Summer Camps on the Hill

DC Way soccer camp

Here it is: Capitol Hill summer camps, all in one place! If there is a more complete list of summer camps on the Hill, I haven’t found it. There is a great array here, from adventure to variety camps (which are camps that offer more than one focus or outfits that offer multiple camps, each with a different focus). In between, you’ll find camps for aerial arts and acrobatics; art, dance, music and theater; baseball; biking; cooking; free play; game play; golf; ice and inline skating; karate; soccer; Spanish immersion; STEM; theater; and yoga.

If any info below is incorrect, or if you know of a camp that CHK is missing, email me now at cory@capitolhillkid.com.

Adventure

Adventure Camp DC

“At Mr. Tony’s Adventure Camp, we take a field trip every day to explore Washington, D.C. and engage in our community. Campers experience nature, splashable water, culture and play. We take D.C. public transportation and learn to be confident city kids.”

Urban Adventure Squad

“Urban Adventure Squad (UAS) is a program of Urban Learning and Teaching Center, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) education organization that supports working families, schools, and school communities with community-based, hands-on learning for schoolchildren all over the Washington, D.C., area.”

Aerial Arts and Acrobatics

Trapeze School New York-Washington DC Circus Summer Camp

“We offer week long summer day camps with no experience necessary. During the first part of the week, children get to sample various aerial arts, ground acrobatics, and flying trapeze. Kids then get the opportunity to choose a skill to focus on and craft acts for a Friday afternoon performance. We also have two-week long camp programs for our more dedicated youth students. Our summer camps go on sale on Feb. 1 and typically sell out very quickly, so mark your calendars today!”

Art, Dance, Music and Theater

American Youth Chorus Music Camp

“The AYC Summer Music camp will expand your child’s horizons musically and artistically. During each session, a fantastic staff of choral conductors and music professionals will lead campers through an exploration of many musical genres. From Handel to Hamilton, and Bach to Broadway, get ready for a summer full of singing, learning and playing. In addition to singing, children will craft, dance, drum, and explore music history and musicianship topics! All of these wonderful activities culminate in a Friday evening performance at the end of each session — open to the public.”

  • Ages 7-12
  • Full day with before- and after-care available
  • Parish Hall of St. Mark’s Church, 301 A St SE
  • https://congressionalchorus.org/JoinAYC
  • Note: The website for this organization changed, and I can’t find the summer camp info, but I’ve sent an inquiry and will update.

Art Days of Summer

“Art Days of Summer is a camp where children will paint, draw, collage and more! We encourage uneven circles and the use of outside the box creativity! Through art activities the children will learn various techniques, art terminology, build critical thinking, visual communication skills, cooperation, and problem solving.“

Busy Bees Music and Art Playgroup

“Busy Bees Music & Art Playgroup will be holding a summer camp for children ages 2-years-old to nine-years-old for summer 2019. There will be 3 programs: Busy Bees for ages 24-48 months, Buzzing Bees for ages 4-6 years, and Bumbling Bees for ages 6-9 years. Full and part time days, weeks, and sessions are available. There will be daily Spanish activities, music class, and an art project for all campers plus trips to local playgrounds and field trips (age and weather permitting).”

Camp Shakespeare

“Every summer, the Shakespeare Theatre Company gives students between the ages of 7 and 18 the chance to dive into the world of the greatest playwright in history: William Shakespeare. We offer one-week sessions for Poppets (ages 7-8) and two-week sessions for Groundlings (ages 9-11), Young Players (ages 12-14) and King’s Company (ages 15-18). For returning Young Players and King’s Company, we offer a three-week Advanced Camp.”

Camp Shenanigans

“Camp Shenanigans offers fun and engaging performing arts experiences for children grades 1-5.  All of our camps are child-directed and project based.”

Camps include Circus Camp, Musical in a Week, Comedy in a Week and Play in a Week.

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW)

CHAW offers camps in art, music and dance for multiple age brackets.

Joy of Motion

“Joy of Motion offers summer camps for students entering Grades 1-12, open to brand-new and experienced dancers alike. We are excited to offer camps in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz, modern, and tap, as well as musical theater performance, technique and repertory, and choreography.”

Music on the Hill

“Students will participate in thematic camp programming as well as spend time each day on fun, general camp activities. There will be outside time each day (weather permitting).”

Camp specialties include classical, chamber, guitar, rock band, sing together and ukelele.

  • Ages 6+
  • 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (Music on the Hill partners with Labyrinth for an after-camp option, 3-5:30 p.m. See Game Play below.)
  • 801 D St NE
  • https://musiconthehilldc.com/

Studio One Dance Camp

“ Studio One Dance is a creative ballet program for the tiniest of dancers in Capitol Hill. The program specializes in creating a warm, intimate and inspiring environment for children. Classes use beautiful props and instruments to explore creativity and movement, while also introducing classical and contemporary music, and beginning ballet terms and positions.”

