Drama, Dance,
Music, Science,
Yoga, Math,
Forensics,
Photography,
Magic, Arts ,
Jewelry Crafting,
Cooking,
and 
Special Activities
Just for
Preschoolers —

Just look at what
 we have to offer
 you this summer!

 

Click here for ONLINE Registration

Click here to see a Photo Album from Summer Rec Camps!



Available for download:

Summer Recreation Camp Descriptions, Program Information & Directions

Registration Form

PLEASE NOTE:  Resident Fees apply to residents of Cornelius only. 
Non-resident fees apply to residents of any other town or city.

 
COOKING

YOUNG CHEF'S ACADEMY 
Ages:
5-13
Week 4:  July 15-17 (NOTE: Tue-Thu ONLY)           9:00am-12:00pm
Week 7:  August 5-7 (NOTE: Tue-Thu ONLY)          1:00pm-4:00pm
Week 8:  August 12-14 (NOTE: Tue-Thu ONLY)      9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $110/resident               $120/non-resident
Location:   Young Chef's Academy

Experience hands-on participation in a variety of cooking-themed activities.  Children of all ages can build life-enriching skills and experience the joy of creating and tasting new foods.  Please note this camp is three days only.  Led by the staff of Young Chef's Academy at Oakhurst Shopping Center.

 
FORENSICS

CSI   
Ages: 11-14
Week 5:  July 21-25        9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $40/resident           $50/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation  Center

Instead of learning a new cheer or building a campfire this summer, come and join the Cornelius Police Department as they lead this unique CSI camp.  Participants will be involved in creating staged crime scenes while learning about equipment used to solve crimes such as use of cameras, dusting for fingerprints and more!

 
GYMBOREE

Gymboree programs are designed to develop, expand, and strengthen your child's motor skills and build strong, healthy bodies and minds, all while enhancing their active imaginations and creativity.  In our themed Summer Camps, 3-5 year-olds will enjoy activities from our various programs and each day will end with Gymboree's signature activity - parachute time!  The variety of activities, fast pace, and engaging instructors will capture your child's imagination and make them say, "Hip, Hip Hooray, It's a Gymboree Day!"  Please note Gymboree camps are Tuesday - Thursday only.

FARM FUN  
Ages:
3-5
Week 1:  June 17-19 (Tues-Thu)         1:00pm-4:00pm
Cost:  $85/resident          $95/non-resident     
Location:   Gymboree    

Children will have fun exploring the barn, the pig pen, the chicken coop, and using various props to pretend to be animals on the farm!  They'll kick up their heels with musical activities and dancing to selections from our country and folk musical styles.

AT THE BEACH    
Ages:
3-5
Week 2:  June 24-26 (Tues-Thu)         1:00pm-4:00pm
Cost:  $85/resident          $95/non-resident
Location:   Gymboree    

At our beach party, children will surf, limbo, play with beach balls, and participate in other fun beach activities.  They'll enjoy musical activities, dancing and instrument exploration to selections from our surf music.  They'll get to create a work of art to take home each day related to the beach theme.

 
MAD SCIENCE

RED HOT ROBOTS     
For Rising Grades 3rd-6th
Week 1:
  June 16-20      9:00am– 12:00pm 
Cost:  $140/resident       $150/non-resident              
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Join us for a week of thrills where we will explore how robots are used in our world and have fun experimenting with super cool sound sensing robots, line-tracking robots, and amphibious robots.  Young scientists will discover the science of electronic circuits and how robots use sensors to explore things around them.  Build your own sound-activited robot and test out your new friend on an obstacle course before taking it home at the end of the week.

EARTH EXPLORATIONS    
For Rising Grades PK—1st
Week 2:
  June 23-27      9:00am– 12:00pm 
Cost:  $125/resident        $135/non-resident 
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

What hidden stories can we find in rocks, sand and fossils?  Explore the world around us, from oceans to mountains and volcanoes to earthquakes.  Have fun sifting  for “gemstones” and uncovering dinosaur bones.  Discover the awesome forces of nature that shape our world and learn what fossils and shells tell us about the creatures of the earth.  Let your imagination soar as you create a take-home project each day.  

SECRET AGENT LAB
For Rising Grades 1st—6th
Week 3:
  July 7-11        9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $135/resident       $145/non-resident              
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

"It's elementary, Watson" for children to become super sleuths to solve a "crime"!  Use techniques from forensic science to fill the shoes of a detective in this fun-filled "who dunnit" program.  Build a detective tool kit and use it to collect and analyze evidence from crime scenes.  The unusual subjects will be narrowed down as the week progresses until we solve the crime and bring the camp to a sweet conclusion!

