Local Boys & Girls Clubs to Host Summer Camps Summer Camp & Activities Guide

Spring is officially here and there’s no better time than the present to start thinking about your child’s extracurricular activities for the summer months, which are just around the corner.

To help parents and guardians who are considering which camps to enroll their kids, we present our annual Summer Camp Guide. The issue is chock full of information on fun—and educational—programs that several local organizations are offering this year.

This year’s Summer Camp Guide is sure to get your kids rockin’ and rollin’ as we chat with the owners and operators of the area’s music schools that are offering fun learning opportunities for students interested in picking up an instrument or fine-tuning their musical talents.

The owners of Goods and Goats Market, the San Juan Capistrano-based farm, highlights its unique, hands-on summer camp where students learn to care for farm animals and grow seasonal fruits and vegetables.

We outline the junior lifeguard programs that the City of San Clemente, the San Clemente and Doheny State Beaches, and California Junior Lifeguards host each year that teach children to be safe and confident in ocean waters, as well as CPR, first aid and rescue techniques.

The Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente tells us about its arts education classes offered to kids of all ages during the summer, such as its Paint and Play series or its college dance program.

And speaking of art, local renowned artist Rick Delanty provides some tips and tricks for kids to start their own summer art project.

Keep reading on to check out all of these stories and to find out more useful information and resources that can help you plan your child’s summer activities.

By C. Jayden Smith

The onset of summer brings a need for activities to fill children’s days, and one entity well-versed in providing school-age students with fun and learning opportunities is the Boys and Girls Club.

Readers within our tri-city area have two options at their disposal, in the Boys and Girls Clubs’ Capistrano Valley branch at 1 Via Positiva in San Juan Capistrano, and the South Coast Area organization located at 1304 Calle Valle in San Clemente.

The San Juan Capistrano location will host its 2023 Summer Camp on Mondays through Fridays from June 3 to Aug. 4, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Participants will access field trips and opportunities in STEM, art, sports, and more. The camp is open to students entering first grade up to students entering their senior year of high school.

The price is $125 per week, or $35 for a single day, with financial assistance available.

Contact the Via Positiva branch at 949.542.4495.

At the South Coast Area club, its camp will run from June 5 to Aug. 11, on Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The camp will be closed for the days of July 3 and July 4.

In addition to weekly and daily payment options, families can pay $700 for each child to participate for the full summer. Prices increase on May 20.

Discounted pricing is available for families approved by the state’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program.

The camp is for children going into the first through eighth grades, with free meals and snacks and fun activities. For incoming third- through eighth-graders, sports camps will consist of basketball, pickleball, soccer, volleyball and more.

There will also be field trips to places such as the zoo, a trampoline park, and Santa Ana’s Discovery Science Center, as well as in-house activities including a magician and a petting zoo.

High schoolers will have limited opportunities to participate as Leaders In Training. Registration opens on April 5 at bgcsca. org/summercamp.