San Francisco Summer Camp Guide 2018

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Summer Camp Guide 2018 SF
This post is sponsored, but our opinions are 100% are own.  We are part of Amazon Associates. 

It’s that time of year again.  As soon as the holidays are over, every parent has “Register for Summer Camp” on the top of their to-do list. Ugh! We hear you!  And so, we put together a Summer Camp Guide to make finding the perfect camp for your little camper this year super easy.

Check out our spotlighted camps, general tips, and comprehensive list!

Victory Garden Kids

Join us for summer learning that will help your child prevent SUMMER LOSS in Reading and Math! We will help them stay attached to learning they received last year and connect them to what’s coming. We offer summer reading programs and one-on-one tutoring in our Sausalito office and online via Zoom.

Our goal is not just to teach content; our goal is to help your child feel their strengths as a learner. 

Children who believe they are strong academically are the adults who will make change in their world. Children who believe their voices and thoughts matter will be adults who speak with conviction convincingly about things that they believe in. Children who can listen to others’ perspectives will be adults who are compassionate when others speak to them.

Our tutoring courses and reading programs strive to strengthen our students as strong, powerful world changers.

To Register email: jennifer@victorygardenkids.com or call: 530-632-2808

iD Tech Camps for Kids & Teens

At iD Tech Camps, students ages 7-17 learn to code, design video games, produce videos, mod Minecraft, create with Roblox, engineer robots, model and print 3D characters, work with AI and machine learning, build laptops, learn about cybersecurity, and more!

Weeklong, day and overnight summer programs that instill in-demand skills and embolden students to shape the future. iD Tech Camps (weeklong, co-ed, 7-17), Alexa Café (weeklong, all-girls, 10-15), iD Tech Academies (2-week, teen-only, 13-18).

Held at San Francisco State, UC Berkeley, St. Mary’s College of CA, and Stanford

Camps available June- August    Call for more information: 1-888-709-8324

SF Baseball Academy

usf baseball

The University of San Francisco would like to invite all baseball players 6-13 years old to our San Francisco Baseball Academy All Star Camp! Our 5-day camp will cover all aspects of the game, ranging from hitting, pitching, fielding and base running through similar techniques and drills used by the University of San Francisco Dons Baseball program.

Camps are offered weekly starting June 11th- August 10th

Camp Hours: 9:00am-3:30pm

Circus Center

Week long romps through the world of circus, building self-confidence and joy in kids 7-13 years! 
 
There are four great camps to choose from: Acrobatics, Aerial, Flying, and Discovery.
 
Camps run weekly 9am-3pm from June 4 – August 24.
 
755 Frederick Street, SF
 
415-759-8123

Culinary Artistas

culinary artistas

At Culinary Artistas we run camps all throughout the summer at our beautiful studio in Ghirardeli Square.  Each week focuses on a different theme where we will be cooking healthy, nutritious meals from scratch.  In addition to cooking, students will have time for play center, story and reading time, and outdoor play. 

Camps run weekly 9am- 3pm (with after care options) starting 5/28/18 until 8/31/18.

851 Beach Street, SF 94109 

415-735-5234

 

The Renegade Girls Tinkering Club

Renegade Girls Tinkering Club offers girls-only and coed camps with locations in the Sunset District, SOMA and NOPA.

Our camps teach hands-on tinkering and making so that kids complete camp projects on their own. There are 5 themes this summer to try: Renegade Physics, Arduino Robot Code Camp, Tinker Tales, Classic Camp STEM, and Tinker Your Future. 

Weekly camps are offered June 11- August 17th. 

415-598-8939

MVCode

mvcode

Week long camps run all summer teaching coding, robotics, Minecraft plugins, and web and game development for students in 1st-8th grade. Campers also participate in daily outdoor play – fun team building activities and games. Prepare your child for the future – while having fun!

3236 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA

415-569-2112

Little Paper Planes

little paper planes

Our mission is to expose our young artists to a diverse group of Contemporary artists and designers working today so they can see making art has endless possibilities and can look and function in unexpected ways. We show them various materials to experiment with as well as creating their own tangible vision while learning to critique art. We focus on the building blocks of making art: line, shape, color, value, texture, space and form. They will be able to use this foundation to create their own works of art!

Weekly camps start June 18 – Aug 10 for ages 5-13 running 9am- 3pm. 

855 Valencia Street, SF 94110  

415-643-4616

Sequoia Village Schoolhouse

SV

Our 3 week program, Summer Buddies, is a creative collaboration between Sequoia Village Schoolhouse and Build Learn Thrive, to provide social, sensory and motor experiences for kiddos ages 3.5 – 9.

Using creative weekly themes, we engage students of all abilities in music, art and facilitated social play. Our highly-trained staff are experienced therapists and educators who are sensitive to the accommodations and modifications necessary to encourage full participation from every child.

