Summer Programs
Our 2015 Summer Program is bursting with fun-filled adventures for children 2-12. For the younger children (ages 2-7), art and drama create the place and the journey. Music, visual arts, creative movement, dance and outdoor exploration enhance the experience, while children are challenged to fully engage their creativity and problem-solving skills. The older children (ages 7-12) will build boats and flying machines, act, create plays and conduct forensic investigations. One to four-week adventures structured for age groups 2-3, 3-5, 5-7, and 7-12. The cost of each adventure includes field trips. Add $25 a week for before and after care (6:30 - 9:00 am and/or 3:00 - 6:30 pm); this cost is waived for children that enroll at least six weeks. Morning swim lessons are offered at a local pool (children will be bused there) and afternoon free swim times are also being scheduled. Special activities, such as soccer, music, Legos and yoga, will be scheduled between 2-4 pm. Use the 2015 Summer Program Enrollment Application (in the Admissions page of the school’s website) to register.
HALF-DAY PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AGES 2-3
July 2 – July 24 Cuddly Crawlers.
Thursday and Friday Mornings, 9:00 – 11:45.
We will explore the outdoors, under rocks and in the Kay School garden looking for and studying crawling creatures. We will play, paint, dance, sing about and act out stories from Eric Carle’s literature, including The Very Quiet Cricket, The Grouchy Lady Bug, and The Very Busy Spider. Little Miss Muffet will make a surprise visit! She needs our help and advice on “being friends with bugs!” Parents, please join us on the last Friday of this four-week session as we celebrate our adventures with bug songs and dances.
Cost. $250
July 30 – August 21 Runaway Bunnies.
Thursday and Friday Mornings, 9:00 – 11:45.
We will put on our soft fuzzy bunny tails and ears each day as we hop through the stories of Margaret Wise Brown’s Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon and pepper our adventures with a bit of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit’s Tales. We will crawl out of our burrows through our “secret tunnel” each morning as we begin our playful adventures. On our outdoors escapades we’ll pick lettuce from our real garden to nibble and look for signs of real bunnies. Parents, please join us on the last Friday of this four-week session as we celebrate our “return home” with a bunny hop song and dance party.
Cost. $250
FULL-DAY PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AGES 3-5 AND 5-7
June 29 – July 10 Voyage under the Sea
Poseidon is calling us! He knows what good problem solvers we are and he needs our help. We’ll turn our large gathering room into an underwater world (creating a plethora of sea life and plants to hang from netting), build a gigantic submarine for exploration, and fashion our own scuba diving costumes and gear. We will employ a range of art mediums such as painting, collage, and printmaking. The characters and predicaments we encounter along the way are as limitless as our imaginations! We will create “Under-the-Sea” story boxes to share with our families when they visit the last day of camp!
Day Trip: Free Swim Cost: $570
July 13 - 24 Spanish Adventures
Amigos, Amigos! Bienvenidos a mi cuento! Come journey with us to the time of the great city of Tenochtitlan – capital of the Aztec Empire. Never fear, for Ms. Claudia will teach us many Spanish words that we can practice while we are there! We will use these words when we meet La Lagartija (the lizard) who will tell us the story of the time long ago that the sun disappeared! We will fall right into that story and help La Lagartija find the sun and bring light and warmth back to everyone. We will also learn and sing Spanish songs, cook Spanish food and meet and learn the names of La Lagarija’s animal friends on our journey. Can we save the day? ¡Sí se puede! Parents, please join us the 24th to learn about our adventures.
Day Trip: Lunch at Bodega, Mexican Restaurant Cost: $570
July 27 – August 7 The Dragons of Blue Land
If you think dinosaurs are interesting – wait until you meet a dragon! Come dive into the unforgettable stories of Ruth Stiles Gannett who wrote the trilogy, The Dragons of Blue Land. We’ll start off by being stowaways with an old alley cat who we will follow to help rescue a flying baby dragon captured by alligators on a faraway island by disarming the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island. Our quirky, comical adventure will end up with a heroic denouement: the freeing of the dragon who will fly us all back home. We’ll also be crafting our own dragons large and small. Parents are invited to join us on our last day of camp to share in our adventures and celebrate our return from Wild Island.
Day Trip: Reston Zoo Cost: $570
August 10 - 21 Frogs, Logs and Bogs
Unhurried by the pressures of time, children will be guided in nature-play and exploration, discovering an exciting world hidden under fallen logs and in the wooded areas of nearby parks. Activities will include nature games, map making, sensory explorations and nature-based art and we will dramatize an imaginary journey to help a family of frogs relocate from their polluted city puddle. Join us on our final day to find out about our discoveries.