Tippi Toes Dance Camp

“Join Tippi Toes for a magical Princess and Super Hero Dance Camp! Your child will love dressing up every day, playing Freeze Dance with Queen Elsa, creating superhero masks to demonstrate bravery, participating in many games & much much more! Boys and girls ages 3-7 years should get ready to Dance, Dance, Dance.”

Baseball

Home Run Baseball Camp

“We create an environment where full effort, respect for oneself and others and learning to compete with passion and class are the order of the day. We aim for technical proficiency with a foundation of volume repetition. Ballplayers of any experience level are welcome. I only ask my ballplayers two questions when the days over: How hard did you work and How did you treat people?”

Biking

Capital Cycle Camp

“Capital Cycle Camp is a summer camp with daily activities designed around biking in Washington, D.C.”

  • Ages 6 and up (must be able to ride a bicycle)
  • Full day with before-care available
  • St. Mark’s Church, 301 A St SE (some sessions) and Miner Elementary,
    601 15th St NE (most sessions)
  • http://capitalcyclecamp.org/

Cooking

Cooking Thyme

“​Established in May of 2011, Cooking Thyme offers a safe environment of culinary inspiration through children’s summer camps and after-school programs that encourage creativity, responsibility, and good ole fashioned fun! Cooking Thyme also teaches our Little Chefs how healthy eating choices do not have to mean yucky eating choices. No matter how picky your Little Chef may be, experience has taught us that kids will eat what they make. Soon your child will be coming home exclaiming, ‘It’s not just green. It’s Guacamole!’”

Free Play

Steve and Kate’s Camp

“At Steve & Kate’s, we believe that when you trust kids, they develop the confidence to trust themselves, and learn to use their own judgment. So we created a summer camp that puts kids in charge. Because unlike traditional schools, summer gives us the freedom to reinvent learning in a way that allows kids to make their own choices – and, of course, a few mistakes along the way. Driven by this belief, we’ve built our summer camp to put kids in the driver’s seat of a world of possibilities. So whether your child is a natural-born storyteller with a love for animation, or a budding chef, or a hacker-in-training, or a future fashion designer, they can dive into their passions in a world free from adult judgments and expectations.”

Game Play

Labyrinth After-Camp Game Club

“Children will play the best non-electronic and modern board games, and develop strategic thinking, logic, math, and emotional skills through fun and exciting gameplay. … These classes are excellent options as after-camp coverage for Music on the Hill and Potomac School Camps.”

Golf

Golf DC

PeeWee FUNdamental Camp (Ages 5-8), Junior FUNdamental Camp and Junior Skills Camp (Ages 9-15) and Junior Players Club (Ages 9-17)

Ice and Inline Skating

DC-ICE

“ICE Camp is a full-day skating-based youth development program rooted in Olympism.  Lead by a former Olympic skater and based at local rinks, campers experience over 3 hours of ice and/or inline skating daily, plus other athletic, academic and artistic enrichment activities rooted in Olympism.”

Karate

Young Warriors Karate Camp

“The Young Warriors Program, teaching karate and self defense, is offering week-long, action-packed karate clinics to youth. All belt levels, including beginners new to karate, are welcome. Students will participate in daily, individualized karate instruction and build confidence and martial arts skills through various fun-filled, structured activities. Karate instruction will include kata, self-defense and sparring with peers.”

Soccer

DC United

“D.C. United camps offer players of all ages and abilities the opportunity to be a part of the D.C. United family, while growing their soccer skills.”

DC Way

“Playing soccer is beneficial for children – it develops gross motor skills, coordination ability, flexibility, and strength. Equally important, it develops essential cognitive skills such as decision making, problem solving, and sustained attention! DC Way’s Summer Soccer Camp focuses in on and develops these critical skills through fun exercises and games like Alien invasion! Even after just a single week of camp, your kid will walk away with skills that go far beyond the soccer field.”

Super Soccer Stars

“At Super Soccer Stars, dynamic coaches work with every student to develop skills, self-confidence, and teamwork in a fun, non-competitive environment. Positive reinforcement and low child-to-coach ratios ensure that each child will improve his or her soccer skills through engaging warm-ups, activities, and games—all while having endless fun! All Super Soccer Stars camps are based on age-specific curricula created by a combination of early childhood, soccer, and behavioral specialists to guarantee that each child is learning and having a blast from the moment the whistle blows.”

