More on Summer Camp

Well, a quick update. I picked up Emma last night from the YMCA summer day camp and she seemed to have had a good day. She loved the swimming and her swimming lesson. She seemed to find a few friends and at least one staff she liked. She proudly told me she put on her sunscreen all by herself every hour. She also told me that some kids were mean to her and made fun of her drawing and she seemed worried a bit about whether she might be teased by these kids if she wore the wrong thing. For me, the jury is still out but I am trying to allow her to be independent and learn to navigate a new system.

Does It Ever Get Easy?

So, the school year has ended and that is a major improvement in many areas for being a mom. No more homework or school activities to organize and supervise. But, how to handle summertime childcare? I finally decided to use the YMCA summer camp program for Emma. They have an indoor pool and she can go swimming daily. it also seemed more supervised than the Parks and Rec Program that runs her after school program during the year. Today was the first day and it was difficult. I just dropped off my sweet innocent 6-year-old and felt the YMCA was offering limited attention to her needs! She was afraid and alone. No sign of any prior friends attending the program. This morning I did not find any eager staff to help set her feelings at ease. I had to leave her and hope for the best. Am I expecting too much for my $160 a week? This is more expensive than day-care, yet they all seem to provide less attention than a day-care. I just don't seem to understand the system. Let's hope she has a good day.