How to Find a Last-Minute Summer Camp Spot for Your Kids

This article is part of a series of real estate tips from Brooklyn broker Gabriele Sewtz of Compass, a specialist in the Brooklyn family market. If you’re shopping for a new home in Brooklyn, spring can be a feeding frenzy. Sellers wait until good weather to list their apartments and townhouses, and buyers come out…

by molly pohlig

05/14/2015

This article is part of a series of real estate tips from Brooklyn broker Gabriele Sewtz of Compass, a specialist in the Brooklyn family market.

If you’re shopping for a new home in Brooklyn, spring can be a feeding frenzy. Sellers wait until good weather to list their apartments and townhouses, and buyers come out in force to snap them up. According to a recent post on DNAinfo, the average time a NYC home spends on the market goes from 107 days in January to 66 in May. The increased inventory and fast-paced environment means that you may suddenly find yourself putting a bid on a home in the spring despite the fact that the timing of the move might not be ideal for you.

Let’s face it: When you’ve got kids, there is never going be an easy time to move. Sellers with children are always keen to finish out the school year, but this leaves buyers with kids with a quandary. With spring inventories listed in April not closing until July, figuring out what to do with your kids at an address you don’t yet have is an added headache you just don’t need.

Start with summer camp guides

P.S. 321 has put together a list of over 70 camps and after-school activities. It includes websites, dates, and summarized activities for each option. With programs located from Brooklyn all the way to Maine, the list features organizations that participated in the P.S. 321 Expo. (School expos are another great way to find out what’s going on in the area.)

Mommy Poppins also has a great directory that is categorized by location, age range, and type of camp. You can also cross-check these against blog posts from moms about the best camps in the New York City area.

Timeout New York Kids offers an organized, no-nonsense list, dividing things into day and sleepaway camps, art, sport, science, outdoor, and even cooking camps. There’s even a handy rating system to let you know how affordable each camp is.

New York Parenting has a concise list of Brooklyn camps and activities (as well as those in other boroughs). The list is organized by location, with separate sections for sleepaway camps and camps for kids with special needs.

Summer soccer | Luyen Chou via Flickr

Looking for a last-minute placement?

Don’t despair… there may be last-minute spots available for your little martial arts expert (Amerikick), burgeoning artist (BAX), or soccer fanatic (SuperSoccer Stars, Ayso). If there are no spots left at some of the larger camps, it’s also possible to piece together a few different activities to fill up the long summer days. Keep in mind that many local pre-schools will offer summer camps as well.

Ask the Experts

If you feel like you’re running out of options with the moving van on the way, head straight to the source: other parents. Whether you’re looking for a new nanny, places for little ones to make new friends, or just advice for how to spend those September days until school starts, you should start with Park Slope Parents. The site features news and forums to address every possible parenting dilemma.

And it’s by no means the only option: other great Brooklyn parenting sites include Motherburg, A Child Grows in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn Based.

If all goes well, your lucky children will be off at a lake making macaroni art and eating marshmallows while you’re meeting with co-op boards and mortgage brokers. For more tips, news, and neighborhood guides from a local real estate broker expert in the needs of New York families, visit Gabriele Sewtz’s website.

Click here for Brooklyn real estate listings by Gabriele Sewtz.

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