Online Summer Camps for Kids
Just because your kids are quarantined doesn’t mean they have to be bored. Check out these great summer camps online for kids up through high school!
Summer! Usually in our house summer means months of fun camps, outdoor adventures, and getting really, really dirty. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, that just isn’t possible this year. Because my husband and I still need to work, we need some fun options to keep Bambino occupied each day. I set out to find some online camps and classes that would be both fun and educational. There are some really great options!
One of our favorite places to do summer camp has always been at museums. And museums often rely on summer camp admissions to fund their education and outreach programs for the year. So I’m delighted to be able to support some of our favorite museums this summer!
And a bonus: you can do camps at museums all over the country! Just make sure the times work for your family. I almost registered Bambino for a camp on the East Coast before realizing that it would start at 6 am our time — that would never work for our family, but it might be perfect for yours!
This list isn’t comprehensive, but if you are looking for online camps for your kids, this is a great place to start. Check with the museums in your area (or farther away) to see what they may be offering as well as your favorite:
Universities and colleges
Private schools
Public schools
Arts organizations
Museum Camps Online
Charles M. Schulz Museum | California
Last week Bambino took one of the drawing classes at the Charles M. Schulz museum, and it was FABULOUS! He was enthralled and active for two full hours, giggling and producing super-fun artwork! His class was taught by cartoonist Joe Wos who was both entertaining and instructive. This is the only class we have done so far, but I was so impressed! The Charles M. Schulz Museum has several offerings online for the summer including collage and drawing classes. Just remember: they are in California, so adjust the times as necessary for your timezone!
Dallas Museum of Art | Texas
This is a bargain if you have multiple kids! The DMA is offering a bunch of programs online this summer. All are about 2 hrs long, and after paying for one registration, you can also pay $30 for a sibling kit, so multiple kids can participate. The camps will use the collection at the museum as inspiration for the art they make, and they will mail the art materials to you. They say the projects are designed to be independent, though younger children might need some help. But an older child could possibly be that help.
Met Opera Global Summer Camp | New York
So the Met Opera isn’t technically a museum… but they are offering a FREE camp all summer! Each week focuses on a different opera starting with Hansel and Gretel. There are discussion sessions, a craft session led online, and then opportunities to watch the opera. For the budding musician in your home, this is an amazing opportunity! There are two meeting times for different ages, and some of the Met’s stars are coming as guest artists, too.
I want to do this summer camp!!
Cummer Museum | Florida
I was about to sign Bambino up for several of the classes at the Cummer Museum. They sound amazing! But then I realized that the time zone differences would have meant that the classes started at 6 am for us! That doesn’t work for our family, but if you are closer to the East Coast or have early risers, that might be just perfect for you! Their week-long camps are affordable and last most of the day with work time and a lunch break in the middle as well as time to meet with the instructor. It might be worth getting up early!
Joslyn Art Museum | Nebraska
From their website: “Campers will meet daily - via Zoom - from the comfort of home, to explore themes inspired by works from Joslyn’s galleries. Museum studio staff will guide students through art-making challenges and projects ideas related to the weekly camp themes. These 75-minute studio classes will provide students with techniques, tools, and vocabulary that can be utilized for continued, independent learning all summer long. Students are encouraged to work independently while in camp, but adults are asked to remain available to provide art-making or technological assistance.”
Sounds fantastic! And they have some amazing offerings including Drawing What You See, Painting with Texture, Oil Pastels, Fun with Fiber, and more!
The Bass | Florida
These week-long camps sound FABULOUS! From their website: “Each day, our trained teachers guide 90-minute tutorials featuring painting, drawing and 3D design projects that explore the weekly theme with two art-filled, virtual camps: Little Ones Art Camp (ages 4-6) and Kids Art Camp (ages 7-12). At the end of each week, family and friends are invited to attend the virtual student exhibition. Each week features a carefully crafted art package containing all needed materials for that week’s virtual camp. Art materials can be picked-up from the museum, shipped or sent via courier service!”
And the cost: $60 per week.