Day trip: Free swim. Cost: $570
FULL DAY PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AGES 7-12
GROUP 1. June 29 – July 17: Tinkering Camp
Does your child have an insatiable curiosity, bounding creativity, and a solid sense of self and perseverance? This summer Kay School we will be offering three, week-long sessions of Tinkering Camp for children ages 7-12. Each week we will present a unique challenge designed to engage and grow our curiosity, creativity, self-expression and competency. Every project will be collaborative, hands-on and exciting. Tinkering camp is designed to inspire creative minds and practitioners of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math - who will better understand how things work and recognize the beauty within the world around us. These assumptions are basic to our work:
- Tinkering is a state of mind in which children instinctively thrive. -Learning occurs through investigating, exploring and making. - Freedom to fail is fundamental. - The use of real tools (drills, hammers, hand saws) to tackle real problems creates an atmosphere of trust and responsibility.
June 29 – July 3 Tinkering Camp: Flying Machines
Tinkering participants will learn about the dynamics of flight, then design, construct, test fly, and refine a fantastic flying machine. We will explore materials and means of propulsion. Cost: $295
July 6 – 10 Tinkering Camp: Boat Building
This week of naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, evaluation and calculations of a model vessel for a local park pond. Various materials and means of propulsion will be explored. Cost: $295
July 13 – 17 Tinkering Camp: Inventions
An ultimate challenge in creativity and collaboration, and figuring out how things work! This week’s inventors will design and test a multi-step machine that will perform a simple task. Cost: $295
GROUP 2. July 20 – August 21: Play, Story, Art
These one and two-week programs for children ages 7 – 12, are full of adventure and engaging, fun learning opportunities. With activities and related field trips, campers will have plenty of time for free play and explorations outdoors and playful downtime.
Cost: $295 per each week-long sessions, and $580 for two-week camps, including field trips
July 20 – 24 Games Around the World
Children play games around the world. Not just any games! We will travel around the world to see and learn the games played in different countries. Field Trip. Bowling
July 27 – 31 Lights, Camera, Action!
Have you ever dreamed of directing and starring in your own film or creating your own comic strip? Well here’s your chance. We will create the script, rehearse and film. Join us on the 31st for a viewing of our artful creations! Field Trip: Movie Theater
August 3 – 14 Theatre Camp
Join us in a variety of fun theatre activities—including improvisation, scene study, storytelling, group singing, and mime. Classes emphasize theatre skills, games and exercises designed to increase spontaneity, engage the imagination, promote self-confidence, and foster collaboration. At the end of this two-week camp, participants will share their creations in a performance for friends and family. Field Trip: Free Swim
August 10 – 14 It is a Mystery
Come join your friends on a secret mission - cracking codes, discovering clues, and finding hidden messages. We’ll learn from a real forensic scientist and put our new skills to use in solving a series of challenging and comical mysteries! This message will self-destruct in 60 seconds. Field Trip: Spy Museum in Washington DC
August 17 – 21 Artful Creations
We will experiment with materials and methods that inspire creative thinking and artistic expression. Children will study the work of several artists and create their own art. They will collaborate with friends creating art made from found objects. The camp will end with an exhibit for friends and family. Field Trip: Free Swim
NOTE: Before and After Care (6:30 – 8:30 AM and 3:00 – 6:00 PM) is available for all enrollees at a cost of $25 per week. However, this cost is waived children enrolled for at least six weeks of summer sessions at the school. The last week of August (24-28) we will provide full day care at a cost equivalent to our standard rates.
Enrichment Programs:
Campers may also register for additional activities organized by the School or in conjunction of outside vendors. There are additional fees for these activities.
Swim Lessons are offered on Mondays at the Herndon Community Center through the summer, beginning on June 22, 2015. Campers will be transported to and from the pool. These will be once-a-week 25 minute classes with about five children in a class with one instructor. Signup is through the School. Registration must be completed by June 15 to qualify for this program.
Free Swim: On Tuesdays and Wednesdays afternoon (2-4 pm) at the Cub Run RECenter. Campers will be transported to and from the pool.
Legos supervised instruction, model building and play scheduled twice each week, on Monday and Thursday, from 2-4 pm for children ages 5-7, 8-9 and 10-12. Participation is limited to 15 students per class. Activities are organized to contribute to STEM objectives.
Yoga classes are offered weekly for campers of ages 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. These are 50 minute classes offered in the afternoons after the regular camp program.
Soccer includes daily 45 minute sessions, drills and scrimmage, in the afternoon after the regular camp program. It is offered by an outside vendor. Registration material may be obtained at the school.