Summer camps — DIY or not — are most about celebrating fun, creativity and the outdoors. Make sure you use your summer camp time to celebrate your family, your kids and your special bond. Then, most important of all, have fun!
Just as a reminder...Experts remind us that unstructured outdoor or open ended play should fill up to 80% of their day at home. It is called summer vacation for a reason and there is value in just having fun with your kids. Creating a loving environment that supports interactive spontaneous play is the secret to loving and joyful relationship with your children. Building an Incredible Backyard for Unstructured Play
If you have vowed to reduce their screen-time, then you need to increase the time that you spend with them. SO I AM GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO ACT LIKE A KID AGAIN. ***CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO HAVE FUN AND GIVE THEM A STORY TO TELL DAD EACH DAY.
Every summer people tell me about how they’re doing at home summer camps, grandparent camp, or just weekly themed camps with their kids. And they ask me for ideas of things to do for the different summer camp themes.
So I thought it’d be fun to put together some ideas for all sorts of weekly summer camp themes you can use for any of the above or any other purpose you might want them for!
I’ve come up with all sorts of weekly summer themes and for each theme, I’ve included things to do, things to watch (if that’s something you want to include), and things to eat!
Pick one theme or pick one theme for every week of the summer – there are 26 different summer camp themes detailed out plus another 50 theme ideas below that so there are weekly summer camp themes for years to come!
All-Star Athletes
Let’s start off our series with the most active of all, the sports themed week!
Things to Do
Go to a local park and try out a different sport each day. Play the traditional ones like soccer and basketball as well as a little more unusual ones like disc golf and pickle ball. This week is a great chance for the kiddos to try out all sorts of different things! You could even try combining some sports with these games played with balls. Turn it into a friendly competition by adding in some of these Olympic party ideas!
Things to Watch
There are all sorts of family friendly movies inspired by sports. Try movies like Air Bud, Space Jam, Little Giants, and The Sandlot for older kids. There are tons of TV show episodes with sports themes as well like Bluey’s obstacle course episode, Peppa Pig’s Sports Day episode, Arthur’s The Big Game episode, and more.
Things to Eat
Serve up anything an athlete would eat like fruits, veggies, protein balls, meat sticks, or anything else similar. Or go with the ball theme and serve sausage balls, crockpot meatballs, and brownie balls for dessert.
Bug Bonanza
This week is all about bugs and creepy crawly things. I’m not a fan but kids are!
Things to Do
Go on a nature scavenger hunt and see how many different bugs you can see. Catch butterflies or fireflies. Dig in the dirt and play with rolly pollies (my son’s favorite thing to do). Make pretzel spider webs together to enjoy for snack time. Paint rock ladybugs. Make a bug themed craft like these tissue paper butterflies.
Things to Watch
The obvious choices for this one are A Bug’s Life and the Ant Movie but you could also do an episode of Beat Bugs if you want to add some musical flair as well! There are also plenty of National Geographic Kids episodes all about bugs and creepy crawlers!
Things to Eat
Go with the traditional ants on a log or pick one of these fun snacks to try instead!
This week is all about one of our favorite summer traditions – camping!
Things to Do
Have a backyard campout (if you can) or do some of these indoor camping ideas if you can’t have an actual campout. Play classic summer camp games like capture the flag, make candy campfires, go on a camping scavenger hunt, and play camping charades! You could even learn some survival skills or learn basic first aid with this roll a first aid kit game. Make camp crafts like friendship bracelets. And of course don’t forget having an actual campfire and making s’mores, if it’s safe to do where you’re at! If you need more ideas, you could borrow some from any of these camping birthday party ideas!
Things to Watch
Any movie where they go to camp is a fun option like The Parent Trap, Percy Jackson, Camp Rock, Troop Beverly Hills, or Bunk’d. If you want something for younger kids, try something like Camp Mini-Minion in Minions & More or Bluey camping episode or Mickey’s Campout on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Things to Eat
Any camping food is fair game here. Think hot dogs, burgers, tin foil lunches. And of course anything s’mores like these s’more cookies, these magic s’more bars, and even just snacking on this s’mores charcuterie board. Or just serve graham crackers with this s’mores dip for the same effect! Granola bars, trail mixes, and meat sticks are great too! And if you want a really special treat, these campfire cupcakes are a favorite of ours!
Dino Discovery
This weekly theme is all about the dinosaurs! There’s just something magical about dinosaurs that kids absolutely love!
There are so many great dinosaur movies like Land Before Time, We’re Back (one of my favorites), and even Disney’s The Good Dinosaur. My boys also love Dino Dan, Dino Trek, and Dino Dana (all variations of the same series) if you want something that feels a little more educational!
Things to Eat
There are all sorts of dinosaur snacks out there from dinosaur themed applesauce pouches to Mother’s dynamite dinosaur cookies (like animal crackers but dinosaur shaped) and even dinosaur nuggets would be a great choice for lunch. If you want something a little more creative, these dinosaur eggs or you could even dinosaur sandwiches!
