Sights on Summer : Reasons Why Final Bell Needn’t Send Parents Into Panic

Ah, summertime. Long, lazy warm days full of sun, fun and, best of all, no school.

NO SCHOOL! Sheer music to the ears of anyone under the age of 17, but a potential, screaming three-alarm nightmare for parents with school-age kids.

From the instant that final school bell rings Wednesday afternoon, June 20, almost 100,000 elementary to high school students will be let loose on the streets of North County. Until that school bell sounds again in September, these kids will need to be supervised, entertained, occupied--sometimes even fed.

Trying to find a summer program that meets these requirements can send parents in circles.

Listed here are some ideas for entertaining and educating children during the summer. Besides the North County day camps and classes, a number of countywide activities are also listed.

Day Camps

Boys & Girls Club of Escondido

115 W. Woodward Ave.

(619) 746-3315

A variety of day-camp programs are offered to children entering grades K-8. Activities include arts and crafts, cooking, music, field trips, science, sports, movies and cookouts. Cost ranges from $70 to $110 per two-week session. Day camps are held June 25 through Aug. 31, and are closed July 4. The Boys & Girls Club also offers special-interest classes in gymnastics, karate and dance. Beginning in July, an outdoor adventure program called Peak Experience is offered to children entering grades 3-8. This includes overnight and week-long trips to various places in Southern California.

Boys & Girls Club of Oceanside

401 Country Club Lane

(619) 433-8920

Boys and girls ages 7-18 can participate in the various activities planned at the club. Summer session runs from June 25 to Sept. 7. Program includes swimming, field trips, games, contests and sports. The club is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Annual membership is $10. There is an additional cost for field trips.

Fallbrook Community Center

341 Heald Lane

(619) 723-8838

Boys and girls ages 5-11 can participate in this day camp at the community center. Two-week sessions run from June 18 to Aug. 27. Program includes swimming, arts and crafts, sports, games, movies, cookouts, dramatics, nature study and field trips. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with extended hours at an additional cost. Cost is $125 a session. Special-interest classes in pre-ballet, tap dance, puppetry, gymnastics, art, reading and drawing are also offered throughout the summer at the center.

Santa Margarita Family YMCA

1450 E. Vista Way, Vista

(619) 758-0808

This YMCA serves Bonsall, Oceanside, Vista and Fallbrook. Children ages 6-12 can attend a three-day-a-week camp that includes sports, swimming, crafts and field trips to museums and parks. Cost is $55 for members and $63 for non-members per week. Boys and girls ages 10-15 can participate in a beachcombers camp that meets Monday-Friday. Activities include boogie boarding, surfing, volleyball, body surfing, ocean safety, beach ecology and oceanology. Cost is $60 for members and $69 for non-members per week. The Y also offers a back-yard swim program for children ages 6 months to 11 years. Cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members per week. Overnighters and Saturday day trips are also offered for 6-12-year-olds in July and August.

The Palomar Family YMCA

1050 N. Broadway, Escondido

(619) 745-7490

Kids ages 6-12 can participate in two-week session day camps from June 25 to Aug. 31. Activities include drama, sports, science, arts & crafts, horses, hiking and swimming. Cost ranges from $100 to $145. Overnight camp-outs at Dixon Lake in Escondido are scheduled for July and August. The YMCA offers a counselor-in-training program for teens 14-16 interested in becoming a camp staff member. Special interest classes in gymnastics, dance, aquatics, ballet and tennis are also offered.

The Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA

200 Saxony Road, Encinitas

(619) 942-9622

Day camps for children ages 3-15 provide a child with arts and crafts, swimming, games, water sports, golfing, and surfing and oceanography for the older kids. Cost ranges from $115 to $145 per two-week session. The Y also offers various overnight trips in July and August. Special-interest classes include drama, sports, survival skills, tennis, skateboarding and gymnastics. The Y also has a year-round child-care program for children ages 2 1/2-5. Cost varies.

The Penasquitos Family YMCA

13173-7 Black Mt. Road,

Rancho Penasquitos

(619) 484-8788

Children ages 5-17 can participate in various day camps that include field trips, beach excursions, movies, arts and crafts and surfing. The camp runs in two-week sessions from June 25 to Aug. 31. Cost is $85 per week. Also available through this YMCA are ice-skating classes and back-yard swim lessons.

Vista Parks and Community Services

160 Recreation Drive

(619) 724-6121

There are three different off-track day camps for children in grades K-8. They will be offered from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday beginning June 18. Programs include sports, games, crafts, music, cooking, videos, story telling and field trips to the beaches and parks. For students entering grades 2-8, there is a special performing arts camp that teaches creative dance, music and theater.

