Free and Affordable Summer Camps and Activities

June 15, 2023
Written by:
Joy Capps
Field Trips, Homeschool Resources, Summer and Travel, Summer Fun

Not everyone is able to take the summer to travel and have lots of hands-on and new experiences, however, with the advantages of technology, your child can still experience new things this summer, meet new people, and learn, right from the comfort of your home! The list below includes topics and interests that will surely catch your child’s eye. The problem may be narrowing down the list to fit it into your summer plans. Some of the summer camps for kids do have a fee but there are other free summer camps listed below too!

Virtual Summer Camps and Activities

  • Varsity Tutors– Need something to keep your K-12 kids busy this summer? Help them make the most of their break with interactive camps taught by expert instructors.
  • Happy Camper Live– From sports and arts and crafts to photography and magic, Happy Camper Live will give your kiddo a real camp feel at home with summer activities—there’s even a virtual campfire! 
  • PBS Kids– The PBS Kids for Parents site offers up free age-by-age tips, crafts, games, and activities to get you through summer. 
  • DIY Summer Day Camp– Kids at any skill level can use the DIY’s app to enjoy virtual classes like, “Photography,” Become a Music Star,” “Build Anything With Lego,” and “Drawing Bootcamp.” 
  •  iD Tech– If you’ve got an older kid at home who’s super tech-savvy, then iD Tech’s virtual classes might be right up their alley. 
  • Reading Rockets– Reading Rockets’ “Start with a Book” program is free and sort of an online book club for kids ages 6 and up. 
  • Code Ninjas– is offering summer day camps covering a variety of topics including coding, robotics, and game building.
  • The San Diego Zoo–  offers free online learning resources for kids and provides even more ways to learn about the world around us!
  • Peanuts Virtual Art Camp– Peanuts Worldwide and Paige Braddock, Chief Creative Officer of Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, have launched a series of short, lighthearted instructional videos, entitled “How to Draw Peanuts Characters,” on the Snoopy YouTube channel.  
  • Sew a Softie– will have tutorials online to sew a new softie. Kids can also join to be an ambassador for Sew a Softie, and teach parents and/or friends how to sew softies. Cute!
  • Healthy Teens– offers virtual programs for summer camp, with programs including books and writing, crafts and art, computer programming, games and Legos, theater, photography, and wellness.
  • The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) offers free summer Virtual Art Camps for ages 6 through 9 and 10 through 13.Virtual Summer Camps
  • Baketivity Bake-A-Camp – provides campers baking box featuring four themed Baketivity kits. Each week’s kit, including pre-packaged and measured dry ingredients, hands-on instructions, science tips, and guides, will take them through progressively advanced recipes and techniques as they explore one topic, theme, or cuisine throughout the month.
  •  Chess NYC-These Special Camps are run by New York City’s #1 Provider of excellence in lessons, classes, games, gamesmanship, and Chess Mentorship. From beginners to highly advanced play (and everything in between), you may enjoy the same support and fun that Chess NYC students do in Schools, Parks, and our own local “brick and mortar.”
  • Woof Wag Dogs offers virtual free summer camps for kids and teens to learn positive ways to train their dogs.
  • The Babysitting Company offers services that include everything from virtual field trips, yoga, dance, arts and crafts, online games, and more to keep kids occupied this summer.
  • MarcoPolo World School is a digital learning platform with a STEAM curriculum that inspires children to become explorers and lifelong learners. It offers children ages 3-7 over 500 premium video lessons and 3,000 interactive learning activities.
  • Yellowbrick is an online education platform focused on “Passion Industries.” They partner with major universities and media brands to create programs around fashion, sneakers, music, sports, and more for teens and older kids.
  • Wyzant offers virtual tutors in all academic areas, as well as in programs like coding and guitar, to keep your kids occupied and learning this summer.
  • Outschool offers an enormous assortment of virtual summer camp activities for kids and teens who have a range of interests.
  • Made with Code from Google is a free program for kids 12 and up that lets them learn how to create GIFs, make emojis and compose music.
  • Connected Camps offer week-long Minecraft-based camps for kids ages 8 to 13 that teach skills like coding, game design, and engineering, with some programs just for girls as well.
  • iD Tech offers structured virtual tech summer camps for kids ages 7 to 19 to learn about various tech skills, including Python, Java, Minecraft, Roblox, Unity, Adobe, 3D modeling, and more, and kids will get individualized attention—there’s a cap of just five students (“campers”) per instructor.
  • Happy Camper Live brings a 360-degree virtual summer camp experience, summer activities, with hundreds of activities; experts and counselors; an original web series; a community service portal with outreach to children’s hospitals and inner-city schools, and more.
  • KiwiCo‘s Camp KiwiCo will deliver four different weeks of hands-on activities, programming, and content.
  • Full STEM Ahead Plus, from Boolean Girl (a nonprofit hosted by Virginia Tech and partner of Girl Scouts), is a summer program in which experienced instructors teach girls how to code. 
  • ActivityHero. Serving as a clearinghouse for in-person activities as well as online classes and camps, this site lists a wide range of things to do for all ages, interests, and budgets. You’ll find both single-day sessions and more in-depth “camp-like” experiences.
  • Camp Kinda offers themed activities like “Histories Mysteries,” for kids to complete at their own pace. Each week until Sept. 1, kids get a new week’s worth of online, offline, and even outdoor activities designed to take about three to four hours per day.

 

Additional Homeschool Summertime Resources

Free At-Home Summer Camp Printable Kit

101 Fun Things to Do This Summer

Summer Learning Guide

 

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