Monday-Friday the weeks of July 30th, August 6th, & August 13th.  9am-12pm (half day) or 9am-3pm (full day)

1438 38th Ave, San Francisco CA 94122

415- 463-5472

Linda Bulgo's Musical Productions

SFmomsblog image

 

Linda Bulgo’s Musical Productions offers 8 separate weeks of musical theater summer camp, each with a different theme! LBMP’s summer camps promote appreciation of music, dance, and performance while maintaining an atmosphere of fun. Each day includes singing, dancing, acting, crafts, outdoor activities, and more. Each week culminates in a performance by all students for family and friends. Instruction is led by music and dance teachers who have dedicated their lives to the performing arts. Register for each week separately and join us for as many as you’d like!

Camp runs 9:00am-3:00pm Monday-Friday. Optional aftercare until 6pm is also available. Camps are available June 11th through August 3rd for ages 5-12. Email info@lindabulgosmusicalproductions.com for more information.

Classes are held at St. Finn Barr Elementary School: 415 Edna Street San Francisco, CA 94112

415-632-1667

Tom Johnson Golf Camp

golf
Summer Golf Camp at Gold Gate Park!
 
Tom Johnson offers a 4 Hole Beginner Camp geared towards younger golfers, ages 5-9, a ½ Day 9 Hole Playing Camp for juniors that have the ability and energy to play all nine holes, and a Full Day 18 Hole Playing Camp for older juniors ages 10-15 that are ready to advance their game to the next level!  Camps allow only 8 junior golfers for each week session. 

Dates: June 25-29, July 16-20, July 23-27, July 30-Aug 3, Aug 6-10

Email tomjohnson59@gmail.com and mention the PROMO CODE  “SFMB2018GOLF” to redeem a free 30 minute lesson for your aspiring junior golfers.  This introduction to golf will provide golf clubs and instruction and will also be a great time for parents to consult with Tom about future golf camps or lessons, club purchasing etc.  Golf camps start as soon as June 25th, so please email soon, as the promotion will expire at that time. Semi-private lessons are available with this promotion. Bring up to three kids at a time!

Golden Gate Park Golf Course, 970 47th Ave. San Francisco 

530-739-9116

Maker Studio SF

Logo-3
Discover the link between creativity and engineering at Maker Studio SF! We run fashion and design engineering for kids ages 8-16 years.
 
Fashion Engineering Camps run weekly from June 4- August 31.

Design Engineering Camps run weekly from June 18- August 17. 

Camps run 9am- 3:30 with after care options. Each week has a different theme, so sign up for more than one! 

900 North Point Street San Francisco, CA 94109

415-855-1073

Nature Nurture

93 Moraga Ave. San Francisco, CA 94129     (415) 751-4000, cell (415) 939-8911

Ages 3-6 (campers) and 7-14 (Jr. CAMP Leaders).

Camps run weekly June 11th – August 3rd, except the week of July 2-6.

Asian Arts School

2101 Taraval Street San Francisco, CA 94116     415-297-3072

Art and Mandarin Camps Kindergarten – 5th grade, run weekly June 7- August 17th. 

Ripe Fruit Summer Writing Camps

469 Hill St. San Francisco, CA 94114     (415) 337-4369. Registration opens SOON!

6th- 11th graders: Session 1:  July 16-20th.  Session 2:  July 30-August 3rd. Session 3:  August 6-August 10th. 

Want to be spotlighted in our 2018 Summer Camp Guide?

Summer Camp Tips From Our Writers: 

Don’t over schedule your children, especially if they are super young and this is their first time at camp/ away from you. It’s summer time, and you don’t want your kids exhausted from too many things. Let them be kids and have down time too.  

If your child is starting preschool in the fall, do a “little” camp.  This will help with the preschool transition and may help with school separation anxiety.  That way, if your child freaks out and doesn’t really make it to camp that much, you didn’t waste money on a whole semester. 

Try something new.  This is a great chance to try something before registering for it for an entire semester.  Does your child like dance, basketball, or computers?  Who knows?  Summer allows you to give it a try. Exposure to different activities allows children to really find what they are interested in.

Take advantage of the area we live in.  Maybe your child will want to do coding or circus acrobats?  These camps aren’t offered other places in the country like they are here.  If you have an older child, camps like these stand out on college applications because they are unique. 

If your are trying to get into a particular school, register for their camp.  It doesn’t hurt to get your family’s name out there and let the school get to know your child. It can only help!

Don’t just do what your friends are doing. Do what’s best for your child. Use this guide to find something special for your child.

Plan your camps around your vacations.  It’s hard to plan in advance, but try to plan what you might be doing this summer from little day trips to maybe some bigger vacations (woo hoo!).  You don’t want to pay for camp and then realize your child is going to miss a whole week for your cousin’s wedding on the East Coast.   