The Children’s School

2225 Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla

(619) 454-0184

Children ages 4-14 can participate in a variety of full and half-day programs that begin June 25 and run through Aug. 31. Crafts, music, water play, cooking, outdoor activities and alphabet education will be offered for younger children. History, science and culture, fantasy, magic and science, the sea and wilderness, and travel to foreign countries via the computer is offered for children 6-12 . Older children can learn the basic skills of woodworking and how musical instruments work. Each day camp runs in two-week sessions. Cost ranges from $225 to $250 per session, and a $100 deposit per child per class is required. Before and after school care is available at an additional cost.

Children’s World Learning Centers

2653 Roosevelt St., Carlsbad

(619) 729-1635

Full and half-day programs are available at nine different centers in North County. Children ages 2-12 will explore America, taking a “trip” every day to a different part of the country. Sessions start June 18. A full-day program runs Monday-Friday and is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Cost is $95 a week.

The La Jolla Playhouse

Mandell Weiss Theatre

at UC San Diego

(619) 534-6760

Children entering grades 3-12 can participate in full or half-day workshops that run from July 2 to Aug. 10. Each two-week session offers acting, stage combat, singing, dance, improvisation, Shakespeare and ends with a performance project for family and friends. This day camp will be held on the La Jolla Country Day School campus. Cost for a half-day session is $250 and $395 for a full-day session.

Junior Theatre

Room 208, Casa del Prado,

Balboa Park, San Diego

(619) 239-1311

In these two-week sessions, children entering grades 3-12 will learn the basics of drama and stage performance through scene work, improvisation and theater games. Voice and singing lessons will also be taught. Students enrolled in any day-camp session, who are at least 8 years old, are eligible to audition for Junior Theatre’s two summer productions, “Grease” and “Charlotte’s Web.” Sessions begin June 25 and run through Aug. 31. Camp meets from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Cost is $150 per session and includes a T-shirt. Each additional child is $100 per session. Extended day care is offered at an additional cost.

University of San Diego

Alcala Park, San Diego

(619) 260-4593

Weekly sessions of both day and resident camps for boys and girls ages 7-18 are available from June 10 to Aug. 17. Programs include tennis, competitive swimming, basketball, soccer, football, volleyball, baseball and softball. Resident camps start at $325, and day camps start at $235.

The Chula Vista Nature

Interpretive Center

1000 Gunpowder Point Drive

(619) 422-2481

The center is offering two one-week summer day-camp sessions, from Aug. 20-24 and again from Aug. 27-31. The first session is for second and third graders and the second session for fourth and fifth graders. Each session will explore the wonders of a salt marsh. Cost per session is $40 for members and $50 for non-members.

Camp Fire Boys and Girls

7825 Engineer Road, Suite 106,

San Diego

(619) 279-8192

Camp Cahito is open to all boys and girls entering grades K-6. One-week sessions will meet from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 25 through Aug. 17. Situated on 7 acres in Balboa Park, Camp Cahito offers hiking, cookouts, crafts, swimming, games and ecology. Cost ranges from $70 to $80 plus an $8 membership fee. Extended care hours are available at additional cost.

Boy Scouts of America

1207 Upas St., San Diego

(619) 298-6121

Boys ages 7-10 can participate in a day camp held at the Poway Community Center July 23 through Aug. 3. Activities include games, crafts, hikes, awards and swimming. Cost is $50 per week. A one-week only day camp at Lake O’Neill in Camp Pendleton is open from June 25-29 to boys ages 7-10. Activities include swimming, crafts, hikes and special guest speakers. Cost is $50. Boy Scouts also offers an aquatic day camp at Fiesta Island beginning July 9 that meets 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Campers will go windsurfing, canoeing, rowing, sailing, fishing and motorboating during these five-day sessions, which run through Aug. 13. Cost is $90 per week.

Resident Camps

YMCA of San Diego County

YMCA Camping Services

(619) 765-0642

The YMCA Camping Services Department offers weeklong camping trips at three different sites in San Diego County. Sessions begin June 24 and run through Sept. 1. Boys and girls ages 7-16 can participate. The counselor-to-camper ratio is 1 to 12.

Camp Marston--This 300-acre spread in Julian’s mountains bills itself as the “Traditional Mountain Camp.” There are miles of hiking trails, a lake for canoeing and swimming, archery, a ropes course and arts and crafts. Campers are housed in rustic cabins with nearby restrooms and hot showers. Cost is $170 per week.

