From singing songs on the beach to learning to surf, younger children ages 4 to 7 love our Keiki Camp program. Keiki Camp takes place at lifeguard tower 7 at Zuma Beach. It's the first beach day camp just for younger kids. So many fun things to do!
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Want to see something funny? Our counselors thought we were snapping a photo. But it was a VIDEO! LOL!
In order to beat everyone else to the punch and get your child's first choice of days, we encourage you to join our interest list now so we can notify you later as soon as next summer's registration form goes live January 1.
Every day we received questions from concerned parents regarding our plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our camp communiy.
Though restrictions are loosening, will always error on side of health, safety and caution. You will likely see the CDC coming out with new camp guidelines sooner rather than later, although we are under the guidance of the LA County Dept of Public Health. While are most of the restrictions, as they stand now, are quite feasible for us, as being outside at the beach is among the safest places you can be. Staff will be vaccinated and wearing masks, kids will wear them when not swimming, eating or participating in physical activity, and all the groups/cohorts will have their own equipment with no sharing between groups. Everyone will wear masks on the bus with windows down. Buses will be disinfected 2 to 3 x per day. We may eliminate some or most of the field trip locations and keep everything at the beach depending on certain conditions. We are the only beach camp licensed, permitted and accredited by the LA County Dept. of Beaches and Harbors, LA County Dept. of Public Health, and American Camp Association. The LA County Dept of Public Health is the same govt agency that sets COVID protocol. We assume things will loosen even more, and will make adjustments accordingly going forward. But for now, this is part of our plan. We had a fantastic online open house last weekend! If you joined us, we hope you found it useful and informative. If you missed it, don't worry -- we've already got our next open house on the calendar and hope you can make it for this one. Aloha Beach Camp Open House Sunday, April 11, 2021Aloha Beach Camp is getting full, with demand for summer camp in 2021 already at an all time high. Don't miss out! Reserve your space at our virtual summer camp open house for Sunday, April 11. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Each day we get emails from parents who want to sign up their kids for beach camp. Many of the messages contain the same questions, so it caused us to think, "there must be many more other families out there who have the same questions, but haven't taken the time to ask." So, here's a quick post of some of the questions (and answers!) we received just this morning. You can always visit our FAQ's if you have additional questions, or feel free to leave us a comment here and we'll respond right away. We are here to help! 1. Do you run weekly camps or can campers choose individual days? Aloha Beach Camp does not operate according to prearranged sessions. You can pick and choose the days you want to send your kids to camp. Read about unique day-by-day enrollment where you can in essence "cherry-pick" the days you want your child to come to camp. 2. How many lifeguards do you have per child?
All of our counselors are lifeguards. Ratios fluctuate depending on the activities and camper age groups. For instance, if the kids are taking a surfing lesson, the ratio would be 1 camper to 1 counselor/lifeguard. If the kids are quietly having lunch on beach, the ratios might range from 5 to 7 campers for every counselor/lifeguard. It just depends, but in general a 5 to 1 ratio is what you can expect on average. In addition to our own staff of camp counselors, we only visit beaches staffed by public lifeguards, just like you would (hopefully!) do when going to the beach on your own. Finally, Aloha Beach Camp has the safest location of any beach camp, because we are based directly adjacent (literally arms reach!) to the Zuma Beach lifeguard headquarters tower. That means we enjoy extra supervision compared to other camps! 3. Do you provide life vests for the water sports We provide properly-fitting, coast guard approved life vests for all boating activities, but not for swimming in the ocean. We believe wearing life vests in the ocean could in fact be dangerous by providing campers with a false sense of confidence. 4. Is there a swim level you prefer the kids to be at? Nope! We accommodate campers of every aquatic background no matter their swimming ability. Activities are tailored to each child's swimming ability and experience level. The goal of the program is to help campers become safe and comfortable in the ocean. 5. If we register now can we change days later? Of course! You can always modify your initial schedule on a space available basis (as long as the days you want to move into are not full, you can change your child's schedule around). There's an interesting article on lasummercamps.com today. Talks about how the coronavirus has created a huge demand for kids' summer camps and how tough it will be for parents to find available space at camp this year.
From a personal perspective, we can tell you we still have room for your camper at Aloha, but it's getting tight. Everything the article says is true. Here's the link again so you're up to speed on how hard it might be to find room as camp this summer in a post-pandemic environment.
Start with Aloha Beach CampOf course we hope you'll choose Aloha Beach Camp! We're L.A.'s only 5-Star, American Camp Association Accredited beach camp with operating licenses and permits from the Los Angeles County Dept. of Beaches and Harbors and the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health. That means we are a COVID-compliant business dedicated to your child's health, safety and fun at camp this summer. That means this coming summer is more meaningful and important than ever. Demand for camp is at an all-time high, and many programs are already enrolling kids. In fact, many camps are reporting an interesting trend: As COVID restrictions begin to relax and the vaccine provides new hope for some return to normalcy, families are signing up for camp earlier than ever while recognizing how competitive finding available space at the top camps this year will be. The question remains, though: How do you even FIND the best summer camps? Simply signing up for the first camp you find isn't enough, let alone wise. You need to make sure you're choosing one with appropriate credentials, a proven track record, quality reputation and an overall above-board program where the counselors and staff are committed to creating a safe, fun and memorable experience for your kids this summer. CampSearch.com can help you find the best camps
Aloha Beach Camp has a profile listing there, too. But in addition to us, you can find literally any type of camp you want, according to any criteria important to you, such as type of camp, camp location, etc. enabling you to find the best summer program for your kids this year.
Each year Aloha Beach Camp hosts a series of Open House events where kids and families can learn more about the camp, meet the staff and see how Aloha Beach Camp operates on a day-to-day basis. While Open Houses have historically taken place at Zuma Beach, this year we have moved our Open Houses online. The first Open House takes place Sunday, March 21 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm on Google Meet. Get more Open House information here.
Hand-picking your own dates has always been a staple of Aloha Beach Camp enrollment. Families love the flexibility of creating their own schedules rather than conforming to regimented prearranged session dates set by the camp.
For now, we are keeping things status quo while remaining optimistic you'll be able to continue choosing your own camp dates this summer. At the same time, news, information and regulations pertaining to COVID protocol is constantly evolving. Depending on what we hear from local health and safety regulators in the months ahead, campers may be required to sign up for camp according to an attendance schedule that more resembles an organized session structure than coming and going to camp whenever they please. For example, in light of COVID we may need to switch to a series of 10 individual one-week (Monday through Friday) sessions. Under this scenario, campers would need to attend camp Monday through Friday for the entire week. (You could sign up for as many or as few weekly sessions as you want, but your child would need to attend camp all 5 days each week for every session you choose.) This would ensure campers are not coming and going in and out of camp as they please, and help to reduce potential spread of COVID 19. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, feel free to sign up for camp on any schedule you want. You can pick consecutive days or sprinkle them out over the course of the summer -- totally your call. If we need our day-by-day enrollment format and require more more regimented registration procedures, we will give you ample notice. You will certainly have enough time to rearrange your child's enrollment according to a convenient schedule that fits your needs, and we will help make this process seamless and easy. So, sign up now and pick you own dates! |
AuthorThis blog is written and maintained by Eric D. Naftulin, Aloha Beach Camp's owner and Executive Director the the past 20 years. Archives
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