Camp Planning as a Parent = Project Management with No Team

Each week is a sprint. You just forgot you were the one managing it.

The first week of summer break feels like a project kickoff meeting.

Except there’s no clear scope.
No team.
No client (unless my kid counts?).
And zero junior staff to delegate to…

Just me with 100 tabs open, way too many unread emails about where to drop off, a reminder that “it’s better to send them in their swim clothes,” and a half-eaten breakfast in the car.

Every single week is a new sprint. New camp. New location. New logistics.
Except there’s no time for retro planning, because you're already onto the next one.

LOL and sprint planning? Happens in January.
(Who knows their August plans in January?! I haven’t even uploaded next year’s school calendar yet.)

As a project manager, I’ve run multi-million dollar software implementations. I’ve built roadmaps from scratch, managed teams and stakeholders, kept complex things on time and under budget.

But planning for summer camps and school breaks? Harder (IMO).

There’s no Gantt chart for registration deadlines.
No budget tracker. (Just pay with your credit card and figure it out later!)
No confirmation emails. (Hello? Did we get in? Are we on the waitlist??)
And no team to escalate to when drop-off times overlap. And no one to call when the sign-up link is broken and the website is down. (Hello? Can you hear me? Yes… I sang Adele as I wrote this…)

There’s no playbook or best practices for this — only playground or neighborhood chats and lived experiences.

If I were consulting this mess, I’d label it:
High-risk. High-visibility. Poorly resourced.
But as a parent, it’s just… summer.

And I want more than just getting through it.
I want to enjoy this season with my kids.
(Or at least not lose my mind by Week 2.)

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That’s why I built Camply:
A tool to help parents plan for school breaks without losing their sanity. We deserve better tools.

So, if this hits home for you:
👉 Join the waitlist at joincamply.com
👉 Share this with 3 friends who GET IT

We’re building a better summer — together.

Cheers,

Kathryn