Spanish Immersion

Camp Adventura

“Camp Adventura is a Spanish immersion urban adventure camp. This is a great way to immerse your child in Spanish with field trips exploring museums, parks, historic buildings, and events – every day is a new and fun adventure! Our camp counselors are native Spanish speakers who are caring and kind. Your child does not need to have previous experience with Spanish!”

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)

Boolean Girl

“Girls develop new friendships in a welcoming group environment and are introduced to computer science and engineering fundamentals through a series of unique projects and hands-on challenges.”

CodeREV

“CodeREV Kids Tech Camps are the ultimate camp experience in education and fun. Whether learning to write code, 3D model and animate, develop the next great app or game, or mod in Minecraft, your kids and their friends will love sharing in the confidence-boosting experience of creating with technology as they explore and develop their multimedia STEM skills.”

Mad Science

“Mad Science camps offer a daily combination of in-class discovery and exploration, outdoor games and physical activities, and hands-on applications of the scientific principles presented. Your child will be able touch, see, hear, smell and taste what science is really all about. We use simple, real world science techniques that allow even the youngest of campers to enjoy our learning environment. Campers create, build and assemble a variety of take-home projects while exploring how science affects the world around us. Children have so much fun that they forget they’re learning!”

MathTree

“It all adds up to a summer of fun! One of the primary goals at each MathTree camp is to make learning math fun. We believe that when your child is having fun and learning, they will want to keep doing math.”

Yoga

Breathing Space

“Breathing Space summer camp provides children with a fun, creative, educational, and enriching experience through yoga movement classes, mindfulness activities, relaxation, games, crafts, field trips and outdoor time.  Each week-long camp is sure to create lasting memories, new friendships, and a foundation for health and well-being!”

Variety Camps

Adventures on the Hill

“At Adventures on the Hill Summer Camp DC, we are all about making learning a fun, hands-on experience that children will remember for years to come. Our well-rounded curriculum lets campers explore their interests in STEM, sports, culture, health and wellness, and more. By providing a variety of interests, we encourage our campers to pursue their passions and dive head-first into their own learning.”

Camp Ojé (Joe’s Den)

“Joe’s Den has a summer camp for your child-Camp Ojé. We had been operating for more 15 years; dedicated employees, junior counselors and volunteers who are excited about working with you and your child. Employees are trained and certified in First Aid and CPR.”

Capitol Hill Cooperative Nursery School Summer Camp

“The day will likely start with a morning meeting so that everyone can get to know each other. There is an abundance of toys, books and crafting materials in the classroom. Ms. Frances takes the children outside EVERYDAY, regardless of the weather! It’s typical for Ms. Frances to take the kids to Marion or Garfield parks, Yards Park splash pools, Eastern Market to visit with the vendors, hop on a Metro bus (kids ride free) to the Botanic Garden or Smithsonian Carousel, story time at East City Bookshop, etc.”

  • Ages 2.5-5 years
  • Full day and half day with after-care available
  • Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, 421 Seward Sq SE
  • https://www.chcns.us/summer/

Capitol Hill Day School

CHDS has camps for many interests – art, basketball, chess, cooking, flag football, gardening, robotics, sailing, tennis and more. Sessions are tailored to age group: PreK-1st grade, grades 2-4 and grades 5-8. CHDS offers the famous “Water Works” camp: Kids go on field trips to a different water park every day of the week!

Cool Kidz Camp

“Cool Kidz Camp is a theme-based, week-long sessions for children in Pre-school thru Second Grade. We provide children with opportunities to learn and grow and provide programming focused on building of leadership and social skills that enhance self-esteem. Activities are centered on health and fitness, academics, creative expressions, guided exploration and investigation. We will participate in several theme related trips throughout the summer.”

  • Ages 3-8
  • Full day with before- and after-care available
  • JO Wilson Elementary, 660 K St NE
  • coolkidzcampdc@gmail.com

D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Camps

“DPR has been providing camps and camp activities to the District’s youth for over 30 years and offers a wide variety of experiences for youths. DPR partners with the DC Free Summer Meals Program to provide free nutritious breakfasts and lunches at many of its summer camps. Parents are additionally encouraged to provide children with a healthy snack daily.”  

Polite Piggy’s

“Summer is a great time to give our littlest campers a chance to get outdoors for some fun in the sun! In addition to our academic curriculum provided by Funshine Express, ZooPhonics and Spanish through Play, we have several activities that get the kids up and moving, including weekly water play days, soccer lessons, yoga, and Jump Bunch kid fitness classes. We take the kids on field trips throughout the summer and bring special guests to the center for performances and classes. There are also several activities throughout the summer that families are invited to join in the fun!”

Smithsonian Summer Camp

The Smithsonian offers camps in a range of activities, including arts, science, photography, botany, folklife, physics and more.