Explosions and Experiments
If you have kids that are into science, this may be their favorite week yet! This week will be filled with science experiments, investigating things, and STEM activities!
Things to Do
Go to a local science museum or one that has science or STEAM themed exhibits. Try out some of these science experiments using items you already have at home. Bake sugar cookies trying out different methods to show how baking is a science. Go to the library and read books to learn about different types of scientists then do something related to each of those scientists at home! Do a gravity activity or game. Listen to silly science songs to learn something while having fun!
Things to Watch
The obvious choice is Bill Nye the Science Guy but if you want something animated, we also love The Magical School Bus episodes and the science themed episodes of Storybots! There are tons of science experiment youtube channels as well but a great one for kids is SciShow Kids!
Things to Eat
This one is a little trickier but if you make things together (or do food themed science experiments) and talk about the science about how they work, any snacks would work! You could even do something as simple as popping popcorn then eating the popcorn! Or if you want something science themed, any of the ideas from my Big Hero 6 party would work – there are all sorts of science and beaker themed ideas!
Fairytale Fun
How about a week dedicated to fairytales, castles, and dragons? This one will get kids imaginations and creativity going with all the adventure!
Things to Do
Let kids dress up in princess gowns, knight costumes, or even dragon scales! Make dreamcatchers like we did for our princess party, play any of these princess party games, or make swords and shields out of cardboard! Let kids build castle forts out of leftover boxes then do some of these fun dragon STEM activities! You could even act out your favorite fairy tales!
Things to Watch
There’s no shortage of movies recreated from fairytales – just pull up the list of Disney movies and find one. Or skip the princesses and go with How to Train Your Dragon instead!
Things to Eat
I have an entire collection of princess party foods to choose from that are all themed for Disney princesses. There are sweet and savory ideas! And if you want to go with fairy tale specific, these fairy tale party ideas are full of food ideas like Jack and the Beanstalk treats! Or make these fun dragon eye deviled eggs – make them even better with this million dollar deviled eggs recipe! Decorate graham crackers like shields or serve up pretzel stick swords!
Game On
This is one of my favorite weekly themes for good reason – I love games! And so do kids, so make a week out of it.
Things to Do
Play structured video games, like a Mario Kart tournament (one of our favorite Nintendo Switch games). Play board games or go to a board game cafe specifically to try out some new games. If you need ideas, these are our favorite board games for kids! Play outdoor games, games with balls, and pretty much any games you can think of! You could even go to a local baseball game or to an arcade (Dave and Buster’s has half price games on Weds) or Chuck E Cheese.
Things to Watch
Watch a movie centered around playing games like Ender’s Game or Ready Player One. Or any episode of Bluey that has games in it – there are a ton of options! If you want to watch something educational, watch a video that teaches about the history behind your favorite board games or teachers you a new board game!
Things to Eat
A family game night, or week in this case, deserves all sorts of game night snacks. This movie night snack mix would be great, these rice krispy treats are always a hit, and no one is going to turn down monster cookie balls! And if you want something themed, any of these Mario party food ideas would be great!
Happy Holidays
Who doesn’t want to celebrate the holidays all summer long? Choose a different holiday for every day of the week, and this may be one of the most fun weeks you have all summer!
Things to Do
I have so many holiday party ideas on my site that you could easily dedicate an entire week to each of the holidays but here are some ideas for each of the major holidays that I think would work best for this!
Go to somewhere significant to American history, make these firework crafts or these confetti poppers, and listen to a 4th of July playlist with songs like the Star Spangled Banner and Independence Day. You could even play the 4th of July category from our floor party game!
Halloween
Celebrate summerween by going on a field trip to somewhere haunted (but not scary) or by watching a Halloween movie like Nightmare Before Christmas. Play this silly Halloween truth or dare game or Halloween charades to get the kids up and moving after the movie! Or you could even hide a bunch of pumpkins and send kids on a pumpkin hunt! And if you need a craft, this vampire craft or this Frankenstein craft would be perfect!
This week is all about adventures you’d have on an island somewhere so think beach, sand, and pirates!
Things to Do
Head to a local park or beach to play in the sand (unless you have a sandpit at home) and make sand castles (a must on everyone’s summer bucket list). Play some pirate party games, go on a pirate treasure hunt to find gold coins, and dress up like pirates! And if you need an easy craft, kids love making sand art projects!
Things to Watch
Peter Pan, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Hook are all great pirate themed movie choices. Little Mermaid of course is also a great option or if you want to do something educational, there’s a documentary all about how the Disney Wish cruise ship was built that’s actually pretty interesting and cruise themed!
Things to Eat
If you want something sweet, these sand pudding buckets went viral for a reason. And this beach cake is super fun to decorate! Wash it down with a little mojito mocktail or a virgin pina colada. If you want something not so sweet, this tropical fruit salad (or any tropical fruit) would make a great option! Or banana boats with fruit inside are good too!
