Given the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and concerns over health and safety, even into the Summer months, parents are wondering, will there be summer camp programs and what will that experience be like?
Here’s what families can expect and do.
Several camps in South Florida are planning to offer programs starting in June and others are canceling all together.
For day camps opening this Summer, they’ll be operating at reduced capacity, so space will be limited.
“We’ve created small staff to kid ratios. Normally it would be 1 to 15, this summer is going to be 1 to 9,” said Tongelia.
Tongelia Milton is the Executive Director of Communications of YMCA South Florida. She says at the entrance of every YMCA location, there will be contactless drop-off and temperature checks.
Campers will be organized in smaller groups and activities that require kids to be in close proximity to each other will be replaced by safer games.
“They will still have a jam packed day of activities, but the type of activities will be a little different. We’ll try to make sure they have as much outdoor time as possible, of course making sure they’re safe and have water, but a lot of outdoor activity and we won’t do contact sports,” said Tongelia.
The CDC has some guidelines for schools and childcare services, but it hasn’t issued specific advice for on-site camps.
For that reason, Milton recommends parents do some research before choosing a Summer camp.
“I understand some parents are going to have to go back to work so they’re going to need childcare. Just make sure that they check what safety protocol whichever Summer camp they choose has in place and what their history and track record is,” said Tongelia.
If you are not comfortable having your kids “physically” go to camp, museums have turned to virtual Summer camps including Miami Children’s, Frost Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
“We have our studio arts program, which is for the younger children from ages 6-9, that program will encompass really exciting and fun art sessions. And then we have our second program which is the dynamic design program. That program is for students 10-13, campers will be introduced to a world of mixed media, painting, drawing, textile arts, and fun workshops,” said Agatha Wright, Educations Program Coordinator of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Broward County Schools canceled day camp programs, as for Miami-Dade, a decision has not been made yet.
For more information on Summer Camps, look below.
-YMCA South Florida: YMCASouthFlorida.org/2020-summer-camp
-Miami Children's Museum: MiamiChildrensMuseum.org/museum-at-home
-Frost Museum: FrostScience.org/summer-camp-2020
-Museum of Contemporary Art: mocanomi.org/moca-art-camps
-Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade: bgcmia.org/education-after-school/boys-girls-clubs-of-miami-dade-virtual-club/
