On May 22, 2021 Charles County Parks and Recreation and The Playful Parent partnered together to host this years Annual Summer Camp & Activity Fair. The dream of hosting a summer camp fair finally came to life in 2018; this year marks the fourth year in a row that The Playful Parent has host a summer camp fair! I was excited that so many families came out and were able to collect information from more than 20 different camps and programs. Just in case you couldn’t make it out to the event or if you had information overload; here’s all the information you need to plan out the summer. Please keep in mind that The Playful Parent is a resources page, if you need more information please contact the individual camps or businesses.
CAMPS & PROGRAMS FEATURED AT THE FAIR
ARISE ACADEMY CAMP
Address: Charles County
Contact: ariseacademycamp@gmail.com
Details: Light your light shine with Arise academy camp. Offering individual tutoring, learning pods, homeschooling, virtual camp; as well as after care and summer camp programs.
AR WORKSHOP
Address: 317 Charles St. La Plata, MD 20646
Contact: 301-804-9357
Details: AR Workshop is crafting up unique projects to keep the kids busy during creative this summer.
BEE INSPIRED STUDIO
Address: Waldorf, MD
Contact: events@beeinspiredstudio.com
Details: Fill your summer with inspiration and creativity with a variety of workshops available this summer for kids of all ages.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Address: 9464 Biltmore St. Waldorf, MD 20603
Contact: info@beyondtheclassroom.inc
Phone: 301-632-6932
Details: Beyond the Classroom, Inc. is a nonprofit with the mission to introduce children and young adults to people, places and things that they would not normally or easily have access to in their daily lives. By providing unique, educational and fun experiences, we empower youth to see the world outside of their classroom and neighborhood. Camps available for a variety of ages and interests.
CHARLES COUNTY PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM
Address: 8190 Port Tobacco Rd. Port Tobacco, MD 20677
Phone: 301-934-9305
Details: The Charles County Department of Community Services offers many summer camps and programs for children ages 4 and up.
EARLY CHILDHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL (ECAC)
Details: The Maryland Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) is comprised of early childhood educators, policy makers, and community advocates from across the state. The purpose of the ECAC is to coordinate efforts among early care and education programs, conduct needs assessments concerning early childhood education and development programs, and develop a statewide strategic report regarding early childhood education and care. The Charles County ECAC a variety of programs and workshops through out the year. This is not a summer camp; however, an excellent resources. If you attended the camp fair, they were the awesome table that was handing out board games.
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES
Address: Different camps available in Charles and Calvert County Maryland.
Email: ksmall-young@fca.org
Details: The athletic camp explores a different sport each day including: basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and lacrosse. Campers explore unbelievable fun, outstanding sports training, incredible friendships and inspiring life change. Camp for ages 8-12. Cost: $150
GIRL SCOUTS OF AMERICA
Address: Different camps available through out the DMV area.
Email: acollins@gscnc.org
Phone: 301-861-5861
Details: The Girl Scouts of America offer summer camps and programs all summer long for girls ages 5-17.
HUMAN SOCIETY OF CHARLES COUNTY
Address: 71 Industrial Park Dr. Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 301-638-8181
Details: Animal themed day camps available for kids ages 5-15 years old.
KIDSTREAM, INC
Address: 10665 Stanhaven Pl. #3102, White Plains, MD 20695
Phone: 301-392-7052
Details: KidsSTEAM, Inc where every kid has a dream. Learn more about their awesome summer camps, tutoring programs, parent workshops and more.
PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Address: Different camps available through out the Charles County area.
Email: hello@pisota.org
Details: PISOTA, strives to inspire and prepare the next generation of global artists, innovators and scholars to use their intrinsic gifts and academic skillsets to make the world a better place. Summer Camps have been uniquely designed to help youth achieve these goals. Be sure to email this camp to learn more information about dates, locations and camps available.
PUMP IT UP
Address: 109 Post Office Rd. Suite B, Waldorf, MD
Contact: 301-638-5867
Details: Day Camps through out the summer for ages 4-12.
PURE PLAY EVERYDAY
Details: Pure Play Everyday is a non-profit that advocates the importance of imaginative play. While they do not offer summer camps; Pure Play does offer other programs and events through out the year. Be sure to visit their website to learn more.
READING GARDEN CLUB
Address: Waldorf, MD
Contact: elisabeth@readinggardenclub.com
Details: Learning to decode (using phonics) and garden in small group lessons! Program designed for kids ages 6-12 years old.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Address: Various locations through out Charles County
Phone: 301-693-0783
Email: specialolympicscharlescounty@gmail.com
Details: Special Olympics provides year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of sports for citizens with intellectual disabilities, giving them continued opportunity to develop physical fitness. Special Olympics is looking for athletes as well as volunteers.
SKYZONE
Address: 4390 Crain Hwy. White Plains, MD
Phone: 301-861-2600
Details: Skyzone and The Tumaini Way have come together to bring Camp Elevate! Camps and programs available June – August for kids ages 5-12.
STELLAS GIRLS
Address: Waldorf, MD
Phone: 912-596-7937
Email: president@stellasgirls.org
Details: The vision of Stella’s Girls is to develop more confident female leaders to be equipped and passionate about leading their communities, as well as organizations, businesses, schools, and agencies domestically and internationally. We work to contribute to a society where female leaders will no longer be viewed as exceptions to the rule. We strive for women leaders to be considered relevant assets and necessary additions to organizations globally. Camps available for young ladies grade 3-12.
SUMMER CAMP AT ANS
Address: Archbishop Neale School, La Plata, MD
Phone: 301-934-2261
Details: Sacred Heart Church is offering Summer Camp programs with different themes varying from sports to arts and Disney to circus. Camps are designed for children ages 4-14.