Jammin’ Together
This week is all about making, listening, and playing music!
Things to Do
Go to an outdoor concert or a park that has musical instruments you can play. Or gather up items around your house and let kids make their own musical instruments at home – drums are the easiest – but there are plenty of simple DIY instruments out there. Sing karaoke to your favorite songs and have a dance party. You could even play some of these musical party games like name that tune if that’s not enough!
Things to Watch
Any sort of movie about music like Coco, Sing, or School of Rock would be a great option for a jammin’ together movie break! Or if you want something a little more on the educational side, you could watch episodes of Little Einsteins and Storybots that teach musical terms throughout their adventures!
Things to Eat
There are plenty of snacks that use musical words. Try things like Bugles, cream “horns,” “string” cheese, and chicken drumsticks, peanut butter and jam (or anything with jam), and a pitch-er of homemade lemonade to wash it all down! Or if you want to go more specific, you could try any of these Taylor Swift themed foods!
Kitchen Creations
This week is all about having fun in the kitchen! Kids love helping out in the kitchen so for this week take advantage of that and help teach them basic kitchen skills, do food themed science experiments, and even kitchen themed crafts!
Things to Do
Kids love helping out in the kitchen so for this week take advantage of that and help teach them basic kitchen skills, do food themed science experiments like growing gummy bears, and even kitchen themed crafts like apple stamping! Do an alphabet scavenger hunt just in the kitchen to learn about kitchen tools and of course cook together!
Things to Watch
There are tons of food themed shows that would be fun from Ratatouille to Princess and the Frog to Is It Cake or any of the numerous baking and cooking shows out there! There are even ones designed specifically to be fun for kids to watch!
Things to Eat
The best part about this week is that you get to eat what you make! These are some of my favorite recipes that are easy enough for kids to help out with!
Homemade pizza dough – great way to learn about yeast and work on rolling out dough!
Homemade brownies– show them how to make ones better than the box mix!
Swirl cake – this one is really fun to make and eat!
Sweet chex mix – this is a no bake recipe that’s just a little more than adding ingredients together!
This one is all about the books and book themed activities, which honestly makes it pretty much anything you want to do as long as it’s been done in a book!
Things to do
Go to a library obviously and/or a used bookstore to get some new books. Spend some time each day reading books together. Try any of these fun reading activities inspired by your favorite books! Do book themed crafts like these Cat in the Hat crafts or these Harry Potter coloring pages. The sky’s pretty much the limit here since the type of books is unimaginable!
Things to Watch
You could watch a movie a day that’s based off your favorite books or watch books that are specifically about kids that like to read or books themselves like Matilda, the Book of Life, or Super Why!, and Reading Rainbow (if that’s still out there).
Things to Eat
Pick snacks each day inspired by the books you’re going to focus on that day. Things like pumpkin pasties for Harry Potter fans, Grinch pretzels for Dr. Seuss fans, or even more generic blueberry muffins for the book Blueberries for Sal!
Magical Mayhem
I already mentioned Harry Potter but this week is all about magic, whatever kind of magic you want to focus on. Pick a different magical character each day of the week or make it all about Harry Potter and his wizard counterparts!
Things to Do
Go to a local magic store or a magic show and learn a magic trick or two. Make magical wands to play with. Ask some Harry Potter trivia questions or play one of these other Harry Potter party games! But Harry Potter isn’t the only one who’s magic – you could do these Frozen games inspired by Elsa’s magic, go on a field trip like the magical Miss Frizzle, or read a book full of magic like A Wrinkle in Time. Or make a witch’s brew like we did for our witchy Halloween games!
Things to Watch
Watch kid-friendly YouTubes to learn some new magic tricks, watch the Magic School Bus to learn about all sorts of things, or watch your favorite magical character in movies like Tinkerbell, the BFG, and Percy Jackson!
Things to Eat
If you want to go Harry Potter specific, this butterbeer recipe or this butterbeer popcorn would be perfect. If you’re thinking Elsa, this frozen hot chocolate is a fun one or you could do any sort of frozen treat like this blue punch with sherbet! Or just make everything into magical snacks – pretzel sticks become magic wands, cupcakes become witch’s cauldrons, gummy frogs because magical frogs, and pretty much anything could be a in witch’s brew!
Nature Explorers
This week is all about getting out into nature! Kids love exploring, so they’ll love this week too!
Things to Do
Ideally everything you do this week will be outside in nature. Go on hikes, bike rides, walks on trails, and explore new parks. Try geocaching. If you stay at home, do things outside to explore nature like plant flowers, look for worms in the dirt, and go on a neighborhood scavenger hunt! You could also do a day on taking care of nature like recycling, caring for the planet, and so on.
Things to Watch
If you can watch Captain Planet, that’s a great old school option that’s all about nature and the environment. Up is also a good one about wilderness explorers as is Fernguly! If you want something more educational than entertaining, National Geographic kids has tons of great videos showcasing elements in nature.
