The ActivityHero Team is based in California and includes staff members and bloggers who love to share what they know about parenting, keeping kids active, choosing just the right camps and classes, and running successful businesses for kids.
Camp Fairs are a unique opportunity to meet summer camp directors and ask questions before you register. It’s a great way to discover new camps and plan a summer your kids will love.
By ActivityHero Team
In the digital age, you may wonder what the value is in attending a camp fair, when online resources like ActivityHero can give you information about a wide variety of camps, including parent reviews.
At ActivityHero, our data shows that families are optimistic for a summer filled with fun, safe activities. However, there are still a lot of pending questions around in-person camps for kids in 2022.
The 2022 Camp Fair is an opportunity for parents to learn more about in-person kids camps for spring or summer 2022 in specific local areas.
Camp providers will have an opportunity to highlight what’s special about their curriculum, counselors and why families love it! Parents are encouraged to ask questions to learn important information about camp group sizes, cancellation policies, activities, and more.
Our advice? Attend a fair with an open mind and as long as the camp is age appropriate for your child, listen to what the staff has to say. You might discover the benefits of attending a girls-only camp, an overnight experience, or another activity that you hadn’t considered before.
There are other benefits too! Camp Fairs are free for families to attend, and most fairs have exclusive discounts and exciting giveaways, like the opportunity to win a free week of camp!
2022 Camp Fairs
Tri-Valley Camp & School Fair Saturday, February 26th – San Ramon, CA at 11am PT
It’s happened. School breaks are here, the time your children have been waiting so anxiously for since their return back to school in the first place, until the boredom hits.
“Mom, I’m BORED!”
Here’s some fun ideas on how to have a mini “stay-cation” with kids on all their school breaks, no matter what the season.
I know what you’re thinking…cleaning sounds like the opposite of fun, no matter what season it is, right? When it comes to getting kids to help out, it’s all about the pitch.
Cleaning out the closet? Tell your kids that for every outfit or toy that they donate, they’ll make room for a new one.
Get kids to help with simple tasks like wiping down tables and mirrors by making it into a contest. The first one to finish their chore wins a prize of your choosing.
Break out the Craft Bins
When in doubt, bring out the crayons. I like to keep a small bin with labeled drawers full of art supplies on deck in case of a boredom emergency.
Brightly colored paper, pipe cleaners, glitter, and glue sticks can keep kids busy for hours on end.
Give them the supplies and and see if they can create a seasonal collage. Bonus: Display it until the next season!
Photo by Flickr user IamSusie
Movie Night
It doesn’t get much simpler than a movie night in.
Grab a quick flick from Red Box or see what’s new on Netflix and gather the family around the tube.
Pop up some popcorn on the stove or microwave and prepare some sweet snacks like frozen yogurt pops or chocolate covered raisins to snack on. More affordable and much healthier than the movie theater versions!
Nature Adventure
Do you live near a forest preserve or nature conservatory? What better time to get out and explore the local flora and fauna than than the freedom of school breaks?
Create a nature scavenger hunt with such items as pine cones, leaves, turtles, tulips, or whatever wildlife is indigenous to your area. The first one to finish their list wins!
Photo by Flickr user SueASB
Use your Imagination & Play!
There’s nothing more powerful than the imagination of a child. So let them lead the way and teach you their favorite ways to play!
Create a stage production with costumes, build a fort of couch cushions and blankets, or just visit the local park and get some energy out.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that!
One-Day Camps & Workshops
When you’re trying to keep costs low, but you still want your child to have camp or workshop experience, search ActivityHero for single-day and half-day options. Your child can try out a maker camp where they try a new DIY project, or maybe a day of painting on canvas, or a day of basketball. Encourage your child’s friends to register, too — for the most awesome playdate ever.
The new normal adjustments continue with ongoing schedule disruptions and social isolation quarantines. Let’s look ahead to the new year for new ways your kids can prioritize their health, education and mindfulness.
Because managing physical and mental are more important than ever, these super simple new year’s resolutions for kids will surely inspire a year full of growth and joy.
1) Get Physical
Exercising every day can help kids manage their sleep schedule, improve their mood, and decrease stress. This can be a healthy habit for the whole family – hiking, biking, going for walks, or other recreational activities are all great ideas to enjoy together.
Other exercise and fitness classes for your kids include:
Dance: Kids of any age can participate in a dance class or have a dance party in a fun, safe environment. Many classes are for beginners and explore many different styles of dance, like hip hop, ballet, and jazz.
Martial Arts: Martial arts classes help build confidence, leadership skills, and resilience while providing a fun space to stay active.
Yoga: Online yoga and exercise classes are a relaxing activity for all ages. In yoga classes for kids as young as 4, students learn basic yoga movements and body awareness.
Healthy eating is important for all ages and typically on the short list of new year’s resolutions for adults, too. Establishing a good relationship with food is knowledge that kids can use for their whole life.
The introduction of cooking at a young age is a great way for kids to start learning about nutrition. Being in the kitchen can also help with independence, help picky eaters, and spark creativity.
Cooking Classes: Instructional classes with expert teachers bring kids through recipes while teaching kitchen safety, cleanliness, and art.
DIY Recipes: Have fun with recipes on your own time, with video tutorials to help you out!
3) Schedule Relaxing Activities
Along with exercise and nutrition, making time for enjoyable and relaxing hobbies has many benefits as well. A new year is the perfect time to explore something new, whether it be art, music, writing, or gaming.
