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The Endless Summer: Camps!

By Filed Under: Park Slope Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

With summer quickly approaching, bringing waves of sunny days and no school, many parents and families look to summer camps to help their kids stay active and make new friends. Luckily for park slope residents, and New Yorkers in general, camp options are countless and provide an array of opportunities for children to cultivate new skills, practice old ones, and foster their curiosity while building meaningful relationships.

Camp is a productive way to engage a child in their interests while also allowing them to unplug from phones and television in favor of connecting in positive social situations. Summer camp can be an incredibly meaningful period of time for some. 

Best friends Marissa Roer and Kate Elliot, two Brooklyn residents, frequented camp throughout their childhoods and have maintained a friendship of ten years since first meeting at an arts conservatory camp. “I would endure the year and think about camp,” Marissa mused as Kate laughed. “Summer camp was when I learned about female dynamics. It was a good thing for me to experience while growing up,” Kate added. “I eventually ended up going to high school with two of the girls I bunked with.” Though their days of camp are long over, Marissa and Kate make a point of seeing each other once a week over Saturday yoga and brunch and frequently catch up with other camp peers, one whose wedding they will be attending in the fall of this year.    

In the spirit of Marissa and Kate’s friendship, cultivated from years of camp, here is a definitive list of potential summer camps that will make any kid hope this summer really is endless. 

 

For the big thinkers out there, there are plenty of camp options to satisfy even the most curious of minds. Located in Windsor Terrace, The Tiny Scientist summer program offers weekly sessions dedicated to in-depth explorations in topics ranging from chemistry experiments to sports science to the study of dinosaurs. Engineering For Kids is another great option that introduces 4-14 year olds to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) in a hands-on way. Their website offers an easy-to-use class filter so you can sort through their breadth of programs, like scratch programming, electronic game design, 3D printing, and LEGO-based robotics. For ‘girls who wanna have fun’, Curious Jane is a no-brainer and provides girls entering 3rd-6th grades to explore and create among other inquisitive girls. Curious Jane also publishes a quarterly magazine so girls can DIY projects at home—perfect for the girls who couldn’t get enough of the summer program. 

 

For the adventurers itching to get out and let out some energy, SKATEYOGI helps the aspiring shredder learn to skate safely. Programs allow children ages 6-12 to experience skateboarding outdoors in Prospect Park as well as in an air-conditioned, indoor space. Parents are included in the fun and receive daily pictures of skateboarding adventures around the city. Brooklyn Boulders offers summer sessions that teach kids boldness, creativity, strength, and fine motor skills through climbing. The team and instructors behind Brooklyn Boulders are “strong believers that attitude is everything, and believe in the value of failing gracefully”. A Park Slope favorite, Kim’s Kids Club allows children to take everyday adventures in their very own city. Flexible scheduling allows families on a budget or with summer plans to choose a camp experience that works for them. Activities include playground hopping around the city, visiting the Bronx Zoo, and swimming at Riis Beach (accompanied by Kim’s Kids very own lifeguards). 

 

For The Budding Prodigies waiting to unleash their creativity, Gowanus Music Club gives kids the chance to hone their musical abilities by learning to play instruments. Supported by staff who themselves are musicians and the friends they make in their bands, rockers are given the opportunity to play live shows and showcase their talents to family and friends. For more stage opportunities, Brooklyn Acting Lab provides multiple sessions and a “play in a day” program. Each summer BAL also mounts one big musical to be performed at the end of the summer. This summer rising 3rd-8th graders will spend four weeks rehearsing Shrek The Musical Jr. with the session starting July 9 and running through August 3. Automatic Studios offers two different levels of classes for both the amateur filmmaker and the more serious auteur. The weeklong session packs the experience of making a movie into five days of fun and ends with a wrap party to celebrate their accomplishments. The two-week master class boasts a similar model, but offering a bit more time for budding directors to hone their craft through preproduction, shooting, and animation. BKLYN Clay offers affordable classes teaching the basics of hand building and wheel throwing techniques, while students get creative with the clay. At Brooklyn Sewcial kids are given one week to finish a unique project in a small classroom environment that motivates creativity and imagination. Spoke the Hub provides a Camp Gowanee Multi-Arts Summer Program for children ages 7-12 featuring an impressive lineup of master teachers. This summer artists such as Sachiyo Ito, a Japanese dance master and elder, and Iliana Quander, a well-known Brooklyn fashion designer will be joining the ranks of Spoke the Hub. 

