This summer, run away and join…Circus Camp!
The 2010 summer camp season is winding down as the school year approaches, and no doubt your children have been busy all summer long. But there is a whole month left of time to fill, and Sign Up For Camp can help!
With all the camp options out there, it can be difficult to weed through the wide array of camps available. Of course, that’s why you have Sign Up For Camp: to give you that extra bit of information you need to find something special and unique in a summer camp that your kids will think is, dare we say it…cool?
Like, circus camp, for instance.
Circus camps are a kind of bizarre and wonderfully twisted combination of all camps rolled into one; they offer a variety of activities that appeal to a broad range of interests — from sports and physical fitness to dance, theatre and the arts. True circus camps are not a dime a dozen in the Bay Area by any means, but we have one right in the heart of San Francisco that has been around since 1973. AcroSports offers week-long summer circus camps that include circus events, acrobatics, act development and other physical activities designed to promote fitness, self-confidence and group cooperation skills. Mornings are spent developing acts for the end-of-week show (a different theme each week!), and campers spend afternoons learning new skills, doing art projects and playing games. Kids as young as 18 months old can get in on (some of) the action!
Kinetic Arts in Oakland offers one-week camps that focus on Clowning, Acro & Improv and Aerial, Acro & Juggling. Two-week camps are offered in Circus/Performance. Kids spend each session learning or improving basic circus skills, focusing on their performance skills and preparing for a performance at the end of the session. Kinetic Arts offers an Advanced Camp for experienced circus artists who want to improve specific skills, develop acts or audition pieces. It’s a warm and inviting atmosphere, but it is for the serious circus artist.
At Trapeze Arts Circus Day Camp, kids will learn to fly through the air…really! Actually, kids will learn an array of circus arts, including flying trapeze, trampoline, aerial arts, juggling, hand balancing, circus bike, acrobatics and tightwire. Since 1994, Trapeze Art has been teaching flying trapeze and other circus arts to kids ranging in age from two to 82 years old.
Going to circus camp really is an amazing and unique experience. Not only do kids have the opportunity to be active and engage in myriad physical activities all day long (read: they’ll be exhausted when they arrive home at day’s end!), but they also are exposed to a form of performing arts. Best of all, most circus camp sessions conclude with a final performance, which means campers must collaborate with fellow campers to present their newly-acquired skills to friends and family. So, as fantastic as running away to the circus may sound to your kids, it’s even more exciting for you, since the experience is bound to benefit the mental and emotional side of your child, as well as the physical.
Exposing Your Kids to Science through Summer Camp
If you’re an avid believer in camp, both day- and sleep-away, then you know that camp is not just about having fun. Of course, it’s important that the camp you send your child to IS enjoyable and that good times are sure to be had, but I believe camp is also about learning. Sometimes it’s about learning how be comfortable meeting and getting along with new people in an unfamiliar environment. Sometimes it’s learning that being away from Mom and Dad for a week or two can be a life-altering and empowering experience. And sometimes it’s learning that the subject you always hated in school is actually exciting, fascinating AND fun!
It comes as no surprise that some kids might see science as one of those “yuk” subjects that should only be taught at school. And being a person who never really had an aptitude for science, I don’t blame them. But as a mother, I am acutely aware of how important it is that kids, especially girls, be exposed to science at an early age, and I feel fortunate to live in a time and place where science is being taken out of the classroom and experienced rather than taught within the four walls of an institution.
If you’re a parent who believes it’s important for kids to be exposed to and, you hope, enjoy science, then you’re in the right place. We are fortunate to have dozens of wonderful science camps throughout the Bay Area for kids of all ages that cover myriad subjects, from camps for three-year-olds that teach the basics of living in a city by a bay, to those that take 12-year-olds into the dark aquatic world of sharks and other marine creatures, to more elaborate camps that show 17-year-olds how to build robots or create their own computer gaming networks. Below are just a few of the amazing offerings that you can find for your budding scientist at Sign Up For Camp.
The Bay Area Discovery Museum has great camps for kids three to eight years old that offer both guided exploration and open-ended creative play, all while delving into the vast world of science. Science-oriented camps include “On the Bay,” “Bugs, Insects and Spiders,” “Creature Creations” and sessions with the infamous Tree Frog Treks.
