Fun, Sun & Splash Day Camp

Our 2021 plans are TBD.  We anticipate having more concrete Covid-19 protocols by May 1 when the "picture is more clear" regarding Covid-19, vaccines rollout, etc.  Thank you for understanding.  We continue to monitor our procedures and attend webinars and meetings with local, regional and national professional associations such as: Iowa Parks & Recreation Association, National Recreation & Park Association, American Camp Association.  We are paying close attention to advice given by the CDC, Iowa Dept of Public Health, and Polk County Public Health.   

For 2021, our weekly group size is limited to 26 children, which is down from our "normal year" 39 child max, per week.  As such, we will operate camp at one location/headquarters - Clive Special Events Building - with all children attending at one time.  If you were with us in 2020, you know that we split the group into two meeting locations.  We will not be doing that in 2021.  Our camp is structured in a away that limits our time within the Clive Special Events Building unless extreme heat, severe weather mandate

The basic fee for a one-week session of Fun, Sun & Splash Day Camp is $185.00.

The basic fee for a two-week session of Fun, Sun & Splash Day Camp is $365.00. Two-week sessions include two regular weeks of camp and a two-week 8:30am swim lesson session at Clive Aquatic Center, which is located next door to our home base of camp - Clive Special Events Building.    

These fees include all necessary field trip fees and transportation.  The only extra money you would need to send with your child is for extra snacks or lunch on trips such as: Adventureland, Omaha Zoo, Slideways Karting & Fun Center, Lake Ahquabi, Gray's Lake, etc.

For 2021, our campers will be back together in one group, with a maximum of 26 campers per week.  That number is down from our "normal year" of 39 campers. 

Our home base for camp is the Clive Special Events Building, located right next to the Clive Aquatic Center.  Address is 1801 NW 114^th St.  See map at bottom. 

Drop off is between 7:30-9:00am.  

Pick up time is between 4:15-5:30pm.  

Our activities and field trips typically start at 9:15am, so it’s important for your child to arrive on time.  We kindly ask you to have your child picked up promptly before 5:30pm.  Our staff is planning on leaving the facility at 5:30pm, we kindly ask you respect their personal plans they may have after that time. 

For the accountability and safety of our campers, we ask parents or guardians to sign their child in and out of camp every day.  The sign in/sign out sheet is located on the SE Building kitchen counter.

Fun, Sun & Splash Day Camp consists of daily planned activities, field trips, speakers, and park days.  Typically, 2 or 3 days per week we spend the afternoon at Clive Aquatic Center and have a designated area for our group.  We do try and limit the time we are indoors at our home base, the Clive Special Events Building, though the building is a nice perk for our campers when extreme heat or severe weather force us to deviate from other planned trips or activities. 

Camp Schedule

A detailed weekly agenda will be emailed to parents no later than the Friday before the first day of camp.  This email will provide you more detailed weekly outline, items to bring with your child, and general reminders.

Our camp "weekly highlights" are typically finalized by the end of April!  So please know, if reading this information before that date, many more programs & field trips are being finalized as you read that information!

Park Day:  During each FSS camp week, typically one day is set aside for a "park day."  We value getting the kids outdoors and experiencing nature and green space in different capacities.  We rotate to different parks throughout Polk County and Dallas County. 

1. Lunch & Afternoon snack*     
2. Comfortable walking shoes   
3. Sunscreen     
4. Swimsuit & Towel

*Campers are allowed to bring money for a snack at the concession stand and to field trips; however, we are not responsible for any lost or stolen money.  Should you choose, you are welcome to put that money into a named zip lock baggie, and our daily Program Leader can store in our staff backpack. 

ATTIRE
We want your child to be comfortable at camp, so shorts and a t-shirt are just fine.  On cooler days a hoodie, or sweatshirt, especially on cooler mornings, may be needed.  

TRAVEL DAY SHIRTS
New in 2019, on days we travel to places like movie theaters, Iowa Cubs games, Zoo, Adventureland, bowling alleys, we will have your child change into a neon green “Clive P&R t-shirt” for the trip.  You do not need to purchase the shirts.  We reuse them and launder them daily.

Very simply, it is imperative our staff (and the kids) know exactly who is part of our group.  Being able to identify your child from a short distance is very important on some of our trips.

Likewise, our staff members will be wearing bright yellow “Clive P&R t-shirts” for your child to easily identify their leaders quickly and from a distance.  We take great pride in getting to know your child throughout camp, but sometimes your child may not remember exactly who their group leader is.  For this reason, our staff wears the easily identifiable bright yellow shirts with the Clive logo.  

Additionally, on days we travel to larger locations, our campers wear a lime green wristband with our camp contact information.    

Our Program Leaders have at least two summers of previous camp supervisory experience.  Generally speaking, our Program Leaders are current full-time teachers, and/or education, leisure services, or nursing college students.  Staff members with those backgrounds are best equipped to handle the variety of situations that arise on a day to day basis.  But not only their experience matters, we value detailed-oriented, energetic, organized, neat and orderly, trustworthy staff members.