Art Classes for Kids: Art can be a constructive outlet for children of all abilities to express emotions and relieve anxiety. Drawing, painting, clay modeling, and crafts are all great activities.
Music Classes for Kids: Music is a great activity that anyone can pick up for fun, whether it’s learning an instrument, singing, or dancing.
In addition, any relaxing hobby your child enjoys can help them socialize and unwind. Cooking, theatre & drama, music, LEGO or even making slime could be good options!
Look forward to a year of emotional health and reduced stress. Yoga, exercises to reduce stress, and meditation are great because they help to prepare for the ups and downs of life. Even five minutes of breathing or mindful exercises a day can help to develop healthy emotions and resilience.
Many kids had to learn to navigate technology this year to attend school and socialize with friends. Live online classes or calls are a great time for kids to safely interact with each other and work together on fun activities. It is important to make time to keep connections.
Along with encouraging kids to reach out to others, be aware of the risks of the online world. Teach your kids about cyberbullying so they can be more informed and browse the internet safely.
Now that you’ve established some new year’s resolutions for kids, explore 5 Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety in Kids for even more ways to support your kids during this unprecedented time.
Here are a few great ways to validate the importance of camp during winter break. Make your dreams of attending a meeting or cooking dinner without interruptions come true too!
As a parent of two active boys, ages 6 and 8, I frequently consider adding “Rambunctious” and “ER” to their middle names. Needless to say, most school breaks create a sense of panic on how to keep them engaged and our home, now workspace zen.
With winter break around the corner, my survival mom goal is to end the year without any trips to the emergency room while my more thoughtful mom instincts urge me to make use of the time for learning experiences that the boys don’t get in the classroom.
In pre-pandemic times, learning loss was mainly associated with the summer slide. Since the 2020 lockdown, helping kids catch up from the extended school closures has been both challenging and real for many families.
“We now share assessment data from this fall, which show that students, on average, started school about three months behind where we would expect them to be in mathematics. The picture for reading is more positive, with students starting school just a month and a half behind historical averages.”
McKinsey & Company’s “COVID-19 and Learning Loss”
You’ve seen your kids progress reports at this point, and hopefully they are doing ok. Winter is the second longest break after summer so it’s a good time to start closing any gaps with activities. Now’s the time to start supporting ongoing academic learning and social emotional development.
Learning doesn’t always require a textbook and worksheets. Exploring new experiences generally facilitates brain building, whether it’s concentrated in academics or enrichment.
2. Bring Home Thoughtful Holiday Gifts Created at Camp
Multi-task. Sign your kids up for Art, S.T.E.M. or Cooking classes that produce holiday gifts for loved ones. Playing is learning! Your kids get to experience a fun activity while acquiring new skills, you have one less person to shop for and you get a few hours of time to yourself. That’s a triple win.
Personally, this is one of my favorite options for winter camp. In past years, my older son enjoyed a jewelry making camp that produced necklaces with real clasps that were gifted to his two grandmas. My younger son did an art camp that generated many rolls of “abstract” paintings, perfect for gift wrap.
3. Convert High Energy Kids to Tired Kids
The benefit of living in California during winter is that our version of cold (50°-60°F) is the rest of the country’s idea of perfect weather. Explore a new sport or revisit an old favorite to keep your house from looking like an indoor tornado recently visited.
Invite your kid’s besties, so it becomes a play date and you can just drop them off. Your kids will have the opportunity to make new friends, too.
This upcoming winter break, we searched for camps that could help the kids stay active and outside. Their current interests are soccer and basketball, so finding a place that returns them to us tired was the only other prerequisite.
4. Find COVID Conservative Support
For families who remain at home, creating your own personalized camp has never been easier! Attend live Online and On-Demand activities from anywhere. There are academic classes to help with tutoring support. There’s also really fun opportunities to just attend a virtual dance party, music or Minecraft classes. Mix and match the options to your kid’s interests.
This is also a great way for COVID Conservative friends to stay connected with friends both near and far that they haven’t been able to see in person.
5. Give Yourself a Break
At the height of the pandemic, I was on a video call for work while my kids were quietly playing amongst themselves. It all seemed so normal, until the staircase in my background was suddenly filled with a river of stuffed animals rolling downward. A “rain” of Nerf ammo followed for the dramatic conclusion. Every parent at home working remotely with kids during this time has a version of this story. While it is hilarious now, it’s also not something we want to relive.
Scholarships are also available for families in need.
Make Planning Easy
Do you need to coordinate camps and carpools with friends? Juggling a camp schedule with multiple children is like playing a real life game of Tetris. Save time and plan the ultimate camp experience on ActivityHero with your child’s classmates, teammates, and neighbors with the ‘Invite Friends” feature!
Discover more kid-approved camp options now enrolling for winter camps and classes at ActivityHero, a marketplace of offerings near you in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange County. Plus, earn bonus reward points when you download ActivityHero’s iOS app for faster and easier searching!
Written by Tabetha Chau, a mom of two boisterous kiddos in Oakland. She helps out on the ActivityHero marketing team. In her spare time, she also catches Pokémon and tries to learn Mandarin with her family.
Find boredom busters your kids can do at their own pace. Anytime, anywhere.
These winter-themed activities are all accompanied by videos for kids to independently learn on their own using ActivityHero On-Demand. From 10 minute projects to longer 160 minute adventures, take your pick.
