What Will Your Child Do This Summer?

Have you figured out your summer plans? It looks like my son's going to be going the "Camp Mom" route this year. A few kids from his special-ed class will be coming over on a daily-ish basis, and the other moms and I will take turns doing crafts and science projects and cooking and water play and whatever else comes into our heads. We'll bowl once a week and take a trip to a museum or zoo or other distant destination once a week or so too. It might be a lot of fun; it might be a disaster; it will probably be a little of both.

What it will certainly be is cheaper than the special-needs summer camps he's gone to in the past, both in terms of tuition and car expenses to drive the half-hour distances they seem to always be from our house. It'll also be more companionable than the more mainstream camps we've put him in, front-loaded with kids who are already his friends instead of "typical" kids who may or may not be accepting on any given day. And it'll also be tons more work for me, and significantly less kid-free time.

My daughter, meanwhile, will be spending her second summer in our state's work program for kids with special needs, getting a subsidized minimum-wage job at a child-care center. It's good experience for her, and mostly fun. Wonder if I could get my "Mom Camp" recognized as an entity in need of teen assistance, and have the state pay her to work for me? (Insert evil laugh here.) Hey, there's always next year.