Our camp staff are selected after in-person interviews and pass a comprehensive background check (OneSource company).  More specifically, our background checks covers these areas:  Nationwide Federal Criminal records, Global Report records, U.S. Nationwide Criminal records, Sex Offender Registry, and Statewide Criminal records.  Our camp staff also pass Pre-Employment Substance Abuse Testing. 

Our staff are CPR/AED & First Aid certified.  As part of our standard staff orientation and training, our staff are also certified in American Red Cross Basic Water Rescue.   

A huge plus of our Fun, Sun & Splash camp is our low counselor-to-camper ratio!  Our staff to child ratio is 1 to 6.  American Camp Association standard is 1 to 10.

https://www.acacamps.org/campers-families/planning-camp/preparing-camp/how-choose-camp-safety-tips

We take your child's medication needs very seriously and want to ensure your child is following proper medication, dosages, and timing of medication when they are taking their own medication.

Medication Administration Record

We take great pride in effective, efficient communication with you, the parent!  Most of pre-camp and reminder type communication will come from our Camp Director - Jeff Lucas, Recreation Coordinator, City of Clive. 

When registering your child for our camp, please use an email that you check regularly, as well as making sure you cell phone number is listed correctly.  Through our software program, we can send you important reminders via email & text message. 

We appreciated these parent comments regarding our communication to parents...

"Communication this year was great!  We were told about impending bad weather in advance, were updated about the heat, and important field trips were informed prior to with info."

"I appreciate Jeff's ongoing communications about the week's activities and general information related to the camp program, activities, and changes. I also appreciate his responsiveness." 

15 passenger vans owned, maintained, and insured by the City of Clive are used for our camp transportation.  We understand the importance of this extremely crucial task.  Our “cargo” is precious and we treat it as such.   All staff members who drive our vans are 18 years or older.  In addition to our staff possessing a standard Iowa driver’s license, all of our drivers have obtained a valid Iowa Class D Chauffeur’s license.  In our preseason meetings and trainings, we have set very clear expectations on how to drive when your child is in our care. 

One option many parents choose during the camp registration process is "Fun, Sun & Splash w/ Swim Lessons."  This camp option includes two weeks of regular camp programming, but also includes a two-week session of swim lessons at the Clive Aquatic Center!

If choosing this option, your child will be enrolled in the 8:30am session time slot.  So please have your child dropped off to our camp staff at the Clive Special Events Building by 8:15am.  Our camp staff will take care of getting your child to, and from, their swim lesson. 

2021 Fun, Sun & Splash w/ Swim Lessons Options:
Weeks 1 & 2:  June 7-18
Weeks 3 & 4:  June 21-July 2
Weeks 5 & 6:  July 5-16
Weeks 7 & 8:  July 19-30 

When registering, you'll be asked what skill level we need to enroll your child.  Should you need help remembering what level your child has passed, login to your account and view your child's class history.

As always, you can call our Clive Parks & Recreation office for more assistance.  (515) 223-5246

Camp is held rain or shine.  Should severe weather and/or extreme heat force our outdoor plans to be adjusted, we have a plan for that! 

A huge perk of our Fun, Sun & Splash camp program is our dedicated, safe, indoor facility - Clive Special Events Building!  

Other area attractions we may visit if needed:
Hop A Lot Inflatables 
GameDay Arcade
Merle Hay Lanes - Bowling
Des Moines Botanical Garden
Urbandale Indoor Swimming Pool
Clive Special Events Building - movies, games, arts/crafts

2021 Update:  We still plan to visit Adventureland!  Our staff will be reminding our campers to not touch their face, mouth, etc. We'll also be taking periodic hand washing breaks.  Our camp staff will have hand sanitizer with them at all times.  Otherwise, the following applies to a normal summer. 

Note:  When our group visits Adventureland, or any trip that involves a large number of people, we will have the kids change into a neon green Clive t-shirt.  This helps us make sure kids are keeping with our group, in lines, etc.  The neon green t-shirts are laundered daily (after each use).  Additionally, our Clive staff will be wearing neon yellow Clive t-shirts to help our campers identify our Clive staff from a short distance.  

Needless to say, our campers (and staff!) really enjoy visiting Adventureland!  To view more information and for upcoming Adventureland trip dates please click this link Adventureland Pass Deal!

As you may know, we typically spend a portion of our afternoons at the Clive Aquatic Center.  Knowing that, we have decided NOT to visit the water park portion of Adventureland. Two reasons...1) Our campers are swimming and enjoying the Clive Aquatic Center for a good portion of our camp schedule, 2) Most importantly, we have safety concerns bringing a large group our size to the water portion of their park.  Trust us, we still have plenty of fun on the ride portion of the park!! 

Note:  You are welcome to send extra spending money with your child on trips like Adventureland, Iowa Cubs, etc.  If you would send that money in a marked baggie, our daily Program Leader will store in our staff backpack.     

Things happen and the best of plans can change...we get it.  So we are flexible.  Full refunds are allowed up until the registration deadline.  The registration deadline is two weeks prior to the first day of that week's camp.  

For example, the registration deadline for week 4 of camp (June 28-July 2) is Monday, June 14.  

After the registration deadline, refunds are not allowed.