Location, location, location.  Don’t sign up for a camp too far away.  Just because this isn’t your child’s every day school, don’t forget you still might find it super inconvenient to drive a long distance every day over the summer to a camp. 

Dress your child in T-shirts that can be conversation starters.  It’s hard to make new friends in a new environment.  Maybe a SF Giants shirt, 49ers shirt, or an Elsa Frozen shirt (you get the idea) will help the kids realize they might like something in common and help them begin to chat. 

Don’t panic to sign up. Take your time to find the right camp. There are plenty of camps out there. It will all work out.
 
Let your child take some ownership in their camp. Give them choices, ask them what they want to do, and then use this information to make a good decision. 
 
Remember to apply sunscreen and pack sunscreen for outdoor camps.  Note whether your camp is allowed to re-apply or not and discuss this with your child. 

If you have a child that is just too young for camp make sure and carve out some “summer experiences” just for them so they don’t feel left out seeing their older siblings go to camp.

If your child is independent, don’t be afraid of sleep-away camps.  The goal is to raise children who will one day be capable of leaving us, right? 

Label EVERYTHING! Here are some of our favorite labels.  

Don’t let your child bring their “favorite” anything (water bottle, hat, whatever), even if it’s labeled. Items tend to go to home with the wrong camper and sometimes never make their way back. All kids have different schedules, and you may not see the same kids every day like you do in regular preschool. 

 

2018 Camp Favorites 

Keep your camper styling with our top picks:

 

 

JP DOoDLES® California Bear On Kids Trucker Hat

 

 

 

 

JP DOoDLES® Unicorn On Kids Trucker Hat

 

 

Native Water Shoes (comes in multiple colors!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camelbak Eddy (comes in multiple designs!)

 

 

 

 

Under Armour Girls’ Favorite Backpack 

 

 

 

 

 

Under Armour Boys’ Scrimmage Backpack

Comprehensive Summer Camp List

Acrosports, 6-12yrs

Adventures in Writing Camp, 1st-8th grade

Aim High, middle schoolers

American Gymnastics Club, 4yrs-up

ARTifact, 2.5yrs-12

Asian Arts School, K-5th grade

Azzi USF Basketball, 1st-8th grade

Bricks 4 Kidz, 3-13yrs

California Film Institute, 13-18yrs

Camp Edmo, preK-8th grade

Camp Galileo K-8th grade

Celsius and Beyond, 1st-9th grade

Children’s Day School

Chinese American International

Circus Center, 7-14yrs

City College San Francisco

Coach Rudi Sports Academy, pre-K- up

Convent and Stuart Hall, K-8th grade

Culinary Artistas, 4-9yrs

Destination Art, preschoolers,

Eddie Soto Soccer, 6-18yrs

Eureka Valley Arts, all ages

High Five Sports, preK-5th grade

House of Air, 7-12yrs

iD Tech, kids-teens

Jewish Community Center, preschooler-teens

Kittredge School, K- 8th grade

Linda Bulgo’s Musical Productions, 5-12yrs

Little Artistas, 3-10yrs

MV Code Club K-5th grade

Nature Nurture, 3yrs-up

One Martial Arts, 4.5-12yrs

Pacific Rowing Club, 8th grade and up

Paresh Martial Arts, 6yrs-up

Renegade Girls Tinkering Club

Ripe Fruit Writing, 6th-11th graders

San Francisco Friends School, K-8th grade

SF Art Institute, 13-15 yrs

SF Giants Junior Baseball, 5-18yrs

SF State Community Youth Sail and Paddle Camp, 8-15yrs

Sky Kids, K-8th grade

Steve and Kates, 4-12yrs

Stretch the Imagination, 2-5yrs

The Bay Club, members only, 2-18yrs

The Butterfly Joint, 4yrs-up

The Creativity Museum, 3-12yrs

The de Young Art Museum, 6-12yrs

The Rabbit Hole, 3-12yrs

The SF Zoo, 4-17yrs

Tree Frog Treks, pre-K-5th and Teens

Tutu School Ballet Camp, 2-8yrs

uCamps, High schoolers  

USF Baseball All Star Academy Camp, 6-13yrs

Youth 49ers, 7-14yrs

Click here for our Sleep-Away Camps!

 

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Kelly migrated to San Francisco in 2009 after living in Chicago, Florida, and growing up in Texas. She is happy now to call the Bay Area her home. She is a licensed Physician Assistant and previously worked in OBGYN and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. With the support of her husband and college sweetheart, Rob, she took a break from medicine to do something more creative! In addition to running San Francisco Moms Blog, Kelly is mommy to Mr. Gavin and Mr. Byron. She is happy to be the princess of the house! When she is not working or chasing her boys, she loves cooking, college football, and spending time and traveling with her family.

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