During May half-term Pip went along to his first ever holiday camp! Super Camps is one of the biggest holiday childcare providers in the UK for children aged 4-11 years old. They have 83 locations around the country spreading from Cornwall to North Yorkshire. There are a range of camps to suit different ages and specialist clubs to cover various interests such as cooking, LEGO® and outdoor adventure. Super Camps can be booked on a daily or weekly basis, depending on availability, to suit the needs of the child and parent. They also offer an extensive range of activities – so many in fact that I would love to attend myself! Although I was there in collaboration with Britmums as part of a blogger campaign and review, I registered on the Super Camps website as anyone else would do. It was straightforward to navigate. I simply typed my postcode/town and a list appeared with all the Super Camps within my region. Luckily for us, there is one based at Brighton and Hove Prep school, somewhere previously unfamiliar to me but easy to travel to and near the centre of town. Within minutes I had made the booking and received a confirmation email with details about the day and what to bring (a healthy packed lunch and snacks).
Pip has just turned five and is in his first year of reception class so he hadn’t attended any type of holiday club before this. I was slightly worried about leaving him in a new environment without me and with new people he hadn’t met before. When I told him he was attending a new club he didn’t sound too happy about going. However, thankfully it was another story when we arrived the next morning. The staff were so welcoming as soon as we set through the door. The camp leader, Lacy welcomed us in and after a brief registration Pip was introduced to his age group leader. We were walked to the main hall to meet the other children and join in with the activities. This was the point where I said goodbye to Pip. He was excited to see all the toys and activities, in particular the LEGO®, his favourite thing at the moment (along with dinosaurs and cars)! He walked off with one of the supervisors and didn’t even look back!
I left Pip alone for the morning to let him settle in and experience Super Camps without me being around, then returned in the afternoon for a tour and chat with the manager. I sat at the back of the classes for some sessions and most of the time Pip didn’t know I was there! He danced with the rest of the group, went on the trampoline, built LEGO® towers, spent time outdoors (he loved playing basketball for the first time) and tested out the electric cars inside the classroom. These are things he loves to do at home and outside in general so it was wonderful to have a large range of activities at the camp. Along with lunch and snacks in the main food hall there was more than enough to keep the children entertained.
I was impressed with the activities that the camp manager, Lacy had planned for each age group. Older children decorated their own cups which they took home at the end of the day. Despite knowing no-one at the camp in the morning, Pip had become friendly with another little boy in his group and was so entertained by all the activities I don’t think he missed me at all. In terms of price, the Brighton venue cost £45 from 9-5pm. I thought this was good value for working parents. In the summer holidays you can buy weekly slots of childcare which work out slightly cheaper than buying on a day to day basis. Prices do range from school to school so please check your nearest venue.
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I’m working with Super Camps and BritMums promoting the #SuperCampsKids campaign sponsored by Super Camps. Visit https://www.SuperCamps.co.uk to find a camp near you!
Have you been to Super Camp or holiday club? I'd love to hear about your experiences ☺
Wow what an amazing idea! My kids would absolutely love that kind of thing, they love arts and crafts inparticular and also mixing with other children too! It looks great!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think your kids would love it :)
DeleteThis sounds absolutely wonderful - the range of activities is brilliant and I'm really impressed at how quickly your son was able to settle in. £45 is actually great value for a day in our area, I wonder how much our local one charges.
ReplyDeleteThanks Katy! I was so impressed too :)
DeleteThis sounds great! It's so hard to keep the kids entertained and this sounds incredible with so many fun activities.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate!
DeleteSuch a good range of resources and the activities look very well organised. Their 'house rules' are a very nice touch as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree, thank you :)
DeleteI think the fact that your son was super happy to be left and settled in quickly speaks volumes! I also think it's really good value at £45 a day, especially when they pack so much in! Thanks for the tip, I will look out for them in the future! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so true, settling in quickly does speak volumes and so important for both child & parent. Thank you x
DeleteI'd never heard of Super Camps before, but I'll definitely be looking whether they have camps in Hertfordshire! I love the fact they've got such a range of activities not limited to sports.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you find any! In terms of activities, there seems to be something for every child :)
DeleteMy girls used to go these camps in the sumner and they used to love them as they never got time to get bored as there were so many activities to do. It’s so nice that your son joined in and settled in really quickly.
ReplyDeleteAh that's lovely to hear, glad they had so much fun!
DeleteI have booked mine in for a week in August and they cannot wait to try all the activities
ReplyDeleteOh fantastic! Hope they have fun. Looking forward to reading about it :)
Deleteawww man I so WISH I could have gone to a camp like this! Sounds like they have some great activities.
ReplyDeleteI wish they had an adult version :)
DeleteIt looks like Pip had so much fun! We've never used a holiday camp but this is something I'll be looking into in the future x
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna! It was a great experience :) x
DeleteI absolutely love the look of Super Camps, I think my kids would adore it. I might look in to this for the summer, I'm just starting to think about planning their time and activities.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great holiday camp! Good luck with the summer planning, I need to do the same :)
DeleteMy children had the most amazing day at the Sherfield School Super Camps too! I thought it was fantastic!
ReplyDeleteAww, that's lovely to hear :)
DeleteOh it looks brilliant - can't wait for my little dude to go too!
ReplyDeleteAh, hope it goes well!
DeleteIt's great that they did so much to help your son settle in. That's every parent's fear, isn't it - putting their child into an unfamiliar surrounding. SuperCamps sounds great, and we can't wait to try it out over the summer.
ReplyDeleteYes that's true! I'm so glad he loved it. Good luck with your visit over summer, hope it all goes well! :)
DeleteThis sounds like so much fun. I'm glad he had a great time. Super Camps sounds like a great place for children to interact with other children and make new friends during the holidays.
ReplyDeleteCommenting for myself and on behalf of BritMums