Need recs? Send your kid to camp...

[Lightning Bug!]

From the website...

Waldemar is similar to a small European village with stone cabins built on the side of a hill overlooking the Guadalupe River. Each kampong, a South Sea Island word for “house on stilts,” is the home for six to eight campers and one counselor who serves as the “mother” to the group.

Each kampong feature a private bathroom decorated with Spanish tile mosaics and Saltillo tile floors, a bedroom with four bunk beds, air-conditioning, and a front porch or courtyard connecting other kampongs together. Each girls is awarded points daily for keeping her clothes and belongings in order as well as sharing in the other housekeeping duties.

[Lightning Bug!]

From its earliest days, Waldemar has been known for its excellent camp cuisine. Meals are served family-style and are nutritionally balanced. It is not uncommon for Waldemar to have a five-star chef who oversees the meal preparations.

Menus include chicken, shrimp, steak, and fresh salads at every meal, vegetables, homemade breads and desserts. The goal is to expand the girls' palate while also teaching the finer points of dining. The campers earn points for good table manners.

[Lightning Bug!]

1. She is prompt to meals.
2. She does not take a drink of water or tea until after the blessing is sung and all at her table are seated.
3. She helps with the passing of plates (using two hands) and is always attentive and responsive to the requests and needs of others.
4. She maintains good posture and does not put her elbows on the table.
5. She does not begin eating before the hostess does.
6. She eats slowly and chews with her mouth closed.
7. She does not talk with her mouth full.
8. She uses her silverware correctly.
9. She uses her fingers only for accepted “finger foods”.
10. She eats a reasonable amount of everything and not an enormous amount of one thing. She does not fill up on milk or gulp glass after glass of iced tea. This does not mean that she cannot have seconds on milk and tea.; it means she should be temperate.
11. She does not waste food.
12. She participates in conversation but does not monopolize it. She makes an effort to be an interesting and pleasant table companion.
13. She does not talk to girls at other tables during the meal.
14. She does not ask for food from nearby tables … nor take it.
15. She makes requests of the hostess, never of the waiter.
16. She uses “please” and “thank you” when requesting and receiving food.
17. She remains at the table until all have finished their meals and the hostess excuses the group. She does not act “put upon” because others have taken longer to eat the meal than she.
18. She realizes that if she is always the first one to “close her plate,” she is eating too fast and not contributing to the conversation.
19. She does not bring wet towels, tennis racquets, etc., into the dining room.
20. She does not complain about the food, turn up her nose or in any way express distaste.
21. She avoids whispered conversations that exclude other girls at the table.

[irishpipes]

And the website doesn't say how much it costs. I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Originally Posted by irishpipes

And the website doesn't say how much it costs. I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

CampChannel lists them at $901-$1000 a WEEK.

My BF's son's pre-school is $600 a MONTH! And that's considered expensive!

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by OTW

CampChannel lists them at $901-$1000 a WEEK.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if it's more than that. I worked at a sleep away camp in the Berkshires in Mass. in college (as an aside, there were a LOT of greek women working there as well!) and the older the girls were the more activities they did outside of camp. The $1000/wk is probably the cost for just being at the camp and then the activity fees are on top of that. One of the parents told me that the oldest girls (15 year olds) could be over $20,000 for the summer... 8 weeks. Not cheap.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by OTW

CampChannel lists them at $901-$1000 a WEEK.

My BF's son's pre-school is $600 a MONTH! And that's considered expensive!

I remember my first week of summer camp was $30.

[Benzgirl]

I just realized that one of my cousin's went to Waldemar and has sent her daughter here. Looks more like a finishing school than a camp where you would dig in the creek to catch salamanders.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by OtterXO

I actually wouldn't be surprised if it's more than that. I worked at a sleep away camp in the Berkshires in Mass. in college (as an aside, there were a LOT of greek women working there as well!) and the older the girls were the more activities they did outside of camp. The $1000/wk is probably the cost for just being at the camp and then the activity fees are on top of that. One of the parents told me that the oldest girls (15 year olds) could be over $20,000 for the summer... 8 weeks. Not cheap.

I can't think of the name of the camp I'm thinking about but did it start with a P?

I went to Berkshire Hills Emmanuel Camp for a few years and we always made fun of that camp.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by Buttonz

I can't think of the name of the camp I'm thinking about but did it start with a P?

I went to Berkshire Hills Emmanuel Camp for a few years and we always made fun of that camp.

No, not a P. There are quite a few camps in that area. I think the one you went to was the more artsy/dance camp, right?

[Elephant Walk]

Originally Posted by OTW

CampChannel lists them at $901-$1000 a WEEK.

My BF's son's pre-school is $600 a MONTH! And that's considered expensive!

My great-grandfather founded a camp in Northern Minnesota that is mostly full of northeastern elite that goes approximately 4,000 a month. Sometimes higher, and that doesn't include the canoe trips and so on.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by OtterXO

No, not a P. There are quite a few camps in that area. I think the one you went to was the more artsy/dance camp, right?

Not at all. We really were a regular laid back camp. But there was a camp (it's killing me that I can't think of the name, though I am pretty sure it starts with a P, I'm sure the second I'd hear it I would know it!) that we used to play in intramural sports that everyone who went would rave about. AC in the cabins, great food, great canteen, great playing fields, etc.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by Buttonz

Not at all. We really were a regular laid back camp. But there was a camp (it's killing me that I can't think of the name, though I am pretty sure it starts with a P, I'm sure the second I'd hear it I would know it!) that we used to play in intramural sports that everyone who went would rave about. AC in the cabins, great food, great canteen, great playing fields, etc.

Belvoir? I worked at Danbee but had a girl whose sister went to that camp....I think maybe that one was the artsy/dance one now that I think of it.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by OtterXO

Belvoir? I worked at Danbee but had a girl whose sister went to that camp....I think maybe that one was the artsy/dance one now that I think of it.

No it wasn't that. It's going to drive me nuts now..I might have to ask my friend when she comes on-line later!

I miss camp so much.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by OTW

CampChannel lists them at $901-$1000 a WEEK.

My BF's son's pre-school is $600 a MONTH! And that's considered expensive!

Yeah, but pre-school doesn't feed the kids three meals a day (shrimp or not) or take responsibility for them 24/7.