Parents Summer camp

[Seagull00]

I found out on Friday our gym offers a week long summer camp with 4 hours of gym time and 2 hours of crafts/snack/ lunch/free time. For $170. Of course Allison is wanting to go. For those of you whose kids have done gym camp, is there anything I should be aware of when deciding to let her do this?

 

[shelovestoflip]

How old is your daughter? Our gym does a rec camp during the summer. The team girls just go to regular practice, though they do some fun things throughout the summer

What type of practice would your daughter do otherwise? Is she team or rec?

In my opinion, there are no downsides! When my daughter was rec, she always did two weeks of camp and loved it! And for the price you say, you can't go wrong!! Our camp is more than triple that!!

 

[Seagull00]

Her normal practice is once a week, she's rec but wants to be on team. She's a 8 yr old L1. Actually has only had 2 lessons so far. I'm leaning towards letting her do it, I'm also tossing around the idea of signing her up for two or three regular sessions this summer. Our sessions are 10 week long once a week classes for rec. so I'm thinking 2 l1 or l2( if she moves up) and a beginner tumbling class. Along with camp, that should keep her pretty busy

 

[Quadqueen]

That's a great deal. If she wants to do it and you can afford it, I say go for it.

 

[shelovestoflip]

Her normal practice is once a week, she's rec but wants to be on team. She's a 8 yr old L1. Actually has only had 2 lessons so far. I'm leaning towards letting her do it, I'm also tossing around the idea of signing her up for two or three regular sessions this summer. Our sessions are 10 week long once a week classes for rec. so I'm thinking 2 l1 or l2( if she moves up) and a beginner tumbling class. Along with camp, that should keep her pretty busy

Are your team girls required to practice all summer? If she's going to be on team, I would go with whatever they say that schedule is. Plus do the camp for a week for fun.

 

[Quadqueen]

^^I guess I'm confused. You said she is L1 and then you said she's had two lessons. Did you mean she is rec, equivalent to a L1?

 

[Seagull00]

I'm new to all of this I'm assuming rec means for recreation. Not competing? She's in girls progressive artistic gymnastics. Our gym has both xcel teams and women's sanctioned developmental teams. She's L1 and has had 2 classes so far this session. Our session is 10 weeks long and her L1 class is Friday nights. She wants to compete eventually, so her coach is keeping that in mind.

 

[Seagull00]

I honestly don't know what our team girls practice schedule is other than 6-20 hours of practice a week depending on the team and level. She's hoping to advance quickly and has several of the basic skills down. So we're hoping to give her more intense training over the summer when we don't have to worry as much about school. During the school year at this level I'm ok with 2-3 days in the gym but not every day for 3-4 hours a day. She's just turned 8 and in 2nd grade.

 

[Quadqueen]

Ok. So it sounds like they give the rec level names and that "level 1" means the first/beginner rec class. It was confusing, because there is also a "level 1" JO team at some gyms - that would be the first competitive level (although many gyms skip this).

If she's in rec and just started classes, and she wants to do the camp and you think she can handle being there all day, I say go for it!

 

[Seagull00]

I'm confused now too honestly. I think it's the JO L1 but our gym just doesn't compete until L3. So is that rec or not? What exactly is rec?

 

[Quadqueen]

You would know if she's on team. She's not on team if she's only taken classes. Rec=classes.

 

[purpleleomom]

We've done gym camp during school breaks here and there to break up the monotony of the school "camp." It's fun and keeps them active, but it's not necessarily a big skill builder. It's expensive compared to other "babysitting" options we have, so I'd rather save our $.

 

[Seagull00]

No she's not on team but wants to be. Maybe someday!

 

[pullover]

When my daughter was in L1 rec the camp at her gym was great for her! It really built up her strength and her skills in a week. I would definitely do it if it works for your schedule and she is interested.

 

[Seagull00]

I'm glad that the general consensus seems to be that it'd be good for her. I keep going back to how much happier she seems over the last few weeks and that the 20 hours of gym time in one week is really going to reinforce the work she's doing in class. Not to mention it's the equivalent to two full sessions of classes, so she's going to love it we're going to go for it!

 

[dani4]

Sounds great to me- 6 hours a day X 5 days for $170? WOW that is unheard of here.

To add to the rec/level 1 discussion, my gym has a JO level 1 & 2 class that is considered pre-team (they both meet twice per week).. though the level 2 group seems to compete a fair amount. team doesn't really start until level 3, though i think level 2 girls are sometimes referred to as being on the team- it sounds deliberately fuzzy. We also have rec levels 1-6 that do not really correspond to the JO levels, they are a bit lower in skills.

This is all stuff I overhear in the gym, btw. My kids aren't even up to JO level 1.. older daughter just turned 5 and I think she's on the slow path. but always improving and happy.

 

[Seagull00]

I may ask for clarification from our gym on the level issue. Every gymnast at our gym that's just starting (girls age 6+) starts at level 1 girls progressive, then proceeds to levels 2-3. Beyond that we have 4,5,6 as rec levels which meet once a week, but we also have xcel team starting at level 4 competing and women's sanctioned starting competing at level 4. So I'm not sure if levels 1-3 are across the board for all gymnasts but to me it sounds like they are. It seems to me the division happens as they do evaluations during the sessions for level 3. You can be invited to try out for the xcel team or for the developmental team. I think the results of the tryouts determine if you stay rec or go team. I think all I really need to know at this point is that Allison is thrilled with gymnastics, she wants to compete eventually, we support that fully and that she's having fun and learning a lot in class.

But back to the camp thing what kind of lunches do you all recommend? What would give her enough energy for 4 straight hours of gym?

 

[Mom2Brats]

I think it will be great for her! She sounds a lot like my daughter (also Allison) who walked into the gym at 7 1/2 already doing cartwheels, etc. we actually enrolled her after she taught herself a back hip circle on the playground bar just to keep her safe! Anyway, she did 3 regular rec classes and then I put her in a 2 1/2 day camp because of a long weekend from school and the first day I went back to check on her the HC approached me about putting her on the L4 (now L3) team! So it might come more quickly than you think! And I know the hours for team seem crazy but it's surprising how well they adjust. Mine was in 2nd grade, too! I've seen your other posts and was struck by how much your daughter sounds like mine and I guarantee you she would have thrived at camp! Just be aware that you may be starting down a very long and involved path!

 

[Seagull00]

That's awesome! She's learning back hip circles now. She only needs a light spot after 3 classes. what is it with these Allison's? Must be the name every Allison I know is feisty and energetic

 

[raenndrops]

As for lunches for camp, at our house, it would be a thermos with goulash or spaghetti or a hearty soup with veggies and protein and pasta, a frozen gogurt, a banana or grapes, and one of those individual Silk Almond Milk (Vanilla Flavor) that doesn't need refrigerated before opening (but we would freeze it for an hour before leaving), and MAYBE string cheese. We would also send a small gatorade and a water bottle, but that's just us. YG can out-eat most ppl (she is the decision maker between making goulash with 1 lb of macaroni, 1 lb hamburger, and 1 large can tomato juice or 3 lbs mac, 2 lb hamburger, and 3 cans tomato juice... if she is here, we make more in a bigger pot to feed 4... if not, we can make less for the 3 of us. She will eat at least 3 bowlfuls at dinner, then another bowlful 2 hours later, and another bowlful for bedtime snack... and often another bowlful for breakfast, lol) and still wears a size 8 slim/10 slim (depending on length) at almost 9-1/2 years old. OG is more of a grazer, but will eat it all in time.