We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for such a wonderful camp experience over the last few years. Adventures in Camp has been a blessing to our family. The safety of our kids has never been questioned when they were in your care. The camp counselors have been attentive to our needs, and the pool experience is one of the things our kids look forward to every week during camp hours.
I honestly don’t know where our family would go if we didn’t attend Adventures in Camp as part of our family routine. You have provided a safe, fun-filled, caring environment that gives us the peace of mind to go to work each day knowing that our kids are in good hands. Our kids have even learned to swim through your camp. Thank you so much for making it possible for our kids to have good wholesome summer fun!
Sincerely,
The Carrington Family
I love this camp! The camp size is very small. Not a bunch of teenage kids watching my son. They have interactive play while learning STEM. This is very important to a single mom that my child is learning while enjoying camp. They go on field trips every Thursday which my son extremely enjoys. When he had a cough she (Jessica) called asking can she administer his treatment. I respect that because most camp counselors would not recognize that most children who have asthma cough before they start to wheeze. Both the counselors and kids are very respectful. I have peace of mind knowing my child is in safe hands at this camp.
Sincerely,
The Carter Family
Adventures in Camp, housed in the Stevens Forest Community Center, has been the summer home for my 3 children for the past 8 years. The other kids and staff are family we look forward to seeing each June and are sad to separate from in August. Several families return year after year.
I have 3 very different children and the camp has always been able meet our needs. This includes my deaf child who attends summer school every year. They always worked with our schedule and took excellent care of her cochlear implants. They accepted the LISS (low intensity support services issued by the state of Maryland) funds to help pay for the camp. They allowed my oldest child the opportunity to work as a counselor in training when she aged out so she still had a place to go and my children were able to all be together.
Adventures in Camp is a teacher run camp that gave my kids a place to learn and have fun while supervised by adults who were already teachers or studying to be. They have an excellent balance of learning and play including a field trip every week. My children always looked forward to Fridays when they were given an opportunity to spend the afternoon at the pool. (As an aside, we are CA members). During that time I knew the focus of the camp staff was always on their safety and good behavior. My children were always well supervised and I had no worries when I left them there each day.
Being a two parent working family requires that we find camp for our kids each summer. We need a fun, safe and economical full day option where all 3 of our kids can be in one place. Adventures in Camp has been that for us. I have and will continue to recommend them as a great place for children to spend their summer.
Sincerely,
The Lawson Family
I would like to please share with you my experiences with regards to Adventures in Camp.
My children have been enrolled in Adventures in Camp since 2012. It has been a wonderful experience for my son and daughter, and in fact I shall be hard-pressed to replace it as they get older, and I continue to try and juggle my job with planning some summer fun for my kids.
Every summer since they have been able to do so, we enjoy biking there and back from our home. Quite often, when I go to pick up the kids, we will stay at the pool with some friends from camp that we ‘borrow’ for a pre-planned playdate or we will spontaneously meet others there to get wet and cool off. I have never had any significant incidents with my children under the care of Mrs. Jessica Harvey. In fact, she has taken wonderful care of my children. As a divorced Dad, it can be hard to find an impartial, understanding, and flexible business to ensure that my kids have a safe and fun summer. Mrs. Harvey has been very professional when discussing matters of care with myself and my children’s other parent, and is always a welcoming face to me when I bring the children back every year.
Her kindness, attention to detail, organization and nurturing skills are, in my humble opinion, a credit to the profession of educators in Maryland. And she is certainly an asset to my neighborhood as she exemplifies the kindness, respect, and leadership that I like to see in my Columbia community. Rather than allow my kids to stay indoors and over-indulge in video games, I rather enjoy sending them outside to socialize with new friends, take trips, go swimming, and stay active. Many of my professional colleagues are jealous of the situation I have here: to be able to send my kids to a nearby facility that is so much fun for all of us.
I can still recall the first time each of my kids came home for the first time, having passed the swim test and earned the right to go swimming with the bigger kids. They were ecstatic! Of course, they are a couple of bookworms, so it takes a few tries each year, I think, even though I do my best to keep them active, in general.
If there are any concerns with her camp, please do let me know, I would be glad to offer more applicable commentary or answer any questions you would have about my children’s experiences there.
Sincerely,
Family of Awesome Kids
I am a parent of 3 with one being a special needs child. Every year I struggled to find programs that I can trust, that stimulates my children and that is affordable. I have found this with the program at Adventures in Camp.
The ratio of staff to camper makes me feel secure that they will be able to ensure my son’s safety with his elopement tendencies. I discovered the program in 2014 and before I enrolled my son I did quite a bit of research and stopped by the facility a few times throughout that summer. I was impressed with the security the staff provides and the program’s location. I especially appreciate the cyber security they provide as well. They do not post pictures without parent’s permission, they participate in a safe picture share program to ensure only people the parents know can see such pictures, and they do not post actual details of when the trips will take place on social media or their website.
Many programs, including the county’s, have the kids sit in a room and may go to the pool once or twice a week. Not Adventures In Camp. They actually take educational and interesting trips. They have gone to Watkins Park to discover the Wizards of Oz display, Believe It or Not Museum, Aquarium, and Maryland Science Center to name a few. My son has sensory issues and was not able to participate in the Believe It or Not Museum, but the staff ensured that he did not miss out. Jessica Harvey herself sat out of the museum with him and they did other interesting things out side of the museum and explored the environment. I know for a fact that because she is a teacher herself that she was able to stimulate his mind in a different way that ensured he was still having a good time.
Many special needs camps are very expensive. There are programs out there that want thousands of dollars for their program and their hours are not convenient. I am a mother of three that must work and Adventures In Camp actually have decent hours that will allow me to still work my entire shift while he is being stimulated in a safe environment. I drop him off knowing that he is not being judged, he is safe, and he is happy. He actually looks forward to camp and he expresses this. This in itself is a beautiful thing, because he struggles with expressing himself as an Autistic child.
I have 2 “A typical” children as well. One attended the program with my son for 1 week and she herself ensured me that my son was happy and safe. This eased my mind considerably. She then questioned why she only did 1 week instead of 3 weeks like my son.
Sincerely,
The McNeal Family
My two daughters have attended the Adventures in Camp summer program since 2013. In what began as just another summer activity to keep the girls busy has turned into such a wonderful journey for the two of them. They enjoyed going and didn’t want to miss a day because they made many new friends and learned a lot along the way.
Through the years both of my daughters were really mentored by Mrs. Jessica. In fact, now that both are in their teens, both are now serving the camp in a junior counselor role. They assist in the day to day activities of camp. They prepare and clean up after activities and help look after the younger kids. They have learned compassion, patience and conflict resolution while assisting with some of the special needs children that attend the camp. As parents with special needs will tell you, this is no easy task. I attribute a great part of the success they’ve had in these areas to the school teachers that lead Adventures in Camp.
It’s Mrs. Jessica’s commitment to the improvement of the children and therefore, the camp itself that keeps the parents coming back year to year. Scheduling problems and other issues have come from time to time, it’s inevitable. With clear communication, we’ve always been able to come up with a solution that fits both of our needs. Mrs. Jessica’s willingness to work with the parents has made her camp successful and has earned the endorsement of our family.
Sincerely,
The Palmerton Family