Here comes the fun: Valley YMCA hosts ?10 weeks of summer fun

Summer is on its way, and the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA is ready. Registration is already open for summer camps, and staff are excited about some of the new offerings coming to the Valley this year.

March 11, 2015 5:31 pm

Summer is on its way, and the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA is ready. Registration is already open for summer camps, and staff are excited about some of the new offerings coming to the Valley this year.

One of those is Kids on Their Way, a camp for youngsters heading into their first year of school this fall.

“It’s like a Kindergarten prep camp,” says Snoqualmie Valley YMCA Operations Director Megan Worzella. “It’s just getting those kiddos ready to do things like standing in line and listening to a teacher.”

Unlike other camps that are for a broad range of ages, Worzella said, what makes Kids on Their Way so special is that “this camp takes those kids and puts them only with their peers of the same age group.”

The program is new to the Valley, but not to the YMCA, which has hosted Kids on Their Way in other communities for years.

“It’s had really great success and really great feedback on our parent surveys,” Worzella said, which is why they decided to add it to their Valley camp offerings.

All Y summer camps run in weeklong sessions, and the Y hosts 10 full weeks of camp, from June to August.

All of the Y camps also incorporate strategies to fight the “summer slide,” the common term for the knowledge drop that students experience from being away from school for many weeks.

No matter what kind of camp it is, Worzella said, “they all include a half-hour of reading every day for each kid in the camp. We’ve partnered with the local libraries, so that each week they bring a new load of books out.”

Day camp themes include arts and crafts, storytelling, play time, outdoor adventure, leadership skills and a variety of sports.

There are overnight and wilderness adventure camps, too.

Then there’s Camp Terry.

“Our biggest camp that we offer is Camp Terry,” near Preston, said Worzella. “It offers that really traditional camp experience that you don’t find a lot any more.”

Hiking, swimming, campfire cooking and other outdoor adventures await Camp Terry campers, and each week focuses on a different theme or skill development, such as archery and rock climbing.

Parents can reserve specific weeks of camp, for a $15 per week fee, now by contacting the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA, (425) 256-3115

For the full schedule of YMCA camps, themes, dates and costs, visit http://ykids.seattleymca.org.