2025 Overview & Registration
Activate offers full-day camps for incoming 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Our camps have an arts and engineering focus, and campers also swim three times a week, visit local parks, and have a lot of indoor choice time, in which campers can explore art, music, games, engineering, books, puzzles, and more.
There is an optional 45 minutes of literacy instruction in the morning.
Tween/Teen Assistants
Every week, there are two slots for incoming 7th and 8th graders to assist. Tuition for assistants is 20% off the regular tuition. There is more information on this page.
Camp Changes
We’ve made a few significant changes to camps this summer.
More Camper Autonomy (and no more weekly themes)
Core to Activate’s philosophy is that children need autonomy to pursue and practice their creative passions. However, children also benefit from structure, daily rhythms, and adult-directed lessons. This summer, we’re altering our camp program to offer children more autonomy while exposing them to many different art and engineering projects. Every week, there will be a graphic design project, an animation or music project, a photography project, an engineering project, and two hands-on art projects like printmaking, papermaking, and painting. The projects will be different from week to week. Inexperienced campers will generally do projects as directed, whereas the experienced campers will have more opportunities to experiment. All campers will have weekly open studio time for digital or analog projects and experiments. We are discontinuing weekly workshop themes.
Every week, campers will take home a bag full of art and projects, including several high-quality prints of digital art, an engineering project, hands-on art projects, and a custom frame for one of their prints. Each camper will design one t-shirt per summer using heat-transfer vinyl, and each camper will get a thumb drive for their digital projects, such as animations, songs, and photographs.
Less Screen Time
Year after year, we’ve cut back on student/camper screen time. The abovementioned changes to our camp schedule will further reduce screen time.
Elongating the Day
The drop-off window is from 8:30-9:15. (Our old drop-off time started at 9:00). The pick-up window is from 3:30-5:00. (Our old pickup window ended at 4:00).
Less Intense Literacy
Last year, we offered optional daily literacy lessons for the first time. However, after some reflection, we realized it was too intense. This summer, we will continue to have a daily literacy block, but we will reduce the intensity and shorten the block. From 9:15 to 10:00, Greg (Activate’s founder and lead teacher) will lead a literacy lesson that parents opt into. The literacy lesson will mainly involve reading short stories or news articles and studying related words using the Activate method (which is inspired by the SWI framework). Children whose parents opt out of literacy will have ‘quiet time’ during this period. The quiet time options are reading, writing, drawing, or solving math puzzles.
Activate is not and has never been a literacy camp. Instead, we aim to stave off the ‘summer slide’ with daily reading and by teaching interesting linguistic content campers wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to (unless they attend Activate School).
Field Trips
Mondays: Sellwood Park and Pool
Tuesdays: Johnson Creek Park
Wednesdays: Sellwood Park and Pool
Thursdays: Westmoreland Park or Sellwood Riverfront Park *
Fridays: Sellwood Park and Pool
* We’ll go to Oaks Park on the final Thursday
Waiting List
To join a waiting list, select the greyed-out 'register' button on the registration page.
Users must enter their credit card number when signing up for a waiting list slot but will not be charged. If a camp slot becomes available, we’ll email the next person on the waiting list and ask if they are still interested in the opening. They will have 24 hours to respond. We’ll complete their transaction with the card on file if they are still interested.
Payment Plan
There is an optional four-installment payment plan for all camp purchases. 25% is due upon registering, on 3/1/25, on 4/1/25 , and on 5/1/25. Payments will be automatically charged.
