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Community Corner

Five Spring and Summer Camps in Santa Cruz County

As springtime dawns, day camps and classes for children become abundant.

From horseback riding and soccer to arts and crafts and nature activities, Santa Cruz County is rich with spring and summer camps that offer a chance for children to socialize, learn and develop new skills and passions.

This week, Patch outlines five different children’s camps close to home. 

1. Life Lab Science Program and the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems have a slew of day camp programs for children from 4-14. The day camps take place in the “garden classroom” at the UC Santa Cruz farm. A spring-break day camp for 7-11-year-olds runs from April 18-22 and teaches spring gardening, how to cook fresh food straight from the fields, as well as hiking, arts and music activities. Check out the Life Lab website, or call 831-459-4035 for more information and upcoming classes, like “Garden Sprouts Summer Day Camp” for 4-6-year-olds. Camp fees vary.

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2. Pleasant Valley Horse Club hosts day camps year round, with its Spring Camp April 25-29. Instructors are trained in horse safety and will assist children in learning basic equestrian skills.  The camp costs $75 per day, or you can get a package deal for $200 by attending Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Monday through Friday for $300. Day camps continue through the summertime, teaching natural horsemanship, English and western skills. 


3. The Mountain Art Center  in Ben Lomond offers a spring-break art camp for children from 6-12. The art camp runs a week, from April 4-8. “Spring into Clay” is taught by Nora Sarkissian from 9 a.m. to noon. An afternoon session taught by Brenda Berg is called “Picasso Cubed: Cubism, Color and Collage,” and teaches the many different angles of objects in perception. Cubist inspiration will be expressed with a wide array of color choices and collage materials.  There are several other classes offered year round, so check out the website or call 831 336-3513 for more information. Class and material fees are $150, plus $15 for nonmembers, and $140 plus $15 for members.

4. Catalyst Soccer will offer spring day-camp programs for boys and girls from 4-14. Springtime programs include a "Premier Development Program," which starts March 27 at the Anna Jean Cummings Fields in Soquel. “Skillbuilders” and “Little Skillbuilders” are eight-part skills-mentoring programs starting April 4 at the same field. 

5. Nature’s Apprentice is an outdoor school that began in 2009. Classes are geared toward preschool-aged children, 2-5 years old, and teach the value of nature and the earth. Classes run the gamut of parent-child programs, including story telling, hikes and scavenging. Upcoming classes are taught in sessions of four. The next class, “Meadows,” starts on March 21 and explores local grassy habitats and the animals, bugs and flowers that live there. Classes are $56. There are also classes on birds, forests, bugs, creeks and much more through the summer. Call 831 464-1447 for more information.

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