 

For The Tiny Chefs who want to take control of what’s on their plate, Food Art For Kids introduces the importance of fresh produce and how to integrate that into a meal. Sessions include weekly visits to Brooklyn Heights’ Green Market where fresh produce is picked out for the cooking projects of the week. Kids engage in cooking healthy meals and on Fridays treat themselves to a homemade pizza party. A farm-to-table summer camp, Butter Beans Kitchen offers wholesome culinary expeditions for children ages 6-10. At Butter Beans Kitchen, kids are given unique opportunities to engage with the environment in the city around them, like farming in urban gardens, beekeeping on rooftops, and catching fish in Central Park. Children make their lunches every day, and learn to cultivate a close relationship between the food they pick and what they will ultimately end up feeding themselves. 

 

The traditional summer camp is usually sleep-away, which, although daunting at first, can be a child’s first steps towards independence and nurturing self-confidence in a safe environment. For those ready to take the plunge and find a home away from home, Windsor Mountain welcomes children into a co-ed, non-competitive sleep-away summer camp in Windsor, New Hampshire. Windsor Mountain’s hallmark is ‘directed free-choice’, which means campers have a say in all the activities they participate in and have staff and counselors at their disposal to help figure out how best to enjoy their summer at the mountain. With amenities like a farm, garden, forest, tree house, and ropes course, boredom is never an option. For those who want to get away but aren’t quite ready to tackle nights away from home, Deer Mountain Day Camp in Rockland County, NY offers day sessions for kids of all age groups with the traditional camp structure. Located on a mountainside next to a spring-fed lake, this 25-acre camp encourages outdoor play and exploration. Stony Creek Farmstead in Walton, NY offers children the opportunity to live on an organic farmstead and interact with animals and the environment in a sustainable, respectful way. The camp is offered in weekly sessions and provides distinctive activities like milking cows, foraging for wild food, and working on art projects. 

 

As a 23-year-old with no children of my own and no real camp experience, I was pretty astounded by the sheer number of camps nestled away in Brooklyn. As a kid my parents would, by default, send me to summer school so I wouldn’t sit alone coloring in the living room for weeks on end. Although summer school held nothing of the richness of camps I’ve come to learn about, it did offer flexibility in electives, so I was lucky enough to be able to choose an area of art I was interested in and also attend a school that had some funding for this. In the first grade I chose to take the drama elective during summer school and although it was the most casual of experiences and I had the smallest of roles, I ended up harboring a secret flame for drama that never quite extinguished. I knew from that point on that I enjoyed theater, but was never given another opportunity to pursue it as I was stacked with my pre-existing extracurricular activities. Many years passed before I performed again. 

In middle school it was customary for the 8th graders to put on a play before graduation and that year we put on Fiddler on the Roof Jr. I ultimately got one of the lead roles, and with the ecstasy of real stage time under my belt. I entered high school with a mission. At 3:01 on my first day of 9th grade I rushed to the performing arts center to sign up for auditions for the Theater Conservatory. The small flame that I had kept quietly within myself ended up defining my high school career and, eventually, my college career as well. Then, with a tad more acting knowledge than I had possessed in the first grade, I moved to New York City from my hometown of Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. 

Looking back on the journey that I’ve taken with the greatest passion I have in my life, I wish I had had more time to nurture the love for acting that I had within me. 

Camps and summer programs teach leadership, interpersonal skills, courage, and creativity. More than anything, they allow kids to try new things alongside others who may have similar interests and ideas as them. It’s extremely important to encourage interests and hobbies at a young age. These experiences coalesce and inform a person deeply. And who knows? They may just stumble across a spark that fuels them for the rest of their lives!  k

 

 

 

THE FIX-IT FRIENDS: HAVE NO FEAR

By Filed Under: Dispatches From Babyville Tagged With: , , ,

This season’s dispatch from Babyville goes straight out to the kids! Here’s a sneak peek into my new chapter book series, The Fix-It Friends, published this May by Macmillan Kids’ Imprint.

 

The idea for this series came from years of watching my kids and their pals wrestle with challenges, both big and small. I thought it would be awesome, and fun, and helpful to write a series of books which showed smart, tough, kind kids working together to solve real problems. So I did. And here’s a little glimpse for you!

 


Chapter 1
My name’s Veronica Conti and I’m seven. That means I’ve had seven whole years to learn things. Here’s what I’ve figured out so far:

1. Everything tastes better when you put whipped cream on it. Even peas. Even—blegh! ugh! mercy!—broccoli.

2. When your big brother is acting super annoying, just pretend that a UFO is about to touch down any second and steal him. It makes you feel a lot better.