Cranbrook Art Museum | Michigan
A team of Teaching Artists are helping Cranbrook offer some amazing camps this summer. Camp registration includes an Art Kit, and they say, “Our Art Kits come with NEW art making materials for each day of the camp. Unlike traditional camps, our Art Kits mean that campers have the supplies to make more art when class (and camp!) is over. Materials for each day are clearly labeled and ready for campers. Art Kits are different each week! Curbside pick-up in the Art Museum parking lot, Thursdays from 5-7 pm or Saturdays from 12-2 pm, prior to the start of camp each week. Zooming in from afar? We can ship Art Kits if necessary.”
Extra art supplies for summer? Yes, please!
San Jose Museum of Art | California
From their website: “For children ages 6–14 (camps are divided into age groups 6–9 and 10–14). Please note, each camper will receive individual artistic support, encouragement, and creative challenges unique to their learning style and skill level. With this in mind, parents/caregivers have the flexibility to register their child into the camp of their choosing including siblings of varied ages into the same camp.”
Thank you for recognizing the challenges of families with multiple kids at home! Every week has a different theme, and they have guest artists as well as a STEM consultant who provides an art + science lesson each week. Awesome!
The Bronx Zoo | New York
Seriously, people. This sounds amazing! From the website: “Our Wildlife Camp Online is full of fun and learning about the world of animals, nature, and science. During the week of camp, campers will engage in counselor-led engagement and self-directed activities including up-close animal encounters, virtual exhibit and behind the scenes visits from all of our WCS zoos and aquarium, chats with our staff, hands-on science projects, crafts, and songs. Some of the activities will be scheduled at specific times and others will allow your child to engage in them at the pace that works for your child.”
California Science Center | California
The California Science Center is a fabulous museum, and their online camps sound really fun. All classes are led by trained educators and include “Interactive virtual tours of exhibits, live demonstrations, and exclusive question and answer sessions with our on-site scientists and animal care staff!”
Sounds amazeballs!
The Library Foundation of Austin | Texas
Writing is such an important skill for kids, and summer is a fabulous time for some intensive creative writing work! The Library Foundation offers some incredible writing camps for kids all the way through high school. They are affordable, too! Offerings include a poetry and film workshop, Screenwriting 101, Mythology, Slam Poetry, and the famed Badgerdog Creative Writing Summer Camp.
If only parents could sign up…
Cleveland Museum of Natural History | Ohio
From their website: “Check out our brand-new virtual camps! These online experiences reflect the research of our Museum scientists, keeping campers connected with current discoveries, amazing collections, and all the awesome that is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History!”
Offerings include Backyard Biologists, Medical Camp, Science Explorers Camp, and Astronomy 101. Sounds amazing!
More Online Summer Camps
Avid 4 Adventure: we have done some of their in-person camps in past years, and they have been really fun!
Renaissance Adventures: another camp we have done in-person. Their online camps are gaming/role-playing camps.
Frankly, I hope that even when the pandemic is over, and we are settled into our new normal, some of these museums will continue to offer online camps in the summer. Being able to participate in programs across the country with campers from all parts of the country — or the world — may be an incredible experience!
This is by no means an exhaustive list. If your local school or museum or university is sponsoring programs that are amazing, leave a link in the comments! Let’s all help each other and help our kids have a wonderful summer — safe at home!
And share this link with anyone you know who has kids at home this summer!
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Family Game Night
Recommendations for Family Game Night including all of our favorite games
Happy quarantine! I hope you all are well and are staying healthy.
I have lost track of the days and the weeks. I just know we have a few weeks of school left and then we will be entering a summer unlike any we have ever encountered. Yowza! But we will get through it together.
One of our new favorite parts of quarantine is Family Game Night — even on school nights! After dinner we all play a game, and I’ve collected a list of our favorite games together to share with you! I hope they give you some ideas for family fun together!
It’s almost time for gardening here in Colorado. In fact, this weekend I’m getting my annual dividend of compost from our compost service — fresh compost delivered! Hooray! I’m so ready to dig in the dirt — but I have some weeding to do before that comes. Phew! That’s my project for the next few days. And then I’m going to put in veggies and flowers in our raised beds. We also need to freshen up the Dinosaur Garden! I’m excited to get that cleaned up so Bambino can play there again.
I hope you are wearing a mask. Remember: my mask protects you; your mask protects me. If you need to make a mask, here are my recommendations. I finally got a few rolls of shop towels, and I’m happy to report that they make easy filters in these masks.