 
SIZZLING SUMMER SCIENCE   
For Rising Grades 1st—6th
Week 4:
  July 14-18        9:00am-12:00pm 
Cost:  $135/resident         $145/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Science is all around us...from nature and chemicals to buildings and sports!  Explore how science applies to all these areas as we concentrate on a different theme each day.  Decipher secret codes and build ultraviolet light detector to detect the “hidden” light from the sun.  Explore the animal kingdom and fun experimenting with light and colors.  The world will never look quite the same after attending this camp!

FLIGHT ACADEMY   
For Rising Grades 1st-6th
Week 5:
  July 21-25     9:00am-12:00pm 
Cost:  $135/resident      $145/non-resident             
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Children will have a hands-on experience exploring different types of aircraft and other objects that fly.  Basic principals of flight and aerodynamics will be investigated by building airplanes, testing them in wind tunnels, and building a hovercraft and balloon copter.  Investigate how early "pilots" navigated while building a sextant and sundial.  Campers will take home a rubber band-powered airplane, various paper airplane designs, balloon copters, boomerangs, a mini Frisbee, and an intermediate level Estes rocket. 

BLAST OFF INTO SPACE!   
For Rising Grades 1st—6th
Week 6:
  July 28-Aug. 1        9:00am– 12:00pm 
Cost:  $140/resident              $150/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Budding rocket scientists will explore the fundamentals of rocketry and space travel.  Learn about outer space as we look at the stars and solar system.  Work on projects to take home including a simple telescope, a propeller-powered space orbiter and a fully functional rocket.  Build and launch different types of rockets during the week and on the last day of camp, launch the solid fuel rocket you built into space and watch it return to earth by parachute before taking it home to show your friends.
 
MAGIC

HOCUS POCUS 
Ages: 7-13
Week 1:  June 16-20        1:00pm-4:00pm
Cost:  $135/resident          $145/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Learn basic tricks using simple everyday objects, such as cards, coins, string, and pencils.  Create illusions you can master with easy to learn, slight-of-hand skills.  This unique camp will be taught by professional magician Eddy Wade.  Cost includes a box of supplies to continue practicing your newfound skills.  Attend this camp the first week of the summer and make your whole summer magical!

 
MATH

MATHNASIUM
Rising Grades 3rd-5th

Week 6:  July 28-Aug.1   1:00pm-4:00pm
Cost:  $75/resident           $85/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation  Center

Campers will enjoy a week filled with fun activities to gain needed knowledge for them to improve their fluency with multiplication facts.  By combining math instruction with indoor and outdoor games, participants will explore the world of math while building their confidence and forging a positive attitude toward the subject.

 
PERFORMING ARTS

ON YOUR FEET!     
Ages:
7-11
Week 1:  June 16-20      9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $55/resident          $65/non-resident
Location:  Bailey Road Recreation Center

Camp instruction will focus on the coolest moves from the 80's, 90's and current hip-hop styke, providing exercise as well as developing confidence, poise, discipline and determination while having a great time in the process.  No prior dance experience is necessary.  Taught by elementary school teachers Andrea Wind and Melissa Amey, who have been dancing for 24 years and has been teaching dance for nine years.

TWINKLE TOES    
Ages:
4-6
Week 2:  June 23-27       9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $55/resident           $65/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Each day we will explore the elements of movement, while learning basic jazz and ballet techniques through make-believe.  We will use fairy tales as a way to explore different movements and recreate characters and story lines.  We will become true Fairy Princesses!  Taught by elementary school teachers Andrea Wind and Melissa Amey, who have been dancing for 24 years and teaching dance for nine years.

 
LET'S SING TOGETHER!                                 
Ages:
6-10
Week 1:  June 16-20        9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $55/resident           $65/non-resident
Location:   JV Washam Recreation Center

A choral workshop for boys and girls going into 2nd through 5th grade who love to sing, sing, sing!  We will work on learning basic singing skills through a variety of songs.  At the end of the week we will have a choral presentation where parents, family and friends are invited to come see and hear what the singers have accomplished.  Taught by JV Washam Elemenatary music teacher Sari Elaine Munoz.

ROCK STAR 101                                                                      
Ages:
11-15                                                               
Week 5:  July 21-25      1:00pm-4:00pm
Cost:  $100/resident       $110/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Beginners or participants with moderate experience will learn finger exercises and strumming techniques and be introduced to concepts such as open strings and power chords.  Campers should bring their own acoustic or electric guitar.  Led by well-respected
and sought-after Charlotte area musician Mike Hager.
 

YOUNG PERFORMERS    
Ages: 8-13
Week 2:  June 23-27       9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $75/resident           $85/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Become a star among your peers!  This drama camp will expose your budding performers to improvisation, acting techniques, stage presences, skits, and voice animations, using costumes and props.  Directed by Valerie Kasmir of Lessons on the Lake.

