The days of kids staying home all summer watching “Days of Our Lives” and eating popsicles are over. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean students should stop learning. You don’t have send your kid to a camp far away. Here are details for some of the summer camps available in our neighborhood.
For the well rounded kid
Lakehill Preparatory School
Dates: June 4-Aug. 10
Location: 2720 Hillside and 7401 Ferguson
For ages: 4-18
Tuition: $220-$295 per week
Sign up: lakehillprep.org
Almost anything your kid wants to try, this camp teaches. The kiddos can dabble in chemistry, engineering, hiking and survival, wildlife, arts and crafts, puppets, photography, volleyball, disc golf and too many subjects to mention. Childcare before and after camp is included. Some camps are held at the school’s main campus, and some are at the Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center.
St. Christopher’s Montessori School
Dates: June 4-29, July 2-31 and Aug. 1-28
Location: 7900 Lovers
For ages: 3-8
Tuition: $450-$890 a month, depending on times and child’s age
Sign up: 214.363.9391
St. Christopher’s Montessori School offers camps for cooking, games, fitness, Spanish, music, art and dance.
YMCA
Dates: June-August
Location: 7301 Gaston
For ages: 3-17
Tuition: $125-$200
Sign up: whiterockymca.org
White Rock YMCA’s weeklong Urban Adventures Travel Camps offer trips to the Crow Asian Art Gallery, the Dallas World Aquarium and the Latin Cultural Center. Counselor training and swim lessons also are available.
Self defense
Dates: June-July
Location: Lakewood Dojo, 2114 Kidwell
For ages: 4-15
Tuition: $300, with discounts for siblings
Sign up: dallaskenpo.com
Chamberlain Studios of Self Defense offers 10 one-week courses in martial arts. Most camps are from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., but a few are from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
For the nature lover
Dallas Arboretum
Dates: June-July
Location: 8525 Garland Rd.
For ages: 3-12
Tuition: $99-$250
Sign up: dallasarboretum.org
Many of the arboretum’s half-day and full-day camps sell out, so sign up early. “Little Critters,” for 3- to 4-year-olds, explores squirrels, spiders, frogs and toads. Fossils, garden investigation and the connection between art and nature are among topics for 4- to 6-year-olds. Dale Chihuly’s glass art is one subject for kids 5-7 and 7-10. Campers explore the life and times of Texas pioneers while studying native plants and animals at Lone Star Overnight Adventure Camp, open to 8- to 12-year-olds. That weeklong camp culminates in an overnight trip to the Trinity River Audubon Center.
Texas Discovery Gardens
Dates: June 11-15, July 16-20 and Aug. 13-17
Location: Fair Park, 3601 Martin Luther King Junior Blvd.
For ages: 4-8
Tuition: $175-$200
Sign up: texasdiscoverygardens.org/camps
Weeklong classes on butterflies, gardening and garden critters run from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Childcare from 8-9 a.m. costs $15; care from 3:45-5:30 p.m. costs $25 and includes a snack.
For the musician
Rock-n-Roll
Dates: June-August
Location: Dallas School of Rock, 5606 Dyer
For ages: 4-17
Tuition: $995
Sign up: dallas.schoolofrock.com, 214.363.7625
The Dallas School of Rock offers two-week camps that include music and vocal instruction, theory and songwriting, Rock-N-Roll music appreciation, live performance basics, instrument clinics and more. The school also offers “Little Wing,” half-day camps for pre-schoolers June 4-8 and Aug. 6-10 for $249.
East Dallas Children’s Music
Dates: May-August
Location: Wilshire Baptist Church, 4316 Abrams
For ages: infant-8
Tuition: $60-$150
Sign up: eastdallaschildrensmusic.com, 214.324.2224
Musikgarten classes for babies up to 4-year-olds feature singing, dancing and playing simple instruments. Keyboard camps for older children focus on multicultural songs, games, art projects and drumming.
Girls Rock Dallas
Dates: July 23-28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Life in Deep Ellum, 2803 Taylor
For ages: 8-17
Tuition: $325, with financial assistance available
Sign up: girlsrockdallas.org
This intense weeklong class offers instruction to girls only, in guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Campers will form bands and learn how to write original songs together and perform at the camp’s showcase.
For the artsy kid
Creative Arts Center of Dallas
Dates: June 11-July 22
Location: 2360 Laughlin
For ages: 14 and older
Tuition: $195-$219
Sign up: creativeartscenter.org
A weeklong portfolio-preparation class teaches university-bound high school and college art students the basics of presenting a portfolio, writing strong artist statements and choosing the right art school. Another class, Intro to Design, promotes creativity and helps students gain visual organization skills. The center also offers classes in drawing, jewelry making, sculpture and painting. And there are one- and three-day workshops on color theory, art history, printmaking, drawing and painting. The center also offers free classes to DISD students through Big Thought.
For the thespian
Dallas Children’s Theater
Dates: June-August
Location: 5938 Skillman
For ages: 4-18
Tuition: $70-$400
Sign up: dct.org
“Showbiz Summer and Teen Conservancy” has to be the greatest name for a camp. Kids as young as 3-and-a-half can enroll in the mid-morning Pre-K Drama Days for $70. Acting, improv, musical theater, movie-making for teens and technical theater are among the offerings in the $250 range. Slappy’s Circus Camp is a weeklong clown class for $265. The two-week musical theater camp costs $400.
Junior Players
Dates: June 11-22
Location: Ridgewood Recreation Center, 6818 Fisher
For ages: 7-14
Tuition: Free
Sign up: 214.526.4067
Our neighborhood rec center offers a two-week theater camp, and classes are limited to 25 on a first-come, first-served basis. Instruction includes performing and theater arts. Classes culminate in the Festival of Plays, uniting rec centers all over Dallas.