3. Everyone has problems.

Even worms have problems. I learned that when I tried to give my pet worm Walter a suntan. I left him on a big rock for a few hours, and when I came back, he was as dead as a doornail.

Grown-ups think kids don’t have problems. They think just because you’re a kid, your life is easy-peasy, all butterflies and rainbows and whipped cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ha!

I have a whole bunch of problems:

1. My big brother, Jude, who is nine.

2. Homework.

3. My dad’s allergic to dogs, so I can’t have one even though I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want one.

4. Did I mention Jude?

Thankfully, I’m pretty great at solving problems. Which is why I decided to start the Fix-It Friends. Maya was my first client. In fact, Maya was sort of the whole reason I started the group to begin with.

I met Maya on the first day of second grade. At recess, which is my favorite part of school. The rest of school can be pretty boring.

“It can’t be all boring!” my mom always says, as cheery and bright as a big yellow sunflower.

“Oh yes, it can.”

“What about writing workshop?”

“Writing makes my hand hurt.”

“Or reading?”

“Reading too much gives me a headache.”

“Or math?”

“Are you kidding?” I say. “I’d rather eat a bathtub full of broccoli than do subtraction.”

“Broccoli is very high in calcium,” my mom says.

“Not the point, Mom,” I remind her.

“What about recess?

”

She’s got me there. Recess is the super-supreme best. It’s when I get to see all my friends and turn cartwheels and jump rope and play tag, which is my all-time favorite! These are the people I play tag with almost every day:

1. Cora, who is my best friend. She has naturally curly hair, which is red, and freckles on her cheeks. If she were a dog, she would be a poodle. Sometimes I get jealous of her because I have always wanted red hair and curly hair and freckles and she has all three, which kind of isn’t fair. She says she is sometimes jealous of my hair, which is straight and blond, but I think she is just being polite. Cora is always polite. She loves school, even the most boring parts like practicing penmanship.

2. Camille, who is Cora’s twin sister. They’re identical. The really weird thing is that they have two five-year-old brothers named Bo and Lou who are twins, too! I am not even kidding. Camille has curly red hair just like Cora’s, but her hair is always cut short, and it’s a lot messier. Sometimes I find bits of twigs and leaves in her hair, and once there was even a big acorn in there! Camille is a whiz with balls, especially basketballs. She can spin one on her fingertip like a pro! If she were a dog, I think she’d be a cocker spaniel.

3. Minerva, who everyone calls Minnie for short. Her grandma is from Puerto Rico, so she taught Minnie how to speak Spanish, and Minnie can say absolutely anything. She has taught me how to say important stuff in Spanish, like “No brócoli para mí gracias. Si me lo como, yo podria morir ,” which means “No broccoli for me, thanks. If I eat it, I could die.”

 

Minnie can play the piano with both hands at the same time. In fact, she is so good at the piano that she can sometimes play without even looking at her hands! She has silky black hair, which she wears in two braids, and she is very tall and skinny, just like a greyhound.

4. Noah, who is the shortest boy in the second grade and also the fastest runner. He reminds me of a beagle because of his enormous brown eyes and floppy brown hair. Noah is the quiet type, which is my favorite type for a boy to be. He is kind of mysterious, but I do know a few things about him. He absolutely hates when people talk about him being short, and he absolutely loves playing soccer. He wears a soccer jersey to school every single day. I think it’s because of his dad, who used to be a famous soccer star in Brazil. Now his dad has his own sports show named after him, called The Rafael Rocha Radio Hour, so I think he is still kind of famous . . . or his voice is, anyway.

So that’s my tag group, and we have been playing together since first grade. Sometimes other kids join our tag game, and sometimes Jude comes over with his best friend, Ezra, and they teach us new kinds of tag like Air Tag and Backwards Tag and Dog Tag. Whenever we play Dog Tag, I’m a golden retriever because if I were a dog, that’s the breed I would be. Guess what kind Jude pretends to be? None! He is always the dogcatcher.

Usually, though, it’s just the five of us who play. Except if one of us is sick or injured. If you are really sick or injured, you go to the nurse, but if you are just a tad hurt, you sit on top of your lunch box by the fence.

I feel so sorry for the people who have to do that. It happened to me once, when I knocked my head into Camille’s head and we both had to spend the rest of recess sitting by the fence. It was pure torture, I tell you!

