Camps are designed for short-term programs like summer camps, school-out days, or special events. Unlike classes, camps are built around specific dates and daily schedules, with pricing tied to how long students attend each day.
To understand camps, it helps to see how the pieces fit together.
The Camp Structure
Camps are built in three layers:
Camp ➡️ Camp Sessions ➡️ Time Periods
Each layer has a distinct purpose:
- Camp: Establishes the overall setup and details
- Camp Sessions: Outline single or weekly dates and optional themes and capacities within the overall camp
- Time Periods: Define enrollment and pricing
What a Camp Defines
A Camp is the top-level container. It defines the overall setup of the specific type of camp, e.g., Spring Break Camp, and applies to all Camp Sessions and Time Periods within it.
Camp setup includes:
- Details: General information including the camp name, categories, and description
- Timeframe: The overall earliest start and latest end dates for your entire camp type or season along with registration start and end dates
- Visibility: Whether the camp is displayed in the Parent Portal
- Pricing: Billing details including deposit specifics, transaction types, and fee settings
- Enrollee Details: Age and gender restrictions and maximum camp size
Camp Sessions
A Camp Session specifies which days a camp is offered during the overall camp timeframe. Sessions enable you to offer multiple date options under a single camp, instead of creating separate camps.
Families enroll in a Camp Session, not the camp itself. The session determines attendance dates, while the camp provides the overall structure.
Sessions can be:
- Single-day: A single day (like a school-out day)
or - Multi-day: A short range of days (like a Monday–Friday week)
Each session can have its own name and description, making it easy to offer variations such as different themes.
Example
The Spring Break Camp runs from March 16 through March 27. During that time two multi-day sessions are available for students to enroll in:
- Curious Creators: Monday March 16 - Friday March 20
- Art in Bloom: Monday March 23 - Friday March 27
Sessions do not define daily schedules or pricing - those are handled by Time Periods.
Time Periods
Camp Time Periods define which part of the day a student attends during a Camp Session.
Each Camp Session has a Core Time Period, which represents the main or full-day option. Some Camp Sessions may also include additional Time Periods. These are partial-day options that families can choose instead of the Core Time Period, each with its own fee.
There are two types of Time Periods:
- Core Time Period - The default, full-day attendance option for the session
- Additional Time Periods - Optional portions of the day that can be enrolled in separately, such as:
- Early Drop-Off
- Half-Day Part 1
- Half-Day Part 2
- Late Pick-Up
Students enroll in a Time Period within a Camp Session. The selected Time Period determines when the student attends and which fee is charged.
Billing
Camp billing is based on which Camp Session and Time Period they choose.
At a high level:
- Pricing comes from the selected Time Period
- Charges apply to the Camp Session the student enrolls in
Camps may require a deposit at enrollment. When used:
- The deposit is paid right away
- The remaining balance is charged later
Billing is handled separately from regular class charges and is tied directly to camp enrollment.
