Bonjour Language Camps
- Downtown Brooklyn
Brooklyn 11201, NY
- bonjourny.com
Reviews (12)
Review from the 2024 Summer Camp Survey
Location: Downtown Brooklyn REVIEW: I didn't expect my rising kindergartener to learn much (or any) Mandarin in just one week at Bonjour's Ni Hao NY Mandarin Camp, but I was surprised by the poor communication from the camp and would not send her again. There was little information going into the week of camp about what they would do, except that the week's theme was bones of the hand. I would ask at pickup how the day went for my child and what her group did, and was given general information that seemed to apply to what all the Bonjour language camp (Mandarin, French, Spanish) kids were doing that day. Bonjour had one leader (for all the language programs) at pickup, and when I asked what Mandarin words or phrases my child was being exposed to so that I could support this learning at home, responded that if I wanted to hear from the Mandarin camp counselors, they could bring someone down another time -- like it was a special request. The camp uses the Famly app to communicate, but did not respond when I posted a question. AFTER the week of camp had ended, the camp then posted photos from the week's Ni Hao camp into the app; the videos tended to feature the same few kids. After the week ended, they also sent a newsletter with a "synopsis" that was exactly the same as the description in the week's welcome email, and with "vocabulary notes" that contained no vocabulary but did say that campers learned what to call the different parts of the hand. That said, my 4yo is very easygoing and likes every camp she attends, so she had no complaints. The camp counselors seemed very young and nice. From what my daughter said, it sounds like the camp counselors spoke Mandarin to each other but English to the kids. My child had a fine week, but for something that was $800 a week and billed as a camp where counselors would speak 95% target language, Bonjour felt more like any basic day camp, but with little information about what my kid did. CHANGES: DETAILS: Age of child; 4 … Weeks attended: 1Full-Day French-Language Summer Camp
We have experience with Bonjour NY -sent our then 3yo then 4yo for summer camp in 2021 and 2022 and also for shorter camps, here and there. We've had a good experience generally and we're planning on sending him again this summer. He loved one of their teachers. I don't remember how much it did for his French speaking. Now that he socializes so much more in English, it seems English has won, but I hope it's helped keep French alive.Review from the 2022 Summer Camp Survey
Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn How old was your child when they attended camp this summer? 4 Review: The camp was very sweet and my son liked it a lot. I don't know that they learned a whole lot of Spanish but my son did enjoy the field trips, cooking, and performances they had each week. He told me the other day the he missed one of his camp counselors. I would definitely send him again! What would you change about the program, if anything, and why? Ability to meet other families Would you like to add anything related to COVID and how the camp handled it? Nothing to addReview from the 2022 Summer Camp Survey
Location: Basis Independent- Lower School How old was your child when they attended camp this summer? 3.75 Review: We loved Hola NY. The counselors were warm and professional. The activities were varied, creative and enriching. Weekly field trips offered new experiences. Our son was exposed to foreign languages in a captivating way. The program effectively worked with children of different ages.Hola NY immersion summer camp in downtown Brooklyn
I'm the person who asked for feedback last year. I didn't get any feedback specific to Hola NY but I got a number of positive replies about Bonjour NY so we sent our 5 year old last year. It was a really great camp- they went on field trips (Smithsonian, Liberty Science Center, Aquarium) once a week and her Spanish definitely improved. We aren't sending her back but that has more to do with her personality. She's quite shy and not super active and there were 2 things that she really didn't like- 1) changing after they had gotten wet in the sprinklers (she is very suspicious of bathrooms in general) and 2) most days they would walk from the camp building to the playground at the northeastern corner of Fort Greene park which she thought was way too long (its not and her stamina greatly increased). She also has become even more anti-Spanish since last summer (SIGH). So in order to avoid having to drag her to camp every day we're going to go with something more local to our neighorhood. The other thing to note is that while you can sign up for swim lessons last year they were able to offer them. Normally they would take the kids to city pools but last year the city never allowed camps to get permits for this purpose. I'm not sure if that will be the case again this year.Bonjour NY French Summer Camp Feedback
My son went to Bonjour NY at the PS 58 location for years when he was younger (he’s now 12). It was a terrific camp! I liked to describe that it was a great day camp that just happened to be in french. My kid came home dirty and tired, just what you are looking for from a summer camp. Terrific hours for working parents. They had the option of lunch which expanded my son’s palate a lot. The activities and field trips were terrific. I didn’t love PS 58 (location was fine, building felt very dark) so am curious to hear that they are now on Atlantic Avenue? Maybe the new space is even better! (January 2020)Bonjour NY French Summer Camp Feedback