Raintree Ranch--Situated next to the Cuyamaca State Park and the Cleveland National Forest. Each camper at Raintree Ranch spends a good part of the day with their own horse, learning Western riding, grooming and horse care. Campers are accepted from the beginner rider to the most advanced. Traditional camp activities are also built into the daily routine. Wranglers sleep in bunk houses equipped with showers and restrooms. Cost is $210 per week or $420 per two week.

Camp Surf

This ocean camp offers surfing, sailing, nature study of the seashore, rescue skills, volleyball, skin diving and swimming. Situated on 80 acres of private land along the Silver Strand, Camp Surf promotes a love and respect of the ocean, and teaches rescue and self-help skills vital to a safe ocean experience. Campers sleep in cabins on the beach. Cost is $170 per week or $360 per two weeks.

Rawhide Ranch

Bonsall

(619) 758-0083

This summer camp is for boys and girls ages 7-16. It offers one-week sessions June through Labor Day. Cost is $250 per week. Campers are immersed in ranch life, from sleeping in bunkhouses to riding horses and caring for farm animals and doing ranch chores. Traditional camp activities such as swimming and arts and crafts classes are also in the curriculum. Rawhide Ranch has been in business 27 years. Counselor-to-camper ratio is one to seven.

Boy Scouts of America

1207 Upas St., San Diego

(619) 298-6121

The San Diego County Council of the Boy Scouts of America is offering two resident summer camps for boys ages 7-18. One-week sessions begin July 8 and run through Aug. 25.

Camp Mataguay--There are seven week-long sessions planned for this camp situated near Warner Springs. Program features include aquatics, shooting sports, scout crafts and ecology. Each troop campsite is equipped with tents and water. Cost is $130 per week.

Camp Hual-Cu-Cuish--Located in the mountains of the Cuyamaca State Parks System, this Boy Scout camp offers aquatics, crafts, field sports and nature hikes. An awards ceremony and family dinner is held at the end of every week. There are seven week-long sessions. Cost is $130 per week.

Camp Fire Boys and Girls

7825 Engineer Road, Suite 106,

San Diego

(619) 279-8192

Camp Wolahi, owned and operated by the Camp Fire Council of San Diego County, is offering two one-week resident summer camps in July for boys and girls ages 5-18. Camp Wolahi is in the Cuyamaca Mountains 55 miles east of San Diego. Small groups of like-age campers and a counselor live in cabins, adirondacks or tents. The staff ratio is one to six campers. There are separate units for boys and girls. Swimming, archery, crafts and nature hikes are offered in this traditional summer camp. Cost is $8 to join Camp Fire Boys and Girls, and $165 per week for the camp.

Learning Forum/SuperCamp

1725 S. Hill St., Oceanside

(619) 1-800-527-5321

SuperCamp is a 10-day resident program for students ages 11-18 that meets on college campuses across the country. Students learn reading, writing, memory and other study skills during intensive immersion sessions. In confidence-building sessions, students have the chance to leap from 60-foot trees and learn to break pine boards with their hands. SuperCamps are held in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Colorado and Wisconsin. Cost for a 10-day session is $1,395.

Classes

San Diego Wild Animal Park

15500 San Pasqual Valley Road

(619) 738-5057

The park offers half-day classes on Thursdays starting July 5 for children in grades 1-12. There are also three-day programs from 8:30 a.m. to noon beginning July 9 for children entering grades 1-8. To accommodate working parents, the park offers an extended day program during August which allows a child to attend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Younger children entering grades 1-6 will learn about Africa, from the games the natives play to the animals that can be found there. Students entering grades 7-12 will learn what it takes to become an animal keeper, and ride inside the large field exhibits to feed and count animals. Cost ranges from $30 to $50.

San Diego Zoo

Balboa Park

(619) 557-3963 or 557-3962

Beginning July 16, the zoo offers two-hour classes that meet five days a week in the mornings. Children entering grades 1-9 may participate. Classes include learning about mammals, the secrets of what makes a bird a bird, snakes, animal and plant adaptations and habitats. Children entering grades 8-9 can learn what careers are available in the field of animal and plant care. A two-day career exploration course is available for students entering grades 10-12. Cost is $40 for zoological society members and $50 for non-members.