Be well! Stay safe! And stay home!
XOXO
Angela
Happy Valentine's Day!
A round-up of simple and inexpensive Valentine’s crafts, ideas, and decorations!
Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, and I have gathered a few projects to help you celebrate this holiday of love! Enjoy!
I have simple, homemade Valentines to make:
I have ideas for simple Valentine’s decor…
And some easy Valentine’s Day projects using a Cricut, too:
I wish you all the happiest of Valentine’s Days! Love and joy to you!
The Thoughtful Giving Guide is Here!
The list of the most thoughtful and useful Christmsa gifts for everyone on your list is now available!
I have been searching all year for unique, useful, and thoughtful gifts, and they are now collected together into one place. The 2019 Thoughtful Giving Guide is here! Enjoy!
Budget-friendly gift suggestions for everyone on your list! Lists include:
My Favorite Gifts | Gifts Under $15 | Gifts for Mid Modern Lovers | Gifts for Children | Books to Give Gifts to Make | Wines to Give | Bubbles for the New Year
Prime Day Deals I Love!
A few of my favorites are on sale for Amazon Prime Day. Check them out!
It’s Amazon Prime Day, and I spotted a few bargains that I wanted to share with you. These are all products I love personally and can recommend highly or that are on my wish list right now. If you aren’t a member, there’s a link above for a free 30-day trial which will allow you to take advantage of all of the Prime Day bargains.
Happy Shopping!
Working
Having a good printer is a must, and I really love my Epson EcoTank printer. I have an older version of this one. Here’s what I love: the ink lasts forever. It is more expensive to buy it, but Epson has changed the printer/ink model. They charge more for the printer, and you don’t have to buy ink nearly as often. The ink also doesn’t come in cartridges. It comes in bottles which you use to fill the tanks — less plastic waste! If you are in the market for a new printer, this is a good one!
When I was traveling more than I do now, I always carried my LaCie Rugged Mini External Hard Drive. It is a great device for offloading photographs while on a long trip — or even for hauling around lots of photos or documents when going to client meetings. Now that it comes in a 4TB size, too, it is even more valuable.
Tired of your office or home never being the right temperature? We recommend a Nest. We have one, and we love it! We easily manage the temperature settings for our house, and save money and energy when we aren’t home without even thinking about it.
Making
I have the Cricut Maker, but this is a great price on the Explore Air 2! And it includes lots of goodies to get you started!
I snagged a set of these. I find I need multiple mats to be more efficient when I am doing complicated projects.
Watercolors just work best on watercolor paper. It’s hard to find it on sale, too!
Reading
As an author, I always try to buy the book instead of checking it out of the library. We have to stick together, you know! But I don’t have room in my house for all of those books! My Kindle makes me so very happy for that very reason. It helps keep our home tidy! Though I do still read A LOT on paper, too!
I can’t stop raving about Madeline Miller’s two novels, The Song of Achilles and Circe. I loved them both, and they are amongst a very few books available for Prime Day. I highly recommend them!
Mothering
There aren’t many books on the Prime Day sale list, but these caught my eye. We love all of them! I Want My Hat Back is especially funny when read almost as a play at bedtime. And the Elephant and Piggie books are fabulous for early readers. The Tale of Despereaux is a sweet chapter book that is wonderful read aloud!
Building
My sister won Aunt-of-the-Year when she gave Bambino the Star Wars Darth Vader’s Castle for his birthday. I am not sure who enjoyed putting it together more — Bambino or my husband.
Bambino also loves this tree house set, and has had hours of imaginative play with all kinds of animals and characters hanging out in the tree house.
This is a great, basic Lego set with some simple instructions for making a frog, a helicopter, and anything else you can imagine. A really good starter or add-on set!
Organizing
I know Marie Kondo says not to buy anything for drawer organizing, but I did buy a set like this which keeps ties, underwear, and tights well-organized in our drawers. You could absolutely do it with a shoe box as she recommends, but I think the dividers in these boxes are just a bit tidier.
I always have a stack of plain paper bags on hand for quick gift wrapping or dropping something off at someone’s house.
My office would be a mess without boxes like these. I keep the clothes that I am selling, unfinished projects, supplies, and those awkward things that don’t seem to fit anywhere else — all in boxes like these. Mine came from Ikea, but I know these are essentially the same. Neat and tidy!