So there I was, on the first day of second grade, at recess with the tag group. Except Minerva was missing.

“Hey, where’s Minnie?” I asked.

“She has a headache, so Miss Tibbs told her to sit by the fence,” squeaked Cora.

Cora has a super-squeaky voice. I can imitate her voice, and it always cracks her up. She sort of sounds like she’s a mouse trapped in a girl’s body. What makes it extra funny is that Camille’s voice is real low and raspy, like a crocodile’s.

“Minnie is by the fence?” I asked.

Cora nodded.

I gasped. Gasping is my favorite sound effect. It makes people sit up and pay attention.

“Then what are we WAITING FOR?” I shouted. “Our friend needs us!!

”

I dashed over to the fence. Sure enough, there was Minnie. Her hair was in two neat braids as usual, and she was wearing a beautiful red headband, too. Minnie looked tired. She was leaning her chin on her hand.

“HERE I AM, MINNIE!!” I shouted.

She winced.

“Oh NO!” I yelled. “What can I DO?”

“Well, maybe you could talk a little quieter?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh yes, of course!” I whispered. “Hey, maybe you have a headache from that headband. It might be pinching your brain.” I love headbands, but I can never wear them for more than two minutes because they make me feel like a giant is squeezing my head in his fist.

The other kids ran up and asked Minnie questions, like had someone been using a jackhammer too close to her, or had she eaten extra cold ice cream too fast? But I wasn’t listening, because that’s when I noticed Maya.

 

HAVE NO FEAR!
By Nicole C. Kear
Illustrated by Tracy Dockray

 

Want to read more of Have No Fear!, and the second book in The Fix-It Friends series, Sticks and Stones? Look for them at your local bookstore or library! To find out more about the series, and play cool games, visit fixitfriendsbooks.com

In Praise of the Summer Camp

By Filed Under: A Camping We Will Go Tagged With: , , ,

Attending summer camp is a memorable rite of passage. Whether it’s in the form of a weeklong sleep away adventure, or a daytime activity program, the camp experience comes with memories that can last a lifetime.

Camps today are metamorphosing to keep up with modern innovations. Although some stick to the tried and true values of physical activity, learning, and friendship building, there are now more specific concentrations to be found at all levels and on all kinds of different subjects. Whatever a child’s best interest, there is likely a summer camp centered around it. Evolutions in the summer camp have come to include everything from rock and roll to rock climbing, science experiments and media production.

 

Brooklyn Sewcial

 

New York City is the locale with some of the most extensive options, and kids will really have their pick when it comes to the classic or innovative camps when summer begins. Some standouts taking place this summer include Brooklyn Sewcial, which offers week-long creative programs focusing on interesting projects like fashion design, pottery, and art, and The Co-op School, which also fosters curiosity and learning through music, movement, fine arts, literature and science. Other camps are more academic minded but still take place in an enjoyable atmosphere, like Mathnasium, which has a unique program helping kids to keep their math skills strong throughout the summer. It includes no homework, quizzes or tests, and the focus is simply learning math while having fun.

Kim’s Kids Club is a Park Slope area summer program for kids, where they can just be kids. Daily activities include beach trips, rock climbing, and hiking. This program also offers flexible scheduling, meaning kids can attend for as little as three days per week, or as much as a six week camp.

 

Kim’s Kid Club

 

Another advantage of living in a large city center is that often professionals are brought in for extra enrichment, and field trips can include visits to world-class art galleries and museums. For budding thespians and musicians, there are several options. For acting, there is Brooklyn Acting Lab which offers weekly immersive theatre programs, which incorporate play, games, art and music into each day. There is also Piper Theatre Productions, another notable opportunity where kids create full-scale outdoor theatre productions in Old Stone House and Washington Square. For this program, there are options for week-long acting camps, as well as four-week theatre and musical theatre workshops. Gowanus Music Club also offers lessons in rock music, where kids can experience recording sessions, playing in live performances, and find the joy of being in a band.

 

 Gowanus Music Club

 

For cultural adventures, there is the aptly named Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Program whose 2017 theme is ”More than Meets the Eye: Uncover the incredible world around you.” This camp includes visits to cultural institutions, games, challenges, and tours focusing on everything from art and literature, to nature and science. Children are welcome from across the city, country, and world for these programs. Speaking of adventures, Brooklyn Boulders was hailed by Vogue as the “Best workout in Brooklyn.” With 22,000 square feet of climbing surface and with locations in New York, Boston, and Chicago, campers will find an unconventional experience to engage their imaginations and push them to their physical potential.

