Miracle Ranch Camp

My oldest son was lucky enough to go to camp at Miracle Ranch in Washington state to participate in Operation Extreme. If you are military and you live in the Pacific Northwest I highly recommend you check into it! It's the nicest camp I've seen. Much nicer than the places I always went! They offer lots of camps besides the military week.

Everything was a western theme, which fit perfectly with the horseback riding they offer. Other things they offered was swimming in the lake, water trampoline, volleyball, paintball, archery, and a ropes course.

Panama City Beach Summer Camps

Panama City Beach has much to offer families, including loads of kids camps.

Gallagher's gymnastics hosts all day camps during some weeks during the summer.
These camps cost $125 per week and are for ages 6 - 12.
Kids will do gymnastics and other activities. Campers must provide their own lunches.
For more info call 850-233-5501.  My kids LOVE going to camp here!

Julie's School of Dance hosts two week long camps each summer for $150 each. I found that the demand is high for these camps, so don't delay.

Science and Discovery Museum of Northwest Florida has half day and full day programs for children PreK and up. The average price is 70 per week.

Volley For Christ camps - Volley for Christ is a camp where each participant will learn the skills necessary to compete in the game of volleyball and the game of life. The camp is designed to use volleyball skills to teach girls how to live a life that honors Christ.

Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida offer camps each summer for ages 3-14.
Dates and times: 8:30 am - 12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, Classes range from four days to nine days; deadline for registration is one week before start of each session.. Site: VAC, 19 E. Fourth St., Panama City. Costs range from $50-$150 per session for members, $95 to $195 per session for nonmembers. Activities: Clay, drawing, mixed media and sculpture for ages 7-14; themes for ages 3 to 6 include animals, cowboys and Indians, rainbows, everything that flies, under the sea and robots and aliens. 850-769.4451

Bay BASE sponsered by Bay District Schools for Kindergarten through fifth grade.
Dates and times: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday,
Sites: Tommy Smith, Tyndall and Waller elementary schools still had openings as of May 11.
Costs: $45 to $65 a week for first child in a family; $45 to $57 for each additional child; $17 per child per day for preregistered drop-ins (registration limited); registration fee $20 (nonrefundable); first week’s fees due at registration.
Activities: Arts and crafts, music, games, field trips, home-work assistance, sports and story telling.
More information: Frances Carey at 872-4292 or Joan Edwards at 873-7149.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County offers camps each summer for ages: 6-18.
Dates and times: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Costs: $250 per child for entire program, includes breakfast and lunch. Families with more than three children pay only for the first three.
Activities include swimming, recreation, weekly field trips, skating, movies, educational programs by police and fire departments.

These camps are available at multiple locations:
C.C. Moore Unit (swimming pool location)
L. Charlie Hilton Activity Center, 3404 W. 19th Street, St. Andrews/Panama City (763-3546, Terry Sasser)
Chapman Unit, 3030 E. Third Street, Millville/Panama City (785-2747, Wanda Jones)
Frank Brown Park Unit, 1620 Back Beach Road, Panama City Beach (236-3030, J.C. Schwab).

Dogwood Acres sponsored Presbytery of Florida, Presbyterian Church (USA).
Ages: Completing grades 2-12.
Dates and times: June -Aug, day/night half- and full-week sessions Sunday-Tuesday, Wednesday-Friday or Sunday-Friday.
Site: 3320 Harmony Road, off County 279 between Vernon and Chipley.
Costs: $142.50 to $295.
Activities/themes: Arts and crafts, recreation, nature exploration, challenge course, drama and improv, Bible study, fellowship. (850) 535-2695;

Drama camp: Sponsored by Imagination Factory Children’s Theater.
Ages: Elementary through high school.  Morning camp 9 a.m.-noon, afternoon 1-4 p.m usually in late May or early June at Arnold High School Fine Arts Center. Average Cost: $375.
Activities: Acting, voice and dance; accelerated program in which students work toward a production.

Gulf World day camp
Well $65 for just one day is a lot. But if your kids really want to interact with dolphins then this is probably worth it. Your kids have to be at least 8 years old to participate and the camp is just one day from 8:30 - 3.  The photos real sold me on this camp!

Panama City Cheer Camp: These cheer camps run all summer long and are for squads elementary age on up through high school.

Zoo World is the area's zoo. It is a very small zoo, but they have lots of animals. They have summer camps for children ages 6 and up. These camps run $185 a week and includes lunch.

Reading classes - offered by University of West Florida here in Panama City.  Weekly June 12th - July 19th for kids 4 years old through adults.  800-979-9151

Woodlawn United Methodist church is hosting Quest Summer camp. There will be a different theme every week Mon - Fri from 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM for ages 5-12 June 11th - Aug 21st. The cost is $90 a week. 

Packing List for Camping

I have to keep around a Camping Packing list of everything to take camping, because otherwise I'll forget the most important thing like the camping tents!  Until last week I had my list on my phone.  When the phone went dead I lost my list.  I decided to make another here on my blog that way it is always handy and I can't lose it again! Medicine is always at the top of any packing list, because unfortunately we've had at least two trips cut short because we forgot our daughter's medicine.

Here is my list of essential Camping Gear!

