Camps for kids

[laruss]

I am looking for a summer camp for a 2.8 year old. Is anyone aware of any? Any classes where he can be dropped off for a time? He really wants to spend time with kids while we are in the city for the next month....

Lauren

 

[ChooSoong]

You can check out Club de Amigos. They have colonia program which runs till end February.

 

[nativexpat]

Yep. Club de amigos rocks. My children take swimming classes there. Their site is pretty good - they even post prices in it (a miracle for an Argentine site)!

Otherwise, you can always go there in person & ask the security guard to let you in - he'll ask for your ID and give you a 30-minute pass to take a guided or solo tour and get more info at the information desk. I love that place. Everything works - staff is great.

www.clubdeamigos.org.ar

 

[laruss]

Thank you!

 

[Risu]

Hello! Please beware of Club de Amigos for your child. We were members there for 3 years and unfortunately, over the years, it changed from being wonderful to being NOT the place to send your child. By the way, our daughter is totally fluent in Spanish. Now the classes are over-crowded, with the children sitting around waiting for activities for much too long & some of the staff can be intolerant & abusive to the children. This was our 4 year old daughters experience last summer and after attending a week, we received an email of a cell phone photo taken by a friend, of our daughter, standing with tears in her eyes & her hands covering her ears while her teacher was screaming at her in the pool area. Naturally, we pulled her out immediately, and demanded our membership fees & summer tution back. Well, it took a year of phoning & setting up meetings to no avail, until we hired Maria at Settling in Services Buenos Aires to set up a meeting with the right people & advocate for us. Maria got us a full refund & an apology to our daughter. It took us a very long time to erase the trauma of this experience from our daughters memory. I suggest you visit Club de Amigos at the afternoon session & just observe. If you need help finding a club for your children, email, Maria .at [email protected]. She helps ExPats find the best programs & schools for their children all the time.

 

[AngelinBA]

If you´re around Barrio Norte and don´t mind a Spanish language setting, there´s a kindergarten called El Cid Campeador that runs all year round, they have one day a week (I think) where the little ones are at a campo de deportes but the rest of the time they´re in the classroom, there´s a gorgeous little patio where they put up a small pool for the kids to play in. The classes are small, the price is ... well, reasonable and my kids loved it there. It is all in Spanish, though. They do start learning English at the kindergarten, so some of the teachers speak at least the basics of the language

 

[nledec]

I'm sorry about Risu's bad experience at the Club de Amigos.

To give you another viewpoint I personally can't recommend it enough. My son (7) goes to all day camp there and has for two years. He adores it. Several other children from his school are also enrolled in camp and with all positive results. We are also pool members (fantastic), and my son takes classes during the school year. My interactions with the staff, particularly the teachers, have always left me extremely satisfied and impressed. To my knowledge, the club's overall reputation in the city is very positive, and amongst the parents (native porteños) at my son's school it is seen as a most reliable place to send small children.

 

[andebobandy]

I have had about a dozen different people tell me about this place http://www.risasdelatierra.com.ar/

I haven't investigated too much because my son is a little too young, but everyone that has mentioned it has sung their praises.

If you check it out, let me know what you think. I'd like to try it when he hits 18 months.

 

[AnalogDreamer]

I was coming to recommend risas de la tierra too. It is very art oriented and the teachers are very devoted, even when they get paid peanuts (i was offered a job there) but the activities and the place are really nice. teaching positions are never copensated well here.

 

[nativexpat]

Hello! Please beware of Club de Amigos for your child. We were members there for 3 years and unfortunately, over the years, it changed from being wonderful to being NOT the place to send your child. By the way, our daughter is totally fluent in Spanish. Now the classes are over-crowded, with the children sitting around waiting for activities for much too long & some of the staff can be intolerant & abusive to the children. This was our 4 year old daughters experience last summer and after attending a week, we received an email of a cell phone photo taken by a friend, of our daughter, standing with tears in her eyes & her hands covering her ears while her teacher was screaming at her in the pool area. Naturally, we pulled her out immediately, and demanded our membership fees & summer tution back. Well, it took a year of phoning & setting up meetings to no avail, until we hired Maria at Settling in Services Buenos Aires to set up a meeting with the right people & advocate for us. Maria got us a full refund & an apology to our daughter. It took us a very long time to erase the trauma of this experience from our daughters memory. I suggest you visit Club de Amigos at the afternoon session & just observe. If you need help finding a club for your children, email, Maria .at [email protected]. She helps ExPats find the best programs & schools for their children all the time.

Wow! Sorry to hear that ...