About Us
Garden School’s Summer Enrichment Camp has provided great summers to thousands of families over the years! Our camp is run by highly-trained staff, industry experts, and professional educators who are dedicated to ensuring that each camper has a safe and enriching experience. To ensure that your child gets the attention they need, our camp has low camper to teacher ratios and is divided into different programs by age. At Garden’s Summer Enrichment Camp, your child will build confidence, make new friends, develop new interests, discover new talents, and have lots and lots of FUN!
Our camp is following and adjusting all safety protocols as they become available through the CDC, American Camp Association, American Camp Nurse’s Association, and local/state/federal guidelines and guidance.
Camp Highlights
- Ages 2-15
- Half, Full and Extended Days
- On-site Swimming Pool & Program
- On-site Gymnasium
- Fine Arts
- STEM
- Athletics & Wellness
- Music, Dance & Theatre
- Specialized Classes
- SAT Prep Classes
- Counselor-in-Training Program
- Lifeguard Certification Program
Garden’s 2023 Summer Enrichment Camp Dates will be
Camp Pre-Season
- June 12 – 16
- June 20 – 23 (closed for Juneteenth)
- June 26 – 30
Session I
- July 3 – 7 (closed for Independence Day)
- July 10 – 14
- July 17 – 21
- July 24 – 28
Session II
- July 31 – Aug 4
- Aug 7 – 11
- Aug 14 – 18
- Aug 21 – 25
Quick Facts on Garden Summer Camp 2023
- Price for 1 week of Camp is $650 dollars per week.
- If you sign up for 2 weeks consecutively, you get $100 dollars off of the total price. Making the price $1,200 dollars for 2 weeks. ($600 dollars per week)
- Price for 1 week Half Day (9am-12pm) is $400 dollars per week.
- Camp Hours are from 9 Am to 4 Pm
- Half day hours run from 9 Am to 12 Noon. (Note we only have an AM session this summer for our half day campers)
- We offer door-to-door Bus Transportation to and from camp.
- 2-way transportation costs $150 dollars per week
- 1-way Transportation costs $100 dollars per week
- We also offer Early Morning and After Camp Care.
- Early Morning runs from 7:30 Am – 8:45 Am. (Costs $10 dollars per day)
- After Camp Care runs from 4:15 Pm to 6:00 Pm. (Costs $20 dollars per day)
Summer Camp FAQ’s
- Do you have a pool on Campus?
- Yes we do! It is within our school’s grounds so we are able to offer swim lessons in our pool every day from our Aquatics Director.
- Do you need to have prior swim experience to swim at Garden Summer Camp?
- No, you do not. We teach from zero experience. We use “bubbles” for younger campers, a type of flotation device to help our campers learn to swim.
- Is there bus pick-up spots?
- No, we send our buses door to door each morning. So your campers will be picked up and dropped off from your house. We try to keep campers on the bus for no longer than 45 minutes.
- Do we offer tours of the campus?
- Yes! Please email zsimpson@gardenschool.org to schedule a time. Camp tours typically take place after school on Mondays or Fridays.
- Do we provide Lunch?
- No. We will provide two snacks daily. One in the morning and one in the afternoon, however, we do not provide a lunch, it is expected to be brought from home.
The Curriculum
Use the toggles below to learn more about the curriculum for each age group!
Garden’s youngest campers learn and explore in a warm and nurturing environment. The focus at this age is on group dynamics, navigating one another and the world, and exploring a range of activities from basic arts to early academic concepts, and developing social skills all while having fun and using their imagination. To ensure each Honeybee’s arrival is smooth, we have a pre-camp orientation which parent and child attend together. At the orientation, Honey Bees meet one another, their counselors, and walk spaces where they will spend camp without the hustle and bustle of the first day of camp. Then on day one, Honeybees arrive early and head right into “The Hive” where they are eased into those first days.
Honey Bees have fun filled days with water play, age-appropriate curriculum, introduction to a variety of sports and gross motor activities and explore the arts, music, and other creative expression. Honey bees spend most of their day in and around our Nursery classroom with separate bathroom facilities, and special entrances so their first days on campus can be as unintimidating as possible. Each day has time for music, gymnastics, guided water play (not in the pool), lunch, rest, playground, gross motor activities, snack, arts and crafts, and story time.
In the Caterpillar (ages 3-5) or Butterflies (ages 5-7) campers learn and explore with a focus on understanding their role in the group and exploring a range of activities from arts to academic enrichment, and developing social skills all while having fun and using their imagination.
Youngest groups like the Caterpillars also come in for a pre-camp orientation and we may decide to do that for the Butterflies too depending on the specific children who enroll. Like the Honeybees, at orientation, parent and child attend together to meet peers, counselors and key adults, and walk the spaces where they will spend their summer. This helps get them settled prior to the busy start of camp. Early arrival for the first few days of camp also make for a calm and smooth transition to camp.
Caterpillars spend most of their day in and around “The Cocoon” – our Pk3/4 classroom with separate bathroom facilities and lots of room to spread out, learn, and explore. A typical day includes “Cocoon Time” which is a camp version of morning meeting, Music Class, Gross Motor, Swim Instruction, Lunch, Rest, Water Play, Playground & Games, Snack, Arts & Crafts, Story Time, and Science exploration.
While Butterflies have a similar typical day, there are some modifications and adjustments as the older students can do a bit more independently and have more motor skills to engage in other activities. For example, rhythm and movement class becomes Ukulele, Arts & Craft becomes beginner Fine Arts and we also add in a Dance and Theater component.
The Monarchs are in a more independent and mature camp program which allows for increased opportunities for choice and student agency to help shape the actual program.
All Monarchs have daily swim, mixed athletics, lunch, recess, reading and journal, and free play!
Registration is Open
2023 Camp
Registration Form
If you have already registered your child, please fill out the Parent Package and email it to Mary Petruso, Executive Assistant to the Head of School.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please email us at info@gardenschool.org or call us at (718) 335-6363.
Tours are available by appointment only.
Garden School is located at 33-16 79th Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11372.
We hope to see you at Camp!
