Activities
Below is a list of activities we offer at camp:
- Swimming lessons: detailed information about our Red Cross swimming lessons is available in the section about swimming
- Free swim: free time in the pool
- Art: drawing and painting with different media, learning about different art styles, forms, and genres
- Crafts: build, glue, construct, mold—hands-on projects to create something awesome to take home
- Sports: soccer, wiffle ball, volleyball, kickball—sports you’ve heard of with rules you know (and some you don’t)
- Games: teambuilding and camp games—games you may never have heard of that you probably haven’t played anywhere but at camp—Lord of the Rings, Go for 20, Star Wars, Messy Backyard, Treasure Island, Gaga
- Nature: learn more about the habitats on and around the campus through walks, explorations, and activities focused on hands-on learning
- Garden: spend time caring for our garden and learning about process of growing food
- Drama and movement: improv games, commercial-making, comedic skits, drama games, tap, stomp, choreographed numbers, rhythm exercises
- Music: learning camp songs, drumming, name-that-tune, musical hangman, and other simple music-focused activities
- Tennis: basic skill drills, tennis baseball, champion of the court
- Archery: technique and safety lessons, target shooting games to improve aim and form
- Woodworking: simple woodworking projects like toolboxes, clocks, knock hockey, sailboats that children can take home
- Innovations: STEM-focused experiments like water bottle tornadoes, ice cream in a bag, erupting volcanoes, battery-powered propeller boats
- Electives: cooking, jewelry making, World Cup soccer, digital photography, self-defense, scavenger hunt, ice block sledding—anything can be an elective
- And more!
We engage with our staff each year to determine the best options available for specialty blocks for our campers. A specialty activity always works best with an expert to teach it. We will add and remove specials every year based on the expertise of our staff and what we think will provide the campers the best dynamic and engaging experience.
Group Placements & Friend Requests
Children are placed into groups by entering grade in the coming fall. Groups are co-ed. There are multiple groups at most grade levels during most sessions. During the online registration process you have the option to request a group mate for your child. You can do this for each session your child is enrolled. You may request the same child for each session or request different children for different sessions based on enrollments the two children have in common. We assign groups in early June and make every effort to honor one friend request per camper.
After Camp Events
We host two different events in the evenings after camp—a Pool Party/Overnight for Pioneers and Family Fun Night for all campers and their families. These events were on hold during 2021, but we do hope to bring them back for 2022 if we are safely able to. We will share more about our plans for summer 2022 when we are able to make educated decisions about what safety measures we will need to keep in place.
Pool Party/Overnight
Open to Pioneers, grades 4 through 7, participation is optional and necessitates an additional fee. Pool parties and overnights begin at the same time with pool parties ending at 9 p.m. Dinner and a late snack are served. Children who stay for overnights make lunch for the next day and are served breakfast.
Family Fun Night
Evenings designed for the whole family! Join us for camp activities, swimming, and dinner. Participation is optional and necessitates an additional fee.
Swimming
Our head of the pool is assisted in teaching and guarding by experienced water safety instructors and Red Cross certified lifeguards.
Lessons
Red Cross swim lessons happen in the morning. Swimmers are divided by ability. To determine appropriate placement for swim lessons, each child is evaluated on their first day at camp. These evaluations consist of a progression of skill assessments. Children are then further observed in their level to be sure the appropriate placement has been made. Children are monitored daily for progress and promoted when they have completed the requirements necessary to complete the exit assessment for the level.
Assessments are done on Tuesdays/Thursdays at the recommendation of the swim staff and Head of Pool, as per Red Cross’s specific tasks to complete for exit assessments. Belmont Day swim certificates are issued after a child has been promoted to the next level.
Swim lessons are an important part of “growing safely as an individual” and “taking risks and participating,” two of our core camp goals. No alternative activities are offered during swim times. Children are encouraged to participate every day.
Free Swim
Free swim happens each afternoon. Groups come to the pool and children are given the opportunity to have free time in the pool. We limit the area children may swim in based on their morning swim level. This helps us to ensure that all children are safe in the pool and are not getting into situations they are unable to handle while swimming.
Facilities
We have two pools at Belmont Day. Our practice pool is 20 feet x 40 feet and is 2 feet deep for the entire area of the pool. Our big pool is 40 feet x 80 feet and ranges from 3 feet to 9 feet.
Both pools are licensed by the Board of Health.
Weather
Swimming is an important part of our program at camp. Our goal is for each group to swim twice each day unless it is unsafe to do so.
Circumstances in which we close the pool include:
- When there is thunder and lightning in the area. The pool remains closed until 30 minutes after the last instance of thunder or lightning.
- When it is raining so hard we can’t see the bottom of the pool.
- When there is a weather advisory or warning issued by the state for our area.