Scripps Aquarium-Museum

UC San Diego in La Jolla

(619) 534-4087

An array of two-hour classes on tide-pool life, the coastal environment and marine animals are available for children entering grades 1-12. Younger children will get hands-on exposure to tide-pool animals and plants, learn about marine life through arts and crafts projects and construct a floor-to-ceiling model of a kelp bed and its marine inhabitants. Children entering grades 4 and up will take field trips and learn about marine and wetland ecology. Cost ranges from $60 to $100. All aquarium summer courses are taught by trained instructors who also serve as interpretive guides for the aquarium-museum.

San Diego Museum of Art

1450 El Prado, Balboa Park

(619) 232-7931

The museum is holding several classes in July and August for children ages 5-14. Programs include sketching and drawing, creating a variety of mixed media collages, learning about the arts and crafts of art periods from the dinosaurs to present day. Cost ranges from $15 to $50.

San Diego Natural History Museum

Balboa Park

(619) 232-3821

A variety of classes are available in July and August to children ages 4-13. Programs include the study of tropical rain forests, ecology, dinosaurs, bugs, ocean life and trees. Cost ranges from $15 to $45.

Sea World

1720 South Shores Road, San Diego

226-3903, ext. 3903

This marine park offers classes June through August for children entering grades K-12. Programs include learning about dolphins, sharks, penguins, training marine animals, and all aspects of marine life. Young artists can interpret marine concepts through writing, painting and drawing. Cost ranges from $35 to $40.

Congregation Beth Am

525 Stevens Ave.,

Solana Beach

(619) 481-8454

B’Nai Kayitz, a summer program for pre-school children ages 2 1/2-5, will be offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. Children will be offered arts and crafts, games, songs, swimming, special activities and storytelling. The program begins July 10 and ends Aug. 30. Cost is $100 for members and $125 for non-members per two-day session.

Boys & Girls Club of Fallbrook

445 E. Ivy

(619) 728-5871

Open to children ages 7-18, the Boys & Girls Club has summer activities from June 18 to Aug. 31. Activities include arts and crafts, field trips, gardening, games and sports. In July, a one-hour calligraphy class will be offered twice a week. In August, a stained glass workshop will meet twice weekly. A half-day program for deaf children will meet Wednesdays beginning June 20. Events for this include sign language classes, movies, field trips and swimming. The summer schedule ends with a luau August 31. Annual membership is $8. New members and their parents must attend an orientation.

Carlsbad Swim Complex

3401 Monroe St.

(619) 434-2860

The Carlsbad Swim Complex offers a variety of swim lessons from pre-beginner to beginner swimmer with additional classes in synchronized swimming and springboard diving. Classes are 30 minutes for pre-beginners and 40 minutes for beginners. There are five sessions from June 25 to Aug. 20, which consist of 10 lessons in a two-week period. There are also two weekend sessions. Cost for two weeks is $20 for pre-beginners who are Carlsbad residents and $25 for non-residents. Cost for Carlsbad residents on the beginner level is $15 for two weeks and $20 for non-residents.

Family

San Diego Wild Animal Park

15500 San Pasqual Valley Road

(619) 738-5057

Children 8 and up can take a caravan truck into the African exhibits at the park. Also offered are family activities, the opportunity to feed the animals and take photographs. Caravans are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, beginning July 16. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for non-members.

Palomar Family YMCA

1050 N. Broadway, Escondido

(619) 745-7490

A five-day family camp in Yosemite is being offered Aug. 1-5. Families will hike to Dog Lake, Cascading Falls, the Valley and climb Half-Dome. The group will caravan together with each family providing their own transportation. Cost is $118 per family.

Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA

200 Saxony Road, Encinitas

(619) 942-9622

A Colorado River canoe trip from June 20-23 is one of several family events planned by the Y for this summer. Children must be at least 10 years old. Cost is $130 per person and includes dinners, transportation, canoes, equipment and leadership. Another camp for parents and children of all ages is slated for Labor Day Weekend at Camp Marston in the Cuyamaca State Park system. Evening campfire programs, dancing, swimming, horseback riding, movies and flashlight hikes are featured. Cost varies depending on age of child.

Scripps Aquarium-Museum

UC San Diego, La Jolla

(619) 534-3474

Families with children 12 or older may participate in a snorkel and natural history expedition on the “Big Island” of Hawaii from July 28 to Aug. 5. The culture, natural history and geology of Hawaii will be highlighted on this trip. Cost is $1,490 per person plus air fare.

San Diego Museum of Art

Balboa Park

(619) 232-7931

The museum offers family events from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on various Saturdays beginning June 16. Each event will focus on a different area of art. Workshops for parents and kids include sketching and drawing, origami and arts and crafts. Cost ranges from $15 to $60 for workshops.