Things to Eat
You could easily use the entire section above in the bug section to come up with snacks but if you need more ideas, these leave shaped pie crust cookies or these dirt cookies would be great. Anything grown naturally like fresh fruits and veggies are also a great choice – even better if you can go pick them somewhere on a field trip!
Out of This World
You could make this one of two things – or combine them both – outer space or Star Wars. I personally would probably combine them both if your kids are into Star Wars!
Things to Do
Go to a planetarium, stay up late to look at the stars, or visit a flight and space museum if you have one nearby. Learn about constellations and astronauts and figure out how to recognize them in the night sky! Make homemade moon rocks, galaxy playdough, or your own galaxy jars! Play Star Wars party games like doing Jedi training, do these Star Wars perler bead crafts, then finish it off by doing a moon rock hunt!
Things to Watch
My boys love the space show Miles from Tomorrowland, Octonauts, and Little Ensteins. Oh and of course Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures is a big hit with our little ones! If you want full-length movies, Wall-E, Lightyear, and Space Buddies are all fun too! If you want something educational, this Nat Geo Kids video is all about space and designed for kids!
Things to Eat
Space is such a fun theme for food! You could choose any of these Star Wars food ideas or make something like homemade moon pies! Or just grab things that are naturally named after space like Star Crunch, Cosmic Brownies, and Moon Cheese. Or just take a star cookie cutter to pretty much anything! You could even make it a little more special with these outer space party printables!
Pop Party
This week is inspired by one of my favorite baby shower themes – ready to pop. Plan a week inspired by all sorts of things that include the word pop or that go pop!
I already mentioned this one but Up would be great for the balloon part of this. Or Trolls World Tour where the girls name is literally Poppy! Dumbo that’s set in a circus with lots of popcorn and balloons or Despicable Me with the birthday party balloons would also be fun! If you want something educational, you could learn all about how popcorn pops and why through YouTube videos like this one from Insider Food!
Things to Eat
Anything that has the word pop in it works great OR anything that pops. Think Pringle cans, soda pop cans, pop-tarts, popcorn balls, rainbow cake pops, lollipops, popchips, and more.
Quiet Heroes Week
This week is all about the quiet heroes that don’t get celebrated often enough – teachers, nurses, librarians, custodians, and more.
Things to Do
Talk to the kids about quiet heroes and how every job matters and keeps our world running. Pick some of those people to learn about this week, maybe a different category of hero each day. Make and take them treats and thank you cards, read about them and what they do for our communities, and do activities related to learnin their skills. Think going to the library to see librarians in action, doing cleaning races to learn about custodians, and picking up trash to honor park rangers. But make it fun because if it’s not fun, kids will forget everything they learn!
If you need some more quiet hero ideas, here are a few other options that would work well – mail carrier, grocery store clerk, crossing guard, bus driver, landscapers, mechanic, therapist/counselor, plumber, electrician, paramedic, IT support, delivery drivers, and secretary or office managers.
Things to Watch
To keep things kid-friendly and entertaining, here are some good movies that kids will enjoy that focus on unsung heroes and the quiet helpers in people’s lives – Big Hero 6 (Baymax), Charlotte’s Web (Charlotte), The Iron Giant (the giant), Wall-E, and Inside Out (Sadness).
Things to Eat
Pick snacks that go along with the jobs that you’re choosing to discuss. For something like a mechanic or a bus driver, wheel shaped snacks. For grocery store clerks, maybe fresh groceries you’d find in the produce section. Or make lunches like someone might take on the job with them like the items on this picnic scavenger hunt.
Race Around the World
While this may not be an Amazing Race week, the idea is that every day you’re exploring ideas from a different country (or two). Kids will love trying out things they may never have done before, and it gives you the chance to be creative too!
Things to Do
Choose the countries you want to focus on then find activities related to those countries. I’ve included a few ideas for a few countries, but there are too many options to list them all!
Mexico – make pinatas then break them, play loteria, make colorful flags, and learn traditional Mexican dances!
England – have a traditional tea party, make your own coat of arms, learn how to play cricket, and act out kid friendly versions of Shakespeare plays!
Russia – make some snowman crafts, learn some basic ballet moves, make homemade nesting dolls, and listen to Russian folk tales!
Australia – make and paint homemade boomerangs out of cardboard, play animal charades pretending to be classic Australian animals like kangaroos and koalas, learn about Aboriginal music and how to play rhythm sticks.
Italy – make your own pizza, either real or paper ones. Make leaning Tower of Pisa out of cups, have a dance party to Italian opera, and have your very own gladiator games (using some of these Olympic game ideas).
Canada – play indoor hockey, make Inuit stone markers out of stones, read books about Canadian wildlife like moose and bear, and go hiking in a place inspired by Canada’s great outdoors.
South Africa – made bracelets with colorful beads, create animal masks of animals you might see on a safari, make your own drum circle, and learn about traditional African folktales.
