In January, I received a handful of brochures for local summer camps.

“Too soon.” I thought. After briefly flipping through them, I tucked them away for spring.

Then I forgot about it until a month before school let out. So basically, I missed the boat. Again. Luckily, Mini Me’s school is having a camp this year, and registration opened in May.

Summer camp is serious business. If you don’t have your plans figured out by spring break, then it’s rough finding a solution before the close of the school year. Here’s what I’ve done now to make sure I’m in better shape for 2015.

1. Asked around. Get recommendations from parents and teachers. A friend of mine enrolled her daughter in a free camp offered by D.A.R.E. and local law enforcement. Mini Me’s teacher sent us a notice about another free camp where kids plant a community garden to learn about food production. (I looked at the e-mail two weeks too late. Sigh)

2. Reviewed outdated brochures. Some camps wouldn’t have worked for us because of location, camp hours, or price. Others seem as if they would be good options. Most of them have detailed registration procedures with incentives for early enrollment.

3. Made note of annual activities. Our school generally lets out around Memorial Day and starts again in early August. My mother-in-law takes Mini Me on an week-long trip every July. I need to keep these dates in mind.

With this general information, I filled my calendar with reminders.

August 2014: Check in with friend on D.A.R.E. camp. How was it? Would she consider it again for next year?

January 2015: Check to see if camps of interest have released new schedules. Review information and make additional calendar reminders based on registration dates.

Early February: Do a second check on camp schedules. Update registration reminders if needed.

Late February – Early March: Turn in registrations. Breath a sigh of relief.

It will be a while before I can let you know how this worked out, but it’s got to be better than the alternative.

How do you stay ahead of  summer planning?