Check the City of San Jose's website for information about Fish Camp starting on April 27, 2012.  The City is proud to provide this camp, which is located in the Sierras, near Yosemite National Park. 

The Parks and Recreation has a wonderfully dedicated staff.  In the past, my kids have enjoyed summer camps and afterschool programs.  The kids love the wonderful staff in the Parks and Recreation Department because though they are strict, they definitely make the activities fun.  One of the counselors at the afterschool programs even invented a new wheelchair game to teach kids about compassion for other kids.

If you are thinking about camping this summer, definitely check out http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/familycamp/ for important deadlines for getting a spot on the campgrounds this summer!

Here is another source for summer camps! The City of San Jose's Parks and Recreation Department provides year-round activities for our citizens.  You can find many diverse activities for adults, teens, and children. Many parents, however, eagerly look forward to the summer guide for their school-aged children!  Of special interest are the weekly summer camps. 

If you have a child who is interested in athletics, check out the Skyhawks camps. These camps include not only the perennial favorites like soccer, basketball, and baseball, but you may also find some unique sports like archery!  If you have a child who is interested in art, you may find classes in cartooning, sculpture, painting, etc. There are dance classes, too (ballet, jazz, hip hop, hula, etc.).  I even found a class combining dance and martial arts called capoeira!

Whiz, bang, POP!  These are some of the sounds you will  hear when you attend a Mad Science camp this summer.

Mad Science makes science accessible to kids who love the question, "Why?"  This summer, visit some of our City's wonderful community centers for some fun and instructive camps involving biology, chemistry, physics, robotics, or aeronautics. Bugs, plants, physical reactions, robots, or space flight are some of the more intriguing camps your avid young scientist will enjoy.

San Jose's Parks and Recreation Department provides a rich and diverse menu of programs each season. This summer, check out the following Community Centers for Mad Science programs:

Almaden Community Center (Don't forget to check out the Library!)

Camden Community Center

Evergreen Community Center

Willow Glen Community Center

At the Library, Mad Science instructors come with their white lab coats and their boundless enthusiasm for science. Energetic and engaging, these instructors have the best rapport with children!

Mad Science also provides really fun afterschool programs. Ask your school's home and school club if they can help arrange for one of these programs. Kids will enjoy them, guaranteed!

Future blogs will discuss some of the other wonderful summer camps at the City's Parks and Recreation Department.

Summer?  Check!

Sun?  Check!

Outdoors?  Check!

Sunscreen?  Check!

Friendly counselors?  Check!

Fun?  CHECK!

The Youth Science Institute is conveniently located in both the eastern and western edges of San Jose:  Alum Rock Park and Vasona Park. Each park has weekly summer camps throughout the summer that engage different interests:  hiking, bike riding, fishing, exploring, etc.

YSI also provides entertaining school shows and library(!) shows. Last summer, YSI brought over live frogs, snakes, and other reptiles for our library audience to "ooh and ahh" over.

If you are interested in camps that are fun, but also educational, YSI is the perfect camp for you!  (Lunch not included, but flora and fauna are!)  My daughter developed an initial (but ongoing) love of science through YSI!

If you are interested in science, here are some Dewey numbers to keep in mind:

570  Life Sciences

580  Plant Life

590  Zoology/Animals

Happy reading and experimenting!  Don't forget, if you have a super-terrific summer camp you'd like to talk about, add a comment to this post!

Enriching the Lives of Children with Autism, Inc. or ELCA, Inc., has wonderful summer programs at the end of summer for children on the spectrum. Since most children with special needs attend summer school, these camps fall during the peak period when the child might be getting bored with their summer.

Attend the Recess Skills Camp, which explores different games elementary school-aged children play during their recesses and the social skills required to navigate those games. There is also a School Readiness camp for the younger preschool set, who are just getting ready to dip their toes into the lake called "elementary school"!

ELCA, Inc. specializes in the ABA method.  To learn more about the Applied Behavior Analysis method, check out these books:

Success Strategies for Teaching Kids With Autism by Wendy Ashcroft

Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism: Building a Future Together edited by Mickey Keenan

Targeting Autism:  What We Know, Don't Know, and Can Do to Help Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders by Shirley Cohen

This is Autism Awareness Month! If you have any summer camps to suggest, add a comment to this post. Watch for future posts about other kinds of summer camps. If you would like a particular kind of summer camp (theater, science, etc.) explored, mention this in your comment.