Things to Watch
One show that immediately comes to mind is Where in the World is Carmen San Diego or Wild Kratts as they explore different places and animals in those locations. Those are cartoon versions of shows – there are tons of kid-friendly shows that teach you about different countries as well!
Things to Eat
Make snacks inspired by ones you’d find in those countries. Things like fairy bread for Australia, mini pancakes with maple syrup for Canada, homemade tacos or quesadillas for Mexican, and pizza rolls for Italy.
Things that Go
This week is all about things that go somewhere – trains, planes, and automobiles. And monorails, boats, and busses too! This was the theme of my son’s pop-a-wheelie party, and it’s always a hit!
Things to Do
Find somewhere in your local area that has vehicles you can explore whether it’s a children’s museum with a train to play on or a park with car tracks kids can race cars in. Not only do vehicles go, kids need to as well so letting them go is a great option this week. Make boats out of toilet paper rolls to race in streams. Go somewhere and watch airplanes take off or land. At home, create ramps and race tracks to race cars. Make paper airplanes. Watch trains go around a track.
Things to Watch
Cars, of course. But also Thomas the Train (or Tank Engine), Dino Train, and the classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Anything centered around a car, plane, boat, or anything that goes is fair game. If you want something more educational the Sesame Street Elmo’s World Transportation is a great option or National Geographic Kids has some airplane videos too!
Things to Eat
Anything vehicle related is great. You could even just put snacks in a vehicle, like when we added Oreo dirt and cake pops to my son’s dump truck. Donuts are a fun breakfast since cars do donuts in the parking lot. Or anything round that looks like a wheel is also a good choice.
Under the Sea
This would be a great choice during Discovery Channel’s Shark Week over the summer. Or really any time because what kid doesn’t love sharks, dolphins, mermaids, and all the other under the sea creatures!
Octonauts is a great ocean themed show for kids that is not only entertaining but also educational too! If you want actual movies to watch, Shark Tale is a fun one and of course there’s always the classic Finding Nemo!
Things to Eat
Goldfish or cheddar whales or sharks are always a great choice. You could also do jello that looks like the ocean or even these cute jello shark cups. If you want something to drink, this mermaid punch is delicious and this shark punch would. be a great way to finish off the week!
Villians and Heroes
This is one of my favorite themes simply because I love superheroes, and I’m not the only one so this is sure to be a popular summer themed week!
Things to Do
Hide toy people or popsicle sticks with faces and let kids pretend to be superheroes who have to rescue people from the villains. Or try any of these superhero party games. Make and decorate superhero capes and come up with your own superhero names. You could even do an entire superhero amazing race.
Things to Watch
Grab some popcorn and watch The Incredibles, PJ Masks, or DC League of Super Pets to stick with the superhero theme.
Things to Eat
Try food ideas from these superhero party ideas or get anything that has the word super or hero in the name. Or go with super food items like super greens salad, superfood smoothie, or anything that goes with the superheroes you’re focusing on!
Wet and Wild Week
This week is all about getting wet and cooling down in the hot summer heat. This is always one of my boys’ favorite weeks because well it’s pretty much just fun!
Things to Do
Anything that gets the kids wet goes. Play any of these water games (the ultimate water balloon game is my personal favorite), play in water tables, go to a water park or splash pad. If it gets you wet, it works! You could also setup a homemade slip n slide or play water kickball – there are so many options.
Things to Watch
With this week being all about getting wet, I actually recommend having a little dried off quiet time included. Some of my favorite movies set in the water or that include water Finding Dory, Moana, and Luca. If you want shorter episodes, the Bluey swimming pool episode is hilarious, Bubble Guppies, Puffin Rock, and Santiago and the Seas are all great!
Things to Eat
Since the kiddos will likely be wet most of the day, I recommend things that won’t be gross to touch with wet fingers. Think things like fruit, fresh veggies, and string cheese that won’t be impacted by extra moisture. If you want to do something themed, these pool party cookies are always fun!
Young Artists
No matter the age you’re planning for, art is a great theme idea because you can do basic art like cutting and gluing paper projects or more skilled art like watercolor painting or paper mache!
I will be the first to tell you that art is not my speciality so these are pretty generic, but hopefully they can give you some ideas!
Things to Do
Anything artsy goes. Go to a local art museum or art show. Try one of these kids crafts, do a rotating painting activity, get some learn to draw books and spend a day drawing pictures out of the books. Let kids make a giant canvas by splashing art on it or any of these other art party ideas. Print out any of these free coloring pages and spend time coloring.
Things to Watch
If you want movies, Harold and the Purple Crayon is a great option or if you want something animated, Poppy in Trolls is always using art to create things! For learning, there are tons of YouTube series on learning how to draw, paint, and other types of art but one of the most popular is Art for Kids.
Things to Eat
Let kids get messy with their food. Give them paint palettes with frosting and decorations to decorate cookies or cupcakes or edible markers to design their own cookies. Or if you just want an art themed treat, these paintbrush rice krispy treats we made with our shapeable rice krispy treats are one of my favorites!
