A year ago, I wrote a post about our return to play at our 2020 Summer Camp. Re-reading the post now, it’s amazing to be transported back to the beginning of having children rejoin after-school and camp activities. As we are on the cusp of our 2021 Summer Camp, it’s impossible not to reflect on the changes. Local neighborhood public schools in Park Slope just went back to five-days-a-week of full-time classroom learning. The CDC has changed mask mandates for fully vaccinated adults. Vaccines for adolescents and preadolescents are on the horizon. It feels like we’re about to take an important step.

Summer Camp 2021 feels like both a celebration and a moment to pause and be grateful for how far we’ve come. And to acknowledge all that young people have sacrificed, some without even knowing it, to help us get to this point. So many children in the Early Childhood development stage have essentially been out of regular school for two years. The processes that educators and families have developed to teach remotely on the fly are normalized for many kids. Let’s be grateful as we wind down this incredible school year, to all the kids and teachers who have been on the edge of all our transitions and abrupt changes. Wishing everyone an amazing start to the summer!