Starting June 8, Camp Verde Parks & Recreation will host its third Summer Day Camp season.
Like everything else in 2020, the camp’s operations have been significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting precautions.
The camp was supposed to start a week earlier, but was delayed to allow for additional staff training for the new guidelines. According to Camp Verde Parks & Recreation Director Michael Marshall, the changes will not be immense, but need to be made nevertheless.
“Staff will be wearing masks, kids will be wearing masks,” Marshall said. “We’re obviously going to be stepping up our cleaning and sanitizing of equipment when we’re done with it. More hand washing — there will be a fun hand washing break periodically that we wouldn’t necessarily have done in the past.”
For the most part, the activities for campers will continue the way they do normally, but with adjustments. Kids will be able to do arts and crafts projects, but will be spread out around the area rather than working at the same table. Close contact sports like basket- ball will be infeasible, but campers will still be able to shoot hoops and compete in games like HORSE. Pickelball will be played as a singles sport, instead of doubles.
The camp will participate in the library’s summer reading program but not take the kids to the library building. There will be less field trips than before, but the children will still be taken to the newly reopened pool in small groups to prevent having to shuttle them into a crowded bus.
Marshall said that with all the uncertainty, he does not yet know whether there will be fewer campers than usual with parents worried about their children’s safety. Or perhaps there will be more campers, since parents have been cooped up with their children for weeks and hope to have some free time.
“Be patient with us while we figure out what we’re doing,” Marshall said. “We’re trying to do a good job here. We’re trying to keep everybody safe. We’re trying to let everybody have an enjoyable experience. It’s going to take some time to get that down. We essentially are rewriting and modifying every aspect of our program- ming, because this affects — like everybody else, every aspect of our programming.”
The summer camp will run from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. every weekday from June 8 to July 25, with a day off for July 4. It is open for all children kindergarten through sixth grade. The camp costs $20 per day or $90 for a full week, and does not include lunch or snacks for campers.
