How To Start A Successful Summer Camp Program: A Summer Camp Guide for Academies
Dhwani Shah
June 6, 2025
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11 min read
It’s that time of the year again. School’s out and the kids are in, with their endless energy and restless spirit. But without a proper outlet to channel this vigour, they end up spending most of their time in front of a screen—binge-watching Netflix, playing video games, chatting with friends, one screen is always replaced by another. Sounds familiar?
The dangers of excessive screen time are not unheard of, so parents are scrambling to find productive ways to keep their kids engaged during this long holiday season. If you run a sports academy, tutoring centre or an after-school activity business, this is your golden opportunity. Summer camps are the perfect way to not only keep kids active in the most productive manner, but also for you to capitalize on this free time and showcase and grow your academy.
Personally, I have the fondest memories of my childhood summer camps—the nervous anxiety of meeting new people which slowly eased into beautiful friendships, the kindest camp trainers who we revered but also found confidantes in, the excitement of discovering new things, the eagerness of spending a few hours away from home. Those brief weeks spent at camp during the summer holidays shaped some of my happiest memories, and you could create similar magical experiences for young lives by starting your own summer camp.
Summer camp planning may seem like a daunting task, especially if it’s your first time, but with the right planning and the right tools, you too can create a unique, enjoyable experience for young learners that leaves a lasting impression in their minds.
So here’s your summer camp guide! In this comprehensive blog, we’ll walk you through why launching a summer camp makes perfect sense and how you can do it with ease, especially when you have a tool like Classcard to help you manage everything in one place.
With schools on break, routines on hold and travel plans in full-swing, summer can be a slow period for regular classes. But for those looking to stay busy while in town, it’s the prime time for camps. Offering specialized short-term summer camp programs ensures a steady income for your academy during the off-season while allowing you to make full use of your staff and space.
The academic year can get busy, with students and parents trying to juggle multiple commitments—academic, extracurricular, social—leaving little to no time to explore new interests and activities. But with schedules eased down during the holidays, parents are more open to trying out new programs. In fact, a well-structured summer camp can turn one-time attendees into year-round students.
Summer camps are a good way to strengthen your bond of trust with your existing customers. When parents trust you to keep their children engaged, safe, and happy during the summer, they’re more likely to stick with your academy long-term.
What kind of summer camp do you want to start? What do you wish to achieve with your summer camp program? These are the first and foremost questions to ask yourself before you dive into the summer camp planning process, the answers to which will define your complete course of action, from the budget to the venue and the target audience to the staff.
✔️ Consider the types of summer camps—would it be an overnight camp, a day camp, an outdoor camp or a specialty camp?
✔️ How many days would it last? Would it be week-long, month-long or last throughout the summer?
✔️ When would it take place—every day, every alternate day, a couple of specific days a week, say every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday?
✔️ What would the timings for the camp be? Would it be half-days, full-days or a few specific hours during the day, say 10 am to 12 noon?
✔️ What is the ideal age group your camp is designed for?
✔️ Will there be different batches for different age groups?
✔️ Will it be gender-specific or co-ed?
When answering these questions, it’s important to keep in mind the needs, interests and competition in the market around you. What are the people in your area most interested in? If there are already multiple options for a certain type of camp, it might not be a good idea to start something similar. On the other hand, if there is an increasing demand, and a lack of supply, for a particular type of camp in your area, starting such a camp would meet the needs of your community and help you stand out in the crowd.
Now that you know your camp type, length and audience, it’s time to design your daily schedule and camp activities. Ensure a balance of structured learning activities with games and downtime to keep the experience fresh and exciting for young campers.
For example, a tennis camp could include a mix of warm-up activities, tennis drills, practice games, and rest time for participants to interact with each other.
Moreover, it’s a great idea to mix in themed days, field trips, mini-competitions and showcase days during your camp.
For instance, you could culminate a football camp with a small tournament amongst the camp participants. An art camp could include themed days like Watercolor Wednesdays and further, host exhibitions to showcase the kids’ artworks.
