Now's the time to plan summer schedules for kids

It’s crunch time for parents right now.

It’s time to make summer plans for kids. Summer is many weeks away, but camps are filling up right now .

Most parents I talked to were feeling the strain of finances as they considered what their kids are going to do this summer.

At $300 to $1000 a week for a residential camp, it’s easy to see that options are limited for many families.

This Saturday, Minnesota Parent is offering a CAMP FAIR. Parents of school age kids can check out 35 different organizations that represent more than 100 summer day camps and residential camps.

Check out some “sleep away” camps. This is the list of American Camp Association's accredited camps. Camps accredited by the ACA have met standards of excellence in health, child development, and safety.

For households with two working parents, planning for safe, affordable care for kids this summer takes some effort. Single working parents have to do all the planning on their own.

There’s Minneapolis Kids, which has 12 month child care options for kids of all ages. There’s the Y’s Kids Club in St. Paul.

I heard some working parents dreaming of year-round school. Does it seem old fashioned that we still have three months off of school, when the reality is that many people work through the summer?

The Camp Fair will have some good resources for you this weekend if you’re still trying to figure out what your kids will do.

If you have kids, how are you doing on planning your summer ?

Is there some time built into the summer schedule to be with extended family?

Did Grandma and Grandpa say they’d love to have the kids for a week?

If you don’t have kids, have you ever brought your niece and nephew on a trip, or invited them to spend a week with you?

Resources:

Minnesota Parent Camp Fair

Y’s Kids Club--St. Paul

YWCA Girls and Youth Programs

Science Museum of Minnesota Summer Programs

Guthrie Theatre Summer Programs

Little House in the Big Fort Day Camp, Fort Snelling