Where S.T.E.M. (or Science. Technology. Engineering. Mathematics.) and Christmas join forces. Kids will continue learning while they are doing fun Christmas activities to get into the spirit of the holidays.
Watch the step-by-step process of creating a scenery from a blank piece of paper. Students will learn how to sketch, color and shade to really enhance their drawing techniques, and design a beautiful background and foreground in the process.
Ms. Emily from KidzKeyz will teach your kids (the colorful way) how to play Jingle Bells on the piano, just in time for the holidays!
This simple, quick lesson gives students in K through 3rd Grade an opportunity to explore and express their own creativity. Your child will love KidzKeyz fun and encouraging teaching style.
Learn the basics of vector based illustrations with Inkscape (a free software) while creating your very own winter theme card. Kids will draw a basic winter scene, that includes making some basic evergreen trees, snow flakes, and even form a snow man! You can print and use the card you create as a holiday card, or a card to bring in some winter time cheer.
Teacher Shelly will read to you from this amazing book all about mud! Do you like to play in the mud? Or would you rather keep your hands clean? Have you ever thought about painting with mud?
This video might just inspire you to create your own mud masterpiece! Campers are invited to dig into our mud-play activities after watching the read-aloud video. The video is 5 minutes long if you prefer to simply listen to the story and skip the messy play.
Ages 2 – 12 (20 minutes)
Discover more on-demand DIY holiday inspired, self-led learning opportunities for your kids atActivityHero.
There are many popular traditions at Christmas, from gingerbread men to ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’. But where exactly did these traditions come from? Many American traditions come from Europe and have evolved over the years.
Here are some fun facts about the origins behind some of your favorite Christmas traditions:
Gingerbread men and houses
The first recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BC. But it was Queen Elizabeth I who decided to decorate the cookies with gold leaf and shaped like animals, kings and queens. These became very popular around Europe. The tradition of Gingerbread houses came from Germany and were popularized by the Brothers Grimm story of Hansel and Gretel. Every year for the since 1991, children and volunteers in Bergen, Norway build an entire town, out of gingerbread, which they call Pepperkakebyen.
The 12 days refers to the time between Jesus’s birth and Epiphany, the day that the Magi come to honor the newborn. The song, however, is of French origin. It was published in an English children’s book in 1780, which made it popular in the English-speaking world. The song was used as a memory game, where if a player failed they had to perform some sort of forfeit. Today the most popular Christmas song is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Christmas Trees
The idea of the modern Christmas tree started in western Germany. Germans would bring in what they called a “paradise tree” on Christmas Eve. It was called a “paradise tree” because it represented the Garden of Eden. The tree was used to celebrate the feast day of Adam and Eve, thus the connection to the Garden of Eden. However, it was Queen Victoria who popularized the tradition in England when she and her German husband, Prince Albert had Christmas trees as part of their festivities. 25-30 million Christmas are sold each year in the United States.
Candy Canes
While the true origins of the candy cane are unknown, it seems that they came to America with August Imgard, a German immigrant, in 1847. White candy sticks were already popular at Christmas, though it wasn’t until the turn of the century when Georgia candymaker, Bob McCormack, started manufacturing the red and white curved candies that we know today. Every year 1.76 billion candy canes are sold in the US.
courtesy of CD’s Art Bash Studio
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is based on the very real Saint Nicholas, a fourth century Bishop who had a reputation of helping the poor and secretly giving gifts to those in need. However, the modern day image of the jolly man in the red suit with his flying reindeer did not emerge until the mid-1800’s, when Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’, which we now call ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. Initially the poem was only for his children, but it was published anonymously the next year, and by the late 1800’s, political cartoonist, Thomas Nast had created the first illustrations for the piece. Today, Icelandic children believe that there are 13 different Santas and many of them like to steal things from houses.
Making of handmade christmas toys from felt with your own hands. Children's DIY concept. Making xmas tree decoration or greeting card. Step 3. Decorate the toy.
Here are two unique and simple Christmas activities you can make with your kids today — that won’t take all day. Easy peasy.
Reindeer Cookies
Refrigerated sugar cookie dough (pre-made or store bought)
Bag of chocolate chips
Jar of cinnamon candies (or anything red and small)
Packet of small pretzels
Instructions
Pick up a package of pre-made, refrigerated, sugar cookie dough from the store (or make your own recipe). Divide the cookie dough into one inch balls and shape into a peanut shape with the head portion slightly larger.
Don’t smash these shapes down too much or the cookies won’t rise!
It’s now time to place chocolate chips for the eyes, bite off the ends of pretzels so the center can be used for the antlers and lastly, add a cinnamon candy for each of the noses.
Finally, wrap up in plastic bags with some ribbon. And voila, you’ve got the cutest holiday cookies ever!
Pine Cone Ornaments
6 Pine cones from your yard
Silver acrylic paint from your local craft store
Paint brush
1 ½ inch wide silver ribbon
Rounded silver string
Instructions
First, clean your pine cones of debris and lightly wash off dirt. Leave them out to dry for an hour (make sure they’re totally dry).
Then, use your paint brush and add silver paint to the tips of the pine cone. Do this sparingly for a more organic effect. Let them dry.
Next, tie silver string around the end of the pine cone. Create a bow with your ribbon and glue in front of the string. Let them dry, again.
Hang these new pine cone ornaments on your Christmas tree and enjoy for years to come!
The best Bay Area camps & activities for kids during school holidays - including Winter Break!