Zany Zoo
One of the easiest and most popular themes is an animal theme because who doesn’t love animals!
If you want movies, Lion King, Zootopia, and Madagascar are all great choices with plenty of animals. If you want to go more learning based, National Geographic Kids and Wild Kratts are great options!
Things to Eat
The obvious choice are animal crackers but if you want to turn your snack into an activity, try making these animal toasts or these penguin strawberries or really any animal themed snack! Here are a few others that would be fun to make!
If you need even more summer camp themes, here are a ton more ideas that you could center an entire week of activities around! If you want details or ideas for any of these, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to give you specifics!
Mythical Creatures – think mermaids, dragons, unicorns, and more.
Time Traveling – move through time during the week by doing activities celebrating things in the past, present, and future!
Spy School – secret missions, learning how to be a spy, code breakers, puzzles, and more.
Karate Kids – karate, ninjas, and all things stealth and sneaky.
Olympics – celebrate all things Olympics with competitions, culture, and medals of course.
Wonderful Weather – learn all about weather with science experiments, games, and making weather themed snacks!
Crafty Creations – I know I have an art themed camp already, but this one would be more focused on crafts like making bracelets, string art, simple art projects, and more.
Camp Hollywood – an acting themed camp that not only has kids making their own movies and acting things out but also learning about all the behind the scenes stuff!
Minute to Win It Madness – a week filled with fun minute to win it games, quick and easy snacks, and silly challenges.
Summerween – kids love Halloween so much why not make a week for it in the summer with a Halloween themed week!
Christmas in July – same thing with Christmas, dedicated an entire week to one of the best holidays of the year!
Color Wars – choose a color a day and do things inspired by that color all day long!
Keep It Silly – a camp all about silly crafts, silly challenges, and singing silly songs!
Camp Kindness – a week dedicated to building friendships, learning ways to be kind, service projects, and doing things for other people just to be kind!
Camp Carnival – think face paining, carnival games, balloon games, and just colorful and bold fun!
Virtual Road Trip – a travel themed camp with car games, stories about famous trips around the world, and more.
Inventor’s Lab – this is like the engineering version of the crafty one above but instead of making crafts, it’s building things like towers, buildings, and gadgets!
Quest Week – a week full of missions, quests, and challenges that the team has to complete together!
Half Blood Camp – a Percy Jackson themed camp that uses challenges and ideas from the camp he lives at in the books.
I Scream for Ice Cream – an ice cream themed week with making your own ice cream, an ice cream sundae bar, ice cream themed games and crafts, and more.
Icky Sticky Science – a science themed weekly camp that’s all about ooey, gooey, sticky, and icky science things like making slime, play-dough, and more.
Team Up – a camp with plenty of team building activities, crafts, and games.
Rest and Relax – a camp that’s themed about having fun while resting and relaxing through things like yoga, hiking, making dream catchers, rainsticks, and more.
Jump Into Fitness – not to be confused with the sports camp already listed, this one is more just about being active and moving. Jumping on trampolines, playing at the park, obstacle courses, and more.
Jedi Training – a Star Wars themed camp that includes jedi training, galactic crafts, obstacle courses, trying various intergalactic snacks, and more.
Keep It Moving – this week is all about movement through dance, games, scavenger hunts, brain breaks, and more! A high energy and very active week!
Life on the Farm – a farm themed week centered around farm animals, petting zoos, gardening, and barn songs.
Neon Lights – a neon themed camp with glow in the dark activities, neon colors, and super fun crafts!
Disney Days – a Disney themed week where you work on drawing Disney characters, go on a Disney scavenger hunt, and do other fun Disney themed activities!
Town Tourist – be a tourist in your town by visiting places tourists commonly visit, try common local foods, and do activities local to your town!
Pajama party – a week full of wearing pajamas, recreating bedtime stories, pillow fights, and cozy crafts!
Reptile Roundup – a week that’s all about my boys’ favorite thing – reptiles. Think making paper snakes, reading about lizards, and playing leap frog!
Robot Rampage – all sorts of robots and robotics, but for kids!
Jungle Jamboree – a week all about jungles, jungle animals, and drinking jungle juice!
Pet Pals – a week all about typical pets! Let kids bring their pets to share, learn about vets, and enjoy lots of activities inspired by pets!
Nature’s Playground – build fairy houses, collect sticks to make crafts, and do all sorts of other fun things using just items from nature!
Alphabet Academy – this one is all about the ABCs! Split the alphabet into groups and do activities for each of those letters.
Wilderness Explorers – tap into your inner wilderness explorers by doing survival and outdoor activities to earn badges all week!
Mad Science – science experiments, creating potions, and making snacks together that look a little mad!
State Summit – make a weekly camp all about your state! For example, make sunflower crafts for Kansas the Sunflower state or recreate a Broadway play if you live in New York. Or you could even pick five different states and make each day one state.
Knight School – learn how to wield a foam sword, do paper towel horse jousting, and build castles! A week all about knights and the round table!
