It’s that time of year when harried parents and excited kids alike ask, “What are we going to do this summer?”
With the last day of school looming, beachside schools, parks departments, libraries and other groups are ramping up for summer camps and daily activities.
From circus dogs to surf camp, there’s a wide array of choices to keep kids of every age busy for the whole season – even those angst-filled teens.
The Satellite Beach Parks and Recreation Department hosts up to 3,000 participants a year at its camps, starting this year on May 29. Offerings for the younger set include sports camps, dinosaur camp, pirates and mermaids week, super hero fantasy camp, cooking and music.
The summer-long weekly Mr. Science camps for ages 7 through 13 include sessions on space, inventions, robotics and a host of other subjects.
For older kids, there’s archery, art workshops, a boating course, music camps, a yoga retreat, an environmental stewards program and sports camps.
“There’s a big variety,” said Edith Tom, a recreation assistant for Satellite Beach. “One any given day we can have as many as 200 kids here.”
When asked which programs are the most popular, Tom replied: “They all are.”
Brevard Public Schools features day-long weekly camps for elementary students from May 29 through July 20. Ocean Breeze Elementary School is one of eight locations this year, with the camp being run at the school’s Dolphin Cove after-school program center. Weekly cost is $90 for full days. There is also a daily drop-in option.
“Our two themes this year are super sleuth, which is like a mystery-detective type theme, and our other on carnival,” Katie James, coordinator at Dolphin Cove, said.
The programs include guest speakers, Lego building contests, board game competitions and scavenger hunts, and are open to students going into first through fifth grades who are enrolled at any Brevard County school. James said about 90 kids participated last year.
The South Beach Community Center in Melbourne Beach also has a full-time summer day camp, running from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, starting May 24 and ending Aug. 9. Activities include indoor and outdoor games, crafts, sports, a weekly special event and field trips, including excursions to places like Fun Spot in Orlando and local movie theaters. The cost is $90 weekly, not including extra charges for the field trips and special events.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League is hosting full-day basketball camps around the county this summer for boys and girls age 10 to 18, with the weeks of July 16-20 and July 30-Aug. 3 being at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School in Indialantic with discounts for additional weeks or sibling campers.
Parents interested in registering their kids for summer programs should do so soon. Programs at the Barrier Island Center in Melbourne Beach, for example are already full.
Indian Harbour Beach activities were also nearly full by last week. Recreation director Kristin Cusimano said most programs, like the ever-popular surf camps, already had a waiting list, but swim lessons for kids six and older still had openings. The swim lessons run in two-week sessions throughout the summer from Memorial Day to July 9.
Indian Harbour Montessori School has camps for preschool to sixth grade including art, creative writing, nature, the ocean and animals. Camps run weekly from May 18 to Aug. 4, and include the option of morning, full day or half day.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy offers vacation bible school, as well as a host of summer programs for children in preschool all the way up through high school. Academic camps, sports programs, STEAM camps, SAT and ACT prep, and driver’s education are just a few of the varied offerings. Holy Trinity’s summer programs are open to all Brevard County students.
Libraries throughout the area also have big plans for the summer. Cindy Leist, director of the Melbourne Beach Public Library, said there are daily and weekly programs throughout the summer, in addition to the summer reading program.
“We see lots of people (participate), really from all over the county,” Leist said. “The ones that involve animals are always popular.”
The animal programs include animal rescue groups and other agencies who educate kids on wildlife, and also fun entertainment like the Menestrelli Traveling Circus, which features poodles as its star performers.
The library also has a program where kids can come in and read to dogs.
“We get a lot of shy readers that get very confident when they’re doing that,” Leist said.
The idea is tie it all back into education and a love for reading.
“The programs kind of make a fun side of that,” Leist said.
The library also offers arts and crafts program, musical performances and even bingo, among many other activities. Leist added that the summer programs are made possible by support from the Friends of the Melbourne Beach Library.
“We really enjoy seeing children using the library and loving it,” she said.
