Breathing Space Family Yoga Summer Camp

Field trip! Botanic garden, 2015

We love outings and classic field trips to return for Summer 2022 but final decisions will be made in May based on the current situation and public health recommendations or venue restrictions.

Past camps have visited the following public-transit accessible destinations:

• Smithsonian Air & Space Museum,
• Museum of Natural History, and
• American History Museum,
• the Renwick Gallery,
• the National Gallery of Art,
• the DC DOE Aquatic Resources and Education Center,
• the Botanic Garden,
• the fire department,
• Capitol Hill Arts Workshop,
• Kingman Island, and even
• the National Zoo and
• gone on an Anacostia river boat tour with RiverKeeper!

We take metrobus, metrorail, and our feet to these destinations. Campers should be prepared for a decent amount of walking and for carrying their backpack/lunch wherever we go.

We send our draft outing / playground / waterplay schedule to parents the weekend before camp. If you give us a heads up about known conflicts well in advance, we may be able to plan around that.

We plan to do outdoor time and/or eat lunch off site nearly every day.

• Studio-based camps in June/July will do out-of-studio activities – playgrounds, water play, or yoga in the park – most mornings.
• Christ Church-based camps typically spend the mornings at the church and playgrounds/water-play for lunch and early afternoon. 

Our favorite playgrounds are Peabody, Brent, Watkins and Tyler Elementary schools and Marion and Garfield Parks (All walking excursions). We have visited both Canal Park and Yards Park for water play (The Circulator bus takes us there from 8th Street). 

We send our draft outing / playground / waterplay schedule to parents the weekend before camp. If you give us a heads up about known conflicts well in advance, we may be able to plan around that.

Drop-off can begin at 8:45 am, though we are will not begin any structured programming until after 9 am.

Please don’t drop off early. Our staff really do need the time between 8-8:45 am to prep for the day.

Unless we have a field trip scheduled and have notified you in advance, Christ Church camps will be at the church through mid-morning. Activities usually begin by 9:30 am, so campers arriving after that may miss something.

Studio-based camps in June/July will spend most mornings out of the studio because we share the space with music class and early-childhood yoga. Most days we will be in the neighborhood, but if you are dropping off late, you will have to meet us somewhere.

Playground time

Please let us know in advance when you have a camp conflict so we can flag any challenges this may pose on a particular day. We will accommodate as best we can.

Camp schedule is somewhat fluid and we are usually out of the church for at least part of every camp day, so pick-up for and drop-off after doctor’s appointments or other conflicts may mean meeting us at an outing destination.  Please check confirm with your camp director on the morning of camp.

Please note that studio based camps in June/July 2022 will do out-of-studio activities most mornings from 9 am-noon. If you will arrive late, you will likely need to drop off at our outing destination.

We send our draft outing / playground / waterplay schedule to parents the weekend before camp but we start making plans weeks or months before camp. If you give us a heads up about known conflicts well in advance, we may be able to plan around them.

Yoga camp does not allow for regular half-day pickup and is not appropriate for campers not up for significant walking and activity during the day. All our outing destinations are reached by public transportation and/or walking.

Our camp venues have evening programing most nights of the week. Additionally, camp counselors often have their own evening commitments. Please help us be good community members and avoid staff and camper distress by picking up on time.

Campers picked up after the designated pickup time (3 pm or 5:30 pm) will be charged a flat $15 late fee (per child). Parents will be expected to pay on pickup.

Campers picked up more than 15 minutes late (3:15 or 5:45 pm) will be charged a flat $50 late fee (per child). Parents will be expected to pay on pickup.

If you think you might be late to pickup, please call.

CHECK BACK IN MAY FOR MORE SUMMER 2022 DETAILS

Campers should wear clothing for movement – shorts under skirts please! – and layers appropriate for the weather. Camp is very active and your camper may be warm during our yoga classes.

Your camper should also have walking and playground appropriate shoes – No flip-flops, no open-healed crocs or clogs, no ballet flats. If your camper arrives in in inappropriate shoes, you may be asked to bring an alternative pair before lunch.

Your camper needs weather-appropriate outer wear. Unless weather is dangerously terrible, we are going outside. In winter, that means hats, gloves, coats, long pants (yes, we’ve had campers show up with bare legs mid-winter), rain gear etc. If they are inappropriately dressed, they are going to be cold and/or wet.

All PK4/K campers need a change of underwear, pants and socks! Even if you think they are completely reliable about their bathroom needs, accidents happen. We find campers caught up in the fun of camp don’t want to stop and go to the bathroom. Even with regular reminders, PK4/K campers (and sometimes older ones) tend to overestimate how long they can wait, especially when we are out on the playground and bathrooms are not convenient.

CHECK BACK IN MAY FOR MORE SUMMER 2023 DETAILS

Campers do not have to bring their own yoga mats, but are welcome to do so. In addition campers need the following supplies:

• • Morning Snack;
  • Lunch; **no tree nuts or peanuts please**
  • optional afternoon snack (if staying for games);
  • Water bottle;
  • Yoga class – shorts under skirts please – and outdoor weather-appropriate clothing;
  • Rain or cold weather gear as needed, including raincoat, umbrella, rain boots or waterproof shoes, hats, and gloves — we spend time outdoors in ALL WEATHER
  • a clean, well fitted mask in a ziplock bag, labeled with your campers name
  • optional change of clothes, especially on rainy days

• Walking shoes – no flip-flops, open-heal crocs/clogs or ballet flats;
• Sunscreen should be pre-applied if needed;
• Swimsuits and a change of clothing on water play days (typically 2 days Tuesday-Friday depending on weather);
• A backpack in which your camper can comfortably carry their own lunch, water bottle and towel (for waterplay days).