Camp Galileo and Camp Edmo are the grandaddies of Science + Art camps in the Bay Area! With hundreds of sessions in locations as far north as San Anselmo, east to Pleasanton, south to San Jose and everywhere in between, these camps focus on science, science and more science — with a bit of artistic whimsy thrown in. Camp Edmo partners with the Exploratorium, the California Academy of Sciences, Zeum and MOCHA (the Museum of Children’s Art) to develop hands-on arts and science curricula for five- to 10-year olds, including Super Spy, Cosmic Creations and Underwater Wonders. Camp Galileo partners with the Tech Museum of Innovation, the de Young and Klutz to offer theme-oriented camps that teach various scientific concepts in combination with art: the physical principles of flying (Adventures in Flight & Egyptian Art), the underwater world (Ocean Expeditions), astronomy and the solar system (Mission to the Moon & Psychedelic 60s) and Newton’s Laws of Motion (Amusement Park Engineers & Medieval Art).
Coastal Camp at the Headlands Institute is an opportunity for adventure, exploration and discovery. Held completely outdoors, Coastal Camp finds the place where play and learning converge by combining marine and coastal ecology with hands-on activities and group games. If your child has the remotest interest in learning about the ocean and the creatures who live in the mysterious marine world, then sign on the dotted line. From “Shark Squad” to “Seal Scout,” “Ocean Explorers” to “Call of the Wild,” your child will be out in nature, seeing first-hand the wonders of the natural world around them.
iD Tech is a national organization that offers fun and challenging computer science-based summer camps designed for kids ages seven to 17. Your kids can team up with other campers to create robots that compete in obstacle courses, develop their own iPhone Apps, computer games or websites, learn the mysterious power of computer code or master the art of digital photography at these week-long day- and sleep-away camps. Bay Area iD Tech camps are being held at Berkeley, Santa Clara, St. Mary’s College and Stanford this summer.
Both the Oakland Zoo and San Francisco Zoo teach kids about their resident animals and habitats and how they are cared for by the zookeepers. Craft projects and games reinforce the concepts kids are taught, along with keeper talks, observation walks and hands-on activities. Important concepts taught through the camps include how animals are able to move throughout their various territories, animal gestation and birth, proper management of the zoo environment and everyday conservation concepts.
If you’re a stickler like I am, and you think that children need to be learning even as they are having the time of their lives, then check out all of the super-cool science camps at Sign Up For Camp!
This American Life: Notes On Camp
“This American Life” is, by far, my favorite podcast. I just had fun listening to one of their shows, “Notes On Camp“. Any parent who sends their kids to camp should listen to this podcast! If nothing else, it points out why it’s important to talk to the camp director about what goes on at the camp you’re planning to send your child to — unless you think re-enactments of the Ku Klux Klan are a nice wholesome activity for your eight-year-old. Fortunately, there were many much more upbeat stories, with kids at sleep-away camp talking about how it is the best experience of their lives.
From time to time, I conduct interviews with camp directors to collect advice for parents looking for unique experiences for their kids. I recently spoke with Rich and Nanci Sampson at Grace Community Church Basketball Academy, an affordable sports camp in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, that provides children an uplifting and fun week of basketball training. Each camper will learn fundamental basketball skills, as well as what God has to say about being a good athlete and teammate.
With so many camps available, how do you find the right camp for your child? Any specific advice on selecting a basketball camp?
A camp should be chosen according to the child’s likes and abilities and what the parent(s) can afford. Make sure the child has experienced adult coaches with assistants.
What questions should a parent ask a camp?
Parents might ask, “How will this benefit my child physically and emotionally?” Or, “Will my child be safe and well cared for?” Finally, “Is it worth the money I pay?”
Summer is long, with some kids attending 10 weeks of camp. Any tips on preventing camp burn-out?
Switch up the types of camps the child attends. Allow them ample down time when he or she is at home — TV, DS, napping, etc…
How should parents help kids prepare for camp?
Review what your kids will be doing and show your excitement about it. Make sure they have a good, healthy breakfast and drink lots of fluids, even at home, especially in climates with excessive heat. Make sure they get enough sleep each night before camp.
Tell us what is special about the Grace Community Church Basketball Academy?
We are not only interested in teaching children basketball skills, but also how to be a good team player, have good sportsmanship, strive for excellence and work hard. We want to show them what God teaches about all those attributes.
Sign Up For Camp is thrilled to announce that we have won the July 2010 award from Families Online Magazine for Best Parenting and Family Website.
Best Parenting and Family Website
Summer is here, and many parents have lined up several weeks of camp and several weeks of downtime for their kids. But what happens if you get in a bind during those downtime weeks? You have an appointment that can’t be rescheduled or an opportunity for a short project — or maybe there’s just too much downtime (your child’s friends are at camp and he or she is getting bored). This is when a drop-in camp can be a lifesaver.
