Giveaways,  Health,  Travel

Dear Mom Camp Series -May- #MuskokaWoods

Dear Mom: 
Now I know we’ve covered most of this already and I know you’ve got some of my camps booked. And the end of school is coming fast now, in fact so fast I can almost start my countdown. But Mom, I really have to show you something cool. Remember Muskoka Woods? Well, it was one year ago when we got the awesome weekend to visit and try the big swing. I loved that place. The food was good, the counsellors Tippy and Brillo were amazing. But wait, here’s the cool part. I was playing on my iphone tonight and I found out they have an App. So can I download it? Can I please? It’s free and it tells you all about camp and what to bring and what to expect. I have got to have it, so I can show all my friends where we went and where I am going this year, right? So can I? It’s right there in the App Store available for iphone, ipad and Blackberry. And, did I mention FREE! I know you love free stuff. 

Thanks, Mom.
This was my April post about the importance of camp in a child’s life https://www.thriftymommastips.com/?p=544
In the event you need more coaxing to visit the web site and sign your child up for camp, well right now on Muskoka Woods Facebook site you can win tickets to see Taylor Swift’s Red Tour in Toronto June 15th.  (Psst. don’t tell my kids I entered to win)
For the last five months I have been blogging about camp and our experience at Muskoka Woods. When Muskoka Woods contacted me back at the start of 2013 and asked if I would share some posts here on thriftymommastips.com I was thrilled to do so. Muskoka Woods is a world class coed sports resort camp. The range of options and sport activities is varied and exciting. From canoeing to zip lining, in line skating and skateboarding, there’s a sport for every ability and age. 
Last year my girls and I tested out the Big Swing, we canoed and raced and skateboarded and swam and ate smores and did crafts and sang songs by the campfire. We roller bladed, played tennis and tried the ropes course too. That was all in the space of one weekend! It was an incredible opportunity for us, and it will be for your child as well.

The cabins are clean, the staff ratio to campers is excellent and the counsellors are accomplished and personable. There is an exceptional program for children with special needs and I can tell you, from my experience there last year, that my child with special needs grew, in ways that were magical to watch. I was honoured to be present when she tackled the Big Swing fearlessly. I laughed my butt off when several moms who blog also ziplined across the skyline. The focus, or theme, seemed to be apparent in everything the staff did. Team work, leadership and inclusion were stressed at every opportunity and built into the rhythm of the weekend. Muskoka Woods builds leaders. It’s as simple as that. Their philosophy is brilliant and the setting is incomparable. 
Then there’s this: 
Muskoka Woods is 1000 acres and 2800 feet of shoreline on Lake Rosseau. It’s camp with a difference for the leaders of tomorrow. 
I told you at the start of this series I was hoping to send my youngest to camp this year and would let you know how that process shaped up over the coming months. I am confident that after last year my oldest girl can handle camp happily and adjust and flourish. She is 11. Last year she went to sleep away camp with a friend from school. That was a beautiful little piece of scaffolding that worked well for her. My youngest is still unsure. She sometimes thinks she can do it, and I know the staff would be supportive, but then there are still nights my girl who is chronologically 9 but socially about 6, struggles a lot when I am not nearby. So I am still on the fence with her. Children with special needs are unique in so many ways. I think I may need to wait for another year with Ainsley. She might manage with her big sister at the same camp, but I would also hate to see her be completely clingy, so that Payton wasn’t able to take full advantage of sleep over camp and all the wonderful opportunities that affords. So, as of right now in May it seems likely Ainsley will do day camps again this year. But when she is ready, she will attend Muskoka Woods, because I have complete confidence in the way they approach special needs campers.

For more information you can visit the web site or email info@muskokawoods.com Prices vary and are on the web site under the parents toolbar at the top of the page. The week long experience for a child ages 7-9 is called WILD and the average weekly camp is between $900 to $1100. There are also test drives for apprehensive campers or parents to test out the camp and see if the child can manage a whole week. For a test drive the campers would come for three nights and four days and the cost is $549. 

The Dear Mom Camp Series runs until June.
You can read the first few posts here:
February 

I am honoured to be able to share with you a series of posts that are sponsored by Muskoka Woods. My opinion is all my own. I loved Muskoka Woods and would happily send both my kids there.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

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