PK4 campers need the following additional items:

• A change of underwear, pants, and socks. Even typically reliable children can have bathroom accidents when they get distracted and don’t want to stop playing to visit the restroom and PK/K campers have a tendency to have non-bathroom messy accidents as well, for which a change is helpful.
• **summer only** Nap mat or blanket for rest time (K campers can opt into nap during PK-4th weeks too);

Refunds will usually be issued by the payment card used for registration or check mailed to the address on your account profile within 30 days of refund request receipt.

If your refund is dependent on another participant taking your spot in a program and the spot isn’t immediately filled, refunds will be issued within 30 days of the scheduled program start date rather than request receipt.

We hate to cancel camp. We know parents are counting on camp and our staff are counting on the work. If we cancel camp before the start of the week (or day for school-year camps), we issue refunds.

School Year Camps may be cancelled due to low enrollment 14 days in advance of camp. Within 14 days, we would only cancel due to weather or another emergency.

Summer Camp cancellations are unusual and will be made based on enrollment projections by May 31.

SUMMER 2021: We may cancel camp if public health guidance/regulation closes our venue or otherwise requires it or in the case of COVID-19 exposure by campers. If camp is closed before the week begins, we will issue refunds and transfers. If camp closes mid-week, we are unable to offer refunds.

Weather or emergency cancellations: Because we do not use DCPS facilities for camp, we are not obligated to follow their weather cancellations policies, but some of our venues do anyway. If staff can safely get to camp and the facility is available, we will try to hold camp. We are more likely to cancel if the federal government shuts down. We will send emails and post messages to social media if camp is cancelled or delayed due to weather. Make sure your registration email is one you check regularly and follow us on social media.

Each summer season, we need a signed liability waiver and photo release and behavior standards agreement for each camper. This is a longer version of the waiver you complete when you register. Please bring a copy or plan to fill it out in the morning.

We also need you to update your participant information in your account profile. Include anything you think would be useful but especially:

• Allergies – Remind us about food allergies at drop-off on the first camp day of the week too please.
• Pickup notes/authorizations
• School
• Grade
• T-shirt Size

Also, make sure you get updates about Breathing Space programming as well as messages from your counselor with additional information about your camp by opting into our email list in the registration system. If you choose not to get emails, you will only get receipts and emergency cancellation notices. 

What’s this t-shirt thing? Order Extras!

Campers are required to wear either a camp t-shirt or bandana on all outings for safety reasons. No exceptions. Each camper will get a t-shirt during their first camp week of the season (one shirt per camper per summer, size requests are in your account profile).

But we do outings almost every day and t-shirts are unlikely to stay clean all week. We always have bandanas on hand (and those are required on water days because they can get wet), not all campers care for them.

If your camper would like to have an extra shirt(s), there will be an opportunity to order them in March.

Extra shirts are $TBD per child. We get a bulk discount because this is part of our annual order, so the order form will not take payment, only size requests. We will charge to the card on your account file or we will send a payment request if there is no card on file.

We put our Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) on all our receipts, so check there. The receipt may be all you need for reimbursement.  If you can’t locate your receipt. Please send a request by email to have it resent.

If you need forms signed, you can

1. Get them signed by any of our lead instructors on the day of camp. Please have them filed out with camper information, EIN, and date(s) of attendance. 
2. Mail them with a with a self-addressed stamped envelope for return to: Breathing Space, 713 14th Street SE, Washington DC 20003

Unfortunately, we cannot accept emailed forms or arrange for pickup of forms. We work with several hundred families and printing and mailing your forms adds up in administrative time. 

Our registration system automatically creates waitlists for any fully enrolled camp or class. To get on the waitlist, you complete the registration process but do not submit payment.

If a camp fills way in advance, we will consider expanding staffing to accommodate waitlisted families.

If a spot opens up, we will contact you about submitting payment or for confirmation before we charge the payment method in your profile.

It is impossible to predict waitlist movement: In some camps, we have several families change plans, sometimes at the very last minute. Sometimes when a spot opens, the first waitlisted family takes it. Other times, we call through the whole list, and everyone has made other plans. So while we always recommend getting on the waitlist if you want to be called, we generally cannot make likelihood predictions.

Speed things up upon confirmation by saving a payment card to your account profile. We use NMI which is a secure, PCI-compliant merchant processing gateway to store payment information.

Please Do Not Pay for Waitlisted Enrollment

You should not be asked to choose a payment method when you submit a waitlist-only order and your receipt will reflect “(pay later)” status. If your waitlist registration requests payment, please reach out; don’t submit payment.

Breathing Space has had a chronic problem of last minute additions to camp aftercare. While accommodating one or two campers isn’t usually a problem, sometimes we get half a dozen last minute additions in the week before a camp and sometimes several on the morning of camp.

We get that life is sometimes unpredictable and last minute changes happen and want to help, but we suspect a fair amount of the last minute additions are caused by parents not being sure of their after camp plan when they sign up and then forgetting to do anything about it until days before or even the day of camp.

Last minute additions to aftercare sometimes leave us or the Labyrinth education director scrambling to add staff to aftercare or push us over our desired camper to staff ratios. 

Aftercare costs $16 per day until two weeks before camp. After that, it’s $20 per day.