Looking for summer and after-school activities? There are a great variety of programs available, and our list is by no means complete. As always, the presence of a group on this list does not imply our endorsement of it.
After-school only:
- Shaking the Tree at http://www.shaking-the-tree.com has drama classes, including acting out stories, scene study, improv, monologue and characterization, for children 3-1/2 to 15-years-old after school and Saturdays. Limited scholarships are available.
- Theatre Brigade at www.theatrebrigade.org is a children's theater group for children 7-15. Children meet throughout the school year for weekly rehearsals (they also meet on 6 Saturdays), for a November retreat, and a December dance & drumming workshop, all preparatory to performances in Portland area schools.
- Two Rivers Aikikai at www.2rivers.org has aikido classes for children ages 6-13 Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Monthly dues to the dojo are the same no matter how many classes you take.
Summer only:
- The Portland Children's Museum at https://www.portlandcm.org/camps-and-classes.php has half-day week-long summer camps for 4 and 5-year-olds and full-day week-long summer camps for 6 to 8-year-olds.
- The Oregon Zoo at www.oregonzoo.org has day camps during spring, summer and winter breaks for children ages 4-14. Choose one or more days during winter and spring breaks, week-long camps during summer break.
- The YWCA at http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=9oILKWMCF&b=108161 offers week-long (or less)summer camping opportunities at Camp Westwind on the Oregon Coast for children entering grades 1 through 12, including Ranch Camps with an emphasis on horses and riding, as well as Mother/Child camps for women with children ages 3-13, and CampOUT for GLBT families. Scholarships are available for those requiring financial assistance. Click on "Programs" for more information.
- Campfire USA at www.portlandcampfire.org offers week-long summer camping at Camp Namanu for children in grades 5 through 9, including ranch camps with an emphasis on horses and riding, and a family camp in May. Partial scholarships are available. Click on "Camp Namanu".
- The Oregon Museum of Science and Technology at www.omsi.org has week-long summer camps for children 7-18 in settings that range from mountains to seashores to deserts, that include survival skills, fossil excavation, star gazing, whale watching, canoeing and more, plus swimming, songs and skits. Financial aid is available.
- Tryon Creek State Park at www.tryonfriens.org has week-long half-day camps for children 4 to 6-years-old, and full day camps for children in grades 1 through 9. Observation and exploration, stories, songs and crafts, and more. Camps for children in grade 5 and up include overnights in the area. There are financial scholarships available.
After-school AND summer programs:
- Saturday Academy at www.saturdayacademy.org offers classes and camps throughout the year for children in grades 2-12 that focus on a huge variety of areas, from engineering and technology to humanities and the arts.
- Pacific Northwest College of Art at www.pnca.edu has an art program for children ages 4-18 that runs on Saturdays during the school year, which gives children the opportunity to explore multiple media, including pencil, charcoal, ink, pastel, crayon, paint, clay, and papier-mache, as well as comic strip art and video production. PNCA also has full-day, week-long summer camps (smARTworks) for children 7-14 that are focused around a single theme. Full and partial scholarships are available throughout the year.
- Oregon College of Art and Craft at www.ocac.edu has an art program for children ages 1-18 (yes, 1-year-olds are welcome here!) that includes one-day workshops and four-, five- and six-session classes. OCAC also has week-long Art Adventure summer camps that include drawing, painting, ceramics, book arts, jewelry, photography and more. Scholarships are available.
- DoJump at www.dojump.org has classes after school and on Saturdays, and week-long summer camps for children 3-1/2 and up, with children's performance troupes by audition. Children learn ensemble physical theater and aerial dance (trapeze work), and script their own shows to perform during the last class of each session.
- Northwest Children's Theater at www.nwcts.org has classes throughout the year for children 4-1/2 to 18-years-old. Acting, singing, dancing, backstage work like light and sound design, and more, with classes after school and on the weekends.
- One with Heart at www.onewithheart.com has the Transported After-School Poekoelan Program for children ages 5-11, which picks kids up after school and transports them to One with Heart Tulen Center, Monday through Friday, 3-6PM. Kids have supervised homework time, and over an hour of Poekoelan training each day, an Indonesian form of martial arts. They also have classes beginning at 5:30PM weekdays for children 6-12 and weekend classes for children 3-5, as well as week-long summer camps and day camps on days PPS schools are not in session.
- Portland Parks & Rec at http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/ offers camps and classes throughout the year for people from the age of 2 and up, focusing on art and theater, dance and sports (including gymnastics, baseball and more), cooking and language, music and math, and still more. Scholarships are available for those requiring financial assistance, as are accommodations for special needs.
- The YMCA at www.ymca-portland.org offers a variety of week-long travel and resident summer camping opportunities for children entering grades 2 through 12, as well as summer day camps in the city for children in grades 1 through 6. They also offer arts classes and youth sports during the school year. Financial assistance is available.
