This is Ella's last summer before she starts elementary school. She is eligible for one last summer of camp at her beloved preschool which she is super excited about. But that only covers 4 weeks of the summer, leaving us with 8 additional weeks to fill between the end of preschool and the start of kindergarten. I have gone back and forth numerous times on whether to send her to any of the local camps in our area. There are so many - at the local science museum, the JCC, the local art council, all places we visit frequently and where I think she'd feel comfortable. On one hand, I think she would enjoy the structure and learning experiences at camp since she thrives on those routines during the school year. On the other hand, camp days are long, longer by several hours than her current preschool day, and part of me feels like I should preserve this summer for her as it is her last time to have long extended periods at home before elementary school starts and she's gone most of the day. Will she be bored if she's at home with just her little brother and a nanny? Or will camp feel overwhelming and too grown-up when she's one of the youngest kids? At 4, this age of so much vacillation between being a little kid and a big kid, I can see it going either way for her.
I realized recently that one way to make this decision would be to just ask Ella what she wants to do. Funnny how I so often think these are my decisions to make as if she's still a little baby I am signing up for Mommy and Me music. When I first asked her about camp yesterday, she said emphatically that she did NOT want to go to any camps other than Beth El. I couldn't get her at all interested in art, sports, music, or science camps at any of her favorite places. So that was easy. I decided last night: No camp this year.
Then today, I had all the camp brochures out on my desk and she started looking at them and got very excited. She kept saying "I want to do all of these camps!" She ran downstairs and told Josh "Daddy, I am going to go to so many camps this summer!" So tonight I have decided: Camp!
I'll ask her again tomorrow to make sure. And the next day. And the day after that, well, if she is still feeling pro-camp, I will probably have to sign her up so as not to miss the application deadlines and hope that she doesn't change her mind again by June.