Showcasing kids' work is also a great way to show parents tangible results of what their children have learnt and achieved during the summer camp, instilling confidence and spreading positive reviews about your organization.
Probably the most important aspect of launching a summer camp, or any business for that matter, is wise budgeting. Developing a robust budget serves as a blueprint for every step of the planning and execution process.
While creating a budget, take into consideration all your potential expenses such as:
Once you’ve sketched out a rough budget, you will need to decide how to price your summer camp fairly to offset your expenses. While pricing your summer camp, consider:
Pricing your camp too low might make the camp experience seem less valuable, while pricing it too high might drive students away, so finding the balance is key.
Once you’ve finalized the theme, activities and budget for your summer camp, the next crucial step is finding a great venue, a pivotal factor in the overall camper experience and in turn, the success of your camp.
Start by asking yourself if you can make do with your existing facility or if you will require another space. You could either rent a venue, partner with a nearby school or community centre to use their facilities or even run outdoor camps in community parks with the right permissions.
If you choose to host your camp at an external location, carefully consider how much space you would require, what equipment you would use and whether the venue can accommodate these needs. Choose a venue that complements the camp’s theme and is safe and accessible. If your camp requires daily drop-off and pickup, you would need to prioritize a venue that can be easily reached by working parents. Ensure the venue has access to basic amenities like water stations, toilets, and first aid tickets, or make additional arrangements for the same.
Don’t rush into choosing a space. Make sure the location can comfortably accommodate all the campers, planned activities and other logistical arrangements.
For example, hosting a music summer camp in a noisy vicinity would be far from ideal. In the same way, a swimming camp would require a location with a spacious swimming pool and good changing rooms. An academic math camp would require a quiet classroom with comfortable chairs and desks, proper ventilation, and a functional whiteboard.
This is the aspect that will make (or break) your summer camp. Once you’ve detailed the specifics of your camp, it's essential to come up with a compelling marketing plan to attract campers, which will ultimately result in new leads and increased revenue for your academy.
Identify your target audience and develop your unique selling point around their needs. For example, a full-day or a month-long camp would be a boon for working parents who’d find a way to keep their kids safe, happy and engaged while they’re at work.
Ensure your marketing material is communicating all the essential details:
Including testimonials from past students and exciting photos from previous camps or activities that you’ve organized will build credibility and drive more conversions.
Here are some ways to get the word for your summer camp out:
✔️ Share behind-the-scenes reels or past event highlights
✔️ Post countdowns, staff intros, and activity teasers
✔️ Use stories and contests to encourage engagement
If your budget allows for digital advertising, run hyper-local ads on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and Google targeting parents in your area.
💡 Pro-tip: If someone who shows interest in your summer camp hasn’t registered yet, a soft, personalized nudge can make a great deal of difference. A quick message or reminder shows them you care and can prompt them to sign up. Classcard's lead management features can help you nudge prospects through the sales funnel and drive conversions.
Once all the groundwork has been laid, it’s time to recruit the MVPs of your summer camp, the campers! An efficient summer camp registration process is important for providing parents a smooth and professional experience, and also for making your life easier. Gone are the days of paper forms and manual tracking. A digital registration and online booking system like Classcard can provide a user-friendly and personalized registration process, saving you tons of time and effort.
✔️ Customizable Booking Forms- Classcard's customizable online booking forms allow you to gather necessary camper information such as medical history, emergency contacts, dietary restrictions and more beyond the usual name, age, and date of birth.
✔️ Branded Online Booking Page- Our online booking page allows you to showcase your camp offerings in a sophisticated yet comprehensive manner. You can add pictures, descriptions, dates, timings and other session details. You can further set up flexible booking options—single sessions, multi-day passes, course tickets, trial classes, waitlists and limited batch sizes.
✔️ Secure Payment Processing- Payment processing is a breeze with Classcard’s multiple payment integrations. Our feature-rich platform easily generates invoices, automates payment reminders, payment collection, and subscriptions and even provides for simple refunds and credit issues, all in just a few clicks.
