Guides
Which US writing retreats offer childcare while you draft or revise?
Five US retreats staff a child room for writers: The Glen Workshop, Chautauqua, Idyllwild Arts, Omega and Vermont Studio Center. Budget USD 250 to 900 per child.
What to take away
- The criterion is who supervises your child and who insures that person, not how family friendly the campus looks.
- Childcare at a US writing retreat is a contracted service, not an amenity. Ask for the age band, hours, ratio and fee in writing before you pay a deposit.
- Five named programs that staff a child room are The Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, Chautauqua Writers' Center in western New York, Idyllwild Arts in California, Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, and Vermont Studio Center.
- Spring and summer family sessions book out 6 to 12 months ahead.
- Budget USD 250 to 900 per child per week on top of tuition. Treat that range as illustrative.
Who supervises your child decides the stay
Two venues can both print the words children welcome and mean opposite things. One runs a staffed program with a stated ratio and a room next to the studio. The other emails a list of local sitters and leaves the rest to you.
Staffed room or sitter list?
Who is in the room with my child?
staffed program, ratio, room next to studio
sitter list, vetting problem, no backup
Only the first arrangement returns a working day. The second returns a phone number, a vetting problem and no backup when a sitter cancels on a Tuesday morning. Ask the coordinator one question first: who is in the room with my child, and what happens if that person is sick?
Then ask whether the venue employs the caregivers or subcontracts them, and who carries liability insurance. Eligibility, fees and responsibility covers the paperwork questions venues tend to answer badly.
What matters here and what does not
Worth paying for vs not
Worth paying for
- Age range
- Written age range
- Staffing
- Fixed staff ratio
- Hours
- Hours match workshop blocks
- Location
- Room near your studio
Not worth paying for
- Age range
- Family friendly tag
- Staffing
- Playground
- Hours
- Shared kitchen
- Location
- Town with good bakery
Ask the coordinator to time the walk from the childcare door to your studio door. Ask who walks your child there when your block starts at 9.
Named retreats with staffed child rooms
- The Glen Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico.A weeklong summer arts workshop with small group writing seminars at St. John's College. Its children's program runs during the morning and afternoon workshop blocks, and children from infants through age 12 can be enrolled as a separate line item.
- Chautauqua Writers' Center, Chautauqua, New York.Weeklong prose and poetry workshops run inside the Chautauqua Institution summer season. The grounds run a Children's School for preschool ages and a Boys' and Girls' Club for school age children during the same morning hours. A gate pass is required to enter the grounds.
- Idyllwild Arts Summer Adult Workshops, Idyllwild, California.Adult creative writing classes run alongside a Children's Center for ages 3 to 10 during workshop hours. The campus sits in the San Jacinto Mountains, about two hours from Los Angeles or San Diego.
- Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York.Omega schedules writing retreats and workshops during its summer season and offers a supervised children's program for school age kids while adults are in class. The child fee is added per day or per session on top of tuition and lodging.
- Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont.The center has a family residency session for writers and artists, with a supervised child room during studio hours. Residency fees include room, board and studio access, and the family sessions fill well ahead.
The areas worth staying in
- On-campus residency housing. The childcare room and your studio sit in the same building or along the same path. Travel time to the main studio: about 2 to 8 minutes on foot.
- A workshop campus with a partner hotel. The hotel runs a kids club while the venue runs the class. Travel time to the studio: roughly 10 to 15 minutes by shuttle or car.
- A town rental with one private sitter. This is the wrong choice in most cases. A solo sitter has no cover adult and no ratio, and a 20 minute cross town drive twice a day eats the trip.
Travel times here are illustrative for typical campus layouts. Compare lodging choices before you fix a base, because childcare and lodging are the same question.
Three bases and their travel time
Base
- On-campus residency
- 2 to 8 minutes on foot
- Campus with partner hotel
- 10 to 15 minutes by shuttle
- Town rental with sitter
- 20 minute drive twice a day
Travel time to studio
- On-campus residency
- Campus with partner hotel
- Town rental with sitter
Five booked options to compare
Location
- The Glen Workshop
- Santa Fe, NM
- Chautauqua Writers' Center
- Chautauqua, NY
- Idyllwild Arts Summer Adult Workshops
- Idyllwild, CA
- Omega Institute
- Rhinebeck, NY
- Vermont Studio Center
- Johnson, VT
Childcare setup
- The Glen Workshop
- Children's program for infants through age 12, running during workshop blocks
- Chautauqua Writers' Center
- Children's School and Boys' and Girls' Club on grounds
- Idyllwild Arts Summer Adult Workshops
- Children's Center for ages 3 to 10 during class hours
- Omega Institute
- Supervised children's program during summer workshop hours
- Vermont Studio Center
- Family residency with supervised child room during studio hours
Fee note
- The Glen Workshop
- Child fee added to tuition
- Chautauqua Writers' Center
- Gate pass plus program fee; child enrollment separate
- Idyllwild Arts Summer Adult Workshops
- Daily child fee plus workshop tuition
- Omega Institute
- Per session child fee added to lodging and tuition
- Vermont Studio Center
- Residency fee includes housing and studio; child slot limited
Price the childcare line before the tuition line. An unstaffed residency is not cheaper if you lose three studio mornings.
Five booked options to compare
Program
- The Glen Workshop
- Infants to age 12
- Chautauqua
- School and club on grounds
- Idyllwild Arts
- Ages 3 to 10
- Omega Institute
- Summer supervised program
- Vermont Studio Center
- Family residency child room
Childcare setup
- The Glen Workshop
- Child fee added
- Chautauqua
- Gate pass plus fee
- Idyllwild Arts
- Daily child fee
- Omega Institute
- Per session fee
- Vermont Studio Center
- Included, slot limited
Fee note
- The Glen Workshop
- Chautauqua
- Idyllwild Arts
- Omega Institute
- Vermont Studio Center
What to check before booking
- Ask for the childcare terms in writingage range, daily hours, staff ratio, sick-child policy and fee in USD.
- Ask who carries the insurance and whether caregivers are background checked.
- Ask for the walk time from the childcare room to your studio, measured rather than estimated.
- Ask the coordinatorwhat is the staff to child ratio, and who covers a sick day?
- Ask whether tuition is refunded if your child is turned away at the door.
That list is short on purpose. A field list of what a creative retreat actually costs helps you weigh the add-ons against tuition before you commit.
What a bad choice costs you in travel time
On a campus, housing to studio is a short walk. From a motel 20 minutes out, the day adds 40 minutes of driving and parking. Two of those trips land inside the 9am and 2pm blocks you paid for.
Across a six day session, that is four to six hours of writing time traded for a lower room rate.
Booking lead times
Family weeks in June, July and August often fill 6 to 12 months ahead, and some venues open registration on a fixed winter date. Fall and winter sessions usually keep a bed open until 8 to 10 weeks out.
Ask about the cancellation window before you book airfare, and keep the receipts for every line you pay. IRS business travel expenses explains the away-from-home test for costs you take on while working. Publication 535 sets the ordinary and necessary standard for a business. business deductions covers what artists commonly claim.
