Summer at Sandy Spring — Local services in Maryland

My kids (now 9 & 11) have been going to Summer at Sandy Spring since 2021, and they seriously love it more every year. There are so many ways to tailor the camp to their interests through a large selection of arts, sports, STEM-related workshop-style rotations. Our kids especially love the pond time, both during the day and in after care.

The camp runs really smoothly thanks to the directors, Elizabeth and Alex. They’re super organized, communicate clearly with parents, and just really care about creating a great experience for the kids. Drop-off and pick-up are a breeze, which I truly appreciate! I am equally grateful that they provide campers with lunch that includes many options to accomodate kids with various food preferences or allergies.

When our kids were younger and still learning how to navigate social dynamics, we occasionally felt that the young counselors could have used more support or training on how to handle tricky behavior or conflicts. It wasn’t a huge issue, but it’s something to be aware of if you have a child who might need a little more support. That said, now that our kids are older, they absolutely thrive at camp and come home happy and exhausted in the best way. For families with younger children who may need extra social-emotional support, I’d recommend reaching out to the directors in advance. They’re incredibly responsive and committed to making camp a great experience for...

It’s so unfortunate to have to write this review. My kids have been going to SASS for many years - 6 plus weeks each summer (except this summer was 3 weeks due to my kids’ interests in other local week camps). This summer at SASS is definitely our last.

The main camp staff members are not communicative. I have heard this many times but didn’t experience this myself until recently. My son legitimately hurt himself during the main camp day (chipped two adult teeth in a fluke run-in by another kid). He told his counselor he chipped adult teeth. No call home. No visit to the nurse. I didn’t learn about it until I picked my son up at the end of the camp day (Friday) and my son told me. Once I finally heard back from the head camp office staff person on Monday after my repeated calls and emails on Fri, the lackluster response was more than disappointing. (I won’t even go into what was said but the gist was this: They said my (9 year old!) son didn’t want to go to the nurse, hence no nurse visit. That was pretty much all he said. No apology. Nothing.).

After a next day weekend dentist appt to file his adult teeth and get X-rays for nerve damage, there are too many other camps in the area to consider - many which my kids tried for this first time this summer and enjoyed. We won’t be...

My children have been going to Sandy Spring for the last three years and have absolutely loved it! They have a variety of activities for the kids to try each week, all lead by friendly and caring staff. Kids can do dance and flight science in the same week, which is pretty cool

The camp has also really helped my child grow socially, as it introduced her to so many new kids from outside of her typical school. She comes home every day talking about new friends she’s making and asking for play dates.

Best of all, they serve lunch! It’s good home cooked food, much better than MCPS, with a variety of options for the kids to choose from. It’s such a time saver to not have to make lunches over the summer, so I get to relax a bit too!

And to the parent who said carpool was chaotic and there is a lack of info: I have found carpool to be very well run. They have a ton of staff on hand to get kids to or from cars safely and efficiently. Likewise, they send an email every Wednesday with updated information about your kids schedule for the next week. Sometimes those emails pop into spam, but that’s...