Summer Camp Programs at Area Nursery Schools

Here at Upper Valley Connections we've showcased some really great summer camps in the area, predominantly for school age children, but don't worry we have not forgotten your youngest family members. This week, it is time to learn about the local camps available to Upper Valley preschoolers at local nursery schools!

I've discovered there are some really great ones out there that are not only fun for these young children, but will be part of a strong foundation for their education.  Here are a few that I found...

Norwich Nursery School Summer Time Camp

This summer camp is for potty trained  three to six year olds, 12 children in each week session. Parents can sign children up for more than one week if they choose. Two adults will be present with the children, including Program Director Marcia Williams and recent Hanover High School graduate Mackenzie Anderson.

“Each week we focus on one country or continent to visit. This year we'll 'travel' to Egypt, Antarctica, Spain, and the Netherlands,” said Marcia.

Travel? I had to ask what this meant. Surely there was no time in the day to hop on a plane at 9am, but be back in Norwich in time for a 11:45 pick up! Luckily Marcia explained to me what it meant to travel in these camps.

“Travel involves setting up airplane or boat chairs with a pilot that steers via a map and other visuals,” Marcia told me. “Of course there are offers of pillows, snacks and other travel amenities that are too often non-existent these days.”

Each day the campers will read books and sing songs about the area they are studying. They will make passports with stamps and draw their own passport picture IDs! Children will do age appropriate art projects about the country as well. Marcia plans a guest speaker to come in during each camp week.

Children will also have free play during the first 40 minutes of camp before circle greeting, potty time, and country related snack. Marcia said the children are willing to try anything, including words in other languages and new types of foods, and she has a lot of fun working with the children.

For More information on the camp, and to register, go to http://www.norwichnurseryschool.org/.

Camp Color Wheel at Lyme Nursery School

It's all about art and nature at Camp Color Wheel at the Lyme Nursery school. The children will do many activities that combine the two, such as making fairy houses out of natural materials, getting involved in a lot of water play activities, painting with flowers and sticks, and singing and dancing around the Nursery school's natural playground.

“All the materials from the playground are from mother earth,” said Kelly Downing, the director of Lyme Nursery School. “Our sandbox is made from trees that we cut down.”

Kelly said they may talk about some famous artists during camp as well, and do activities such as creating paints by tossing paint off their brushes onto a surface. There will also be time for child initiated play, as Kelly said that is very important for children at this age. This camp also gives children who will  be attending the preschool at Lyme Nursery School in the fall a good head start in getting used to the school.

For more information and to register for Camp Color Wheel go to http://lymenurseryschool.org/summer-camp/.

Preschool camps at CCBA

The CCBA in Lebanon hosts a number of camps this summer and many of them are available to young children. The Fit Kids Camp is available to children between the ages of four and seven. This camp is taught by a certified fitness instructor, Anna Dulac. Children will be stretching, doing team building activities, swimming, and noncompetitive sports both inside and outside.

The beehive camp is for children ages three and a half to five. This is more of a traditional arts and activities camp said Barbara Parker, CCBA Membership/Marketing Director. Families can pick up their children from this camp at 1pm, or at 3pm.

Camp Honey Pot is for ages two to three and a half. These young campers do not need to be potty trained. The kids will have a lot of time to work on projects, play, and learn to be a good friend.

For more information and to register for the Preschool camps at CCBA go to http://joinccba.org/youth/camps/.

Hanover Nursery School Summerthing Camp

Summerthing, the preschool summer camp at Hanover Nursery School is a camp where children can expect to have a lot of fun, said Jennifer Salvatoriello, the registrar at Hanover Nursery School. Each session will include lots of time outside. There will be water play, sports, arts and crafts, and nature walks and field trips.

Each session focuses on a specific theme. The first session is sports, the second focuses on Australian animals (my favorite animals!) The third session, Nature Explorers, will get kids out and about on field trips. Session four, Sea and Sand, will get kids involved in a lot of water play. The last session is called Fairy Tales, and children can look forward to creating fairy houses outside. Parents can sign their children up for any number of sessions of the camps.

The camps are open to children who are at least three years old by July 1st. I thought the name of this camp was especially cute, and asked Jennifer where it came from.

         “Summerthing was named one evening after a group of the board members met to brainstorm a name,” Jennifer said, “'things to do in the summer... SUMMERTHING!' It was as simple as that, and this fantastic summer thing camp was born.”

To register for Summerthing go to http://www.hanovernursery.com/summerthing.html.


This post was written by our bi-weekly guest contributor, Anna Super.  Anna is a freelance writer, taking on projects as varied as magazine stories to entertain readers, and copy writing projects that help businesses and organizations connect their products and services to their customers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from Keene State College, and was a staff reporter at the former newspapers The Connecticut Valley Spectator and the Argus Champion. Anna can be reached at Anna.Super01@gmail.com.