Summer Day Camp
The Happy Montessori School Summer Day Camp at the Sands Point Preserve is tailored for younger children. We accept children ages 2 years, 8 months through 5. Our Day Camp is designed as a non-competitive, nurturing environment with individualized attention to each child's developing personality. We offer the warmth and flexibility of home with the thematic structure, friendships, and adventures of camp, all in a beautiful, wooded setting.
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Our small group size gives us the ability to make adjustments to suit the children's needs or interests, and the freedom to arrange spontaneous, child-driven activities. At the same time, we provide a predictable schedule for each day that helps children to navigate through a new environment. The basic structure of each day includes opportunities for artistic expression, safe water play (sprinkler fun; water-table with endless variations of colored, bubbly, and sandy water), non-competitive athletics (duck-duck-goose, silly relay races, kicking and catching a ball), music, and stories. We also offer gently-directed educational activities such as hands-on science and discussions about our surrounding community. Each week has a theme to guide the specific activities, from "Dinosaurs" to "The Beach" These themes influence the week's art activities, songs, games, and stories.
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Our location at the historic Sands Point Preserve offers us many opportunities for learning and for fun. The Outdoor Learning Center is equipped with sensory materials like disks of tree bark, tables for collecting scientific specimens (rocks, pine cones, and more), and tools for making musical noise. We have access to all the beautiful trails, a freshwater pond, mature forest, and a large meadow. When the weather isn't cooperative, we play in air-conditioned rooms in a historic stone castle.
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Our main staff are teachers with degrees in early childhood education, many of whom are teachers at the school during the academic year. We also employ an energetic, creative group of college students as assistants who are directed by the experience of our seasoned teachers.
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We offer transportation on air-conditioned buses. Our teachers are the drivers, providing additional continuity between home and camp, as well as a familiar face for the children.
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The supportive environment of the Happy Montessori Summer Day Camp is a wonderful way for a child to spend a summer and transition to school, whether for the first time or as a returning student.