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. They offer 50 different sessions of camp over the 10 weeks of Summer break for children ranging from 3.5 to 14 years old. Choose from 4 different camp types – Wiggle Worms, Traditional, Thrill Seekers, or Specialty. 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, Cloudy Days Cotton Candy, and animal visitors from the Newport Aquarium and Learning Tree Farm!

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 13 -17 July 8th – 12th (Show July 13th) 9am-3pm
Ages 9-12 July 15th – 19th (Show July 20th) 9am-3pm
Ages 13 -17 July 22nd – 26th (Show July 27th) 9am-3pm

Find your Flock! Kids in K – 6th grade will have great fun exploring and learning about nature and farming during Aullwood Audubon’s Summer Earth Adventures day camps. They are offering all-day camp for ages 5 – 12 Monday – Friday, with early drop off and late pick up options available (for an additional fee). They are also offering three 3-day half-day options for children aged 4-5 on June 17 – 19, July 8 – 10, July 15 – 17, and July 29 – 31 (no early drop off or late pick up available for 4–5-year-old programs). Full and partial scholarships available.

“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.

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! Half and Full Day options available.

Their education team is dedicated to the belief that all people have a right to relationship and sexual health education that will help them understand, appreciate, and take responsibility for their lives. Camp Movement, Enrichment, Empowerment (MEE) is a health and wellness summer camp for youth of all genders, ages 11-14. Camp MEE provides campers with factual information in a fun setting.

“My daughter thoroughly enjoyed this camp! Each day we debriefed in the car On the way home and it helped with our parent/child communication.” – Past Camp Parent

It’s time to get ready for summer fun! Whether you are new to the Learning Tree Farm community or have grown up on the farm, they invite you to immerse yourself in their many exciting, hands-on opportunities. Days become adventures as campers explore the farm animals, gardens, woodlands, and history of the Learning Tree Farm. Camp is a place where children forge new friendships, challenge themselves to try new things, make memories and end the day worn out from all the fun they’ve had.

Camps run July 8-25 from 9am-2:30pm with 4-day-long camps for children who have completed 1st-5th grade and 1-day mini-sessions for those who have completed K-2nd grade. All campers have 3 themes to choose from: Farm Fun, World of Nature, and Art.

Gem City Crew’s Learn to Row Summer program offers an introductory experience for all Southwest Ohio youth entering grades 6th – 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 2-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: $90
GRADES: Open to ALL students entering 6th – 12th
TIME: 4:00 – 6:00PM

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!

• A Summer Camp Musical (June 3-7) for rising 6th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• MAMMA MIA! (June 10-14) for rising 5th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Mini Imaginators (June 17-21) for rising PreK-1st graders (9am-12pm)
• Rising Stars (June 17-21) for rising 2nd-6th graders (9am-12pm)
• Imaginators! June Session (June 17-21) for rising 2nd-6th graders (1pm-4pm)
• Put On A Show! June Session (June 17-21) for rising PreK-1st graders (1pm-4pm)
• Comedy Camp (June 24-28) for rising 6th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Find Your Groove! (June 24-28) for rising 6th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Broadway Preview (July 8-12) for rising 4th-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• The Neverending Story (July 8-20) for rising 3rd-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Mini Imaginators! July Session (July 22-26) for rising Pre-K through 1st graders (9am-12pm)
• Footloose Youth Edition (July 22-August 3) for rising 3rd-12th graders (9am-3:30pm)
• Imaginators Jedi Academy (July 22-26) for rising 2nd-6th graders (9am-12pm)
• Put On A Show! July Session (July 22-26) for rising PreK-1st graders (1pm-4pm)
• Imaginators! July Session (July 22-26) for rising 2nd-6th graders (1pm-4pm)

Prepare for a Summer packed with coding fun and more with the several camps Code Ninjas is offering this Summer! Learn the basics or even how to 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 28th–August 16th (Closed July 4th)
Time: 7:30am-5:15pm (Half days also available)
Ages: 5-13 years

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.