Affordable Summer Camps in the Delaware Valley (Philadelphia) Area (2011)
Summer camps are a necessity for many families. If both parents work, summer camps are a must and parents need coverage for the whole summer. If one parent is at home, summer camps provide some variety and break up the long summer. Yet many families are still feeling financially pinched this year and may be looking a little more closely at the cost of camps for their children.
In addition to cost, there are many important factors to choosing a camp including location, staffing, and your child’s interests, just to name a few. However, one way to assess summer camp value is by examining dollars per hour of camp time. While most camps list their cost per week, sometimes the camps don’t cover the entire day, so parents need to pay for hourly day care before or after camp. In the end, some of camps end up being more affordable when you take into account the longer day they provide for your child.
To help you with this comparison, Sign Up For Camp analyzed summer camps on our site and came up with a list of Delaware Valley and Philadelphia camps that cost less than $5 or $9 per hour. The prices below are for the camp hours listed, but many camps offer before and/or aftercare for very reasonable rates as well. Prices listed below do not include promotional discounts for siblings, early registration, or multiple sessions. (So yes, they could be even less expensive!) You can find more information on all of these camps at Sign Up For Camp.
Please respond with a comment if you know of additional camps which are a great value. How else do you stretch your summer budget?
Under $5 hour
Georgia E. Gregory Interdenominational School Of Music
Philadelphia
8am – 5:30pm
$110 per week (Scholarships and sliding scale also available)
Ellison Explorers & Little Explorers Summer Camp Programs
Vineland, NJ
9am – 3pm
$145-$175 per week
Let Me Learn Summer Camp: Six Weeks of WOW
Vineland, NJ
8am – 4pm
$120 – $150 per week
Shining Lights Preschool – Camp Rising Stars & Camp Explorer
Cherry Hill, NJ
7:30am – 6pm
$194-$205 per week
Summer Stage 2011 at Mainstage Center for the Arts
Blackwood, NJ
9am- 3pm
$370-$525 for 7 weeks (depending on age, shorter sessions available as well)
Under $9 per hour
Black Diamond Skate Camp
Moorestown, NJ
10am – 4pm
$250 per week
Camp Invention
Multiple Locations in PA, DE & NJ
9am -3pm (some locations longer hours)
$215-$235 per week
Camp Teekna
Devon, PA
9am – 3:30pm
$85-$285 per week
Chester County Art Association Summer Art Camp
West Chester, PA
9:30am – 4pm
$270 per week, $440 per 2 weeks (plus materials fees)
Half days also available
Club La Maison
Wayne, PA
9am – 3pm
$215 per week (half days available)
Golden Rams Summer Camps at West Chester University
West Chester, PA
9am – 3pm (Varies by camp)
$235-$265 per week
Hockessin Athletic Club
Hockessin, DE
7am-5:30pm
$240 per week
Kids on Campus at Bucks County Community College
Perkasie & Newtown, PA
9am – 3:30pm
$249-$269 per week
Kids Rule Summer Camp at Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ
8am – 4:30pm
$200 per week
Lehigh University Sports Camps
Bethlehem, PA
Times and rates vary by sport
MacGuffin Theater and Film Company Summer Camps
Philadelphia, PA
9:30am – 3:30pm
$700-$775 per 3 week session/$275 per week
Moorestown Theater Company Summer Stage ’11
Moorestown, NJ
8:30am – 4:30pm
$750 per 3 week session
Phoenix Village Art Center
Phoenixville, PA
9am – 4pm (half days and partial weeks available)
$230-$245 per week
Spring Mill Youth Camp
Ivyland, PA
9am -4:30pm
$230 per week
Summerstage at People’s Light and Theatre
Malvern, PA
9am – 3pm
$425 per 2 week session
$875 per 4 week session
Young Writers / Young Readers
Multiple locations, PA
9am-12:45pm (varies by location)
$250 per 2 weeks (varies by location)