The School Holiday Activity Guide features our most popular and trending camps on ActivityHero in the San Francisco Bay Area – including academic support & tutoring, music, coding, art, LEGO®, and more! Learn more about updated programs to fill gaps during school holidays – including curriculum, group sizes, and available schedules.
KidzToPros On-Campus Winter Break Camps keep kids engaged, happy, and safe while schools are on break. Our popular camps provide kids a chance to exercise their mind and body, and ignite their creativity through our most in-demand STEM, Arts and Sports activities.
Join TechKnowHow for engaging and educational in-person Winter Break programs, including Minecraft & LEGO Creators Camp and LEGO Adventure Builders Winter Break Camp! Camp locations include Cupertino, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.
School out for Winter Break? Join Ingenium Kids ages 5-12 for highly flexible full and half-day enrichment camp focused on whole child activities including cooking, music, reasoning, movement, theatre, art, science and mindfulness.
Set in a fun, non-competitive environment, Super Soccer Stars, offers the nation’s most popular children’s soccer program for kids ages 1-18. Super Soccer Stars offers a unique, age-specific curriculum that is crafted to improve soccer skills, build self-confidence, and develop socialization skills. Check out one of our in-person classes, camps, or soccer pods this fall.
We help students develop the skills and knowledge they need for a bright future. Best in Class students benefit from individual attention, active instruction in small groups, and engaging course material aligned with common standards.
Located in Palo Alto, our School Break Math & Writing Camps move students of all abilities towards the top of their class, but our mission doesn’t end there.
Code With Us offers on-campus programs for Winter Break – teaching students a variety of skills through coding education that include popular programming languages like Scratch, Python, JavaScript, Minecraft Modding and much more. They maintain 5-to-1 student to teacher ratio so teachers can provide utmost attention to students to create and design their coding projects.
Unified Studios offers dance classes starts at age 2. In our Toddler Turn Up (adult participation) and Preschool Dance classes we will focus on rhythm, coordination, musicality, and textures of movement. In our Rhythm & Vibes (Hip Hop) classes we will focus on foundations of hip hop, choreography, rhythm, coordination, musicality, and textures of movement.
CD’s Art Studio offers in-person art camps for kids in San Jose and online camps for students worldwide – including camps for school holidays such as Winter Break, and more. From beginning to advanced camps, explore mediums such as drawing, painting, mixed media, fused glass mosaics, and more at an award-winning program!
Join Maker Studio Kids Holiday Break Camp! This is a fun hands-on camp letting kids explore and learn about fun topics through the process of making.
Kids are introduced to the sewing machine, 3D printers and other themes during the day. It’s student lead and split into two learning tracks for kids to cycle through each activities. During Studio time kids will have the freedom to create their own projects or follow instructed projects.
Drop your kids off for a full day of dance and fun at Moving Arts Academy of Dance while you get your holiday errands done in peace! December 20 – December 23, 9:00am-3:00pm. This is a fun dance camp for all levels! The camp will include a daily dance class, choreography exploration, dance games, arts and crafts, and a daily visit to nearby Balboa Park for lunch and fee time. Kids love our camps!
City Beach of Fremont is the Bay Area’s One-of-a-Kind Family Recreation, Sports and Events Center! We offer Summer Camps, School Break Volleyball Camps and Volleyball Clinics for a variety of age groups. Our coaches have plenty of experience working with players of different skill levels and ages, so you can rest assured you’re in good hands.
At Kidizens School Holiday camps and workshops, kids are age-appropriately partnered to build their dream LEGO cities and solve civic/economic problems in order to form a well-functioning society. The 3- and 4-day workshops enable kids to immerse deeper into their responsibilities and solve various problems for their cities while facing challenges and crises along the way. They end the workshop evaluating city economy and overall citizen happiness, in addition to putting infrastructure, laws, and services in place — and of course, having lots of fun while doing so!
Join us for Golden Gate Skateboarding Camp at Waller Street Skatepark in San Francisco, CA. Each day we will start camp with an introduction to skateboarding specific stretching/yoga routines that improve performance and reduce injury probabilities. Next, we will be covering more beginner level skills like pushing the board properly, turning, drop-ins, and kick-turns, all the way up to more advanced skills like Ollies, kickflips, 50-50 grinds, frontside 180’s and many more tricks. All skill levels are welcome!
Always Learning and Growing provides outdoor holiday break camps for children in Berkeley, El Cerrito, and San Francisco with the goal of giving children the developmental benefits of a significant nature experience.
Children hike, learn about nature and science, and learn new physical and social skills. Small group sizes and highly trained teachers. Classes for ages 18 months to 6 years and camps for ages 3-8 years.
Learn basic woodworking and model building combining basic work with metals at the Young Builders School Holiday Building Camp in Palo Alto. The knowledge kids get from building these models will help with math, geometry through the need for measurements and an introduction to engineering while having fun. A memory that will last a life time and a pride of saying “I made that.”
GrowFit Camp provides a safe place for children to learn and play during school holidays in Redwood City, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek. Campers discover new passions, engage in a variety of sports and group games and learn the value of teamwork and sportsmanship. Our unique, age-appropriate games and challenges help children build self-confidence, develop relationships and have lots of fun!
Rock Band Land is a unique creative arts program based in San Francisco that focuses on artistic collaboration through rock music, storytelling, visual arts, video production, and comedy. The program is wildly creative and wonderfully crazy. No prior experience necessary.
