Time at summer camp, whether by the day, week or longer, offers some of the most special and vivid memories that can last a lifetime. Here are a few options, local and away, for this summer that can give a child an opportunity to take part in time-honored “traditional” camp activities, to “braniac” and fine arts options.
Gold old-fashioned camp
If a good, old-fashioned summer camp experience is what the kids are hankering for, the Lazy “J” Ranch Camp, located high in the Santa Monica Mountains, has been building memories since 1945. A traditional sleepover camp for youngsters aged five to 15, Lazy “J” offers hours of horseback riding, campfires, ocean kayaking, sports, scavenger hunts and letter-writing periods.
“You’ll find lots of positive reinforcement here, so most of our clientele are return guests,” Director Craig Johnson said. “And animal care is a big part of our program. We even just welcomed two newborn miniature horses.”
Become a techie
For a great option to totally engage your youngster while preparing him or her for future job applications, check out the ID Tech Camp at Pepperdine University. Offered at elite universities across the country (Stanford to MIT), ID Tech Camp offers classes in Web design, gaming and digital filmmaking.
“We take a hobby and turn it into something that is a potential career,” Karen Thurm Safran, vice president of marketing, said. “It taps into their creativity through technology.”
The courses have proven so popular that they’ve added more classes to serve the rising number of girl campers, Safran said, and each course is one week long, “so the kids can take multiple disciplines over the summer.”
The children can stay in dorms or attend day camp (carpools available daily) and the curriculum includes plenty of outdoor play; so a budding Bill Gates will stay buff as well as brainy.
Arts and more
If your child prefers paintbrushes to a PC, there are several local programs that will inspire your budding Michelangelo.
The Malibu Art Barn in Serra Retreat offers fine arts classes for ages 4 to six (Art Exploration), and eight to 14 years old (Creative Expression and Development). A unique program they also offer, called Art Working, is an arts socialization workshop that “uses art as a medium to promote healthy social interactions,” according to Malibu Art Barn’s Web statement. “Through art, kids learn alternative ways of self-expression and see how their personal expression impacts the group. This is a way for children to develop values both individually and universally. Simply put a child will be given the opportunity to experience how one can affect many.”
ShowCamp originated as a summer arts program at Burbank Unified School District nine years and has grown to include several locations, including one at Pepperdine. The four C’s are the basis of its philosophy: Cognition-recognizing that arts expand knowledge and contribute to intellectual comprehension; Creativity-arts offer learning skills associated with imagination, invention and innovation skills; Communication-the arts use sights, sounds and movement to convey meaning beyond the power of words; and Culture-the arts provide students with a vehicle to express their background and heritage and to begin to understand others with whom they come in contact. The No. 1 reason, however, the founders say they offer ShowCamp-“the arts make children happy!”
The Los Angeles Arts Academy is a nonprofit day camp in its 11th year of helping youngsters answer their artistic muse. Executive Director Karen Sochar starts off campers age five to 15 with quirky projects like “Shrink-a-Dink” nametags and guides them through the basics of drawing, painting, sculpture and mixed media.
“This isn’t just a crafts class,” Sochar said. “We study fine art through museum field trips and show how basic drawing technique applies to ceramic glazing.”
Courses are held at New Roads Elementary in Santa Monica and, to cool off, campers enjoy two days a week at Santa Monica College’s pool.
Further from home is the Long Lake Camp in the Adirondack Mountains, which has been in operation for 40 years. Sessions are offered for boys and girls ages nine to 16 and include varied interests from theater and dance to circus, magic and music, as well as water and sports activities. Surrounded by forest, the sparkling lakeside camp is reminiscent of the one where twins Hallie and Annie reunited in the movie “The Parent Trap.”
A sporting time
If your children want to learn to play volleyball like a champ, then Beach Volleyball Camps founded by Randy Stoklos, a U.S. champion and five-time world champion, and Sinjin Smith, equally as renowned with 11 International and world championships, offer sessions beginning June 22 at Zuma Beach. All skill levels are welcome for ages seven to 18.
America’s great American pastime, baseball, is explored in all its disciplines at the debut of Malibu Baseball Camp, with sessions played at Pepperdine’s Eddie D. Field Stadium. Weeklong sessions for both day camp and residential camp are available for boys and girls age seven to 14, along with two weeks of all high school players.
Coach Rick Hirtensteiner played for Pepperdine and is launching the baseball camp this year.
“It’s a great opportunity to improve not only your baseball skills, but your relationship with your dad,” he said. “Besides, we’ve got a beautiful facility (Pepperdine’s Field Stadium has been tagged as one of the most scenic collegiate stadiums in the country) and terrific weather here in Malibu.”
The skills camps cover everything from batting to base running to infield and outfield play and nine-inning games are played in the afternoons. And for some special bonding, there is a Father & Son/Daughter camp session in August.