In the now-classic movie “Home Alone” the family is in such a rush to start their holiday vacation that they forget about their son. Metro Atlanta parents have the opposite issue. They’re actively looking for activities for their children when school’s out.
“It’s hard with all these public school breaks,” said India Mouzon, who lives in Atlanta’s Summerhill neighborhood. “You have to find something for them to do because you can’t take time off from work. He can’t go to grandma’s house and play on his iPad all day.”
Her 7-year-old son, Kevin, instead heads to the Alliance Theatre’s School Break Play Days for grades K-5. The theater matches the Atlanta Public Schools’ calendar so they run camps on one-off days such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as well as the longer fall, winter and summer breaks.
“We are not blind to the fact that part of the reason parents are signing their kids up is that they need child care,” said Kristen Silton, Alliance’s head of education advancement. “I won’t say it’s desperation, but most of our registrations come the week before when parents realize they need a place for their children.”
Credit: Sydney Lee
Credit: Sydney Lee
Kathryn Masuda, youth programs manager at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, agrees.
“Our little camps sell out within an hour,” she said. “The camps are different from our summer ones because it allows us to engage with kids on a different level.” Every day features a botanical theme with a different activity. One day they may bake, but with fall flavors such as pumpkin or apple, walk around the canopy or sit around a campfire, sip hot chocolate and learn about winter animals.
Metro Atlanta offers a variety of winter break camps that range in focus from sports to arts to outdoors. Parents just need to research and sign up as soon as possible.
“We put reminders for the first day of sign-up on our calendars so we don’t miss out. It’s a high-demand camp,” said Mouzon, whose younger son, Victor, will also go to the Alliance in a few years.
The Chattahoochee Nature Center offers three winter sessions, including for the first time, one for older campers in seventh and eighth grades.
“We’re still developing the programs, but it’ll be various adventures, hiking, maybe go to a cave. After the holidays, kids are getting restless and parents are ready for them to go back to school. The excitement is over, and they need to go back to a structure mode,” said Debby Head, the nature center’s camp co-director.
Credit: Kara Kapczynski
Credit: Kara Kapczynski
Many parents use the winter mini-camps to see if their children enjoy a program before committing to a longer summer camp, said Laura Viator, also a camp co-director.
“It’s not a full-blown camp, but they get to still hike, see animals, do archery,” she said. “Parents say their kids are getting a bit cagey and so sending them outside to our camp is a great option.”
Chattahoochee organizes its activities based on grades: kindergarten to first grade, second to third, fourth to sixth and now seventh to eighth.
“It’s just a great benefit getting outside and connecting with nature,” Head said. “They can make friends and meet kids who may not be in their area. Especially since COVID, parents are looking for ways to keep kids unplugged and outdoors.”
The Zone of Light Studio follows the DeKalb and Fulton county schools’ schedules and offers corresponding art camps for the Thanksgiving and winter breaks for kids ages 5 to 15. They offer four-day sessions, extended day and single-day classes.
“We are not a ‘drop by service’,” said Amy Wilson, founder and owner. “We encourage all children to come, even with those with learning or physical challenges. We have one group doing art while another may be in story time or doing games, and then we rotate.”
Credit: Adam K Thompson
Credit: Adam K Thompson
Older children may learn specific arts techniques, while the younger ones can hone their fine motor skills and learn to follow three-step directions.
“They learn life skills, but all I care about is that they had fun,” she said.
Kara Kapczynski, founder of the Vinings School of Art, said parents “don’t want their kids on computers. They don’t want to pay to have their kids watch a video. Everything we do is hands-on. We teach skills some of these kids don’t have. Believe it or not, some don’t know how to use a ruler and cut or are scared of using glue.”
Other local programs include Zoo Atlanta’s camps where children ages 5-11 visit the animals and take part in science experiments and demonstrations. Dunwoody’s Spruill Center for the Arts offers Pumpkins Spice Art Camps on Nov. 20 and 21 and three camps from Dec. 18 to 20, including Icelandic Adventures (ages 5-10) and Character Design Studio and Watercolor Studio (both for ages 11-14).
Not surprisingly, many of these camps have one common denominator: They cost money.
Parents can spend hundreds of dollars to keep their little ones occupied during the days off from school. But that doesn’t have to be the case. The Alliance Theatre, as well as other camps, offer scholarships.
Gwinnett County, in a partnership with the county’s board of education, operates Adventure Days from Nov. 20 to 22 in six of its recreation centers as well as from Dec. 18 to 22 from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., in an effort to make it easier for working parents.
Credit: Sydney Lee
Credit: Sydney Lee
“There is a great need for child care options, and parents know they can rely on us,” said Lindsey Jorstad, deputy department director of community services of Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation. The camps offer structured physical acts, nutrition, field trips, speakers and a variety of arts and crafts activities.
Scholarships are available through the Gwinnett Parks Foundation for county residents, as well as through Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program that supports early education options for low-income families.
“We will help parents apply and become eligible,” Jorstad said. “Once approved, it’s easy.” For those who don’t need financial assistance, the cost is $30 per day.
Mouzon said the decision to send her son Kevin to Alliance during winter break is an easy one because he’s had a great time at Alliance camps already.
“I selected the Alliance for him because he’s artistic and creative but introverted. I wanted to put him in a place where he could come out of his shell,” she said. “And as a Black boy, I wanted him to be able to stretch the muscle that gives him a range emotions and awareness of his emotional wheelhouse. It’s also something that he can enjoy for the rest of his life.”
After his very first day at camp, she realized just how much he enjoyed himself.
“He told me how much he loved camp and said he didn’t ever want to go back to school,” she said. “I told him that’s not how it works.”
FALL AND WINTER BREAK CAMPS
Alliance Theatre. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 20-21 and Dec. 18-22. $75 a day. 1280 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-733-4600, alliancetheatre.org.
Atlanta Botanical Garden. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 20-21, $155-$170. Dec. 18-22 and Jan. 2, $75-$85 per day. 1345 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 404-876-5859, atlantabg.org.
Chattahoochee Nature Center. Nov. 20-22, Dec. 18-22, Dec. 27-29. Prices vary based on age, camp and membership. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. 770-992-2055, chattnaturecenter.org.
Spruill Center for the Arts. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 20; 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 18. $150-$220. 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-394-3447, spruillarts.org.
Vinings School of Art. 9:15 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 20-22. $285. 1675 Cumberland Parkway, Smyrna. 678-213-4278, viningsschoolofart.com.
Zone of Light Studio. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 20-22, Nov. 24. Four days, $335, single day, $95. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 19-22. Four days, $420, single day, $95. 1202 Zonolite Road, Atlanta. 678-948-8059, zoneoflightstudio.com.
Zoo Atlanta. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 18-22, $320-$400. Dec. 27-29, $192-$240. Extended care $15. 800 Cherokee Ave., Atlanta. 404-624-5600, zooatlanta.org.
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