Campers baking cookies together at a long kitchen table

Camps For Ages 7–12

Summer Camp 101

With hundreds of camps to choose from, the options can seem overwhelming! Before we help you narrow it down to a list of finalists, we thought it might be helpful to introduce you to some of the different terms we use when talking about summer camp.

Types of Camps

Traditional Camp

The “classic summer camp experience” — think The Parent Trap or Bunk’d — traditional camps tend to emphasize outdoor activity, group games, and classic traditions like Color War, Olympics, and camp songs. Campers generally participate in a variety of different sports, arts, and aquatic activities and get a well-rounded camp experience. Most of a camper’s schedule will be determined for them, and they’ll usually attend activities with other children from their cabin and age group.

Full Summer Camp

The classic sleepaway camp experience, full-season camps run for a single, seven-week session. All campers arrive at camp on the same day, usually in June, and depart on the same day in August.

Two campers in green face paint grinning with their lacrosse sticks

Session Camp

Campers heaving on the rope in a tug of war on the field

True Session Camp

For families who want a single-session camp with time left in the summer for other experiences, true session camps offer the same model with a shorter timeframe. Campers arrive on the same day, depart on the same day, and stay for a shorter period of time, with firm starting and ending dates. This is a great option if you want a complete summer camp experience and have travel or other plans after camp.

Split-Session/A La Carte Camp

If you want some flexibility in your summer schedule, consider a camp that offers split sessions. Some camps offer a full season of camp with a choice of 2 different sessions and an option to extend. Others with “a la carte” session offerings might run for seven or eight weeks in total and offer campers the option to attend for two, four, six or eight weeks, extend their session if there’s space, and meet new friends as different groups of campers come and go.

Day Camp

Two smiling girls with their arms around each other on the camp lawn

Day camps offer a full day of camp programming, generally from morning until late afternoon, Monday through Friday. Campers enjoy many traditional camp activities and programs without leaving home for the summer. Many campers start out at day camp before moving on to sleepaway camp. Day camps offer sessions from one to eight weeks, and some even provide door-to-door bus service.

Elective Camp

At elective camps, children get to choose some or all of their own activities from a range of options. Campers have the opportunity to explore their own specific interests while also enjoying all the fun and tradition of a classic summer camp experience.

A camper painting a design at the arts and crafts table

Neurodiverse Camp

Campers in tie-dye shirts painting together at a craft table outside the lodge

Camp can be for everyone, regardless of ability. Neurodiverse camps have staff and facilities that are specifically selected with their campers in mind to ensure that every child can have the summer of their dreams — and every parent can be assured that their camper is receiving the very best care for an amazing summer.

Coed Camp

At coed camps, activities, meals, and events may include campers of both genders, giving campers regular opportunities to socialize with their peers. It also allows for a brother, sister, cousin or friend to share an extra smile or hug in passing. Coed sleepaway camps have separate sleeping accommodations for boys and girls.

A girl and a boy at camp smiling side by side

Single-Sex / Brother-Sister Camp

Campers stacked in a human pyramid outside the cabins

Single-sex camps enroll only boys or girls, creating an environment in which some children feel a strong sense of freedom or comfort. Along with the campers, the staff at single-sex camps tends to be majority-male or majority-female. Some single-sex camps have regularly scheduled visits with nearby “brother” or “sister” camps of the opposite sex, providing the best of both worlds for parents who want a single-sex environment while allowing sons and daughters to see one another throughout the summer.

Specialty Camp

A specialty camp gives children the chance to focus primarily on a single interest, such as horseback riding or gymnastics. Some cater to campers who are highly motivated to train or compete in a sport or activity, while others are a good fit for kids who want more of a balance. There are specialty camps for kids of every age and interest, including:

A camper riding a skateboard at the skate park

Specialty camps

  • Adventure and wilderness
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Circus
  • Cooking
  • Creative and performing arts
  • Dance and cheer
  • Equestrian
  • Extreme sports
  • Fine arts
  • Football and flag football
  • Gaming (Dungeons and Dragons, ESPORTS and more)
  • Gymnastics
  • Ice hockey
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Sports
  • STEM
  • Tennis and golf
  • And more

Where do I want to go to camp?

We place children and teenagers in summer camps and programs throughout the East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast, including:

  • California
  • Connecticut
  • Georgia
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
Two girls in life jackets smiling on the dock

Camps for ages 7 to 12

Let’s find the right camp for your child.

Sleepaway, day or specialty, we’ll narrow hundreds of options down to a shortlist that fits. Always free.

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