Find Your Y: Summer camp — making memories that last a lifetime

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 13, 2026

As spring gives way to longer days and families begin planning for the months ahead, many parents are already asking an important question: What kind of summer experience do we want for our kids?

For some families, the answer begins with practical necessity. Work does not stop simply because school does. But increasingly, families are discovering that summer camp offers far more than supervision during the workday. At its best, camp becomes something children genuinely look forward to — a place where they grow socially, emotionally, physically and creatively, often without even realizing it.

That has certainly been the experience for Taylor Johnson and his wife, Sarah Jo, whose daughter Adelaide has attended Y Summer Camp since she was 6 years old.

Like many working parents, they initially enrolled her because they needed reliable care during the summer months. But after her first summer, the decision to return became easy.

“When we moved here Adelaide was timid, afraid of new things and scared to try the Y,” Sarah Jo shared. “Now she feels safe to extend herself past her comfort zone socially and physically.”

Now, Adelaide is excited not only for full-day camp, but also for specialty camps that align with her interests, including basketball and art. Along the way, her parents have seen meaningful growth. Beyond the activities themselves, having trusted adults outside the family who encourage and celebrate her has helped build confidence and resilience.

“She doesn’t know how special she is yet, but the Y staff has helped her start to realize it,” Sarah Jo said.

Stormy Howell and her husband Chris have seen similar benefits in their own family. Their three children have been involved with YMCA programs for nearly a decade, first through after-school programs and later through summer camp. Her older sons have now aged out of camp, but one even returned as a Counselor in Training after growing up in the program.

Her daughter Jordan, now 11, still eagerly anticipates camp each summer.

Over time, Stormy says camp became less about necessity and more about tradition. Weekly camp themes became so anticipated that family plans were arranged around them.

As Jordan has grown older, Stormy has watched another transformation take place: the desire to engage with the younger campers.

“She really is looking forward to stepping into that role because she remembers what it was like as a little kid and how cool the older kids were to include her in activities,” Stormy said.

Jordan herself puts it more simply: “I love to go to Y camp because I get to meet people I haven’t met before, plus it’s fun to try new things.”

That simple statement reflects many of the developmental experiences experts increasingly emphasize for children today: social confidence, resilience, curiosity, and caring about others.

According to Sarah Scagliotti, program executive of Youth Development, that intentionality is built into the camp experience.

“Our camps are designed to be an experience. Not only are the themes and activities developed to engage the kids in healthy movement and learning, but to pique curiosity, expose them to new experiences, and give them the opportunity to test their own limitations in a nurturing and secure environment.”

In an era when children spend increasing amounts of time indoors and in front of screens, spaces that encourage movement, friendship, creativity and face-to-face interaction matter more than ever.

And summer camp is not solely for full-time working families. Homeschooling families, grandparents raising children, and parents with flexible or part-time schedules also increasingly see camp as an opportunity for enrichment, recreation and connection. For these families, the value of camp is having a place where their kids learn to make friends, solve problems, and have experiences that develop and nurture new interests.

One thing is for sure, for all parents there is comfort in knowing their children are not only cared for, but connected.

YMCA summer camps begin the first week of summer break. For more information, visit olympicpeninsulaymca.org/summer-day-camps. Financial assistance is available for families who cannot afford the full fee.

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Jodi Minker is Director of Community Engagement for the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.