Summer Camps

It’s time to get serious about Summer, and we are here to help with our Dayton area guide to Summer camps!

Water, art, sports, nature, and more…

You can’t go wrong with any of these options. We don’t remember camp being this amazing when we were kids!

Give your kids the BEST. SUMMER. EVER with YMCA Summer Day Camp & YMCA Camp Kern!

We love the YMCA of Greater Dayton Summer camps because of the flexibility they offer. You can enroll your kiddo(s) for a week or the entire Summer (#workingmomwin!). Campers learn to work together leading to the development of teamwork skills, leadership skills, and lifelong friendships. In addition, campers gain an understanding of the YMCA’s character development values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility. YMCA Camp Kern and Summer Day Camps are accredited by the American Camping Association.

YMCA Summer Day Camp: They provide an exciting setting for your children to explore the outdoors. Quality staff will guide them through a Summer of discovery as they explore the world around them. Activities include swimming, field trips, reading with skits and drama, arts & crafts, relationship building and more! YMCA Summer Day Camp is for children ages 5-12. (Campers must have completed Kindergarten. Some sites include lunch.)

YMCA Camp Kern: Camp Kern has been providing meaningful residential camp experiences to local families for 113 years and is the perfect place for campers to learn about themselves and others, create long lasting friendships through shared outdoor experiences and be the best version of themselves through the guidance of positive role models.

Welcome to the City of Miamisburg Parks & Recreation Summer Day Camps. In 2023, they are offering 61 different sessions of camp over the 11-week Summer break for children ranging from 3.5 to 14 years old. They hope you will find the perfect combination of Summer fun to keep your child engaged and happy for a lifetime of memories with them!

“The counselors are the absolute best. They play with the kids and don’t just watch them. This camp is the best one around hands down. We drive from Lebanon so our son can attend this camp it is so good (it’s an hour to take him to camp and come home to work then repeat for pick up). They keep the kids active and engaged. We can’t wait to come back next year!” – Parent

School’s out, and Ohio Sports Academy has you covered with awesome weeklong camps planned ALL SUMMER LONG! OSA has been voted best gym in Dayton 7 years in a row, AND they’ve won best summer camp in Dayton the last two years! Summer Camps are filled with high-energy, structured activities for your kids that incorporate open play, organized games, arts, and Ninja. The list goes on! And to keep things fun, each week features special events including Kona Ice, Video Game Trucks, and animal visitors from the Newport Aquarium!

Ohio Sports Academy Summer Camps include unique activities such as fun on trampolines, rope swings, ninja course, a bounce house, and every kid’s favorite: a FOAM PIT!!!! They also have a craft space, team-building fun, and daily themed activities that allow your kids to have a different experience at every camp! Campers will rotate between different areas every 30 minutes, keeping them active and interested.

Low camper-to-staff ratios allow staff to get to know your child by name!

OSA Summer camps will run Monday – Friday 8am-3pm with optional extended care from 3-5pm all Summer long!

Black Box Improv Theater presents Kidprov Summer Camp!

Summer is quickly approaching, and that’s a lot of time to fill making sure your kids stay active and engaged. So, let The Black Box Improv Theater help you out! They will have their kid/teenager improv camp this Summer for ages 9-12 and ages 13-17. Not only will they spend the week making friends, learning confidence, and embracing their inner creative, but at the end of their camp, they’ll get to put on a showcase for you and your family and friends to see their new skillset! Give yourself a break from keeping the kids entertained and let Black Box Improv Theater support them learning to entertain you!

Ages 9-12 July 24th – 28th (Show July 29th) 9am-3pm
Ages 13 -17 July 17th – 22nd (Show July 23rd) 9am-3pm

Join us for Aullwood Audubon’s Summer Earth Adventures week-long nature camps! These full-day camps run Monday through Friday, June 5th through August 11th from 9 am to 4 pm with early drop off (8 am) and late pick up options (5:30 pm). Their camps are “For the Birds” with a variety of outdoor exploration and activities both at their nature center and farm. Summer Earth Adventures is for campers in K-6th grade and features exciting nature themes and tons of outdoor fun.

“Over the last 35 years, Aullwood’s Farm and Center have played a very pivotal role in shaping my own life. Now my children are enjoying the wonderful world of Aullwood and all of the many hands-on experiences that last a lifetime.” – Diane H.