Enroll your LEGO® enthusiast in a Spring Break Camp at BrainVyne in Palo Alto. The camp includes exciting activities involving LEGO® gears, axles, battery packs and LEGO®robotics. Children are grouped by age and will learn the fundamentals of simple machines through play. Under the supervision of experienced and caring BrainVyne teachers, your kids will have an enriching and fun-filled day.
The best classes, camps & activities for kids during Winter Break.
The Official School Holiday Activity Guide features our most popular and trending classes on ActivityHero in Los Angeles and Orange County – including academic support & tutoring, music, coding, art, sports, and more! Learn more about updated programs for upcoming school holidays – including curriculum, group sizes, and available schedules.
KidzToPros On-Campus Winter Break Camps keep kids engaged, happy, and safe while schools are on break. Our popular camps provide kids a chance to exercise their mind and body, and ignite their creativity through our most in-demand STEM, Arts and Sports activities.
Beach Cities Volleyball Club (BCVC) is a non-profit youth sports organization. The Club’s priorities are to teach volleyball skills, character development and to have fun. BCVC works very hard to create an atmosphere where players at all skill levels can become “the best that they can be” and have a positive experience. BCVC has Holiday & New Year Camps in Torrance, CA.
Join EDS My Classroom’s academic & creative Spanish program and develop your children’s proficiency in the language. Groups are kept small so kids can participate in hands-on craft and games to make learning fun! School break Spanish Camps are located in Marina Del Ray, Ca.
Spend your Holiday Breaks with Kids On Stage! Campers enjoy theater games, songs, choreography, and arts & crafts. Each camp day ends with an improvised, collaborative Play-of-the-Day where campers have a chance to play characters and scenes inspired by the week’s theme, or create their own. Campers are encouraged to share ideas and shine in a non-competitive, inclusive environment that develops self-expression, confidence, and joy!
Here at Lil’ Chef School, we teach kids to cook through classes, workshops, Summer Camps and day camps and mini camps during school holidays. Our classes and camps allow children to be creative and explore the Culinary Arts experience. It also encourages them to try new foods. We specialize in kitchen safety, and teach children how to cook by introducing various age-appropriate cooking techniques.
Join Design Hive for an in-person school holiday day camp focused on the creative exploration of all things STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics)! Design Hive offers a combination of in-depth project work and one-off exploratory activities to engage kids in activities such as kinetic art, circuitry, game design, movement, architecture, engineering and more!
Set in a fun, non-competitive environment, Super Soccer Stars, offers the nation’s most popular children’s soccer program for kids ages 1-18. Super Soccer Stars offers a unique, age-specific curriculum that is crafted to improve soccer skills, build self-confidence, and develop socialization skills. Check out one of our in-person classes, camps, or soccer pods during upcoming school breaks.
Tiny Tees Golf is a program designed specifically for 3-7 years old and 8-13 years old. The goal at Tiny Tees is to introduce children to the game of golf while having fun. Children will work on individual golf skills: full swing, putting, pitching, chipping, bunker play, golf course etiquette, and course play. School break camps are being held in South Pasadena and Newport Beach, CA.
Teach Communication through Science (TCTS) was established in 2018 as a private STEM educational company with the mission of inspiring and nurturing kid’s innate curiosity by giving personalized care to its students age 4 to 14. TCTS offers in-person programs like Winter Break Tinker Club and hands-on STEM classes in Glendale, CA.
The Upstanders Evolution Anti-Bullying Camp teaches kids to be their own superheroes! It is an immersive socially aware empowerment program that boosts kids’ self esteem by helping them to discover their inner strengths through a wide variety of different activities. Programs include school holiday camps – including Winter Break.
Our philosophy at Pamper & Play is simple: parents need help and kids need entertainment and FUN on their days off during the school year! We know that parents want fun, enriching and most of all FLEXIBLE activities for their little ones while they are on break. That’s why we have jam-packed the school break camp with fun arts, crafts, games, music, dance, messy science and more.
At Gray Studios Make-A-Movie Winter Break Camp in Los Angeles, kids will be crafting a short film from concept to final cut in 5 days, involving the students every step of the way. They will get the chance to help craft and create their own characters once a storyline has been written with THEM in mind. Upon completion of the camp, each student will be provided with a copy of the film for their own personal use and receive IMDB credit!
Jeanette Airen Performing Arts Studio is an award-winning music and drama studio that offers in-person and online classes including singing, acting and dancing. This session we will travel back in time to the 80’s for our production of Fame Jr.! Our small class sizes make it possible for more one-on-one attention and solo opportunities! Learn from professional performers in an encouraging and safe space while building self-esteem, teamwork skills, and most importantly, having fun!
The Los Angeles School of Music offers fun and engaging music lessons and classes on piano, voice, guitar, and more! Our online classes are always live and interactive.
Our music teachers are professionals with at least a Bachelor of Music, and most have a Master of Music degree, from schools such as CalArts, UCLA, and USC. All instructors have years of teaching and performance experience.
The best online classes & activities for kids to fill gaps during Winter Break & more.
The Official School Holiday Activity Guide features our most popular and trending classes on ActivityHero that can be attended from home – including academic support & tutoring, music, coding, art, LEGO®, and more! Learn more about updated programs for upcoming school holidays – including curriculum, group sizes, and flexible schedules.
Founded by former Google Product Director and Stanford graduates, Create & Learn is an award winning online computer science education program for grades K-12. We offer 25+ fun topics including Scratch coding, Minecraft coding, Python, Robotics, AI, Arduino, Cloud Computing and many more.
