Summer camps and creative classes for Vancouver kids
Looking to enroll your little ones in a seasonal camp to keep them occupied this summer? From biking to ballet to bouldering, parenting blogger and yoyomama.ca founder Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit shares her top picks for fun kids programming and day camps in Vancouver.
Jump Gymnastics
101-837 Beatty St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2M6The focus at this kid-approved gymnastics facility is on physical literacy and development rather than competition. With locations in North Van and Yaletown, instructors aim to set kids up with all the skills they need to be active for life. Non-competitive classes, full-day and half-day camps, drop-ins and birthday parties are offered for six-month-olds all the way up to eight-year-olds.
CircusWest
2901 Hastings St E, Vancouver, BC V5K 5J1If your son or daughter dreams of running away to the circus then Circus West is a great spot to send him or her for an active and unusual camp. Located on Hastings Street near the PNE, this spot is a really fun and active space for kids who are looking for something a bit different than your average summer camp. Circus arts lessons range from unicycle riding and aerial silks, to juggling, pyramid tumbling and much more.
Arts Umbrella
1286 Cartwright St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8This non-profit education center on Granville Island has been around for over 30 years; I actually took a course here when I was in high school! Summer camp, spring break camps, Pro-D day camps and year-round programming are on offer and are very much geared toward inspiring kids through visual and performing arts. The school reaches over 20,000 kids annually and aims to promote the various lifelong benefits of an arts education, including enhanced critical thinking and collaboration among peers. They offer pre-school art classes to pre-professional dance classes for teens and everything in between.
Grouse Mountain-The Peak Of Vancouver
6400 Nancy Greene Way, North Vancouver, BC V7R 4K9Adventure day camps at Grouse Mountain are a great way to encourage kids of all ages to play outdoors and connect with nature. The mountain runs a wide variety of camps throughout the year for spring and summer break, Pro-D days as well as ski camps in the winter. Offered for juniors (5-7), kids (8-12) and youth (12-16), camp programs are about education and exercise, with sessions covering a range of outdoorsy themes: animal behavior, hiking, survival skills, mountain rescue, soap stone carving rock climbing, survival skills and more.
Pedalheads
4196 4th Ave W, Vancouver, BC V6R 4J5Operating out of various locations around the city, Pedalheads biking camps are incredibly popular and it’s easy to see why. The highly trained and patient instructors are known for getting your kids off their training wheels. Half-day and full-day camps are designed for kids age two and up and cover road riding skills and safety. There are also mountain biking camps for skilled riders who want to take on new terrain.
Mac Sailing Academy
1300 Discovery St, Vancouver, BC V6R 4L9Run out of the Jericho Sailing Centre, this sailing school offers a variety of different instructional courses and water-safety training for kids aged five to 14. There are various different options, including learn-to-sail summer camps (both morning and afternoon sessions), racing clinics, private lessons and drop-in sessions. It’s a beautiful location to learn how to sail and the sailing center also has one of the better patios in town; it’s a great place to take your kids for lunch or dinner after camp – order fish and chips and watch the sunset!
Collage Collage
3697 Main St, Vancouver, BC V5V 3N6This independent art shop in East Van offers kids programming for toddlers, kids and teens. Workshops, camps and birthday parties are very much about individuality and open-ended learning; rather than creating identical art projects, campers are encouraged to use their imagination to create original pieces. For example, instructors might begin a class by reading a story and then ask the students to make something inspired by that story. The owner and the staff are all artists, making this a very unique space for kids to explore their own creativity. The shop also carries craft supplies, art books and stationery.
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