Time to Start Looking at Summer Camp

For many parents the time to apply to summer camp is now. There are hundreds of summer camps to choose from that will help your child or teenager avoid couch and TV fatigue over the summer.  

Here are a few:

Day Camps

Elephant Tree Nature Camp uses the 13.5 acres of to teach campers about animals and plants. This year features a pre-Kindergarten program for four to five-year olds called Super Sprouts, as well as Nature Nuts, Wilderness Wanderers and Arboretum Adventurers. The camp also uses elements of the White House’s “Let’s Move!” initiative to get campers active and exercising. For more information call 273-8787 visit Elephant Tree Camp.

Summer Adventures at Oak Knoll located in Summit at the on Blackburn Road, features camps for golf, extreme sports, performing arts, road trips, Summer Adventures, Summer Academic Session and Kindergarten Ready.  The camp accepts kids from age 3 to 11 as well as students from grades 3 to 12. The camp also has extended care for nursery and kindergarten age children from June 25 to Aug. 17.  Call 522-8186 for more information or visit Oak Knoll.

Oasis Day Camp is a coed camp for kids age 4 to 11 located on the wooded campus of Drew University in Madison. It features Oasis Early Start, a Teen Travel program with camper enrollment available for two to eight weeks. Bus pick-up from your home is available for select neighborhoods. For more information call 646-519-5059, email drew@oasischildren.com or visit Oasis Children.

At The Handwork Studio summer program, kids work on crocheting, needlework and sewing. “All those old skills,” said camp coordinator Julia Yosen.  Although the 7-year-old camp has seen an uptick in the interest in the DIY and "Project Runway" era, Yosen says the focus of the camp is to teach fine motor skills, patience and hand-eye-coordination. “It’s as little as learning how to cut fabric to learning to design and make your own outfits,” she said. One-week Summer day camp locations are in Gladstone, Montclair, Morristown and , and vary from June 11 to August 20^th.  There are four camps which include: Fiber Arts Camp (3 to 5), Handwork Day Camp (5 to 12), Machine Sewing & Fashion Camp (10 to 16), Teen Fashion Boot Camp (12 to 17). For more information call 610-660-9600, or visit The Handwork Studio.

Play-Well TEKnologies’ day camps are about not only fun and games, but about learning engineering at a young age. “We use LEGOS as our teaching medium to help kids understand engineering,” said Andrew Escalera, manager for the camps. “Concepts and terminology are used to spark their interest at an early age,” he said. The camp is for kids from five to 12. Instructors with engineering or teaching backgrounds work with campers to unpack the engineering behind the things they build, from bridges to motorized LEGO machines. Call 917-723-9630 or visit Play-Well.

Sleep-Away Camps

Since 1926, Cody has been a traditional camp experience located in New England, about two-and-a-half hours outside of Boston. Campers from 7 to 16 can play water sports as well as land sports such as basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball. Street skateboarding is another unique offering that’s been gaining popularity according to Heather Luciani, the camps assistant program director. Skateboarding enthusiasts can practice on a street coarse that includes ramps and rails. All sports instructors at the camp come from collegiate athletic backgrounds. The camp breaks down into three divisions: Pioneers, 7-10, Juniors, 11-12 and Teens, 13-16. The most popular camp session, which maxes out at 250 campers is from July 8^th to July 21^st.  Call (800) 399-4436 or go to Cody for more information.

The International Sports Training Camp isn’t just a place for kids interested in being future college athletes. “It’s not just about teaching them different sports, but about teaching them different cultures as well,” said Jules Hall, a staffing coordinator originally from Australia.  Most of the counselors at the the Stroudsburg, Pa.-based camp are from places such as England, Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand. Other staff is from Eastern Europe. The camp consists of nine one-week sessions with campers participating in different sports throughout the week. Older campers 15 to 17 can partake in the IXTC program which is more of an extreme-sports experience. Campers get their boat license and ride dune buggies among other things. “Camp gives you leadership skills, it pushes you to excel,” said Amanda Greenburg from Warren. “You go for the sports, but you learn so much more,” she said. For more information call (570) 620-2267 or visit International Sports Training Camp.

Global Leadership Adventures offers a summer camp-style experience for high school students interested in gaining volunteer and youth leadership experience in developing countries.  A total of 11 countries, including Peru, Bali, Thailand, India and China have programs for children 14 to 18. They’ll be living in a community,” explained Pamela Baum who works for the San Diego, Calif. based operation.  There is one staff member for every 10 campers. The main theme of the camp, said Baum, is community service. Campers fly into their chosen country and are paired up with mentors.  For more information call 858-771-0645, or apply online.

Greenwood Trails camp, located in the Northern Bershires also looks to give campers a traditional experience. Campers get to choose a different focus during their time at the camp, from martial arts to woodworking to archery. Based on choice, campers can switch to any activity of their choosing, said camp owner Owen Langbart. Greenwood offers three two-week sessions for campers  age 8 to 16-years old. “I grew up in camping,” said Langbart who invested in the camp with his family just three years ago. For more information call 860-379-6517 or visit Greenwood Trails.

Did we forget a summer camp that you know about? Share the details about your recommendation in the comments.