SUNNY DREAMS SUMMER CAMP
Address: 9375 Chesapeake St. La Plata, MD 20646
Phone: 301-934-4486
Details: Good Grades Tutoring center presents Sunny Dreams Summer Camp where play and academics go together. A variety of camp themes including arts and crafts, sports and STEAM for ages 5-14.
WALDORF MARTIAL ARTS
Address: 2770 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20601
Phone: 301-645-1650
Details: Charles County’s best martial arts academy has a summer camp available for kids ages 4 and up.
BEYOND THE CAMP FAIR – OTHER SUMMER PROGRAM OPTIONS
These camps did not register for the camp fair this year. However, offer excellent programs for the community.
ALPHABEST
Address: 3261 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20601
Phone: 240-210-5567
Details: The Going Places Summer Camp uses the power of storytelling and hands-on STEAM learning to help cultivate creative problem-solvers and foster critical 21st-century skills – including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.
ALICE FERGUSON FOUNDATION- OUTDOOR ADVENTURE CAMP
Address: 2001 Bryan Point Rd, Accokeek, MD
Phone: 301-292-5665
Details: 6-Week overnight camp June 21-July 31 for kids ages 4th through 8th grade.
COLLEGE OF SOMD – KIDS PROGRAMS
Address: La Plata, MD
Contact: 301-934-2251
Details: A variety of camps are available for kids ages 5-17.
HORSE CAMP
Address: Falkner, MD
Contact: 301-934-2251
Details: Come learn about raising and riding horses – cowboy and cowgirl style! Learn how to be safe around a horse; groom a horse; what do horses eat; how to tell the age of a horse by their teeth; how to do a physical exam on a horse; what to do if my horse gets sick or hurt; how to bandage a horse’s leg and how to saddle up a horse and ride the dusty trails!! Link
KIDS FIRST SWIM SCHOOL
Address: 3307 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD
Contact: 301-645-7946
Details: Swim lessons available for all ages infant to adult.
MATHNASIUM
Address: 3022 Festival Way. Waldorf, MD
Contact: 301-310-7482
Details: Camps and programs available all year round for ages 2-16.
MELWOOD CAMP ACCOMPLISH
Address: 9035 Ironsides Rd, Nanjemoy, MD 20662
Phone: 301-870-3226
Details: Day camps and overnight camps for kids ages 5-18. Camps run June 14th through August 21st. ***A big thank you to Melwood for donating a free week of camp as a door prize at the Camp Fair.***
MY GYM
Address: Waldorf, MD
Contact: 301-932-8000
Details: Programs available kids ages 3-12.
PREVENTING SUMMER SLIDE- FEATURED SPONSORS
Summer slide is when children start to forget or lose some of the knowledge or skills they learned through out the school year while on summer break. The following are some of the toys and gift certificates donated as door prizes for the Summer Camp Fair program! Many of the businesses and toys donated provide a great ways to keep kids active physically and intellectually.
BOXITALE
Unbox a treasure chest full of adventure with the new game concept from Akibabus! Boxitale Knights of Nature combines craft-based imaginative play with digital technology to bring an interactive and fun board game designed for children ages 7 and up. BoxiTale is the first board game of it’s kind to immerse players into a story-based adventure. It accomplishes this by leading gamers on an animated quest in which they are the heroes themselves. Players get to take part in real hands on activities including building, designing and solving challenges that are placed before them. See the playful parent Boxitale Review to learn more.
Click on the Link to learn more or purchase
SMART GAMES
Smart Games may sound familiar as we host game nights and toy testing events featuring their board games before. One of our favorite games Froggit we gave as day ten during the Twelve Toys of Christmas giveaway. At the Summer camp Fair we gave away a copy of both Pirates Cross Fire and IQ Circuits. Both these games are excellent STEM toys that focus on concentration, problem solving and spatial insight.
XSCAPE THEATRES BRANDYWINE 14
Xscape Theatres Brandywine 14 is now open for family friendly safe entertainment. This summer they will be offering their free summer film program, so be on the look out for the schedule to be released soon! Be sure to catch a movie or even book a private party.
WALDORF SKATING RINK
The Waldorf Skating Rink is back in business, enjoy a family skate night. Roller-skating is one way for kids and adults to get some exercise while having fun too and it’s something the whole family can do. Check their wesbite for scheudle and prices.
GIVEAWAY
You have probably heard me brag about National Geographic before as they are a family favorite in our house. The spring and winter collections were giveaways on the site and I could be more excited to share about this years summer release of books that bring something to the shelf for ever age and stage of reader. After an incredibly challenging school year, keeping kids reading over the summer has never been more important. The gold standard in “edutainment,” National Geographic Kids Books is serving up 3 amazing fiction series and 3 eye-popping nonfiction books that check all the boxes as summer reading “slam dunks” — browsable, bright formats, high-interest topics and fun content. On a plane, in a car, under the covers or inside on a rainy day — these summer reads are perfect for reluctant readers and book lovers alike. Be sure to check out the summer collection: 101 Life Hacks: Genius Ways to Simplify Your World, National Geographic Kids Almanac 2022 , Explorer Academy Series , 5,000 Awesome FactsAbout Everything , Izzy Newton and the S.M.A.R.T. Squad: Absolute Hero , andZeus the Mighty Series.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
One lucky fan will be randomly drawn win a copy of National Geographic Kids Almanac 2022 and 101 Life Hacks! Giveaway is open to all Southern Maryland local families and closes June 7, 2021 11:59 PM. To enter:
- LIKE the post
- COMMENT your best parenting hack
- SHARE this article to help connect kids to summer camps.
***The Playful Parent is a 501(C)(3) Non-profit created to advocate learning through play and promote family bonding. All content is intellectual property of TPP and information shared is to help provide a non-biased resource to families.***
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