Spend school break as an adventuring hero with Gaming Together, working with friends to complete quests and save the world! Made popular for a new generation by the TV show Stranger Things, Dungeons & Dragons gives your child opportunities to try out new identities and cultivate their improvisation and role-playing skills. This is a screen-free activity your child will beg to do.
At EDMO®, science and songs go together. Art compliments design. Coding builds friendships. Getting messy and making mistakes are celebrated. That’s why our programs, whether in-person or online, are hands-on, interactive and fun. Join EDMO for online school holiday sessions in art, science, Minecraft and more during Winter Break.
Join TechKnowHow for engaging and educational in-person Winter Break programs, including Minecraft & LEGO Creators Camp and LEGO Adventure Builders Winter Break Camp! Camp locations include Cupertino, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.
Computer Kids Club offers special school holiday online camps for Winter Break, and more! Their S.T.E.A.M. camps are designed to give your child an overall computer science education along with enjoying a FUN, theme based program.
For our Christmas & New Year’s camp, students will learn a Math activity with Christmas lights, decorate ornaments and Christmas trees and design a festive holiday project while learning graphic design tools in Google Slides!
If you love CSI and forensics, this online STEM camp with Natl CSI is for you! Taught by current and former detectives (how cool is that!), this one week Winter Break Camp is packed with hands-on activities to learn what it takes to become a crime scene investigator, taking about 90 minutes per day. Each student gets their own CSI Lab Kit shipped to them before the virtual class.
Sony KOOV is the all-in-one coding, robotics and design kit that combines digital coding with physical building to teach the next generation of innovators. Programs are available for Thanksgiving and Winter Break! Your child will learn how to use KOOV in this online robotics and coding camp focused on block programming, computer logic and problem solving. Each day will include one hour of live instruction.
Why do the lights turn on when I flip a switch? What makes the wheels spin on a car? How does my night light turn on automatically when I turn off the lights? And where does all that energy come from?
Happy Clouds classes explore and find answers to all these questions and more in a world where technology plays a role in every part of our lives using Snap Circuits.
Pixical Piano, Guitar & Art Learning strive to remove barriers of distance, time & boredom to help children enjoy the process or learning piano. We do this by delivering a masterclass experience through our empathetic & inspiring teachers, modern pedagogy, handcrafted product experience combined with loads of fun. The Pixical Curio online program offers 1:1 instruction, studio performance class each week, exclusive access to a community to discuss all things piano, and much more! Free trial classes available.
Pixemy offers kids a variety of online classes to explore, ranging from Visual and Digital art, Music, Dance, Theatre, Coding & Game Design, Chess, Cooking, Filmmaking, Financial literacy and more. Free trial classes available.
Join forces with international award-winning astronomer and consultant to NASA, Kevin Manning, a man on no ordinary mission. Kevin founded Look Up to the Stars with a mission to generate interest and foster scientific literacy in students nationwide through the delivery of awe-inspiring, educational and entertaining astronomy programs.
The New York Society of Play provides online game workshops over zoom, focusing on social and emotional development for kids ages 6-13. Come play Dungeons and Dragons, Minecraft, Pokemon Battles, and more! Our childcare specialists are experts at fostering growth through cooperative gameplay.
Code Wiz offers a wide range of individualized STEM programs for kids aged 7-17, each tailored to the students’ skill level. Watch your kids expand their creativity through computer science! Our approach is student-driven, project-based learning. We offer classes for Robotics, Minecraft modding, Roblox, Game design, Animations, Digital Art, Mobile app development, Java, Python, and more.
Choreography by Rae is a performing arts & creative arts educational center that has provided self-confidence boosting programming since 2015. Founded by Rae Wilson (aka Ms. Rae) in New York City, as a way to help people of all ages amplify their voice through movement. Our motto is anyone can dance, even if you have 2 left feet. This 100% female-owned, black-owned business is proud to now offer more than dance – including chess, coding, drawing, drama and more .
The Art in Science was developed by a scientist and an artist to Instill a love of science in young kids (ages 4-12) via an innovative curriculum. In this unique program, the kids learn various science topics (Astronomy, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Engineering, and more) with hands-on activities that turn into interesting artworks pleasing to the eye and intriguing to the mind.
Role-playing is a fully immersive creative blend of game, improv, and writing. It’s not just fun – Luck of Legends games are Common Core aligned and designed to teach, emphasizing non-violent problem-solving, teaching kids to out-talk, out-think, or out-maneuver challenges as heroes on a fantastic adventure. The format lets kids experience powerful and dramatic moments together, which can do something that’s usually impossible online: allow for genuine relationships to grow.
Beyond the diverse set of online programs we have to offer, what is special about Ivy Camps USA Online is that we take an interdisciplinary approach to remote instruction whereby we foster growth, encourage exploration, and sustain motivation through play and thought-provoking games. Classes include a wide range of topics, including: outer space, public speaking, backyard biology, acting, and more.
Founded in 2012, Coderise focuses on Software development training. It is our mission to teach kids age 8-12 the digital skills they require in today’s digitized world. They learn basic programming skills by creating websites and online games – including Minecraft, Roblox, and web development.
The Los Angeles School of Music offers fun and engaging music lessons and classes on piano, voice, guitar, and more! Our online classes are always live and interactive.
