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Mama Camp

Nurtured Mommy
MAMA CAMP

By: Denise E. Bailey | June 3, 2025

Summer is right around the corner and yet it feels like we have already been talking about it for the past six months. Maybe it’s because we absolutely have. When did it become okay to plan for summer in January? And how is it possible that some camps opened up for registration in December? For those of us without a nanny or au pair and/or who work part or full time, summer quickly becomes a puzzle to piece together once our children are no longer in preschool.

I can remember very clearly when I first learned about summer camps. It was a super cold February day and I was waiting outside our oldest’s classroom. A mom kindly asked where we had registered for summer camps so far and I was literally confused. We chose our daughters preschool for so many reasons, but one of which was because it has a year-round program. There wasn’t an additional fee for the summer weeks, it was just part of the offering. I replied that we were going to send all three of our girls to (pre)school that summer. The mama was in shock.

I felt guilty for sending the girls to preschool all summer and then I felt guilty for not sending them to fancy camps. At the time I was working with my husband to launch his company. I was exhausted and torn between needing and wanting them to go. When the next winter came, I was ready and determined. Waitlists, stretched budgets, and trying to be at two locations at 9am became impossible. The girls were exhausted and spent by mid-July. Last summer I thought I cracked the code. I had them at each camp together for 2-3 weeks at a time, but their reviews were mixed.

This past winter I started to really contemplate how I wanted our summer to feel. We have spent the entire school year working hard to cultivate connection and community with the families in our orbit that feel good. We have truly examined every aspect of our lives from the girls’ school to my career. And for a brief moment, we even considered moving to Berkeley.

With all of this in mind, my main goal was to create summer memories that were fun, local, and affordable ($2100 a week is the average for three kids in summer camp in Marin). So for four weeks this summer, the girls are enrolled in Mama Camp (and one week of Dada Camp). We will have daily adventures that will rotate between local beaches, parks and pools, library and lunch dates, and SF adventure days. I am going to turn my phone off during these weeks from 10am - 3pm and soak in my 9-, 7-, and 7-year-old babies. For the other weeks I have a combo of half-day camps and full-day camps. I had to be real with myself…we will all need a break from each other at some point. It won’t be perfect, but it will be enough.

Denise is a coffee lover, over-sharer, and truth seeker who is dedicated to vulnerably discussing the not-so-pretty parts of this beautiful role of motherhood. She is inspired by her three daughters to help women manage their expectations, let go of perfectionism, and lean into their enoughness. Denise is a certified Early Childhood Educator (ECE) and K-8 Multiple Subject Clear Credentialed Teacher who has taught it all from preschool to middle school. Read more from Denise under The Crier: Online Archive.