So we hired her directly along with a 12 year old assistant(paid $5 per day). She used my backyard and prepared daily activities, theater games, dance parties and of course the obligatory end of the week performance. She did lunch with the kids and entertained them 10-2 daily.

We had 4-8 kids depending on the day and paid her $5 per kid per hour, much cheaper than the camp would have been for us and she made much more $$ than she would have. It was a great experience for all, and the moms involved got a much needed errand break too.

One of the things I have been thinking about is the fact that teens are having a hard time getting jobs, as jobs they usually get are going to way underemployed adults. So that means you can get great and responsible teens this year! It was a great thing all around, my kids still talk about the year they performed The Cat in the Hat in the back yard!