We’re fortunate to have several great drop-in camp options in the Bay Area. Here are three drop-in camps that we, at Sign Up For Camp, know have availablity.
- Camp Doodles – Camp Doodles has three North Bay locations – Mill Valley, Larkspur and San Rafael. It offers a variety of structured and unstructured activities. I have friends who have raved about this camp. It takes campers in grades pre-K to 6th grade.
- Kids Outdoor Club – The Kids Outdoor Club is a camp with outdoor activities in Golden Gate Park. Kids age 3 -11 are welcome to the camp, which makes it one of the rare drop-off camp options for three year olds. Many San Francisco kids first learn to climb a tree at Kids Outdoor Club, and they enjoy many other activities also.
- Steve and Kate’s Camp – Steve and Kate’s offers eight locations throughout the Bay Area – from as far north as Santa Rosa, down to Palo Alto and east to Berkeley. The camps offer a wide selection of activities, which the kids get to choose among. One of the very nice features of this camp is that parents can purchase “camp days” and if the days go unused, get a refund at the end of the camp season.
Steve and kate’s
Camp Doodles
Kids Outdoor Club
Moorestown Theater Company: Mark Morgan
From time to time, we interview camp directors to get their tips for parents in planning summer for their kids. This week, I spoke with Mark Morgan, the Producing Artist Director at Moorestown Theater Company. We discussed theater camps and what makes Moorestown Theater Company unique.
With so many camps available, how do you find the right camp for your child? Any specific advice on selecting a theater camp?
First of all, look at what your child wants to do. If you’re going to send your child to a performing arts camp, it is important that they really want to do performing arts. In choosing between theater camps, there are a number of things to consider. Is the theater camp doing a staged production or improv? A staged production will involve a lot of rehearsing. What sort of instruction is provided? Some camps that put on a staged production only work on the show. Others, like ours, rehearse the show but also provide instruction unrelated to the show. Also, theater camps stage all different types of productions. We largely produce well-known programs, which are popular with audiences. Other camps write and produce their own shows. It’s a very different experience.
What questions should a parent ask a camp?
I have three kids, so here is what I would want to know.
- Why is your camp different or better than the other camps? Why should I send my child to your camp?
- Who are your staff? Why are they working at your camp?
- What is the ratio of adults to kids? This is very important to the quality of the experience and the quality of the instruction.
- What do you do throughout the day? How do you keep the kids engaged? There are many different variations of theater camps, so understand what your child’s experience will be.
- Don’t forget the logistical questions – what are the hours of the camp? What is the length of the day? Do campers bring lunch, or is it provided? What is the dress code?
Summer is long, with some kids attending 10 weeks of camp. Any tips on preventing camp burn-out?
We haven’t really seen this. Maybe since our camps are 3 weeks long and the kids are engaged in a production. They are with the same kids and teachers throughout the process, as compared to other camps at which you’d have a new set of kids every week. Even kids who attend all 3 sessions for 9 weeks of camp work on three very different productions. The beauty of theater camp is that there is always a new show. As long as the kids want to be there, it shouldn’t be an issue.
How should parents help kids prepare for camp?
Parents don’t have to do anything. There are no prerequisites for theater camp and we take all levels and experiences. Everyone has a first show, and we try to make it special. That being said, if your child wants to audition for the lead, there may be competition and they do need to prepare. In addition, it is helpful if your child is familiar with the production. Everyone knows Beauty and the Beast, but if you’re doing an older show, like Oklahoma, it’s useful to have your child watch it, so they are familiar with it before camp begins.
Tell us what is special about the Summer Stage at the Moorestown Theater Company
One very special feature this year is that we are piloting the Camp Rock musical for Disney. Disney will be at our performances watching the show and fine tuning the script and music based on the results. It will be a very interesting experience for the kids to see how a production is put together. Here are a few additional aspects of Summer Stage at the Moorestown Theater Company that separates us from other theater camps.
- Our staff to camper ratio is very low. We have 13 kids in each group and 2 counselors. In the morning, during classes, we also have a teacher, so 13 kids to 3 adults. I don’t think you’ll find a ratio this low elsewhere. It allows to provide truly individualized attention.
- We provide classes in the morning that are unrelated to the show. The kids are building their skills, in addition to putting on the performance. The classes will often expose the children to other aspects of musical theater, such as tap dancing, so that they are building their experience base for future shows.
- We produce popular productions that we then sell tickets to, such as High School Musical and Beauty and the Beast. (Some theater camps write and produce their own shows – this is a very different experience). Because we are producing popular shows, we are able to sell more tickets which both gives the kids an experience of being in front of a larger audience, and helps defray the costs of the camp and allows us to keep our prices very reasonable.
