Specialty & Sports Camp

Classic day camp: Children entering PreK through Grade 2 (campers must be 3 years old by January 1). Junior Camp serves rising Pre-K and Kindergarten students and Senior Camp serves rising 1-2 graders. Specialty & Sports camps vary by program, but generally serve children in rising K-Grade 3.
 

All groups will have a maximum of 20 campers.

Many of our camp head counselors are head teachers or associate teachers at Berkeley Carroll during the academic year. Others work in our after school program or teach at elementary schools or preschools throughout NYC and/or recent college graduates.

The assistant counselors are usually rising high school juniors and seniors. The CITs (Counselors-in-Training) are rising high school freshmen and sophomores. 

Berkeley Carroll’s Children’s Day Camps is based at the Berkeley Carroll Lower School on Carroll Street in the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn. Our campus has air-conditioned classrooms, a play yard, music room, art room, library, a gymnasium, and an indoor, four-lane, 75-foot long swimming pool.

The addresses of these facilities are 701 and 712 Carroll Street and 762 President Street (for swimming). 

Your child’s counselor will send out an email the Friday before his/her camp begins, which will confirm the location of the camp and provide details of drop-off and pick-up. Even if you are unsure of which building your child’s camp will take place in, there will be many counselors and other personnel on hand every Monday morning to help direct you to the right place.
 

8:30 am to 3:30 pm for all campers.
Please note that drop-off begins at 8:30 am. Children who arrive prior to 8:30 am must go to extended day childcare, as our counselors are not ready to receive campers earlier than 8:30 am. Likewise, pick-up begins at 3:30 pm, and all campers who are not picked up by 3:45 will be escorted to our extended day program.What is a typical day like?
All campers have 30 minutes of swimming daily week and one to two 30-minute sessions of daily outdoor play. Camp groups also have free time built into their schedule where they may take trips to Prospect Park or other nearby playgrounds.

Children in our classic day camps also have special activities such as Music, Movement, Art, Chess, STEAM, and Performing Arts. 

Campers in our specialty and sports camps will participate in their specialty/sport of choice for about 2.5 hours of the day. 

The rest of the day is devoted to projects, activities, lessons, or games designed by their head counselor, which center around a specific theme for the week. 
 

All of the swimming that takes place at the camp is instructional, and each camp group typically spends 30 minutes in the pool daily. Red Cross certified Water Safety Instructors teach small groups of children a variety of strokes and skills, based on their age and experience. Children are divided by level and are closely supervised not only by the WSIs, but also by a team of lifeguards, our aquatics directors, and by their counselors. Fridays are typically “Free Swim Fridays,” where our swim staff will facilitate various games for our campers that incorporate some of the skills they’ve learned throughout the week. 

It isn’t a problem - we expect many of the campers will have limited swimming experience prior to joining the camp. Children who are totally new swimmers (or fairly new swimmers) will start with basic skills, like putting their face in the water, blowing bubbles, etc. We certainly can’t guarantee that you child will know how to swim by the end of the summer, since every child learns at their own pace, but if the child is participating in multiple sessions of camp, they should be much more comfortable with being in the water and should be well on their way to being a swimmer

Bus service is not provided for Berkeley Carroll summer programs.
 

While we do not guarantee any requests, if two (or several) children of the same age are doing the same program, then they can most likely be in a group together. We do try and limit the number of friends in a single camp group to create a more inviting social environment for other campers. Parents should fill out the special request form by May 1, 2026 to indicate any friend or group preferences.
 

No, definitely not. We have a good mix of Berkeley Carroll children, non-BC children, returning campers, new campers, neighborhood children, children from other parts of Brooklyn and the city, etc. Our counselors also make every effort to create a cohesive, integrated group, so all children feel welcome and included regardless of whether they come to camp with friends or by themselves.
 

Yes, we offer a morning session for extended day that runs from 7:30 - 8:15 am and an afternoon session that runs from 3:30 pm - 6:00 pm. It is not necessary for students to attend the full extended day session. Instead, families will be billed based on the time the student is present, rounded up to the nearest thirty-minute interval. For example, a student who is dropped off at 8:10 am will be charged for thirty minutes in the morning, and a child who is picked up at 4:25 will be charged for one hour in the afternoon.

Extended day care costs $20/hour, but we do offer discounted tuition for families who use the service more extensively. Here is a list of pricing (which reflects total usage for the whole summer, and not for each week):

0-10 hours: $18/hour
11-20 hours: $17/hour
21-30 hours: $16/hour
31-40 hours: $15/hour
41-50 hours: $14/hour
50+ hours: $12/hour

The prices listed above will only apply to families who pre-pay for extended day. Families who use the service on an as-needed basis will be charged $20/hour and will be invoiced accordingly. Please only purchase the number of hours you are certain you will use, as we are not able to refund families for hours they do not end up needing.

