East Lake Family Y 2026 Summer Day Camp

Earliest drop off is 7:00 AM and latest pick up at 6:00 PM with structured camp activities happening between 8:30 AM and 4:15 PM.

All person's picking up campers will need their ID on them and accessible because it will be checked. 

Carpool line for drop off is open from 7:00 AM to 8:15 AM, and 4:15 PM - 6:00 PM. In between those times, parents will need to come into the building to drop off and pick up their children. 

Swimming activities begin promptly at 9:00 AM, so while parents can drop their children off as late as 10:30 AM, campers who arrive late will potentially miss out on swim time.

Early pick up is not a problem.

A water bottle, change of clothes, a towel, close toed shoes on their feet. Campers should arrive in their swim clothes with something on as a coverup that they can safely run and play in until swim sessions start.

Tablets, laptops, or electronics of any kind. 

Campers are allowed to use the YMCA's phone to call their parents at anytime, but East Lake Summer Camp is a screen free environment. 

Please do not send students with screens or technology, valuables of any kind, or food containing any kind of nuts. 

We encourage students not to bring toys or things from home that they might lose.

Close toed shoes safe for running, appropriate swimwear, a change of clothes. The campers change clothes in the bathrooms near the pool, and occasionally clothes are dropped or splashed during the transition from the pool. It is helpful when campers have backup items in the event that their clothes get wet.

Please send campers with any medications they need throughout the day and complete the medication administration portion of the registration packet. 

All recurring illnesses or allergies should be listed there as well as they impact your camper's safety and enjoyment at summer camp. 

We encourage families to send sunscreen as well. Students who do not feel well or display symptoms of illness need to be picked up within one hour of contact by the Director.

East Lake has planned a variety of elective activities to which all campers have access every day. 

This includes outdoor swim when weather permits, a thirty minute recess on our playground when there is no rain and heat index is safe. Our outdoor spaces are often well shaded, and our pavilion where we will have morning snack and Yoga instruction has a roof and fans. 

Elective instructors are all encouraged to utilize outdoor classroom space when safe and reasonable to encourage campers to connect with the outdoors no matter what skills they are learning. 

However, because heat and hydration are significant concerns during the summer, children will not be outside for more than 40 minutes without a break and ready access to water.

We provide two snacks and lunch, and all campers are welcome to enjoy. However, we encourage any campers who are particular about food to brig something nut-free from home, and if they see something from us they want to try or they know they like, they are always welcome to receive snack and lunch from us in addition to what they brought from home. We don't want any campers to go hungry!

Camper age groups are 5-6 year olds, 7 - 9 year olds, 10-12 year olds, and 13- 15 for our teen leadership camp. 

From 9am to about 3pm, camper groups are very exclusive to the age groups, and there is only intermingling of ages during spirit competitions or other large group activities during General Assembly. We plan to have a quick morning assembly each day as well where counselors double check attendance, go over the details of the day, review expectations, and break up the groups for the start of the first activity block which includes swim, morning snack, and yoga/mindfulness with an instructor. 

After this rotation of activities, campers do an academic session (think foreign language exploration, math competitions, spelling bees, or in house field trips) and recess before going to lunch. The lunch rooms are shared, but campers will still be asked to pick up their meals and find seats in order of groups for efficiency and to encourage them to sit with developmentally appropriate peers during this time. 

After lunch, elective rotations begin and each day campers can select three specialty activities out of nine including cooking, STEM, knitting/crochet, basketball, soccer, dance/cheer, music, and more! 

Afterward, we do a final group assembly where counselor put on skits or compete with one another, all groups compete in games, spirit competitions, etc. before dismissing to post camp activities like board games, coloring, gym activities, and more.

Yes, all campers have the opportunity to swim every single day, but they do not have too.

There are also times during the week when we may participate in water activities like water balloon fights, etc.

Behavior should reflect the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. Our camp community is intended to be a safe place where all participants can try and learn new things. Following expectations of the YMCA and listening to YMCA staff directives is essential to maintaining our Youth and Teen Safety standards. In order to have fun and stay safe, all campers and staff are required to be collaborative and respectful of one another.

Updates and all other correspondence should occur through Ms. Rachel. 

Calls or emails at Rachel.Dabney@ymcaatlanta.org work, but email is preferred. If parents call and don't get me, they are able to leave a voicemail which I can listen to remotely and will return as soon as possible.

Partnership is key with summer camp at the Y. We want to know what parents know! 

All campers have unique needs and communication styles, and we can learn so much from the insight of the parents regarding their children. With that being said, any reports of behavior are meant to keep our documentation aligned with our mission and core values. Behavior reports are a method of communication and partnership-- not a punishment. 

We just ask that parents be open to collaboration with us during the summer! And please don't hesitate to bring any feedback to Ms. Rachel!

I'm Ms. Rachel, and I absolutely love planning for and spending the summer with your kids. My philosophy in any learning environment is the education can change the individual, the neighborhood, and the whole world all at once, and summer camp at the Y is no different! While we do value spending time reviewing and keeping our academic skills sharp, the other skills we learn at summer camp are meant to help us be the captain of our learning, and feel confident that we can overcome any problem. Fun facts about me are that I love animals, reading, and writing.