Keep Kids Engaged With Afternoon Only Summer Camp Options

Summertime is fast approaching and if you are like me, you want your child to have fun outdoors but also take in some educational activities.  Maybe you have already signed up for SMMUSD’s Summer Adventure, your  kids are enrolled in Summer School,  or perhaps you just want to sleep in and have quiet mornings at home while the June gloom lingers over the Santa Monica Bay area.  If you fall into one of these categories, keep reading.  You still have the afternoons to think about!

The City of Santa Monica’s popular CREST program offers two wonderful camps that are afternoon only!  Your kids can enjoy action-packed sports, entertaining group games, and fun activities, which begin at 12:30 pm.

For your 4th or 5th grader who is attending summer school at McKinley Elementary School, CREST’s Wrap-Around Camp offers outdoor fun and special events ideal after a morning of indoor learning.  Participants stay onsite and easily transition from their summer school classrooms to a half-day camp. Programming includes sports, games, special events, swimming, and excursions to local attractions, such as bowling and Pacific Park to name a few. Camp runs for 4-weeks, beginning June 17 – July 12 and costs $123 per week for residents and $133 for nonresidents, except for Week 3, which is four-days and is $98 for residents and $106 for non-residents.  There is no camp on the 4th of July.

Children ages 8-14 can also go to Santa Monica Sports Experience’s half-day camp where boys and girls can continue their vacation experience immersed in a different sport or organized game each week! Campers will be introduced to the basic rules, skills, field or court layout, and equipment for a sport or game, culminating in an all camp weekly tournament.

The goal of Santa Monica Sports Experience is to expose participants to many different sports and organized games: volleyball, super dodge ball, lacrosse, hockey, dance work outs, virtual sports gaming (Wii Sports, Kinect, and Nintendo64), soccer, flag football, basketball, and the annual pine derby race that includes building your own mini-racer. The half-day program also features weekly outings to the Santa Monica Swim Center for recreational swimming. 

Santa Monica Sports Experience is also offered for the full-day beginning at 8:30 a.m., so even when your morning program ends, your kids can continue to join their friends each week until August 14th.  Full-day campers enjoy a weekly field trip to a local attraction and lunch is provided. 

For more information, contact the City of Santa Monica’s Youth Office at Reed Park at 310-458-8540.  Enroll online now at www.smgov.net/recenroll.

Generous Financial Assistance subsidizing up to 90% of camp fees are available to qualifying Santa Monica residents based on a sliding scale.  Nonresidents attending summer school at McKinley Elementary School are eligible while summer school is in-session only.  Low- to moderate-income families are encouraged to apply prior to registration.  To receive an application, visit www.smgov.net/financialassistance.