Rainforest Rangers – a week all about the rainforest. Learn about rainforest animals, play rain themed games, and don’t forget the animal snacks!
Wizard Camp – learn how to be a wizard or witch by making witch’s brews, learning to fly on a broomstick, and practicing different spells! It’s Harry Potter’s world brought to life!
Field Day Fun – a week full of field day games and activities, crafts, and more!
Adventure Awaits – go on all sorts of fun adventures, learn about great adventures like climbing Mount Everest, and play adventurous games!
Summer Boot Camp – try out different activities similar to things done at boot camp like obstacle courses, Simon Says, and more. Learn about the different branches of the military and do activities inspired by each.
Magical Missions – do training then go on missions throughout the week to complete challenges, quests, and adventures – all with a fantastical theme!
Garden Growers – a week all about gardening. Plant flowers, paint flower pots, and eat garden fresh snacks!
Red, White, and Blue – a 4th of July themed week with all sorts of 4th of July activities, foods, and more!
Mythical Lands – spend each day visiting a different mythical land, either a known one (from a book) or make one up. Try a frozen one, one covered with fire and dragons, and a magical one like Hogwarts!
Seussical Summer – make it a week inspired by all things Dr. Seuss! Do any of these Dr. Seuss activities and talk in rhyme of course!
Kitchen Chemistry – make all sorts of science experiments in the kitchen like color-changing lemonade, homemade pop rocks, and ice cream in a bag!
Forest Friends – learn all about the animals you find in your local forests, go for hikes to try and spot them, and make crafts with items you find!
Campsgiving – a Thanksgiving themed camp filled with turkey relays, feasts, and playing gratitude games!
Unbirthday Party – have a week filled with all sorts of birthday activities like games with balloons, decorating birthday cupcakes, and playing typical birthday games like hot potato!
Food Frenzy – a food themed week but not in one in the kitchen. Think a day dedicated to noodle where you make macaroni noodle crafts, play games with pool noodles, and more. Or a pizza day!
Lucky Duck – a week inspired by St. Patrick’s Day and all the lucky traditions! Think leprechaun hunts, playing games like roll a rainbow, and hunting for 4-leaf clovers!
Parades and Parties – make mini floats, have silly parades, and play all sorts of party games! Go to a parade if you can and enjoy all sorts of different party treats!
Fashionable Fun – all things fashion like tie dyeing shirts, making toilet paper dresses, and doing fashion show relays!
Flight & Space – a week all about rockets, airplanes, and other things that fly!
Just Dance – dance the week away with games like freeze dance, Just Dance, and learning different dance moves!
Puppet Party – explore all things puppets this week by going to a puppet show, making puppets, and having your very own puppet show!
World of Holidays – celebrate holiday traditions from around the world with matching crafts and food!
Snack Attack – a week all about learning how to make simple snacks, playing games using popular snacks, and going on snack scavenger hunts!
Bake It Up – baking all sorts of different things, learning about baking, and sending baked goods home with the kiddos to share!
Farm to Table – a combination of gardening and cooking! Plant items, garden items, and enjoy farm fresh snacks.
Camp Candyland – a camp inspired by the game Candyland. Play classic kids board games, do relays, and learn how to make homemade candies!
Foreign Flavors – learn about foods from different countries around the world, make and try them, and do activities and crafts inspired by the other countries.
Detective Discovery – a week all about learning to be detectives and solving mysteries inspired by popular books and movies!
Historical Hurrahs – learn about different events in history, read historical fiction books, and have fun doing things that have been done in history!
Magic School Bus – a week full of adventures inspired by the best books in the Magical School Bus series! Learning, field tripping, and having fun!
Camp Read-A-Lot – a camp with a book theme but also one that gives lots of time for reading, cozy crafts, and recreating your favorite books!
Animal Tales – a week filled with animal books, stories, activities, and games!
Service Stars – a week with a service themed but make it fun. Things like coloring pictures, making crafts, and doing things you can give to people who need it!
Little Leaders – all sorts of games and activities inspired by leadership qualities, team building, and learning about local leaders.
World Changers – learn about people in your community or world that have brought about change, read books, and play games inspired by changes being made.
Friends and Fun – a week all about learning friendship skills, making new friends, making things like friendship bracelets, and just in general a week centered around friends!
My Neighborhood – learn about your neighborhood and the things that make the neighborhood run (like the post office, fire station, and more). Take things to neighborhood workers and beautify your own neighborhood!
Brilliant Bodies – do all sorts of activities, games, and learning about the human body! Play games that use your body, eat things good for your body, and more!
Global Games – plan an entire week around learning about games and activities from different cultures!
World Wonders – learn about, do activities and crafts themed, of the world wonders. Think things like the Eiffel Tower, the Great Sphinx, and more!
Printable List of Summer Camp Themes
If you’d like a printable list of all of these summer camp themes, simply click the button below to download! You’ll receive a PDF with the printable below.
