May and June are usually two of the busiest months on knowitall.ch and this year is no exception. Over the last few weeks we have received a record number of requests to post information about summer camps on our Activities Calendar for Kids, and the emails are still coming in!
You can see the full listing of camps by visiting our Activities Calendar for Kids. Don’t forget that you can filter the camps by category by using the colored legend at the bottom of the page. Since we are now on Pinterest, we have also posted some of the more eye-catching promotional flyers sent through to us on our new Pinterest board for Kids Activities.
To give you a taste of what’s on offer, here is a selection of the camps we have listed:
Multi-activity
Many of the camps we feature on our site cover a wide range of activities to suit all tastes. Quite often they include some arts and crafts, a bit of music and dance, some sport, a touch of drama, and even some cooking. Some organizations prefer to group lots of different activities into one week, whilst others prefer to offer a choice of different camps each one focusing on a specific type of activity.
Some of the main providers of multi-activity camps we have listed on the site are:
- La Bulle D’Air: For kids aged 2 to 10 years (in Petit-Saconnex and Grand-Saconnex). Parents stay with the younger kids aged 2-4 years. Activities include music, art, drama and dance.
- Key English School: With camp titles such as Rainforest Adventures, Time Travelers, Inventor’s Week, Commotion in the Ocean, Around the World in 5 Days, and DJ+Music, you can be sure that there will be lots to capture your children’s imagination. For 3 to 15 years, in Geneva and Vaud.
- Gymboree Play & Music: Ideal for young kids aged 3 to 5 years, with a focus on art projects, active play, and music. Based in Geneva.
There are yet more multi-activity workshops provided by established camp organizers such as Atelier Feuille Caillou Ciseaux, BG World, Chantemerle School, Ecolint, Twinkle Twinkle Lab, L’Ecoline, Ecole Mosaic, The Chatterbox and Collège du Léman. I’m sorry, but we can’t possibly include them all here!
Whilst multi-activity camps are certainly popular with the kids, many children prefer to focus on one particular type of activity: these are kids who see themselves as perhaps arty or sporty but not both! Here is a taste of some of the camps, focusing on one specific activity:
Sport
- The International All American Basketball Camp held in Geneva is a favorite with both boys and girls aged 7 to 20, not just those who attend the day camp but also those wishing to take advantage of the full residential program of activities.
- InterSoccer is equally popular, with camps to suit the younger kids as well (ages 3 to 13), at numerous locations throughout Geneva and Vaud.
- Coerver Coaching is offering 2 weeks of professional football training in Versoix for players aged 6 to 16.
- Playball Summer Camps are also ideal for younger kids (aged 2 to 8). Taking place in Nyon, there are two main camps, a shorter 1.5 hours session for the 2 year olds, and a longer 3 hour session for the older kids.
- For girls aged 6 to 16 years we have added a new series of netball camps taking place at various schools in the region. Organized by Sisters n Sport, these day-long camps are taking place over 3 separate weeks in July and 1 in August.
- For high energy excitement, check out what Rafting Loisirs has to offer. Ideal for kids aged 8 to 15 years.
- For the first time this year, Kids Up in Lausanne is offering 7 weeks of circus camps for children aged from 5 years.
Creative
There is a whole series of creative camps for kids in both Geneva and Vaud. If your child is into arts and crafts, drama, music or cooking, then take a look at:
- Conservatoire de l’Ouest Vaudois music camps
- Julie’s Summer Music Program
- Notebynote Summer Course
- Melody Music Club
- Just Sew Geneva’s sewing camps
- Safran Cuisine’s cooking camps
- Bright Lights "Cruise around the world" creative camps
- Creative Monsters’ summer sessions
- Naomi Middelmann’s art camps
- Kate Lanxner’s art camps
Languages
Any families wanting to use the summer holidays to improve their child’s language skills should find the following courses useful:
- Active Languages is offering a 2 week program through July and August. Based in Geneva, the course program is ideal for children aged 9 to 12 years and 12 to 15 years.
- The GEMS Language in Action Summer Programme includes 3 courses, a bilingual one for children aged 3 to 6 years, and French and English courses for older kids up to 16 years old. With professional, trained actors and musicians amongst the teaching staff, you can be sure the kids will have lots of fun on these camps!
- Although listed under Multi-Activity camps, the Key English School is primarly a school for teaching the English language to both Anglophones and non Anglophones. The aim of the school is to make language learning fun, so that kids often don’t even realize they are learning a new language.
Technology and Maths
For those interested in new technology, there is a new series of camps emerging in the region with a focus on making technology fun for children.
- New this year, Techspark Academy is running a series of technology courses for teenagers at various locations throughout Lausanne. Covering the development of apps and computer games, robotics, and digital photography and film, you are bound to find something for your child! All courses are taught in English by top EPFL students.
- Futurekids offers a series of workshops targeted at different age groups (5 to 16) and covering popular topics such as robotics and building your own video games. With centers in Geneva and Lausanne, the classes are run in French but you can ask if the instructors also speak English when you enrol.
- In addition to its “A la carte” half day, full day or full week summer workshops using lego bricks, Bricks4Kidz also offers a series of week-long camps focusing on robotics (Mindstorms® and Wedo®) at their center in St. Sulpice, Vaud.
- We really like the new camps being offered by Peak Results in Gilly this year. Incorporating maths in a wide range of fun activities (and helping kids brush up on the skills required to pass their exams), the camps include everything from crossbow shooting and rocket launching through to baking and preparing a garden party!
Others
If your child doesn’t fit into any of the above categories, then maybe they will enjoy:
- a free circus workshop at Signal de Bougy . Taking place every morning between 10h and 12h, the workshops are running over 2 separate weeks, one between 20 and 24 July 2015 and the other between 17 and 21 August 2015.
- The organization, All Special Kids, is also running a series of week-long bilingual camps for children with special needs and related learning differences. With activities ranging from multi-sensory games, arts and crafts through to outdoor trips, drama and music, children will learn a variety of creative communication and social skills. Tutoring in specific subjects is also offered to those children who might benefit from extra support during the holidays.
For the full list of camps on our website, visit our Activities Calendar for Kids. If you would like to recommend a camp to us that has not already been listed on the website, please send us details via the website.
