I’m a planner. I love my big beautiful day planner where I write all of our activities out for the week, the month and beyond. Since I became a stay at home mom, I like to write things down so I don’t forget them, but also I get to see fun things on my calendar and look forward to them. While I’m so excited that warm weather is coming soon and we’ll soon be able to have lots of outdoor fun, I’m also left with the daunting task of what we will actually do all summer long. Hattie has always just stayed with me, and selfishly, I’ve really enjoy her going to school a few times a week for socialization and a little bit of a sanity check for me.

Now that she is 4, has a couple years of preschool under her belt, we’re officially ready to start looking at summer camps. Cue the orchestra! She’s attended a few half day camps here and there and has loved it. She’s asked to go more. Growing up, I always had to go to day camps because my parents both worked and it was a necessary evil.  I think times have certainly changed because there are so many options and kids want to go rather than have to go! So many options to chose from now. I was excited when I learned about Blueprint4SummerSTL and they could help us with a one stop shop for summer camp options.

What is Blueprint4Summer?

Blueprint4Summer is an amazing resource in the St. Louis Metro area to help you seamlessly plan your summer. If you’re familiar with Build-a-Bear, then you’ll know Maxine Clark who founded the company. She started Blueprint4Summer too! It was initially developed as a response to the achievement gap that existed between low-income students and their middle and upper-class peers. It is an easy to access site for all families looking to get their children involved in summer camps. It is a comprehensive database of over 5000 sessions and growing for the 2018 summer season.

How does it work?

This couldn’t be easier. Just head to their website, where there is a comprehensive list of summer camps around the St. Louis metro area. The search capabilities can get as specific as you’d like. You can search based on type of camp, location, time ages, dates and more. You can even search if you need special assistance like before and after care or accommodations for special needs students or gifted students.

How much does it cost?

It’s totally free for parents and if you have a summer program, be sure to let them know so you can get added to their growing database. They are always adding more camps, so be sure to check back! Just sign up for a free account and you’re off to the races.

I don’t see my favorite camp?

No worries! Just send them an email, and they’ll reach out to the camp to see if they can be added to Blueprint4SummerSTL.

What did you decide on?

We ultimately decided on 4 summer camp options for Hattie. We were able to find all of the options through the Blueprint4SummerSTL and then went directly to the direct website for more information and learn how to sign up. We chose a variety of options including a Fairy Princess Camp, STEAM Week, Art Camp and Cooking Camp. All of those are right up her alley, fit our price range and the dates we were looking to include her in. She’ll be going to half day options which is perfect for our summer routine since we love to swim!

Be sure to stay up to date with the latest from Blueprint4SummerSTL on Facebook and Twitter!

How do you find summer camps for your children?

See the full article at: https://www.andhattiemakesthree.com/2018/03/planning-your-summer-with-blueprint4summerstl.html/