October 2024
Everyone has a camp signup horror story (or three). Here’s one of mine.
It was a lovely Sunday evening in June, the very first week of summer break. I had just tucked the kids in and flopped down on the sofa to catch up on texts. I was baffled to see one from a friend: “Do you know if the kids have to wear pants to horse camp? Can’t find any info about that on site…”
Horse camp? I had just finished prepping the kids’ bags for fancy farm camp (chickens and goats, but no horses). Horse camp doesn’t start for another week.
Right?
I frantically scrolled through my calendar, emails, my meticulous (or so I thought) notes on camp plans from back in January. My heart dropped through the floor as the reality dawned on me. I had double-booked both of my children to attend THE TWO MOST EXPENSIVE CAMPS OF THE ENTIRE SUMMER—on the same week.
It was a $900 mistake. And way too late for a refund.
We let the kids decide which camp to go to. They had a great time at horse camp that week and spent the next one lolling around the house, and we all survived. But I never forgot that sinking feeling, or the frustration I felt that I’d spent all that time researching camps instead of watching Netflix after kid bedtime, and still messed up.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Signing up for summer camp is entirely too hard, too hectic, too unpredictable for busy parents. The scramble to snag a spot in a coveted camp puts too much pressure on already-overloaded families. When it goes right, it feels like a herculean feat. And when it goes wrong, it’s a nightmare.
This experience is part of what inspired my husband and me to create KidsBooked.
We envision a world where there is one place to find all the summer camps that might be a fit for your family, speedily sort through them, and create your camp calendar in a matter of minutes. We envision tools that make it easy to coordinate with friends, get reminders when key dates are coming up, and keep a record of your searches and sign-ups so you don’t wind up re-doing work or (sigh) double booking camps.
In short, we want to create a world where parents can sleep easier knowing that summer camp sign-ups are coming up, and they’ve got it covered.
Learn more about our “why” and our vision in our post on Summer Camp without the Scramble.
We want to hear your stories, hopes, and dreams (even nightmares). Share ‘em in the comments!
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