- Lastly, our camp staff is fantastic. All of our counselors are majoring in either elementary education or drama. They have all directed before. They are doing this because they love theater. The counselors are dedicated and love coming to work, and they probably learn just as much as the kids.
Summer Stage at Moorestown Theater Company still has room in its Oklahoma and Camp Rock productions. We are offering a $150 discount for campers that enroll in both sessions.
From time to time, we interview camp directors to get their tips for parents in planning summer for their kids. I exchanged emails this week with Sondra Hall, Director at the Take My Word For It! Creative Writing Camp, a unique creative writing and art camp.
With so many camps available, how do you find the right camp for your child?
There are different approaches to this. You can either help them delve deeper into a current interest or expose them to something totally different. My bias is towards indulging their creativity!
What questions should a parent ask a camp?
What is the size of the camp, or how many kids will be in the group of campers my child will be with? Is there another parent I may speak or email with whose child has gone to this camp before? What is the background of the counselors and instructors? Do they have training in their field?
Many children are in camp most or all of the summer. Any tips to prevent camp burn-out?
Try to take a week and share hosting camp with another family. Go on fun, local outings with a small group of kids who are neighbors and/or friends from school. Moms and/or dads from each of the families would have to take a couple of days off of work to make this happen, but it’s a break from regular camp and allows parents and kids to spend time together.
How should parents prepare kids for camp?
This depends on their age. But the best advice I can give is to be up front about what they can expect; provide a description of what a typical day will be like, and invite them to give you honest feedback about how it’s going.
Please tell us what is special about Take My Word For It.
Take My Word For It! is unique among summer camps in that it provides instruction, encouragement and support to children interested in testing out or improving their skills as creative writers. Camp is fun, but also focused. Students explore how writers come up with their ideas and learn how to create spicy, interesting writing. Through the process, kids try their hands at writing their own complete manuscript, whether it be a children’s storybook, a travel brochure or mystery. Take My Work For It! gives kids the opportunity to travel anywhere their imagination will take them
Take My Word For It! is a small program, and we provide a lot of one-on-one attention. We challenge the kids to think of themselves as writers and artists, to trust that they have something to say and show. And they are given the opportunity to share their work with family and friends in a final exhibit and reading at the end of each session. We think it can be very exciting for them!
Lacrosse Camps- A Good Time for Everyone
Lacrosse, also known as LAX, is the fastest growing sport in California, with an increasing number of kids each year playing this high-scoring, high-intensity sport. As a conglomeration of many sports, LAX teaches kids the stamina and endurance of soccer, the competitive tenacity of ice-hockey, and the deft hands and hand-eye coordination of baseball.
With such a compelling sport on the rise on the West Coast, there are many Lacrosse camps to chose from over the summer. Game Breaker Lacrosse Camps are located throughout California and are nationally recognized as the most attended and most famous Lacrosse camps. Nike Lacrosse camps host both girls and boys Lacrosse camps and are also held at different locations in the Bay Area, with the option of overnight or day-stay.
Golden State Lacrosse Academy camp is another great way for your child to learn Lacrosse from the best. Located at five different sites in the Bay Area, Golden State Lacrosse Camp is coached by well-renowned LAX coaches Eric Martin and Chris Rotelli. Their Academy and its affiliated camps thrive off of their mission statement of teaching kids the game of lacrosse while still having fun.
Lacrosse camps are a great place for first time players as well as experienced players, and with the multitude of camps available in Northern California, it is possible to find the right Lacrosse camp for both genders, all ages, and all skill levels.
Field Hockey Summer Camps, A Growing West-Coast Trend
Field Hockey, traditionally an East-Coast sport, is following the footsteps of Lacrosse and becoming bigger than ever in California. Girls in Northern California and Southern California alike are becoming interested in the fast-paced game that is a hybrid of ice-hockey, lacrosse and soccer. Over the summer, send your daughter to a field hockey camp and she will learn the values of teamwork, conditioning, competition, cooperation, and hard-work in a fun and unique way, by playing field hockey! Colleges in the Bay Area host top-notch camps that not only engage first time-players, but also refine the skills of more experienced field hockey players. Stanford’s Field Hockey Camp and Cal’s Field Hockey Camp are particularly good camps run locally with Division I coaches and players running the camps. The University of the Pacific Camp and numerous camps in San Diego are also highly praised for their ability to combine instruction and playing to create the healthiest and most engaging atmosphere.
To read about the availability of field hockey camps in the Philadelphia region click here.
