School’s out for summer. Well, almost. And with classes wrapping up in just a few short weeks (and days, in some cases), there’s no better time than the present to start thinking about ways to keep your kids occupied this summer in a fun, safe environment, while continuing to learn and staying active! Here, we’ve rounded up a few program choices:
Acera Summer STEAM Camp
June 12-August 25
Where else can kids build their own skateboard, marshmallow crossbow or treasure chest in a professionally equipped woodshop? Where else can they create kinetic sculptures, illuminated cities and biomimicy buildings with an international architect? Or design and run their own gene-editing experiments in a lab with a Boston biotech scientist? And where else do experienced, lead classroom teachers stick around after the end of school to teach engaging, high-quality, STEAM-rich summer camp sessions?
The Acera Summer STEAM Camp is a creativity-based arts and sciences day camp where children can nurture their natural desire to inquire, create, and innovate. With emphases on critical thought, creative problem solving, and integration of content areas, our diverse program offerings inspire all types of learners and thinkers. Our staff consists of professionals with significant experience in the classroom and in their own fields of expertise. Among them are award winners, active research scientists, and working artists. We believe in offering high caliber, authentic, engaging instruction, as much during the summer as during our school year program.
5 Lowell Ave., Winchester, acerasummercamp.org
Annisquam Arts – Summer Studio for Kids 2017
June 26-August 10
Ignite your imagination this summer at Annisquam Arts! Seven week-long workshops reveal the diverse traditions of art around the world. This Cape Ann summer studio is the perfect setting for your child to express and explore their creativity. Developed by artist and educator Dawn Southworth, Annisquam Arts tips off its 23rd season by offering a variety of workshops for young artists.
63 Bennett St. South, Gloucester, annisquamarts.com
Appleton Farm Camp
July 3-August 18
Farm Camp introduces children to the farm through games, activities, arts, adventure, harvesting, cooking, and most importantly time for free play in the great outdoors. We incorporate much of our STEM curriculum developed for our school program into camp so that every day is infused with learning opportunities alongside the fun.
219 County Rd., Ipswich, thetrustees.org
Friends, Fun & Summer Sun – YMCA of the North Shore Summer Camps
Friends, Fun & Summer Sun – YMCA of the North Shore Summer Camps build friendships and memories to last a lifetime! YMCA of the North Shore camps offer a variety of experiences for children of all ages.
Kids love the classic day camps, Sterling Woods Day Camp, Camp Tricklin’ Falls, Camp Dory, Camp Spindrift, Camp Windward, Children’s Island Day Camp, Camp Takoma and Camp Naumkeag–complete with Adventure Courses, arts and crafts, sports, swimming, archery, science and much more.
Enjoy specialty camps for budding athletes, gymnasts, artists, actors, scientists, writers, chefs and even Harry Potter fans and Jedi Masters!
Explore the great outdoors with YMCA Outdoor Leadership camps. From whitewater rafting and rock climbing to traversing mountain peaks and mountain biking Vermont’s best trails, we’ve got the camp for you!
Y camps provide developmental experiences in fun ways to help kids thrive, build confidence and become healthy, caring and responsible adults.
Children gain a sense of achievement and build teamwork and leadership skills through our programs, and are welcomed each day by caring and nurturing staff.
Y camps offer flexible schedules as well as morning and afternoon extended care–ideal for working families.
Safety and well-being are the staff’s highest priority.
Multiple locations, northshoreymca.org/camp
Mass Audubon Summer Programs at Joppa Flats
Explore nature and get outdoors at Joppa Flats Education Center Summer Camp. Joppa Flats Summer Camp is the perfect program for children with an interest in and curiosity about nature. Campers ages 6 to 13 have fun and make friends as they discover local habitats and wildlife. The days are filled with hands-on, place-based activities, such as wildlife tracking, orienteering, and nature art; games and cooperative challenges; and nature engineering projects. Multiple field trips each week provide full ecosystem immersion for an enhanced camp experience, while small group sizes ensure that campers stay safe and engaged.
Joppa Flats Education Center, 1 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport, massaudubon.org
Montserrat College of Art Youth Summer Camp 2017
July 10-August 4
This summer, Montserrat College of Art is offering Youth S.T.E.A.M. week-long camps that will run July 10 through Aug. 4 at Montserrat’s downtown building, 248 Cabot St., Beverly. These affordable, flexible, partial, or full-day opportunities for youth in grades 3-8 offer hands-on learning in a safe, supervised environment, led by professional faculty from educational institutions on the North Shore and beyond. Students are welcome to attend for more than one session.
248 Cabot St., Beverly, montserrat.edu/summer/
Sandy Bay Junior Sailing Program
June 26-August 18
Have you ever wanted to learn how to sail? Sandy Bay Sailing Program offers sailing lessons to sailors of all ages and abilities; from beginners to racers and cruisers, ages 8 and up. Located on beautiful location on T Wharf in historic Rockport, Mass. SBYC offers quick access to ocean sailing at its best. The Mission of the Sandy Bay Sailing Program is to give our students a broad exposure to the sport of sailing. The primary goal is to develop, safe, independent sailors, by offering them an active and exciting experience that builds camaraderie, sportsmanship, and self-reliance.
5 T Wharf, Rockport, sandybay.org
SummerQuest 2017 at the Crane Estate
June 26-August 25
This summer give your child an unforgettable camp experience: SummerQuest at the Crane Estate. Each day our campers venture forth to explore 2,000 acres of the most dazzling coastal landscape in New England. From Crane Beach to Castle Hill, your child will swim and kayak, sing songs and play games, make wonderful art, hike spectacular trails, and kick back with friends in the ultimate backyard. This all happens in the framework of place-based, experiential learning.
The Crane Estate, 290 Argilla Rd., Ipswich, thetrustees.org/summerquest
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Theater in the Open Summer Workshops
June 4-August 19
Theater in the Open hosts their Summer Arts Workshop is a fun-filled, out-door, adventurous way to learn and grow at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. It is a place where young people have the opportunity to be creative and build lasting relationships with their peers in a safe, non-competitive environment designed for personal and artistic growth. Our professional staff of artists and educators is dedicated to providing our students with a positive, creative, artistic experience.
74 Curzon Mill Rd., Newburyport, theaterintheopen.org
Waring School Writing Workshops for Teens
August 15-19
This intensive 5-day, 10-hour writing course in personal essay will help high school students to develop ways of formally expressing themselves in the first-person, narrative voice. The program will use the professional writers’ workshop format to explore creative and stimulating writing prompts and effective strategies for organizing ideas and narratives. The workshop also emphasizes public reading and critique as integral to the revision process.
This 1-week course is perfect for students who are looking to improve their writing skills in any way, or are trying to achieve strong prose in essays of 750 words or less, all under the framework of Waring School’s time-tested writing program, its pedagogy and its teachers.
Waring School, 35 Stanley St., Beverly, waringschool.org