Medicine
Tent
Air Mattress
Air pump
Blankets
Sleeping Bags (Winter weight)
pillows
Glow Sticks
Flashlights
headlamps
lighter
wood
Roasting sticks
marshmallows
chocolate
gram crackers
baby wipes
hand sanitizer
books
hammock
rope
ax
lantern
chairs
citronella candle
mosquito spray
sunscreen
ice chest
Frisbee and other outdoor toys
scooters (if there is sidewalk)
Camping Stove preferably one with a coffee maker
charcoal
paper products
trash bags
jackets
hiking shoes
shower shoes (we use flip flops)
life jacket

American Wanderer Summer Camp - military kids

American Wanderer Summer Camp invites military youth middle and high school aged (11-17 years old) from across the U.S. to explore our National Parks this summer! They offer unique two-week camp sessions that explore over 34 Parks in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

Military discounts and scholarships are available.

For more information, to register or inquire about military discounts/scholarships visit: contact the American Wanderer Camp owners/directors, Lyn & Chris Kimberly at: 203-557-3339 or email: Lyn@RVCampforKids.com

Valley of Fire

The Valley of Fire is in Nevada just an hour north east of Las Vegas. It's a great place for family camping. With the location so close to Vegas you could have a weekend getaway or just take a day trip to let the kids climb and do some hiking.  Valley of Fire fun fact - it was Nevada's very first state park.

They have places for tent camping and lots of rv spaces some with hook ups. It's first come, no reservations. Every site has a fire pit. Camp fires are allowed.


There are huge beautiful rocks every where.


There is wild life including this big horn sheep that walked by.

There are hiking trails all over the state park.

Many of the hikes are kid friendly.



You can see petroglyphs at various locations throughout the park.



They have a small visitors center with information on all aspects of park. It's a great educational opportunity for kids.

Cub Scouts (I actually do recommend it)

Many people have ask what I think of Cub Scouts now that our son has finished his second year. To be honest, I went into it knowing all of the bad things you hear about. Despite that we tried it because, we knew some military kids in Idaho that loved it.

It has exceeded my expectations. One important thing to keep in mind is that to be in Cub Scouts you have to have an adult partner, more specifically one of your parents is expected to be there. Our son has built boats, race cars, rockets, tool boxes and more.

The boy scouts have some really nice camps that you will have access to once your child joins. Also at this age the camping trips are family camping trips. They do a variety of things at these camps including archery, bb guns, hiking, leather crafts, campfires, games, fishing, swimming and much more.

Another option depending on your area is a summer day camp. What I think is so great about these is they are local and very affordable. These day camps for the most part offer all of the activities you can find at the family camping trips.

I highly recommend cub scouts. For more info click here.

Operation: Military Kids

Operation: Military Kids (OMK)offers school age military kids fun, educational and recreational activities. Military kids can attend OMK Camps and activities to connect with other military youth, attend Mobile Technology Lab events to learn new skills and use technology to stay connected to their deployed parents. They can also join their state’s Speak Out for Military Kids Speakers Bureau to be an advocate for military kids in their community or throughout the state. To find out more about OMK in your state go to http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/, click on “state information”, and click your state to see what programs are offered in your area, or you can email support@operationmilitarykids.org.

Invent Now

I thought this was an interesting website.  If you have a child that is interested in inventing and stuff like that you may want to check it out.  They have several programs including some camps.

Sally Ride Science

I had never heard of this program before when I came across it.  Your kids can go to these camps once they are in upper elementary or middle school. 

Here is some info I found on their website:

Sally Ride Science™ is an innovative science education company dedicated to supporting girls' and boys' interests in science, technology, engineering, and math. The company, founded by Dr. Sally Ride, creates programs (including the Sally Ride Science Academy for teachers) and materials (including STEM career books) that bring science to life for students, their parents, and their teachers.

Concordia Language Villages camp

These camps are done by Concordia College in Turtle River Lake, near Bemidji, Minn.  They are for children 7-18

In Concordia Language Villages they have a variety of languages for you to chose from.  If you are not familiar with the language that you choose, the one week course is recommended for you. If you are intermediate and have already done the one week course and you are ready to proceed and do the next level in the language that you pick, you go for the to two week course. If you are advanced (or very good at the language) take the one month course, unless you don't feel comfortable staying away from home for such long periods. Keep in mind that you can still take the two week course until you are comfortable with it. You can stay at that level until you are comfortable staying away from home.

Quest Summer day camp - Panama City Beach

Woodlawn United Methodist church is hosting Quest Summer camp. There will be a different theme every week Mon - Fri from 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM for ages 5-12 June 1st - Aug 21st. The cost is $90 a week. For more info click here.

Portland Children's Museum

After hearing a variety of things about the Portland Children's Museum we finally tried it out for ourselves.  To be honest I had low expectations, but quickly realized I had heard wrong.  I thought the whole place was fantastic and regretted not getting over there sooner. I thought each room was really well laid out so that it didn't seem too crowed, even though there were tons of people there that day. They have a baby room, water room, digging room, music room and more. They had a few live shows going on while we were there. I practically dragged my children out of there!


I noticed on their website that they have art classes for children 2 - 12 and they also have a variety of camps. For more info click here.

Portland

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OMSI camps in Portland, OR

A while back I mentioned the OMSI as one of the top places to visit in the Portland area while traveling with kids. Well, it is also a great place to send you kids to summer camps. They have all kinds of learning camps, especially science camps. They have half a day, full day and over night camps for children K - 18 years old. They also have camps for the whole family or just adults.
For more info click here.

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YMCA day camps in Portland OR area

The YMCA has day camps for children entering grades 1 - 8 ranging in price from $150 - $175

Camps are located in : Beaverton, Canby, Gresham/Troutdale, Gladstone, Hillsboro, Newberg, Oregon City, Portland-North/Northeast, Tigard, Sandy, Sherwood, West Linn/Wilsonville,
Vancouver, WA

For more info click here.

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