Ins and Outs of Summer Camp?

How about camp two days a week? Or half days? It might help her a lot with her English. And as for her Croation name, who cares? 4 year old kids don't know American names from Croation names from Japanese names. So don't sweat that.

You might look into a camp set in a preschool. That will help her adjust to school in the fall.

You can always do the pool, library, park - whatever. Kids are everywhere.

I hope this isn't out of line, but here it goes.

You say you recently adopted. I'm wondering how recently? I ask because I wonder if socialization is really what this child needs right now. She has all next academic year to try out school and socialization. If this really is pretty recent (within 6 months), I gently suggest that perhaps what she needs most is to feel safe and secure with you. It can take a recently adopted child a while to feel secure enough to be dropped off at a camp with a real understanding that they will be picked up again, and not abandoned there (just like she was left with strangers at the foster home, and then left with strangers again when she moved from the foster home to you).

I know you asked for summer camp advise, but in your situation, I think that bonding with her new family is more important than socialization with other kids. For socialization, I would suggest that you or your wife find a parent/toddler group that meets weekly and go with your kids so that they can socialize with you safely within eyesight. Find more than one, and that will give the kids 2 or more opportunities to socialize per week, plus let you meet other parents who can be a good support system when you need advice.

And congratulations on your growing family!

I too have adopted so please listen to me about this...please don't send them to camp. They need intense bonding time with your family. The language thing won't be a problem. They will adapt to that quickly.

There are family camps!! You guys need to have all the fun together and form some tight bonds. Maybe a family camp would work for you. The prices would probably vary greatly. At 4 and 2, they'd be just as happy with backyard bubbles, camping, simple activities to stimulate them...
Congratulations on your adoption!

Congratulations on your new family! Of course it's doable. We all started out being new parents at some time. You will get the hand of it.

In my honest opinion the kids need close family time instead of summer camp. I do think that you can do the camp if you want but address with the kids they are going to play and have fun and that you WILL be back to get them that day.

They have lost everyone they had in their life and if you take them and drop them off somewhere they don't know anyone they may have more trauma and abandonment issues for even a longer time.

They need desperately to bond with you and your spouse. I'd go on vacation to extended family and spend lots of time with cousins and grandparents, aunts and uncles.

I would think they need to feel part of a family and part of something bigger so their little souls can begin to heal and grow to love you.

Just visit with the company that you went through to adopt the kids and see what they say. If you really are in over your head please invite some relatives or old college friends that have kids to come visit and help you. It's overwhelming at first but it will come. These kids need to feel accepted and at home so they can start the process of you becoming their mom and dad.

I agree with those who say that rather than a camp, she needs to be home with her new parents and sister, having one on one play dates with other kids. If you don't know lots of families with kids this age, seek out parent-and-child classes that meet weekly, like Music Together; Kindermusik; Gymboree; and others where the parent attends but other kids are there too.

About camps: Bear this in mind: Camps can be very chaotic. Some have "counselors" who have little or no training in dealing with kids her age (others do, but if you end up with counselors who are not good with/trained with kids, she could end up with a bad experience); and many kids in camp around here are in camp because it's day care while mom and dad work - not because the kid wants to be there and enjoys it. I say this as a camp counselor, too!

I don't know if you work and wife is at home or vice versa, or if you both work full-time and need camp as day care -- I hope not the latter at this point, since children this young just adopted could use a summer just with a parent. If you can, take a lot of time off work, as much as possible, to bond with these kids. Are you and they getting any kind of advice, counseling, adjustment help from the agency that helped you adopt them?

Are you hoping that camp might help her with language and socialization? It could, but truly there is no rush for her to be in such a large group for the entire summer. She needs time to move gradually towards preschool and a full summer of camp (and it likely would be several different ones stitched together, at this age -- there are few all-summer camps for kids this young) is going to be stressful for her amid the change she's already experiencing.

Also, do you already know what preschool she will attend in the fall? If so, it would help her a lot to do some activities there over the summer! She will be more familiar with it and more comfortable there if she has at the very least toured it or played on the playground there a few times over the summer. Some preschools do "camps" that are not all-summer ones, or they do days when parents of kids entering in the fall can get together and bring kids to do an activity there over the summer. Ask the preschool about it now, not later, so you can book it. (If she does not already have a reserved spot in a preschool and you're just planning to send her but haven't picked one -- I hate to say it but you need to find her one ASAP. Slots fill up VERY fast and well in advance of fall. Preschool is a great idea for her but not full day, five days a week -- ease her in, with maybe three half-days a week or so.)

BRAVO to you and your wife for adopting.

Congratulations!
I would not send her to daycamp for 2 reasons: you have just newly adopted her & she needs to bond/feel secure with you.
And secondly, because English is not her first language.

What you can do is take her places where she will meet other kids in your neighborhood so she will recognize them in school. Take her to your local park or the school she will be going to after hours when the kids are out of school to play on the playground.

Take her to the mall so she can meet other kids in the play areas.