Once registered, all camper data is automatically organized within Classcard—searchable, filterable, and exportable. Your staff can quickly access details, mark attendance, or view payment status, all from a single dashboard.
Your staff is the backbone of your summer camp. Employing well-trained, and reliable personnel will not only ensure smooth camp operations but will also create memorable, enriching experiences for your campers.
Before you start recruitment, consider the following aspects:
These considerations will help you determine roles, responsibilities and the number of people required.
Make sure you’re hiring a qualified crew with relevant experience and expertise required to conduct the activities planned. Remember, working with children is a whole different ball game, so you’ll need someone who is:
Conduct thorough background checks, verify references and provide intensive training covering safety protocols and emergency procedures before the camp begins.
💡 Pro-tip: Organize a staff bonding session (a team lunch, a friendly sports game, a workshop) before the camp begins to boost camaraderie and build trust among the team. You could also keep this tradition alive throughout the camp (e.g., weekly pizza Fridays) to provide a safe space for your staff and boost morale.
Classcard’s effective staff management features can help you:
Safety is non-negotiable. Maintaining a secure, hygienic environment helps campers feel safe and comfortable and assures parents peace of mind.
💡 Pro-tip: Mention your safety and hygiene measures in your promotional material to build trust among parents.
Now that registration is live and you’ve started recruiting campers, it's a good time for some warm introductions. Many parents might naturally have concerns about sending their kids to a new environment with new people, and regular, friendly communication can put them at ease.
On approaching the camp date, create a WhatsApp group or a dedicated mailing list for registered parents. Use this channel to send out timely updates.
Keep this momentum going even during the camp by sending daily or weekly updates, sharing photos or short videos of activities (parents love seeing their children having fun!), reminders about upcoming sessions, and more.
💡 Pro-Tip: Use Classcard’s bulk email and messaging features to schedule and send these updates efficiently, without jumping between chats and tools.
Feedback is an often overlooked yet important part of the summer camp planning process. You want to know whether your campers enjoyed themselves, whether you’ve been able to achieve what you planned, and what you could do to improve.
Feedback could be gathered periodically, say every week during a month-long camp, or at the end of the summer camp program, and should include valuable insights from both students and parents. Some questions you could ask include:
Assessing your camps strengths and weaknesses can help you to improve the next summer camp experience. Besides, collecting feedback also makes participants feel valued and heard.
With Classcard’s customizable digital forms, collecting structured feedback is quick and simple. Plus, you can pair feedback data with Classcard’s built-in reporting tools to:
In today’s AI-driven world, building real connections and maintaining relationships is something that can truly set you apart. Just because camp is over, doesn't mean your relation with your campers and their families should end too. You’ve spent a beautiful summer creating lasting memories and playing an essential role in their child’s growth journey. In fact, staying in touch with them is a great way to ensure they’ll remember you fondly, eagerly waiting for more of what you have to offer. This way, they’re also more likely to join you for your regular programs or your next summer camp.
Here are a few simple ways to stay engaged with your client base:
Planning, organizing and running a summer camp is a lot of work, and can get very overwhelming. But with the right camp management system, you can easily streamline your processes, save time and effort, and focus on creating meaningful experiences for your participants.
Here’s how Classcard makes running a summer camp hassle-free:
✅ Simplified registration through customizable student registration forms with integrated waitlisting.
💳 Secure online payment processing and refunds for a smooth and reliable checkout experience.
📢 Effective communication with students and parents through bulk messages, automated notifications, and personalized reminders.
🧍♂️ Attendance tracking to monitor camper attendance daily and ensuring accurate records.
👩🏫 Staff management tools to maintain staff profiles, assign roles and working hours, and handle payroll and leaves.
📊 Smart reporting & data- driven insights to improve future camps and support your marketing efforts.
Whether you're running a science bootcamp, a football training course or a creative arts camp this summer, Classcard is your go-to tool! Let us take the admin load off your plate so you can focus on delivering an unforgettable experience for both kids and parents.
Thinking about starting or elevating your summer camp program? Want to explore how Classcard can help? Book a free demo now.