Guess what, if you don’t have your kids registered for a
summer camp by now, you’re probably too late.
As I’m finding out, the most wonderful, educational, adventure-packed
festivals of fun fill up fast. Instead of scouring around for more (and more
fun) summer camps, I’m sending my kids to Camp Giant Eagle. Here’s why:
1)
I’m cheap.
Camps are expensive. This is
probably the #1 reason my kids will not be spending the summer at one or more of
the fancy all-day camps.
2)
You have to be super-organized to find, apply
to, and schedule a whole summer’s worth of camps. I don’t know how my friends who work
full-time do it! I am just too lazy and
disorganized. If we go to GE every day,
at least we will not run out of food.
That’s my version of efficiency.
3)
No single camp fits both of my kids. I quickly became discouraged when (in my
exhaustive 15-minute search) I could not find one camp that would accommodate
my 4-year-old and my 6-year-old in the same session. Drive one daughter to camp from 9:30-12:00
and the other one to a separate session from 2:30 to 5:00? No thanks!
4)
I hate driving, especially in the summer. It’s just so dang haaawt in the car! Yes, it does cool down once the AC kicks in,
but have you felt those car-seat buckles on a 90-degree day? It’s not pleasant. Who wants to schlep across town multiple
times a day? Giant Eagle is walking
distance, bus-ride distance, or at most a 5-minute car ride. That, we can do.
5)
Many camps don’t accommodate my idiosyncratic work
schedule. I was considering one of the
Metro Parks’ nature camps until I realized that I would have to call off work
or make complicated arrangements for the days I need to be at work in the
afternoon. Sorry, that’s a deal-breaker.
6)
Camp Giant Eagle offers a relaxed pace. Arrive whenever you want to and stay as long
as you’d like. They are always happy to
see you at CGE.
7)
Camp Giant Eagle offers multiple convenient
locations. Sick of the 5th
Ave. store? Let’s go to the swankier
Market District GE in Upper Arlington.
They even have different versions of the race-car carts at that one!
(Seriously, I have used this as a selling point to get my kids to go there, and
it often works).
8)
Camp Giant Eagle offers a variety of educational
opportunities. Math, weights and
measures, map-reading . . .
9)
The food at Camp Giant Eagle is great, and I get
to choose it, so I have nobody to resent or blame if my kids binge on Oreos (oh,
wait, that’s me who binges on Oreos).
10)
Choosing CGE allows me to sustain the fantasy of
that my children and I will enjoy many other enriching activities, like going
to the library, the zoo, the historical society, the art museum, the nature
center, et cetera and so on. Oh, and I
will also teach them how to swim, ride bikes, roller skate, and grow organic
vegetables. And also how to memorize the PBS Kids morning line-up, how to work
both the TV and DVD remote controls, and how to watch the movie Frozen 25 times.
Alright,
who’s with me?
