How to keep your kids busy this summer

Summer is right around the corner, and to go with breaks from school, clear skies, backyard barbecues, and seasonally warmer weather comes with a wide variety of summertime activities for students and children of all ages for East County residents. Here is a list of select activities in the coming months available for Oakley, Brentwood, and Antioch residents.

Oakley

Oakley will be hosting several weeks of Summer Fun Camp at the Oakley Recreation Center at 1250 O’Hara Ave. Children ages 6-11 will be treated to fun, games, crafts, and more, and are encouraged to bring a bag lunch, a snack, water, a towel, sunscreen, and clothes in which they can get wet. Additionally, a Youth Core camp will also be held simultaneously with the Summer Fun Camp as middle and high school students will participate in a variety of community services such as litter clean-up, weed pulling, and painting over graffiti during the morning and traditional camp activities such as sports, games, water activities, and arts and crafts during the afternoon. Furthermore, participants have the opportunity to earn trips on the last day of the week based on attendance and behavior. Due to limited space, residents are encouraged to register as quickly as possible, as the deadline to register is the Friday before each week of camp. According to Oakley Recreation Manager Lindsey Bruno, it is likely that all of the available sessions will be filled before camp starts in June.

“Earlier this year, our City Council approved the use of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to provide one free week of summer camp for Oakley youth, as well as one free class session so parents have some great opportunities to get their kids engaged and having fun this summer,” said Bruno. “We will have approximately 90 children each week at camp for around 450 all summer.”

Oakley’s summer camp runs from Monday, June 19 to Friday, July 21. All camps will be from 9 a.m. -4 p.m. on Monday through Friday, with the exception of the week of Monday June 26 (Monday through Thursday), and Monday July 3 (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday). Oakley residents qualify for one free week of camp for their children as residents must submit proof of residency. Residents interested may register at the Oakley Recreation Center and must submit proof of residency. A utility bill may be used to verify residency if a driver’s license doesn’t show an Oakley address. Oakley residents get one free week of camp for their children, however, if parents would like their child to attend more than one week of camp, it is $75 for Oakley residents, and $85 for non-Oakley residents.

Brentwood

For children ages 4 to 6 and from grades 1-6, children are encouraged to bring a lunch, snack water, sunscreen, a swimsuit, and a towel for a plethora of activities designed to develop social see Kids page 8B