Information about Extended Day will be sent out in late May/early June.
 

Yes, we have a full-time nurse working at the camp to handle all medical situations during regular camp hours. The Nurse will have carefully reviewed all health forms before the start of the summer and might be in touch with families directly if there are any questions about a child’s medical history.

Many of our counselors also have advanced first-aid and CPR training and are able to assist in a medical emergency.
 

Yes, we have many students with serious allergies, and our staff receives training in how to identify anaphylaxis and how to use an EpiPen.
We ask that parents provide two EpiPens for camp: one to be kept with the camper at all times (including swim time and any outings) and one that can be kept with the nurse as back up. EpiPens must be labeled with child’s first and last name and be current (not expired).
Berkeley Carroll is an allergen-aware school, and we do not allow anyone to bring peanuts, tree nuts, sesame or seeds (including sunflower)  into the building.
 

Yes, we are more than happy to work with you to make your child’s birthday special. We welcome parents to come in at the end of that camp day to share a special favorite story, a photo album of a family vacation, or another special memory of your child and to sing Happy Birthday. Unfortunately, due to allergies we can’t have outside treats come into the camp. Thank you for understanding! 

Allergen-aware snacks will be provided by the camp each morning. If your child has any dietary restrictions, please be sure to let us know. Parents need to send lunch with their campers each day. Please be aware that Berkeley Carroll is a seed, nut, and sesame-free environment, and parents should not send these foods in their children’s lunches.
 

Campers will be provided with a t-shirt to wear on the days that they leave campus for park visits. Otherwise, there is no strict dress code, but we recommend that campers wear light, summer clothing and sturdy footwear that allow them to move freely both indoors and outdoors. We also recommend that parents send a clean, dry change of clothes to keep in their children’s cubbies for the week.

Campers should also bring at least one, and preferably two bathing suits and a towel. If your child has swim in the morning, his/her counselor might recommend that you send your child to camp wearing his/her suit. If you are unsure about the scheduling of your child’s swim lesson, please ask his/her counselor on the first day of the week. Parents can leave towels at camp for the week, and take them home to be laundered on Fridays. We will provide swim caps, but if you would like your child to wear goggles or ear plugs, you must provide them yourself. Children should also have a pair of flip-flops, water shoes, or other shoes that can get wet to wear to the pool.

We also recommend that children bring their own tube of sunscreen, which can stay in their cubbies for the duration of camp. While we recommend that you send your child to camp wearing sunscreen. Our counselors typically reapply sunscreen when going outside for recess.
Junior campers usually take a nap or rest time every day after lunch. Parents can send a favorite stuffed animal or blanket for this rest period, but it is not necessary.

We ask that parents clearly label all clothes, toys and accessories that your child wears/brings to camp.Towels, goggles and water shoes/flip flops will stay in campers’ cubbies for the week and be taken home on Friday, even if your student  will be returning to camp the next week. The building is cleaned thoroughly each weekend, which is why belongings need to go home every Friday.
 

Due to direction from the 78th Police Precinct, which oversees Park Slope, no one may double park on Carroll Street and President Street. In addition, families dropping at President Street may not park in the St Francis Xavier Church lot or block their driveway. Emergency vehicles are being held up, and the precinct is requesting compliance and enforcing with ticketing. If you need to do a car drop-off, you will need to find a legal parking space on a side street or pay a meter. Double parkers on the block will be asked to move immediately. We appreciate your cooperation.

No, unfortunately due to fire code restrictions, families cannot bring strollers or scooters into the school buildings. As a courtesy to families, we have space in front of both 701 and 712 Carroll Street where families can store your stroller and scooter during the camp day at your own risk. BC is not responsible for strollers or personal property.
 

The phone number for the summer camp office is 718-534-6538. Please use this number if you need to reach someone during the camp day. You can also reach the camp by email at summer@berkeleycarroll.org.

Your child’s counselor will send out a welcome email the week before each camp session begins. That email will typically go out Friday afternoon, but it may be earlier in the week in some cases. You may also hear from your child’s counselor via email or phone during the week if he/she has any questions, comments or concerns to share with you. The counselors also often send photos to parents at the end of each week.
 

We require a health form. The health form must be less than a year old, per Department of Health regulations and are due May 1st, 2026.  Your child may not attend camp if he/she does not have a health form on file. 

If your child has an allergy or will require medication to be administered during camp, we have specific forms that will need to be submitted. 
 

Berkeley Carroll will issue a full refund of tuition paid, minus a $25 processing fee, if notification of withdrawal is given in writing on or before May 1st. Between May 1st and May 31st, families will receive a full refund minus the 25% deposit. Starting on June 1st, there will be no refunds.