Drinking
Ditch the plastic straws! I like paper straws and try to keep a bunch in my purse, so I can refuse plastic straws when needed. I also like these other reusable options, and just might be ordering some to try them out, too.
Homemaking
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Roomba? Nope? Well, it was one of the best Christmas gifts EVER! I absolutely love it, and this is a newer, fancier version which I am eyeing when mine needs to be replaced — but I’ve had it for more than 4 years, and it is still going strong. Dogs? Cats? Kids? Get a Roomba!
My last vacuum cleaner lasted for more than 20 years. I know. It was a workhorse, but when it came time to replace it, I chose one like this Dyson which I truly love. We have had it for more than 3 years, and I am happy with it every time I pull it out to vacuum.
We don’t have one yet, but we just got back from Hawaii where our hotel had Toto Washlets in the bathrooms. It was Bambino’s first bidet experience, and he is on a mission to convert the world now. So this will be on the wish list for our new bathrooms when we renovate them for sure!
Journaling
I am also stocking up on both of these. We go through a lot of glue in our house. I use Super77 when I am art journaling, and both Bambino and I use glue sticks almost daily!
Ok. I don’t have this one yet, but it is on my journaling wish list!
Traveling
Bambino has the best suitcase in the family: a hardside suitcase with spinner wheels. As we replace our luggage, we will all get hardside suitcases like this one.
I’ve written about how Marie Kondo has changed my life, but I’ve never told you about how the KonMari Method has changed my packing practices. Well, it has. And I’ll tell you more about that soon, but these packing cubes are an important part of that practice. They make packing and unpacking a suitcase so much better!
I have a box almost identical to this with which I travel, and it is one of the best little things I’ve ever purchased. I just love it!
If you found any Prime Day deals that I need to know about, leave them in the comments! Ciao!
Confronting my Inner Sexist at the Toy Store
Travel blogger, Rachel Heller, stops by with some reflections on sexism in children’s toys — and her own unconscious bias when buying toys.
Rachel Heller of Rachel’s Ruminations.
Today’s guest post is from Rachel of Rachel’s Ruminations, an independent travel blog based in the Netherlands. I’m delighted to have her perspective on giving gifts to children.
A few years ago, I was planning a visit to my relatives in Israel. This set of cousins included a total of 11 children at that point. I had only actually ever met three of them, but I wanted to give all of them gifts.
So once I decided on the trip, I kept my eyes open for small, inexpensive gifts that would be appropriate for 11 children, aged between 13 years and six months, whom I didn’t actually know.
The day before I was due to leave, I sat down to wrap the purchases I’d accumulated and was ashamed and horrified at what I saw:
My choices contradicted everything I believed about raising children without pre-conceived assumptions or expectations about gender.
For a boy, aged six, I had bought a self-winding flashlight.
For two girls, aged six and almost six, I had bought bracelets: pretty, glittery bracelets in two different colors.
For two boys, aged 11, I had bought harmonicas.
For a girl, aged 13, I had bought a pretty barrette.
For a girl, aged four, I had bought a flowery hair clip.
What was I thinking? Was I a sexist? Why hadn’t it occurred to me that a six-year-old girl would enjoy a self-winding flashlight just as much as a six-year-old boy?
Even the most progressive toy stores are still stuck with sexist packaging targeting children by gender at an early age.
What made me think that a 13-year-old girl would be happy with a barrette?
And what was it about me that I didn’t think about this at the time I made all these purchases?
As soon as I realized what I'd done, I jumped in the car and went back to the store, where I bought two more self-winding flashlights for the two girls. I bought a very small notebook and magnetic bookmarks for the 13-year-old girl, both of them "Gorjuss" merchandise aimed at teenage girls, decorated with rather gothic-themed drawings. (I was horrified to notice a whole section of Top Model merchandise, clearly aimed at even younger girls. Who would buy that for their kid?) I didn’t have much time at that point, so the four-year-old girl would have to settle for the barrette, plus a bracelet.
It occurred to me that I can blame this unthinking conformity to some extent on my own upbringing, and to some extent on my kids.
