Camp recommendations for 4 yr. Old? Camp Gan Israel?
Hi there!
I am new to the eats Bay Area and I’m looking for a few weeks of summer camp for my active son, who will be 4 years in July. We are at Room to Grow preschool in Rockridge and love the sensitivity, and attunement to children there. We had some poor experiences with preschools in SF in the past, so we could really use a good experience this summer. Any recommendations would be so appreciated! I know it’s challenging to find camps for under 5 yrs, unfortunately. Thank you!
Apr 29, 2023
Parent Replies
For that age you are looking at preschools, not camps, because anything for children under 5 requires being licensed by the state as a childcare facility, and camps for older children generally don't do that. Is your child's current preschool open for the summer? That might be your best bet. Or you could check to see if other preschools have any openings for the summer. Check out past recommendations on BPN here: Camps for Preschoolers
If you can get him into the regular Gan Izzy (not the “mini” one) in Berkeley I would definitely recommend that for an active kid. But note that a certain level of maturity is required (100% potty independent, can get in and out of a swimsuit by himself, etc).
My child went to Camp Gan Israel when she was 3.5 yrs old and loved it. During the summer, they had the little kids (<5 yrs) separate from the older children, which my child really enjoyed. There were multiple fantastic counselors on hand, in addition to the family that runs the camp, so children get a lot of individual attention. They allow enrollment either for a full summer, half summer, or one week blocks. The latter is really useful if you are trying to fill in gaps in preschool coverage over the summer.
Not sure which weeks you are looking for, but Netivot Shalom Preschool has openings for the summer on a weekly basis for that age. It doesn’t look like summer enrollment is up on the website, but you could inquire with the director. https://netivotshalom.org/cns-preschool/