Patch Picks: Summer Day Camps

It’s 10 days until spring finally arrives, meaning you need to dismantle those blanket tents your kids made in the basement during the last big blizzard and start thinking about real camps – summer camps, that is!

This week, Scarsdale Patch has compiled a list of local day camps tailored to fit myriad skill sets and interests. Have a budding ballerina on her hand? Look no further than a dance camp in Eastchester. Want the whole lanyard-braiding, archery-shooting outdoors experience? Well, there’s a camp for that too! After reading this list, your biggest problem won’t be finding a place for your child to spend the summer… it will be convincing them that they need to go back to school next fall.

1. Scarsdale Parks and Recreation Day Camp

The Scarsdale Day Camp consists of four separate camps divided by age. Children under 5 head to Camp Sagamore at Greenacres Elementary School for a half-day of swimming, snacks and planned activities, whereas their older counterparts enter Camp Lenape, Camp Wapetuck and Camp Patthunke for a full day of fun. Activities offered include kickball, drama, basketball, music, dance, gymnastics and arts & crafts.

2.  Camp Hillard

Camp Hillard’s website states that their day-long program has been a “summer tradition since 1929." Well, who wouldn’t want to spend every summer engaging in horseback riding, sports, daily swimming lessons, creative and performing arts and specialty activities including mini golf and zip lining?

3. Studio B Dance Center

When Lady Gaga sang “Just Dance,” she probably was talking about her own late nights at the club instead of your attempts to plan out your aspiring prima ballerina’s summer schedule. Studio B’s Summer Dance Camp is offered towards 7-10 year olds, who can take Hip-Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Tap and Ballet classes. Older students can enroll in the Summer Intensive Program, which consists of a morning of individual attention before dancers spend the afternoon learning about various contemporary dance styles.

4. Concordia Day Camp

Concordia Day Camp allows your kids to spend a day at the college’s bucolic, sunlit campus taking a wide variety of classes ranging from classical music, musical theatre and dance to art, cartooning,  cooking, computers and spots.

5. Scarsdale Teen Travel Camp

Aspiring adventurers in grades 6-9 can go on a day trip every day for five weeks this summer. Outings include whitewater rafting, deep sea fishing, boat rides, movie tours and baseball games. Your kids will be either exhausted or full of adrenaline upon arriving home each evening – meaning you’ll either have a quiet house, or you can take advantage of all that extra energy by having them help carry in the groceries.