5 Reasons To Enroll For Summer Camp Now

Enroll for Summer Camp 9 Months Early? That’s Crazy! But wait….

Now is actually the best time to enroll for Summer 2017 and here are 5 reasons why:

1. Availability

• Waiting lists. Camp fills up quickly! Avoid having to be on a waitlist by enrolling now. In order to get to know our campers on an individual level we cap our sessions at 150 campers. The good news is this creates an intimate, family-like atmosphere. However, with only having 150 campers/session, we do fill up fast, resulting in waiting lists for most of our sessions. We do encourage parents to utilize our waitlists, increasing their chances of eventually getting in; once a session is full, there is no guarantee that space will open up. However, if you enroll now there is a low chance of not getting in the session you want.
• Space for friends. If you want to bring your best friend with you to camp, do it now while there is room! We will have more bunks available in the fall than in the spring.

2. Affordability

• If you pay monthly, you have more time to pay. We recognize that Camp is an investment so to help we have an EasyPay Plan. This means you can break up the cost of tuition into 3/6/9 monthly payments. The cost of tuition does not change if you want to pay monthly versus paying in full. So, if you enroll now, you have more months, and therefore smaller payments, to pay for camp.

3. 100% Tuition Back Guarantee

• Before April 1, 2017. We also recognize that it is hard to make family plans 8 months in advance. So, to alleviate the pressure, you have until April 1, 2017 to cancel and get 100% of your money back. In other words, you have nothing to lose by enrolling now!
• After April 1, 2017. Let’s say something comes up for your family after April 1, 2017 and you need to cancel. No big deal! We will roll over your tuition for Summer 2018.
• Anytime. You can purchase insurance (7.5% of tuition), allowing you to cancel at anytime for any reason and get your tuition back.

4. Recruit Your Friends

• Money credited to your account. For each friend that you recruit to Camp Huawni, you get a $50 credit to your tuition. That means if you bring two friends to Camp, you save $100! If you enroll now, you will have more time to recruit more friends to save more money.

5. Benefits of Summer Camp

• Summer Camp is a developmental opportunity. Although this is the last reason on our list for why you should it enroll now, it is the most important reason. When children are away from home, it is at that point that they have the chance to take initiative in choosing how to respond to situations. When kids are away from parents they have a chance to put into practice what they have been taught up to that point in their lives. Dr. Michael Thompson is a psychologist as well as a school and camp consultant. Dr. Thompson wrote in a New York Times article that “children want to learn from older children, and, at a camp that means older campers, C.I.T.’s (counselors in training) and camp counselors. They want to live with them, emulate them, absorb them. In our age-segregated society, camp is the only place in America where an 11-year-old can get the sustained attention of a 19-year-old.” Our Huawni staff members are trained on the developmental stages of youth and how to best help children overcome obstacles they may face. Parents often tell us how much their child grew in independence, confidence, and work ethic while at Camp. We credit that to our amazing staff that daily walk alongside our campers in an unconditional way.
• Structured freedom. Our goal at Camp Huawni is to create an environment where children feel ownership of their daily lives while also having systems set in place that protect campers in the day-to-day activities of summer camp. For example, our staff follow a daily schedule where the transitions from activity to activity are seamless, resulting in a sense of freedom for campers.
• Life-long friendships. From campers to counselors to alumni, our Huawni Family is one that lasts through the ages. After our 50th Anniversary Celebration at the end of Summer 2015, it was an encouraging reminder to see that friends continue to gather together (and have done so since 1965) in the name of Camp Huawni. We have seen campers become roommates in college, stand next to each other in their weddings, and raising the next generation of Huawni campers.

When to enroll for summer camp

The camp calendar runs about nine months ahead of the summer itself.

August through November. Registration opens for the following summer, early-tier pricing is live, and popular sessions and older-camper cabins begin to fill. Scholarship applications typically open in this window too. This is the best moment to commit: cheapest pricing, full choice of sessions, and a refund policy that still protects you.

December through February. Mid-tier pricing. Our refund deadline is December 31, so this is the last comfortable point at which changing your mind costs nothing.

March through May. Late-tier pricing, and specific sessions start closing. Forms, physicals, and packing move to the front burner.

June through July. Sessions run. Waitlists occasionally move.

At Huawni that means a one-week Starter session costs $1,525 in the fall and $1,825 in the spring — the same week. Current dates and tiers are on the dates and rates page, and you can enroll or have the parent packet sent to you any time.

If you are still choosing between camps, our parent's guide to the best summer camps in Texas is a comparison framework rather than a sales page.