Hopkinton Summer Camp Fair: Overnight and Day Camps For Every Age and Interest

This is the time of year to think of summer camp for kids.

Last Saturday, Feb. 12, the Hopkinton Parent Teachers Association held a Summer Camp Fair at Hopkinton High School with an amazing 49 different organizations in attendance.   

There were camps for everyone: 15 local day camps, 26 overnight camps throughout New England and beyond, and eight camps for both days and overnights.

Some camps are available to children as young as 3. Most overnight camps begin at age 7 and go into the teen years.

Not only do the camps serve a wide spectrum of ages, they serve a variety of interests as well.  Hopkinton camps like Hooray for Books!, Sparks! Art Studio Summer Camp, and Enter Stage Left Theater offer examples of camps for students interested in reading, writing, art-making, acting and media-production. 

There are also plenty of  camps that offer swimming, hiking, and boating. Truly, there is camp for every child. There are computer camps, weight-loss camps, academic-enrichment camps,rock 'n' roll camp, outward-bound camps, Scout camps, singing or musical instrument camps, spy camps, fashion camps in California and New York City of course,  space camp in Alabama.

All of the camps at Hopkinton High looked amazing but a few really sparked the imagination.  The CAA (Cultural Arts Alliance) summer camp, Life is a Circus, appeared fun, affordable and is  right at the Hopkinton Middle School.

Students spend their mornings creating art and completing music lessons.  For additional information email info.caahopkinton@gmail.com.

Seussical workshops at Enter Stage Left allow students to really get creative, rehearsing plays, creating sets, props and costumes!  With groups starting at age 4 and going to 14, a wide array of children can participate in this Hopkinton program.

Everwood Day Camp, located in Sharon, Mass., really seemed to give students a traditional camp experience with a lot of extras.  With a lake for swimming, science projects, spirit days, and a wide array of sports activities, there is something for everyone.  Included in the price is busing to and from the location.  For additional information see their website everwooddaycamp.com.

Though the Camp Fair had an amazing selection of camps, there are even more camps in the area.  Places like the Southwick Zoo in Mendon, the Ecotarium in Worcester, and Sturbridge Village offer unique and educationally exciting camp experiences.

The important thing to remember is to research and register now so that the camps your child really want to attend are not filled up. 

Worries about eating, bed wetting and  kids being homesick are shared by most parents, according to writer Heidi Smith Luedtke in Kids Going to Sleepaway Camp? How to Not Worry and Rest Tight on curiousparents.com.

The American Camp Association offers near-encyclopedic advice for parents considering sending a child to summer camp.

Parents send their kids to camp to have fun, freedom, independence and opportunity - in lessons and skills learned and friends made.