There are also camps focusing on different aspects of a child’s development, including religious traditions. Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst is a camp that quickly becomes a yearly tradition and important aspect of many campers lives. Their programs are known to promote close-knit relationships, explore the rich history of Judaism, and promote the social, emotional, and physical growth of each camper.

Stony Creek Farmstead, in Walton, upstate New York, offers a special experience for both campers and parents in a picturesque landscape. The farm is owned and operated by three generations of the Marsiglio family, and is known for their free-range and organic practices when it comes to meat and produce. The farm has luxurious platform tents, where many families from Brooklyn and Manhattan come stay and send their kids to the day camp while the adults can chill out or go antiquing. This year they are also offering an adult camp, workshops for adults, some running throughout the season and other mini workshops that will be offered during the kids day camp.

 

Stony Creek Farmstead

 

As a writer from the East Coast of Canada, I have had my fair share of summer camp experiences out in the New Brunswick wild. I didn’t necessarily focus on my writing skills at any camp I went to, though I might have been interested in that. Instead I followed my penchant for theatre and was keen for anything that could let me be creative. The embracing of my creative side developed the part of my brain that can imagine in many situations, including writing and creating stories out of thin air. While putting together the list of New York camps through my Canadian eyes, I understood that this is, of course, to be expected of the Big Apple; it has everything, even when it comes to summer camps. Kids can sign up to learn about almost anything including musical theater, art, or even their own religion or ethnicity. The amazing thing is there are camps to support kids in almost every facet of their lives and development, including their social, intellectual, artistic, and physical selves, with many focusing on developing the whole person, physically, mentally and spiritually. I think this is important — here’s why:

The time when the idea of summer camp is important is once in a person’s lifetime — more specifically, only at one major growth stage. At a certain point, you do grow up and are simply too old to go to summer camp and can only then participate as a camp counsellor (which could have its own merits and learning points). Seizing this opportunity while the time is right is a great idea. Being able to say you were a ”camper” means simply that you got to grow, you got to do things differently from during the school year, and you practiced making new friends, a skill that will likely stick around with anyone for a good long time. At the ‘camper’ point of development, we are at our most impressionable. Being in a summer camp can teach resilience, cooperation, and artistic or athletic abilities which leaves a lasting impact. Through these activities, kids find what they’re good at or who they really are. Having the freedom to just be a child — without any concerns or responsibilities away from the usual school schedule — means that kids can focus solely on fun, and this is when learning and development can become fluid, easy, and effortless.

During my own summer camp experience, I was able to learn a few things about myself I didn’t come to know during the school year. When put in a new situation with a bunch of kids, I was uneasy. Would I get to know all these people or even make friends with them? I was unsure, as I wanted to cling to my school-year friends. But people being people, we do each slowly learn to trust each other, and so did I. Suddenly the girl with the red hair and freckles had a name and a funny personality. Suddenly after about five days and nights of being away from parents, I didn’t feel like I needed them to tell me what to do quite as much. My routine was replaced by new traditions like meal hall, swimming, and canoeing, adoring older boy counselors, and sharing nightly snacks. As campers, we realized we could still thrive and develop, maybe more rapidly, in a different world where we all suddenly belonged.

For many, the hardest part of camp is the end, breaking up of the unique camp community leaving the now-familiar personalities, and saying good bye — at least until next summer.

A camper’s usual, everyday personality can be slowly broken open to reveal someone who is brave enough to try archery, bold enough to sing by a campfire, and passionate enough to belt out their team chants. A camper can grow to become someone who sleeps in a bunk bed, and knows how to tough out bugs and sunburns. Being at a summer camp, whether it’s for a day, overnight, or for a week-long sleep-away program, means that kids get the chance to be someone new. They get to live in a new environment or just experience a new situation, and to the best of their ability, thrive. Life is about growing up alongside and needing our parents, but camps allow children to experience life, no matter how long or how briefly, on their own. This can create a sense of self-knowledge and self-esteem that can create an important foundation for personal growth. Sure, campers may need to call home occasionally or even switch out of a camp which isn’t right. But having the chance to find a place to fit in and belong, that will be worth the time, the effort and the experience to grow. For as campers, we can be who we want to be without the adult worry of being who we’re supposed to be. That can be left until a later stage, and another time.