Yes we sent our son (5y old) last summer for 4 weeks and he (and we) had a great experience. We took the extra swimming classes and he loved it, they were going to different swimming pools all the time. They were outside as much as they could, our son was definitely coming back home tired but happy! Lots of different activities, day trips, etc! We’ll definitely sign up again this year. (January 2020)2018 Summer Camp Reviews
Age of child: 5 Summer 2018 Review: The staff and counselors were all warm and friendly, the activities were well structured, communication was more than excellent. I was amazed by how much my child was learning French while having fun. A few weeks into camp, I started catching him signing or counting in French, so that’s when I knew he was learning and having fun! And I witnessed how much he loved camp during their singing/dancing performance - and was just amazed by how confident and happy he was with his fellow campers and counselors. I highly recommend Bonjour NY.Summer Camp Survey 2016
Age of child: 8 Review: My child is in a French DLP program so we tried this camp after kindergarten for some extra immersion. I liked the activities and thought the camp was very well run, but realized she didn't yet know enough French to benefit that much from 2 weeks immersion (a whole summer maybe). We tried again after 3rd grade this year because she's fairly fluent now. She could understand and talk with the counselors but the activities were too "young" and didn't engage her. They also seemed surprised at her level of French so I'm still not sure how much she benefited from the immersion aspect. I think they've come to gear the camp toward introducing French to kids who don't speak it or don't speak it well, which is unfortunate for families like us who want to grow a child's fluency. What would you change about the program, if anything? I've come to the conclusion that any camp that goes from ages 3/4 to 10/11 really has to break the camp into 2 groups and create separate programs for the younger and older kids. Otherwise the age range skews to the younger half and their abilities/interests/pace determine the program. BNY tweaks the program for the 8-11 YOs, but not enough. My daughter had fun and wasn't unhappy but she wasn't as engaged or challenged as she wanted to be. I'd like to see them reading books with the kids that will grow their vocabulary (like a chapter book over the course of a week) and talk about them or do activities around them, maybe have conversation circles on different topics, play board games and card games that are age appropriate, and also do more involved art projects or theater rather than drawing and singing songs.2014 Summer Camp Review
Program: Age of Child: 5 Likes: swimming at pool---trip to zoo--songs/games learned What would you change? The camp used classrooms at PS58---furniture was pushed in corners and covered with paper, bathrooms had ladders and dozens of cans of paint and tools lying around. I'm not sure why the camp would tolerate renting a space and having it only partially usable. It felt extremely makeshift and not professional at all. Would you send your child(ren) again? No Do you recommend? Recommend with reservations Do you have any other information to add? The idea of the camp 'French Immersion' is great but I'm not sure it works so well if only attending for one week (like we were) as it makes it even harder for kids to get to know counselors/feel comfortable etc.Review from 2013 Summer Camp Experience
Age of Child: 5 Likes: She liked the activities at the school -- games, arts and crafts, learning songs. she liked the counselors but didn't necessarily bond with any of them (but we were only there 2 weeks). I thought they were very organized and well run. the adults seemed very energetic. What would you change? They went to the pool 2 days a week and on a trip once a week, which my daughter felt was too much going out. (Also I'm not sure how much french practice they are getting at the pool or on trips.) She would have been happy with 1 pool trip and/or 1 field trip a week. We worried that the day would be too long (8:30 to 5:00) but they pace the day well and give the kids a rest time and afternoon snack time, and the kids had more energy left than I expected at pick-up time. THey changed the lunch provider right before camp started to one they thought was more "French" and I think my kid wuld have been happier had they stuck with Butterbeans. Also PS 58 is tricky to get to. Would you send your child(ren) again? Yes Do you recommend? RecommendReview from 2013 Summer Camp Experience
Age of Child: 6 Likes: It was a true summer camp that happened to be in French instead of a classroom experience like intl school if Brooklyn provides. My son loved that there was a healthy proportion of male counselors. I loved that the counselors were mature yet fun and playful. I loved that they had the option for a lunch service - my child ate things he never would have eaten and it was a welcome break for me from having to make lunch for a few weeks. I loved that the camp is at the subway and that "regular" hours are 830-5pm. Extended day is 8-6. A working parent's dream. My child is singing French songs and even is speaking French a bit. Something he was very reluctant to do before. Would you send your child(ren) again? Yes Do you recommend? Highly recommend
