’re fortunate to have several great drop-in camp options in the Bay Area. Here are three drop-in camps that we, at Sign Up For Camp, know have availablity.

• Camp Doodles – Camp Doodles has three North Bay locations – Mill Valley, Larkspur and San Rafael. It offers a variety of structured and unstructured activities. I have friends who have raved about this camp. It takes campers in grades pre-K to 6th grade.
• Kids Outdoor Club – The Kids Outdoor Club is a camp with outdoor activities in Golden Gate Park.  Kids age 3 -11 are welcome to the camp, which makes it one of the rare drop-off camp options for three year olds. Many San Francisco kids first learn to climb a tree at Kids Outdoor  Club, and they enjoy many other activities also.
• Steve and Kate’s Camp – Steve and Kate’s offers eight locations throughout the Bay Area – from as far north as Santa Rosa, down to Palo Alto and east to Berkeley. The camps offer a wide selection of activities, which the kids get to choose among. One of the very nice features of this camp is that parents can purchase “camp days” and if the days go unused, get a refund at the end of the camp season.

Steve and kate’s

Camp Doodles

Kids Outdoor Club