Our music teachers are professionals with at least a Bachelor of Music, and most have a Master of Music degree, from schools such as CalArts, UCLA, and USC. All instructors have years of teaching and performance experience.
Here are some simple tips to help encourage good etiquette and dinner table manner with your kids.
It’s a common time of year to reflect on everything you’re grateful for with friends and family. In addition to being thankful, here are some quick table manner tips to use at Thanksgiving dinner this year (and everyday) with your kids.
Depending on your kid’s age, the range for how established their dining etiquette is will vary. With that said, the bigger focus is that everyone arrives at the table with a positive attitude.
Table Manner Tip #1: Practice Patience
Always wait until everyone has received their food before you start eating. The host will usually make an announcement, “Let’s eat!” or say, “thank you” to the guests.
Table Manner Tip #2: Be Present
Leave all devices and other distractions away from the table. Focus on connecting and trying to hold thoughtful conversation.
Table Manner Tip #3: Use Please & Thank You
Please and thank you should be at the beginning and conclusion of any requests. “May I have more mashed potatoes, please?” Followed up with, “Thank you!” This simple effort helps to support common courtesy.
Table Manner Tip #4: Pass Politely
If something you dislike is handed to you, simply and politely say, “No, thank you,” and pass it on to your neighbor. Comments like, “Yuck!” and “Gross!” should be kept to yourself.
Table Manner Tip #5: Find More Patience
Dinner is done when the table has been cleared. Enjoy your food and the company while waiting for the official end of the meal.
Bonus: Clean up after yourself or ask to help with any cleanup tasks. It’s a nice act of kindness to offer the host help. It’s also generally always appreciated.
Quick Tip: Which bread or drink belongs to you in a place setting? Use your left and right hands to form the letters, b and d (pictured above). Left is for b-bread and right is for d-drink.
Good manners build confidence and are a life skill kids will continue to use as adults. And remember that sometimes it’s the journey and not the destination, especially for the smaller kids. It won’t be a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, but preparing them with these lessons will serve them well in the long run.
Thanksgiving break and other school holidays can leave kids bored or blue. Beat cabin fever with these low-cost family-fun activities that kids of all ages enjoy.
By Jennifer Moore
The holidays are one of the best times of year to promote family bonding, and doing activities as a group can help strengthen those ties even more. Keeping your kids’ brains and hands busy also makes for fonder memories, since boredom and cabin fever are sure-fire triggers for sibling squabbles. The following are a few activities that cost little or nothing and can be enjoyed by children of all ages. With each one, think about your own favorite holiday activities from childhood, and use those fond memories to add your own special touch.
Start making holiday crafts, tree ornaments, wall ornaments, and frames. You’ll get keepsakes you can bring out every Christmas, and your kids will get a kick out of seeing their crafts on display for years to come. (Be sure to have your child add their name and date to each item.) Even if Christmas is over, creating decorations is a great way to keep kids busy during the break. Plus, you can see what areas of the house could use some extra adornment next year, then make items just for those spots. This is also a great time to do minor repairs and touch-ups on decorations from years-gone-by.
Stir Up Some Fun
Kids of all ages love to cook, and the holidays are the perfect time for parents and kids to bond while baking. Get out the cookie cutters, icing, and edible decorations (such as sprinkles and candy letters), and create unique cookies, cupcakes, and candies. If you’re not much of a baker, purchase a gingerbread house kit and have fun decorating it. Clean-up tip: If you’re not planning on nibbling on the gingerbread house later, you can adorn it with old candies that are left over from Halloween or school goodie bags.
Have a Movie Marathon
From Flickr user DavidDMuir
Don’t forget family movie night! A dreary or cold day is the perfect time to pull out all of those must-see holiday classics. Or break out the new DVDs that the kids recently received as presents. This is especially great when siblings are tiring of each other or when they don’t like to play the same games. Having the “shared experience” of watching a movie will provide siblings with an enjoyable interaction. Plus, they’ll have something to discuss later, such as favorite scenes, lines, and characters from the film. If they tend to bug each other, be sure to have them be bookends, with you sandwiched between them as a buffer.
The best way to get rid of extra Christmas cookies is to invite some of your kids’ friends over. This may seem like a lot of work when you’re already trying to amuse your own children all day during break, but it actually may give you time to regroup while the kids show friends their new toys and games. You and your spouse can take turns supervising the play date, while the other does chores or relaxes with a good book.
Get Out of the House
From Flickr user Michael Allbritton
It’s easier to get rid of cabin fever if you don’t spend the whole break in your “cabin.” If you live in a place that gets winter weather, then go out and enjoy the snow. Building snowmen, making snow angels, having snowball fights, and even constructing snow forts or igloos are all classic family activities because they just never stop being fun. But if you live in sunny California or Florida, winter is also the perfect season for a family walk in the neighborhood, a sing-along with the local kids, a hike in a local wildlife refuge, or a sight-seeing trip to a local tourist spot. Check out local travel guides and newspapers to see what family-friendly events are coming up.
Boost Kids’ Brainpower
School’s out, but that doesn’t mean your children have to stop learning. Plan an educational family outing to a nearby planetarium, zoo, children’s museum, or state park. Many such locations offer free talks from experts, guides, or rangers. (Kids don’t need to know that they’re educational!) You can also document the visit with photos, then research fun facts on wildlife or relevant subject matter when you return home.
