The Central Queens Y Day Camp in NY

Among the various camps that I have been to, none of them measure up to the Central Quuens "Y" Day Camp in New York. The "Y" Day Camp has their offices located in Queens, New York but their camp grounds are located in the suburbs. The day camp is a great place for children to meet other people of all ages and bond with them for the summer. Many of the campers and staff members already know each other if they have attended the "Y" day care after school program. Many of the staff members at the after school program are also counselors for the camp over the summer. I attended the very early years of my childhood there and i can speak from a first hand experience that I thoroughly enjoyed my summers there. In the morning there are a fleet of yellow school buses that pick children up at their doorstep. Each bus has a bus counselor that supervises the bus and makes sure that every child the bus is supposed to pick up waits for the children and makes sure that the children are safely buckled in. In the morning, the bus will make a pit stop at a central rendezvous location for the entire camp to meet at. There the camp gathers and discusses the days activities that they will go through. The counselors will also make sure that all of their campers have arrived.

On a normal day, the children will get back on the bus and head for the camp grounds in a wooded area. There is a pool and sports facilities such as a basketball court, and open field to play soccer or baseball. In the middle of the day lunch is served to the children, usually a sandwich or something easy to wrap and travel with. On other days the camp travels to a place filled with fun such as an amusement park, water park, baseball game or arcade. These trips included Six Flags Great Adventure, Mountain Creek Water Park, a New York Mets game, and several trips to arcades. On rainy days the camp goes to a bowling alley or goes to a movie theater to watch a movie. The children love it when the camp goes on trips to various places which happens several times a week. Other trips include visiting other "Y" Day Camps and interacting with other children from other camps.

Other fun activities may include building a campsite and toasting marshmallows over it. Some days there are activities where the camp holds sleepovers at the camp site. With the parents' permission, children bring their sleeping bag and sleep in a campsite with the rest of their group and sleep under the stars. It is a great experience, especially for young children to get used to being away from home during nights or to get used to the outdoors. Other activities that the camp may go on are trips to different states that may last a few days. In the past these trips have included Hershey Park in Pennsylvania and a Water Park in Virginia or Niagara Falls in Canada. During these trips the camp makes arrangements to sleep at another "Y" Camp location or at a motel. It is all really exciting for all of the campers.

In the middle of the summer, the camp allows parents to come up and see the camp in action. It is really exciting for parents to see how much their children have gown over the summer. Perhaps they were once a shy child and now are very sociable among the other children. Camp life can really shape and mold a child for the better.

At the end of each day, the camp brings the children back from the camp grounds and back to the rendezvous location. There, snacks are given out to the children such as ice-cream and any accomplishments that children have made over the day are discussed. Activities for the next day or upcoming week are also discussed. Finally, the campers and staff members get back on the buses are return home, usually between the hours of 5 and 6 pm.

I highly recommend that you have your children or someone you may know attend the Central Queens "Y" Day camp. If you live in the New York or metro area and are looking for a day camp this may just be the place for you. You should come up to the camp grounds over the summer and see the children in action and talk to them to see how much they enjoy being there.