Take her out to lunch at kid friendly places. Even a McDonald's w/a play area.

Can't help on the camp issue, but wanted to say congratulations to you. You will settle into a routine and wonder how you ever lived without your little ones. The key is consistency, lots of hugs, kisses and cuddles!!!

First congratulations!!

Secondly, you have no time to worry if you are in over your heads... You must figure it out for the sake of the children you adopted.

Call to set up appointments to check out the summer camp programs. They are not all created equally. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for.

Although you did not ask this... I would encourage you and your wife to read a lot to your children. Go to the library frequently but don't be afraid to read the same book over and over again. Kids like repetition and it should help develop your daughter's language skills. FYI... I started reading to my kids the day they came home from the hospital. I spent at least 2 hours a day reading spread throughout the day. Both my kids are very articulate and advanced readers with great vocabularies. I think reading to them so much contributed to their skills.

I would advise sending her to camp for half days 2-3 times per week. You don't want her to feel like you took her in and then are trying to unload her by putting her in camp full time. There are lots of great day camps that just have general activities (rather than specifically being tennis camp, art camp, etc) so hopefully there are good ones in your area. Start by looking through your city's parks & rec program and the local YMCA.

Where I live, we have a general day camp run by the city. It goes daily from 8 - 1 and is only $22 per day. You can pick and choose which days you go and vary from week to week. It is awesome. Most aren't quite that cheap, but I wouldn't spend more than about $150/week for part time camps.

Another thought is to look into joining some local moms groups in your area where you and your children can attend events together. I'm a member of the local chapter of MOMS Club International (www.momsclub.org) and we meet friends at different parks around our city twice a week. It's a great way to get to know people and for the kids to socialize. That might even be better for your daughter than a drop off day camp. You may also be able to find some good groups through meetup.com or facebook. Here is the link for MOMS Club Potomac: http://www.momspotomac.org/

Congratulations!!!!
Speaking as an adoptive parent (son is from the Phillipines) I would forego camp right now and let the girls bond with you....

I agree with some of the other posts, that you can take her to the park , perhaps a McD's w/ a play area, the children's room at the library, maybe gymnastics or gymboree; our local parks and recrectration dept may have something that meets once or twice a week during the summer.

However, if you need camp as a form of day care, that's another issue Again look into your local recreation dept or perhaps a daycare...Maybe your preschool goes year-round and they have something over the summer (that's actually more daycareish)

Good luck

I agree with previous posters that right now seems like a better time to focus on creating a strong bond between you and you new kiddos, making sure they know you are family and their home is their home for good.
For socialization I would try playgroups or playdates. Meetup.com usually has neighborhood moms/dads groups based on shared interest or children's ages. There are also Parent-child classes at places like My Gym, Gymboree, Little Gym, and some Gymnastics schools. Libraries usually have storytimes that include parent participation.

I think routine is your friend when it comes to settling into parenting. Finding a rhythm to your day that works for you and your kids will help them know what to expect (and feel more secure) and will help you feel more capable. Routines don't have to be overly-scheduled days, just things like this:
-every morning you wake up, have coffee while they have milk or a smoothie, and you read a story together.
-every day during the 2 year old's nap, you do a craft with the 4 year old.
-every night you have a bedtime routine that consists of the same things in the same order, like dinner, bath, book, bed.

All kids like knowing what to expect and I'm guessing your little ones need that more than ever. Putting the older child into yet another new situation seems like it could be too much too soon, KWIM?

Congratulations! Does the agency you worked with have resources based in your community that might be able to help with recommendations for specific programs that might be a good fit for your daughter and your budget? I would imagine that in an area like yours where there are so many families who come from abroad (international diplomats and such) that their names and non-fluent English won't be a big deal among their peers, who are probably a more diverse group of kids than one would find elsewhere.

I good place to start would be to talk to the staff at whatever school you're enrolling her in for the fall and ask where other parents whose kids go to that school usually send their kids. That way, she might meet some children who she'll end up seeing at school or around the neighborhood who can become her friends.

Best wishes to you, your wife and your new family!

Congratulations. You are doing the right thing getting her into some social activities early before school starts. Is there a way to shorten her croation name? a nickname? Many people have long names that are shortened up for everyday use. It would not be a problem.

Reasonable prices are decided by the geographic area you live in. What is a reasonable price in say a tiny town in the south would be way different than what is reasonable in new york city. you need to have this question be specific to that area. But having said that I know that my grandchildren went to summer camp programs through the local park district that were free. and then also to summer camp at camp christopher in ohio when they were older which were close to $500 a week per kid but they were overnight camps It just depends. I would look at the YWCA in your area or the park district.

I hope you are not talking sleep away camp. Why would you not keep her home and build family bonds with her? Keep her home and take her places, join a play group. Besides, I'd be shocked if you can find open slots at any camp this late in the game. Those slots are usually filled in February on the east coast and in large cities. Also, I am truly not trying to be snarky when I say that if you are teaching her English, please be sure yours is top notch. "She and her sister" is correct, not her.