My upbringing
As a child, I got dolls and stuffed animals to play with. I wanted Hot Wheels cars more than anything, but “those are for boys”. Whenever I visited my only male friend’s house (We were friends because our mothers were friends.), all I ever wanted to do was play with his cars, and all he ever wanted to do was play Monopoly, which he always won.
Because I had no brothers, there were no “boy’s toys” lying around for me to play with. I ended up turning to books as soon as I learned how to read, and didn’t need much else after that.
Lego advertising from 1977 was gender-neutral and egalitarian.
Later, in the 70’s, my mother discovered feminism, and I read every issue of Ms Magazine from cover to cover. By then, though, my own socialization was pretty complete: I knew to keep my knees together when I sat, especially in a dress, and that wearing a dress meant I couldn't climb a tree. I knew that it was good to be smart, but being pretty got you attention. I knew I could choose any profession, but was aware of very few role models outside the norm.
While at that point my mother was telling me I could be whatever I wanted, she continued to fulfill the gender expectations of the stereotypical suburban housewife: she cooked, she cleaned, she did the shopping, and, on the side, to make some extra money, she worked as a realtor for a while and later as a dealer in antique porcelain. My father, on the other hand, was the family breadwinner. He left the house every weekday morning for work, and never did any cooking or cleaning. (I can remember the one time my father ever cooked during my childhood. He tried to follow a recipe for Welsh rarebit but had to ask me what a saucepan was.)
Most families I knew conformed to these standard gender roles. I didn't meet anyone who didn't conform – that I was aware of – until I went away to college.
My kids
Recognizing all of this, I resolved to do things differently with my own kids. My daughter, right from the start, had dolls and Legos and cars and action figures and blocks and books.
I also insisted on dressing her gender-neutrally: blue went beautifully with her big eyes, so my favorite for her was a blue shirt and OshKosh overalls so that she could move freely. I told her how smart and strong she was, but left the comments about how she looked to other people.
Baby dolls only come in pink on these shelves.
Nevertheless, her wardrobe included “girly” clothing because other people, including my mother, bought them for her. And as soon as she was old enough to express a preference, she did: she wanted pink and red. She wanted dresses, preferably with frills and lace. She most emphatically did not want to wear jeans, unless they were red or pink and preferably fringed with lace. Was this some inborn preference, or did she pick it up from her environment?
And as for toys, she almost never played with her toy cars. Instead, she lined them up very neatly along a crack in the floorboards. She did the same with our shoes. But she never rolled them anywhere: just lined them up and then moved on to another toy.
At three, she wanted a Barbie more than anything. All her friends had them, but I refused to get her one. To my great annoyance, she received one on her fourth birthday from one of those friends. She was thrilled. And I was furious at her friend’s mother, but too well-trained in politeness to let her know.
The only way she used her Legos was to build stables for her My Little Pony’s, which she loved.
When she was five, her little brother was born. Again I made sure to dress him gender-neutrally and to give him access to toys of all sorts. And again, it was all for nothing.
He loved the cars: to roll off tables or crash against the wall. Legos were great for making more cars or planes (preferably if a friend did the actual building of the machine and he could just play with it).
He showed no interest in dolls whatsoever. There was some interest in action figures, but only in terms of the violence they could inflict on each other. A toy weapon would have made him very happy, if I'd allowed it.
My son did have a period in which he declared that pink was his favorite color, and he would wear hand-me-down pink shirts from his sister. That only lasted until he went to preschool. One day one of his little friends declared that “pink is for girls” and that was it: he refused to wear pink again.
Today Lego’s Friends line is marketed toward girls and features strangely skinny figures — not their standard minifigs — with sets that conform to more feminine stereotypes.
Lego sets marketed toward boys include sets that promote violence, careers traditionally dominated by males, and weapons marking a documented escalation in violence in Lego toys.
Later, from about the age of nine until he was about fourteen, he chose to wear his hair long. People often mistakenly assumed he was a girl, but that never seemed to bother him. I loved that: his ability to ignore what anyone thought and be comfortable with himself, long hair and all. At the same time, though, he was completely gender-conforming in every other respect.
So as I was shopping for all these children, I was thinking of my own. My daughter, at six years old, would have loved those glittery bracelets. At 13, that barrette would have been perfect. My son would have loved a hand-cranked flashlight at six and a harmonica later on.