 
VISUAL ARTS

OOEY GOOEY ART     
Ages:
7-11
Week 3:  July 7-11        9:00am-12:00pm SOLD OUT!!
Cost:  $60/resident         $70/non-resident
Location:  JV Washam Recreation Center

This camp promises to be messy and fun!!  Projects will be dripping with paint, ink, paper mache', glue and clay.  Messy is our primary ingredient, mixed with a little imagination for creating 2-D and 3-D works of art.  So roll up your sleeves and prepare for fun!!  Led by art teachers Judy Kidd of Cornelius Elementary and Celeste Dulin of JV Washam Elementary. 


SUPER CRAFTS 
Ages:
7-11
Week 6:  July 28-Aug. 1   9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $60/resident            $70/non-resident
Location:   JV Washam Recreation Center

Incredible crafts await you in this special camp.  Weaving a basket, making beads and creating jewelry, as well as designing and printing personalized note cards, highlight this week of "hands-on" activities and fun.  Led by art teachers Judy Kidd of Cornelius Elementary and Celeste Dulin of JV Washam Elementary.

 
HOGWARTS ACADEMY
For Rising Grades 3rd-5th
Week 2:
  June 23-27        9:00am-12:00pm SOLD OUT!!
Cost:  $100/resident         $110/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Calling all Harry Potter fans!  Come to Platform 9-3/4 and take the HogwARTS Express to this "wizARTly" camp.  Enjoy fun "Muggle-free" days, where you will study "the HogwARTS Way, wand & amulet making, magical creatures, colorful chemistry & potions, slimy surprises, and more!  Taught by the fun folks from the Children's Arts Project.

WHY CAN'T I COME TOO?
Ages:  4-5
Note: 3-day camp
Week 3:
  July 8-10       1:00pm-3:00pm 
Cost:  $75/resident      $85/non-resident             
Location:   Cornelius Arts Center

Tired of explaining to your four- or five-year-old why he or she can't go to summer camp?  Now they can!  This week is a blast of fun, as we paint, draw, sculpt, collage and build.  Throw in some storytime and now there's no reason why your preschooler can't have a summer camp just as great as their older siblings!  Taught by the Children's Arts Project. 

JUNKY TO FUNKY   
For Rising Grades 1st-5th
Week 6:
  July 28- Aug.1       1:00pm-4:00pm SOLD OUT!!
Cost:  $100/resident              $110/non-resident
Location:   Cornelius Arts Center

Junk, junk and more junk!  You will learn about recycling, reducing and reusing as we take junk and scraps and turn them into beautiful art masterpieces.  "Go Green" and see where your imagination will take you!  Led by the crative folks from the Children's Arts Project.

ZINES & MINI COMIC BOOK CREATIONS
For Rising Grades 6th-8th
Week 4:
  July 14-18             9:00am-12:00pm 
Cost:  $115/resident              $125/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Young artists who love to draw superheroes and heroines can indulge their fantasies this week in an intensive drawing class.  Campers should have confidence in their drawing skills, although exceptional talent is not required in order to enjoy this course and learn a good deal.  By the end of the week you'll have your very own published full-color comic book!  Join the Children's Arts Project for this unique camp!
 
BEADS & MORE     
Ages:
7-11
Week 3:  July 7-11            1:00pm-4:00pm
Week 5:  July 21-25          9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $55/resident            $65/non-resident
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

How many things can you do with beads?  Come join Becky Wilhelm, former owner of The Honey Pot bead store, as we make some of today’s most exciting crafts,  including beaded jewelry, kaleidoscopes, and hemp designs.  You'll even craft your own polymer beads!  In its 6th year, this very popular camp offers something different each week!
 
PHOTO FUN     
Ages:
9-15
Week 4:  July 14-18       9:00am-12:00pm 
Cost:  $70/resident          $80/non-resident
Location:   Jetton Park    

Discover how to use your camera with ease!  Learn about exposure, lighting, composition, and color in an outdoor setting.  Create a photographic journal to keep your memories and chart your progress.  Campers must bring their own 35mm or digital camera, but the camera must have manual controls.  Camp cost includes materials for a photographic journal but does not include film or processing.  Taught by Bailey Middle School art teacher Jamie Thibodeaux.
 
Yoga

YOGA KIDS FITNESS FUN   
Week 1:
  June 16-20          Rising Grades K-4th         9:00am-12:00pm 
Week 6:  July 28-Aug. 1     Rising Grades 3rd-6th      9:00am-12:00pm
Cost:  $75/resident             $85/non-resident             
Location:   Bailey Road Recreation Center

Have fun learning about the amazing human body and take charge of keeping healthy and safe.  Each day we will explore a different system in the body.  Age appropriate information will be shared using yoga postures, breathing, music, art, literature and games.  Participants will not only gain a fuller understanding of the wonder of our body systems, but will also learn lifelong skills for self care.  All this in a fun, non-competitive style.  Taught by certified yoga instructor Amy Schneider from Community Yoga.