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Chapter 1 of 30 · 2 min read

Summer Day Camp Business Basics

A day camp needs to give children a good day and families a reliable service. Define the ages, hours, activities and care you will provide, including arrival and pickup, before choosing a theme or advertising places.

A day camp has two jobs at once. It gives children a good day. It also gives their families a service they can rely on.

A wonderful craft does not fix a gate that opens late. A tidy booking page does not fix a child who spends the whole day feeling left out.

Build the first version around a clear promise. For example:

“A five-day school-break camp for children aged 6–10, with games, art, nature time, and calm choices. The main day runs from 9:00 to 4:00. Booked early and late care are separate.”

Those ages and hours are a made-up example. Check whether they fit the families, the site, and local rules. A preschool camp needs a different care plan. A teen camp needs more choice and a different social plan.

Decide whether the main product is a full week, single days, half-days, or a term of school-break dates. Each creates different work. A full week can build a settled group. Single-day places can help families with changing shifts, but they add daily welcomes, forms, and attendance changes.

Start with one site and a clear range of ages. Add swimming, buses, food service, or very young children only when each addition has its own safe plan and budget.

Do this next: Write your promise, hours, age range, and the things the fee does not include.

Put this chapter to work

Optional · Putting your plan into practice

Using Bookify for this goal

This part starts with your own planning and judgement. Use the guide and its worksheets to work through it with your team.

When you are ready to put your camp plan into a booking system, you can explore a sample camp in Bookify or see what the software can help you do.