Beat Boredom With Board Games
From Flickr user Crazybananas
When you ask adults what they remember most from their childhood, many will place “family game nights” among the “best nights of their lives.” Though kids will love playing against you on some of their video games, they’ll also get a kick out of playing those “old-fashioned” games from your childhood. Get out the Monopoly board or play Clue. Even a game of Scrabble can be fun when you divide the family into teams — particularly if your teens are obsessed with Words with Friends.
Burn Off Some Kid Energy
Many public parks set up ice-skating rinks for the winter, complete with cheerful Christmas lights and skate rentals. Or simply grab some hot cocoa, soak up the holiday music, and sit and watch the skaters twirl by. Not a fan of ice? Hit the roller rink or ski slopes instead. Or try a physical activity that requires less athletic talent, such as bouncing at a trampoline park, or a different kind of skill, such as playing laser tag. These latter options may be less holiday-oriented, but they’re just as good at burning off holiday-cookie calories and kids’ excess energy.
Jennifer Moore is a mother of three, juggling work, kids, and family time. Promoting family time is usually a job that falls on Mom’s shoulders, but the benefits are long-lasting, keeping a family united over generations.
Many schools are shifting to emphasize the core subjects like reading and math. Because of this, enrichment programs (i.e. art) are getting left behind. And while some believe art education amounts to just basic finger painting or coloring books, shifting this mindset for future generations is key.
Join us for a brief but informative chat with Ginhee Rancourt, CEO and Founder of Young Art.
In this podcast, the importance of art for kids is discussed. How does art spark innovative problem solving? What does the future of design thinking behold? Answers to these questions (and more) are also covered.
Simple activities that support creativity and teach an appreciation of art contribute to your kid’s development right now with many added future benefits.
Did you know? Kids involved in art are:
4x more likely to be recognized for their academic achievement
4x more likely to participate in a math and science fair
3x more likely to win an award for school attendance
Americans for the Arts and Vans Custom Culture
Our Podcast Guest
Ginhee Rancourt founded Young Art and over the past seven years has worked to provide communities with a vibrant outlet for creativity as a children’s drop off art studio, activating experiential spaces in shopping centers and online. Making art enrichment and education accessible to kids is at the core of their values.
Discover more art classes, camps, and activities for your child at ActivityHero.com
Whether or not you are going trick or treating this year, there are a ton of spooktacular Halloween activities that can be done in-person at holiday themed camps or at home to get in the haunting spirit.
Carve out some fun this October to bake creepy cupcakes, paint spooky creatures, learn candy science, and more! Here’s a round up of the best kid-approved classes, crafts and on-demand activities for Halloween.
With a small 4:1 student/teacher ratio, Cindy Art Studio provides personalized instruction on fun cartoon drawings of Wolfman, Bride of Frankenstein, Witch, and Dracula!
Join Jeanette Airen Performing Arts Studio for a super fun Halloween Dance Party class. Wear your Halloween costume and learn a short Halloween dance combo. Or, sign up for singing and theatre games!
Sneak learning into hands-on spooky STEM experiments. Make pumpkins puke with Discover Science Center or learn about candy science with Kidscapades, become a Mad Scientist with Young Art, and more!
Get ready for a haunting night with classes on-demand any time to fit your schedule! Mix up glow-in-the-dark slime and make Halloween crafts – scarecrows, pumpkins, bats, and more!
Social distancing remains present in our new normal. As we head into the holiday season, let’s strike a balance between safely revisiting older favorite customs and finding new family traditions this Halloween.
Written by Sarah Antrim
Halloween means a lot of things: carving pumpkins, decorating the house, dressing up. But for kids, Halloween means one thing — CANDY.
Trick-or-treating is clearly the highlight of this holiday for most kids, I know it was for me when I was that age! To make the most of the holiday, here’s a few tips to keep in mind when getting ready to head out for treats:
1. Let the kids pick their costumes.
As adorable as a family with coordinating costumes can be, the kids usually don’t get quite as excited if they can’t pick their own costumes. This is the one chance of the year that kids get the freedom to be whoever and whatever they want! As a compromise, you could consider having the kids dress up with the family for pictures then change into their desired costume before trick-or-treating. And heck, if you’ve still got a little one toddling around, go ahead and milk that for all it’s worth!
2. Research neighborhoods and events ahead of time.
Since Halloween falls on a weekday this year, many towns have events planned for the weekend or days prior to the actual holiday. Contact your village hall and local businesses to see what sort of special events they have planned. Get some mileage out of that costume and make sure the kids get their candy fix!
3. Prepare for tired legs.
Bring a wagon, toddler carrier, or be prepared to be put on piggy back duty; especially if you have a kids of different ages. Be a good sport–Halloween is supposed to be fun, kids are supposed to wear themselves out!
4. Remember that it’s about the journey, not the destination.
Nothing can ever be perfect–they may not get their favorite candy bar, the weather might be yucky, the doorbells might not be answered–and that’s okay. Play games along the way, like who can guess what the next piece of candy is coming next, to make the experience more fun for everyone.
5. Hold off on the sugar overdose.
It’s tempting to tear into that sack of goodies as soon as it starts to pile up, but try to get them to hold off for a bit. Sugar highs are followed by crashes which will not make the night enjoyable for anyone. Making sure everyone has a hearty meal or big snack before hitting the pavement can help curb the urge to indulge. Just remember to be reasonable, having a few pieces throughout the night won’t hurt anyone!
Remember to keep it light-hearted and fun. Kids don’t want the perfect holiday, they just want a real one. So relax, have fun, and stay safe!
