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Staff and kids smiling outside
Stories

Why Send Your Kid to a Traditional, Full Service, Multi-Activity Day Camp

Mike Green & Matt Frankel

Owners / Directors

Summer offers a ton of options for your kid – sometimes it feels like too many.  Should he focus on sports?  Does she love tennis?  Is he really into ceramics?  Does she love karate?  Or legos?  Or soccer?  Or computer programming?  Or basketball?  Or cheerleading?  And she wants to try archery.  And he thinks he might want to try acting.  And what about vacation?  How is that going to fit in?  And what about lunch?  And how will my children get to where they’re going?  And home?  Et cetera.  MADNESS!

At Briarwood Day Camp, we’re here to say that we’ve got a better way.   And we make it EASY.

Buckle up.  We want to explain what we are, what we do and why going to a camp like ours is so good for your children.  And for you.

1.) We’re Owner Operated.  And We’re Parents.

Let’s put this in perspective.  We all want what is best for our children.  At Briarwood, we live in the community, our children know your children, we’ve got a good perspective.  We bought Briarwood in 2009.  Some of our staff members have been working at Briarwood for 30 years.  Between 70 and 80 percent of our staff come back every year.  We’re all doing this because we love working with kids and watching them grow. 

2.) We Want Kids to Grow as People, Not Just as a Collection of Skills

Campers at Briarwood get exposed to lots of activities.  Some they like.  Some they love.  The bigger thing to us, though, is that they are growing.  They and their counselors move through various unplugged activities – some structured, some less so – in ways that not only teach them the skills of basketball or ceramics or swimming or rock climbing but also teach them how to be better leaders and better friends, how to be more empathetic and how to make friends older and younger than they are.  Send your camper to a series of week-long camps and he or she will come home with some skills but probably few lifetime friends or lasting memories.  Send your camper to Briarwood and he or she will learn lots of different things (some may become passions) AND your child will make lifelong friends and memories.

(Authors Note:  Ourselves, we are lifelong friends from a “traditional summer camp” where we met in the 80s.  And by contrast, did you ever hear of business partners who became close after attending the same one-week tennis camp each summer?  Yeah, us neither.) 

3.) Children (And Staff) Love Coming Back to Briarwood Day Camp Year After Year

 

Sure, that statement above sounds self-serving.  And maybe it is.  But Briarwood had more than 100 campers in 2019 who had attended for at least five summers.  That tells you we’re doing something right.  

4.) Camps Like Ours Are Easy For Parents.  And We’re Flexible.

Let’s make it simple:  we offer door to door transportation (not bus stops).  We serve lunch every day.  We offer early care and late care for families who need that.

And if you want to take a vacation, great.  Even if you want to send your camper to a week-long specialty camp, great.  You can sign up your camper for 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 weeks – and those weeks do not need to be consecutive.  And if you need to make a change, we’ll do everything we can to make it work.  

5.) Our Staff Knows Your Children

Briarwood’s staff commits to be at camp for the full summer.  We do not have a rotating staff.  And with campers joining us for at least four weeks, our counselors will know your child.  And that is invaluable for your child’s growth.  Like at school, your child knows that there are adults who genuinely care and are looking out for him or her.  Our camp parents get calls home from their campers’ bunk counselors during the summer.  Do those one-week camps do that?  At Briarwood and other “traditional” day camps, your child matters.

6.) We Don’t Nickel and Dime You

Our published price is really our price.  We don’t hide our charges.  We don’t add a fee for a t-shirt or for your camper’s bunk photo.  We don’t charge extra for lunch or for transportation (although you do get discounts if you drive your own children, if you have multiple children attending, and if you sign up early).  Some camps appear cheaper until you add up all the incidental costs.  Not us.  What you see is what you get.  Yes, we’re on the expensive side.  But you’re getting your money’s worth, we promise.

Discover Briarwood Day Camp

We could go on and on (and if you call us or join us for a personal tour, we’re happy to)!  Want to learn more about Briarwood Day Camp and how camp will be great for your camper(s) and for you?  Reach out to us at (215) 598-7143 or office@briarwooddaycamp.com.  Or check out all of the things a full-service day camp has to offer at https://www.briarwooddaycamp.com.