I can blame my unconscious gender conformity on what my parents and children have taught me, yet I’m the one who fell into this stereotypical pattern. I have called myself a feminist ever since those Ms Magazines back in the 70's, but I realize now that being a feminist isn’t something that is attained and lasts forever, like a college degree or an appendectomy scar; it has to be consciously maintained and rejuvenated, like tuning up a car or watering a plant.
Perhaps we all need a regular feminism tune-up, to make sure we haven't regressed into facile, complacent acceptance of the status quo: becoming unconscious sexists. My gift-shopping endeavor seems to have done the trick.
Thank you for your candor, Rachel! I know this is an important conversation in our family as well. Be sure to check out Rachel’s website: RachelsRuminations.com .
Budget-friendly gift suggestions for everyone on your list! Lists include:
My Favorite Gifts | Gifts Under $15 | Gifts for Mid Modern Lovers | Gifts for Children | Books to Give Gifts to Make | Wines to Give | Bubbles for the New Year
Gardening Galore!
Learn how to make a Dinosaur Garden for children to enjoy on your patio or in the backyard. Also included: DIY Trash Can Planters and the relaunch of PiningforRome.com, Angela’s travel website.
DIY Dinosaur Garden
Bambino and I spent time this weekend working outside — not the hard work of weeding or tidying up. That still needs to be done. But one of his birthday gifts this year needed to get into the ground: a Dinosaur Garden. Now, to be clear, it isn’t just for dinosaurs. During the inaugural play several dinosaurs moved in along with some cars, a snake, a crab, an airplane, and a magic crystal. I suspect there will be other occupants as well! But I wanted to give Bambino a place in the dirt that was his own — and a fun place to play, too.
This is an easy project. If you have a bit of dirt — even on a patio — you can have a dinosaur garden. We happen to have some raised vegetable beds, so I turned one of those into the garden. But you could use a small tub, a wading pool, a corner of your yard… even an old sand box. You simply need a container that will hold a bit of earth.
I have all of the instructions plus bunches of photos on the Dinosaur Garden project page:
DIY Trash Can Planters
And I am also refilling our trash can planters this week. This is a super-easy and inexpensive project I put together last summer. You’ll find all of the details on the project page here:
Pining for Rome Relaunch
I am late getting all of the summer gardening started this year. We had so much snow well into May, and then our family took a trip to Belize for a week of snorkeling and swimming and sunburning!
Just before we left, I relaunched my travel website which has been under renovation for months! It isn’t perfect yet, but it is completely redesigned and reorganized. Did you know I have been writing about travel for more than 12 years? Yep. I started my first travel blog in 2007, and I have spent the last six months taking all of that content, updating it, and reorganizing it so that it is much easier to use — and better to look at, too. I hope you will check it out, and all kinds of details about Belize will be coming soon!
I recently shared one of my favorite tips for beachy packing on Instagram, and it really is one of those things that makes travel so much easier. I keep these in my travel toiletries kit and never leave home without them. Click the link to learn more!
Newly refreshed and completely updated!
Easy Packing Tip
for beachy or pool trips
One last note: I’m working on launching another exciting tool for my regular visitors. I’m pulling together all kinds of materials into a resource library. If you are a subscriber to my emails, you’ll get the password to the library , and you’ll have regular access to downloads and tools which I hope will make your life easier, prettier, and more fun! More coming about that soon, so if you aren’t a subscriber, sign up! I don’t want you to miss a thing!
So there is lots going on both here and on Pining for Rome! Happy almost-summer!
XOXO
Angela
March for Babies
Join us and give to this year’s March of Dimes campaign!
Did you get polio as a child? Nope? Neither did I. And neither will my child. That is due in great part to the work of the March of Dimes who helped get polio vaccines to every child in the US.
But they aren't just about vaccinations.
When I was pregnant with Bambino, he benefitted from one of the March of Dimes' programs to fight prematurity. Because the hospital where he was born had signed on to the MOD initiative, he was a healthier baby with stronger, more developed lungs! So every year in his honor, we make a donation to MOD.
You don't have to actually march, but I do hope you will give! This is my mom's fundraising page for MOD. Join my husband, Romano, and I in supporting babies all across the US. ❤️
