After-school Care is not currently available. It may become available once the new Brentwood school is open, so let me know if it’s an option you’re interested in for the fall!
Camp Vámonos! after-school care focuses on free play and relaxation after school.
Hours: 3:00 pm pick-up at Brentwood Elementary to 6:00pm
Ages: 5-11
Camp Vamonos! After-School Care is enrolling. This program is for kids whose parents want more outdoor time and free play for them, and who value their kids being part of a group of really great, exuberant kids who’ve been together, in some cases, since the beginning of the program.
This program is for people who love the work of Peter Gray. It’s for people who want their children to have a childhood more like the one their grandparents had instead of one filled with screens and anxiety. People who know that kids are born to learn, love and play, and that no one has to teach them how to do it.
It’s not for kids whose parents want more structure for them after school. If you think play fighting is fighting instead of play, this program is not for you. If you expect caregivers to teach your child to not make noise or messes or take normal childhood risks (like climbing trees), this program is not for you.
I strive to make Camp Vamonos! not just a business but a community. If you want more community for yourself and your children, this is for you. (Many of my families have been with me long-term; they do not just after-school care but summer camp, etc. If you’d like to talk to one of them, let me know!)
Come hang out with us and see for yourself…
Several days per week we stay at Brentwood Park all afternoon. Kids need many hours of time outdoors a week, and our time at the park makes it clear why: outside is where kids do their best exploring, learning about the natural world, getting the exercise they need, and developing elaborate play schemes. It’s a joy to watch how they cooperate, use the simple materials at hand in complex ways, and fill hours and hours without screens. In the process they’re developing enormous resilience, confidence, and executive function.
During the spring semester of 2019, we played Game of Village on Wednesday afternoons. Village is a wonderfully fun and educational way to learn about the world by creating “peeps” (characters) who must be clothed and housed and who must work. There is Village money and a trading post where one’s material needs can be obtained, and everyone has a job. It’s great collaborative, hands-on learning about how the world works, and Cheryl Kruckeberg, of Game of Village Austin, was our guide on this adventure. Here are some photos from our Game of Village:
About Megan Baker
I’m a bilingual mom with tons of childcare experience and respect for kids’ intelligence. I let them take reasonable risks and solve their problems as much as possible because that’s how they learn and develop self-control and mastery. I also encourage them to help each other instead of looking to me for everything. I don’t talk down to kids and I don’t treat them like glass figurines. I help them when they need it and I don’t when they don’t, and I don’t assume they need adults to figure everything out for them. I do, however, laugh quite a bit with them. They can be quite funny, you know!
Location
Camp Vámonos! after-school care in Austin, Texas is centrally located in the Crestview neighborhood. Click here for a detailed map.
Fees and Policies
- $250 per month, due on the first of the month. Twice monthly payments may be arranged. Rates for August, December and January are pro-rated.
- 30 days notice is required to withdraw from the program
- For days when AISD is closed, aside from the days that Camp Vamonos! is closed, children can come for the whole day for an extra $35 per day during months that are not pro-rated, $45 during months that are. Parents will provide a healthy lunch and four snacks for full-day camps. Hours for those days are 8:30am to 5:30 pm.