Gem City Crew’s Learn to Row Summer program offers an introductory experience for all Southwest Ohio youth entering grades 5th – 12th. No experience is necessary to try this full-body sport that’s great for kids looking to find their passion AND as an off-season activity for kids looking to build their strength and endurance in other athletic endeavors! Their highly qualified coaching staff provides a maximum student-to-coach ratio of 5:1 while prioritizing inclusive and responsible athletic development in an environment that fosters trust.

They offer multiple 3-day camps where participants are introduced to the basics of rowing and get a taste of what it means to be part of a rowing team. Learn to Row participants who go on to join the team can train seasonally or year-round with Fall, Winter, and Spring competitive opportunities, including their very own Miamisburg Regatta! Come try this amazing sport, and make new friends!

COST: $150
GRADES: Open to ALL students entering 5th – 12th
TIME: 3:00 – 5:00PM

DATES
Mon, Jun 26 – Wed, Jun 28 (contingency – Thu, Jun 29)
Mon, Jul 24 – Wed, Jul 26 (contingency – Thu, Jul 27)
Mon, Jul 31 – Wed, Aug 02 (contingency – Thu, Aug 03)
Mon, Aug 07 – Wed, Aug 09 (contingency – Thu, Aug 10)
Mon, Aug 14 – Wed, Aug 16 (contingency – Thu, Aug 17)

Join the Dayton Dutch Lions for a Summer of fun, soccer, and friendship! Their coaches facilitate a love for the game through a combination of skill and agility training combined with small sided games in a positive and supportive environment. Experience training based on Dutch philosophy. Open to all experience levels!

The Dayton Live Creative Academy is offering full and half-day performing arts Summer camps for ages 4-18. Camps will take place at the PNC Arts Annex and are ACE fund eligible!

• Mini Imaginators (June 20-23) for rising PreK-1st graders (9am-12pm)
• Imaginators (June 20-23) for rising 2nd-6th graders (1pm-4pm)
• Pie in the Face (June 26-30) for rising 6th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Put on a Show (July3-7) for rising PreK-1st graders (9am-12pm)
• Untold Stories (July 3-7) for rising 2nd-6th graders (1pm-4pm)
• Broadway Preview (July 17-21) for rising 4th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)

Prepare for a Summer packed with coding fun and more with the 11 camps Code Ninjas is offering this Summer! Whether it’s Roblox or Minecraft, they’ll have it with their MEGA MOD MONTH in June. Learn the basics or even how to make movies or code your own robot. Interested in programming? They are offering a robotics Lego camp hosted by their very own Lego League coach. Have older campers? No problem! They’re now offering 3D printing, how to become a YouTuber, and more… Code Ninjas even has a Jr week for aspiring coders ages 5-7 where they explore the world of STEM. With a variety of fun topics to choose from, you don’t want to miss out this Summer!

TWIGS Kids Camp is the perfect camp for ACTIVE kids wanting to MOVE and LEARN more! At TWIGS Kids, they offer a very unique opportunity for you to pick and choose what days you’d like to attend. So, if you need to fill in a day or two here or there, or if you have a part-time need, you can completely customize your Summer experience there at TWIGS Kids! Their camp includes daily gymnastics & swimming, a weekly group devotional, crafts, games, experiments, weekly pizza party, onsite field trips, and lots of FUN! Come join them!

Dates: May 30th–August 11th (Closed July 4th)
Time: 7:30am-5:15pm (Half days also available)
Ages: 5-13 years

Snapology’s mission is to spark children’s interest and creativity through interactive learning using building toys and technology. Snapology programs encourage social skills and teamwork while teaching STEM and literacy concepts to children ages 3 to 14. Research shows that children’s best learning experiences come from interactive activities. Snapology’s approach is based on proven research that children benefit most from actively designing, creating, interacting, and inventing while learning. Your child will have a blast in their Themed STEAM and Core STEM Summer Camps that incorporate hands-on building activities, games, and making new friends! Come join them this Summer at The Dayton Brick Shop. Camps will be offered for all weeks in June and July.

First comes camp registration and then comes packing camp lunches!

We hope to ease some of that burden by providing you some ideas. Each idea meets a different need and will provide you with some different ideas of lunches to pack.

Overnight camp feels like a rite of passage.

After hearing rave reviews about the YMCA Camp Kern experience, I decided to take a risk and let go of control (because, yes, that is what it felt like to me) for one week out of the summer and see what would happen.