Elementary kids are so much fun. I really enjoy doing hands-on activities with this age group. And hosting a summer camp for elementary kids is even more fun. Check out these summer camp themes for elementarythat I know they will love! DIY Math Summer CampActivities are super fun for this age group!
School Age Summer Camp Themes
Your kids are school age and you need a theme to try for your summer camp! These school age summer camp themes will keep kiddos who are school-aged very happy and away from Roblox at least for an hour or two. The Fortnite theme is one of my favorites for school-aged kids.
Summer Camp Themes for Middle Schoolers
Even though we usually just do activities with our little kids and school-aged kids, middle school kids love to also have fun doing hands-on projects. These summer camp themes for middle schoolerswill have them laughing with you in no time. One of my favorite summer camp themes for middle schoolers is Pokemon summer camp.
It’s a great way to bond with those older kids who usually just ignore us and stay in their rooms all day.
I raised science geeks -all of them...with the help of a Aerospace expert. Yes a rocket scientist. Talk about intimadating. They were all into building with Rokenbok by age 4-5 years and obcessed with experimenting with kitchen scraps to art. It was a learn as we go type thing for me. So let me give you a second easy ally.
STEM Summer Camp Themes
We really love STEM summer camp themes. That’s because we’re a STEM family! Science, technology, engineering, and math are our things, and we always want to do more and more. Check out these super fun STEM summer camp themesto try.
Get down to the nitty-gritty (not really) of science camp with these summer camp science activities! Best of all, they don’t require weird supplies or electricity at all. Do them anywhere indoors or out!
Summer Camp STEM Activities
Ok, so maybe you don’t have time to do a whole camp. But you still want some activities to do. So these individual summer camp STEM activitieswill definitely get you through!
Activities are one thing, but what if you need real summer camp lesson plans? Of course, there are a lot of lesson plans out there, and most of them are really great! But if you want something really detailed, our STEAM summer camp will make you very happy.
We live in Texas, so doing a summer camp outside is impossible unless it’s at night, but a lot of you live in much friendlier places than we do. For you guys, we have this collection of backyard summer camp ideas.
Oh my goodness, this was the most fun week of camp ever. It was truly epic! It wasn’t really as much of a “magic potions” week (like this day two summers ago which was the messiest fun ever), as it was a week about recipes and fizzing and mixing and just plain-old sensory messy fun….
Welcome to Week Two of our Art and Play Activity Guide for Learning at Home! Shannon and I were blown away by the response to Week One‘s launch of our “kids in quarantine” series. I wish I could share with you all of the incredible and heartfelt comments we received via email and on our…
Week 7 of our Art and Play Activity Guide is all about Provocations! Provocations week will be a little bit different than our other weeks. Instead of asking children to act on an idea that we present, we will be asking them to take the lead and show us what they can do! This week…
This week we celebrate the fiber arts as we play around with FABRIC & YARN! Yay!! It’s also Earth Day on Wednesday so we’ll be honoring Mother Earth, too. Many of us are spending time decluttering and cleaning out closets. This week we’ll use some of our old clothes for fabric collage, or cut up…
It’s Painting Week! Before you run in the other direction or call us out for being totally crazy to make a whole week of painting experiences, worry not, we’ve got you covered. In Week 5 of our Art & Play Activity Guide for Learning at Home, we will be holding your hand every step of the…
It’s hard to believe that this is our FOURTH guide for learning at home! We are thrilled to hear that so many of you have established a rhythm and routine for the day through our weekly guides, found bright spots of curiosity and creativity, and created memories while making things together. This week is no…
Welcome back to Week 3 of our Art and Play Activity Guide for Learning at Home! Shannon and I hope these guides have been helping you loosely frame your days. Children need routine because it makes them feel safe and more relaxed. And parents need routine because it allows them to find some time for…
Ok, deep breath everyone. We are all in this together. As we lay low and practice social distancing at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my good friend, Shannon Merenstein from Hatch in Pittsburgh, and I have come up with an art and play activity guide for all the kids in quarantine who will be learning…
A creative invitation is a simple set-up with a few appealing or interesting materials that spark your child’s curiosity and invite them over to create and explore. Read More
Children love painting on an easel. Painting in a vertical position is also important for building arm and wrist strength, developing spatial awareness, engaging the core, crossing the midline, and more.Read More
We cannot save everything our child makes, but they are only four once, and their drawings and paintings at these young ages are a record of their growth. Saving their art inevitably means implementing a sorting and storing system. Here are three tried-and-true storage ideas that we know will work.
Epic Backyard Nature Science Fun | Summer Camp at Home
Whether you’re a year-round homeschooling family like us, follow a traditional school year calendar at home, lean a bit unschooly, or have kids who go to brick and mortar schools, summer days and nights can seem long and lazy.
Check out their easy-to-do fun filled ideasthat elevate your party's level of laughter and joy! Themed scavenger & treasure hunts, story telling, crafts, ... Look around her website there are tons of ideas to match with your childs interest
