School Day Off Camp: What to Do When School’s Out in Gallatin

Every working parent knows the feeling: you glance at the school calendar and realize the kids are off for a full week, and you are not. A good school day off camp solves that problem without parking your child in front of a screen for five days. Sumner County Schools close for Fall Break Monday, October 5 through Friday, October 9, 2026, and that week is closer than it looks. Here is how to plan for days off, what to look for in a camp, and how GMA’s Fall Break camp in Gallatin, TN works.

Mark the Days Off Before They Sneak Up on You

The school year has more closures than most families remember in August. On the official Sumner County Schools calendar, the big ones left this semester are:

• Fall Break: October 5–9 (schools closed)
• Thanksgiving: November 23–27 (schools closed)
• Christmas Break: December 21 through January 1 (schools closed)

Put those weeks in your phone now, then check the district calendar for single closure days as the year goes on. The families who struggle with school breaks are rarely the ones without options. They are the ones who found out about the break the Thursday before.

Your Real Options When School’s Out

Most families end up choosing from the same short list. Each has a place, and it is worth being honest about the trade-offs.

• Take time off work. Great if you have the vacation days, but a full week off twice a semester burns through them fast.
• Grandparents, friends, or a sitter. Often the most flexible option, and often the least structured. Five days of “hanging out” can turn into five days of screens.
• Trade days with other parents. Works well for a single day off. Harder to pull off across a whole week.
• A day camp. A full, supervised day with a plan, other kids, and staff whose job is keeping your child busy and safe.

For a one-off Monday, any of these can work. For a full week like Fall Break, a structured day camp is usually the option that protects both your work schedule and your child’s week.

What to Look for in a School Day Off Camp

Not every break camp is built the same. Before you book, ask a few direct questions:

• Who is running it? Ask whether staff are background-checked and CPR certified, and whether they are year-round employees or seasonal hires.
• How big are the groups? Smaller capacity means more attention per child.
• Is the day actually structured? A written schedule with activity blocks is a good sign. “Free play all day” is not.
• Do the hours fit your job? Check drop-off, pickup, and whether later pickup is available.
• Can you book only the days you need? Flexibility matters when you only need part of a week.

These are the same questions that matter when choosing any program for your child. If you want the longer version, our guide on how to choose an after school program walks through each one in detail.

How GMA’s Fall Break Camp Works

GMA’s Fall Break camp runs the same week schools are closed, October 5–9, for ages 5 to 14 at our 6,000 sq ft campus on Garnet Court in Gallatin. Drop-off starts at 7:30 AM, and pickup is between 4:30 and 5:30 PM. In between, the day runs in planned blocks:

• Morning meeting and team building
• Two fitness and discipline blocks, 1–3 hours of structured physical activity each day
• Life skills workshops and a rotating curriculum that includes STEM tutoring, music basics, and leadership activities
• Arts and crafts, team games, and Nerf wars
• Two snacks every day, and pizza lunch on Friday

We cap camp at 20–25 kids per week, and your child spends the week with the same background-checked staff who run our programs during the school year, not a crew hired for the week. It comes from the same Spillmann family that has spent more than 33 years in youth development and martial arts instruction through Global Martial Arts USA.

Pricing, Drop-In Days, and Booking

Here is exactly what Fall Break costs for non-members, straight from our camp pricing page:

• Full week: $250 for the first child, $240 for the second, $235 for the third (sibling pricing applies automatically)
• Drop-in days: $55 per day, subject to availability
• Extended care until 6:00 PM: add $40 for the week

Current GMA families get member pricing, which is handled in person, so call 731-324-3850 or stop by the front desk. A few practical notes before you register: payment is due the Friday before camp week, which means Friday, October 2 for Fall Break. We need a minimum of 10 students to run a week, spots are first-come, first-served, and there are no refunds or credits for missed days. Please have your child’s insurance card and signed waivers in before the first morning.

Packing is simple: a peanut-free lunch Monday through Thursday (we are a peanut-free facility), a refillable water bottle, and comfortable clothes with closed-toe shoes. If this is your child’s first camp, our tips on how to prepare your child for camp apply to a Fall Break week too.

Beyond Fall Break

Fall Break is the next closure, but it is not the last one. GMA runs camps during summer, spring, fall, and winter breaks, and earlier this fall we ran single-day camps on the September 4 and September 21 closure days. Future dates go up on our camps page as they are set. And if school breaks keep catching your family off guard, it may be worth looking at the other side of the day too. Our after school program picks kids up from 14 local schools and runs until you get off work, all year long. To see what a full camp week looks like, read about our martial arts summer camp.

Frequently Asked Questions