Dandelion
Summer Camp
2024
We are thrilled to offer young people, ages 5-12, two unique camp experiences in South Philly this year!
All of our camps center our core values of deeply respecting kids, amplifying their agency, practicing environmental stewardship, and centering joy!
Week 1 @ TDP Building: June 17-21, 2024 (Waitlist!!)
Week 2 @ TDP Building: June 24-28, 2024 (Waitlist!!)
Week 3 @ FDR Park: July 8-12, 2024 (We have spots!)
Week 4 @ FDR Park: July 15-19, 2024 (We have spots!)
NEW!! Week 5 @ FDR Park: August 5-9, 2024 (We have spots!)
NEW!! Week 6 @ FDR Park: August 12-16, 2024 (Waitlist!)
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Dandelion Camp @ TDP Building
Week 1: Monday, June 17th- Friday, June 21st (9am-3pm daily)
Week 2: Monday, June 24th- Friday, June 28th (9am-3pm daily)
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Program Overview:
We are thrilled to offer Philadelphia young people exciting weeks of Summer Camp that centers experiential learning and play! In our beautiful building space, young people aged 5-12 will have the opportunity to participate in cooking offerings, crafts, games, science experiments, sensory play, and more. We will also explore the South Philadelphia neighborhood, with trips to nearby playgrounds, the Italian market, and more. At the Dandelion Project we have a deep respect for young people, which means that young people are empowered to make decisions about how they spend their time throughout the day!
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Location: 1415 S. 9th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Dandelion Camp @ FDR Park
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Week 3: Monday, July 8th- Friday, July 12th (9am-3pm daily)
Week 4: Monday, July 15th- Friday, July 19th (9am-3pm daily)
Week 5: Monday, August 5th- Friday, August 9th, 2024 (9am-3pm daily)
Week 6: Monday, August 12th- Friday, August 16th (9am-3pm daily)
Program Overview:
Young people aged 5-12 will join us at FDR Park for entirely outdoors summer camp programming! Environmental stewardship is at our core, and we are thrilled to offer Philadelphia families two exciting and unique weeks of summer camp that center this value in fun and engaging ways. From shelter building, to lake observation, to collaborative games and cool off activities, we know how to have summer fun in the park! At the Dandelion Project we have a deep respect for young people, which means that young people are empowered to make decisions about how they spend their time throughout the day!
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Location: 1500 Pattison Ave, Philadelphia, PA (exact location shared in Welcome email)
Daily Rhythm for both:
9:00-9:15AM Student Drop Off
9:30AM Set the Day + Intentions
10:00-12:00PM Self-Directed Activities/Experiences
12:00PM Lunch Reminder
12:00-2:00PM Self-Directed Activities/Experiences
2:30-2:45PM Community Clean Up
2:45PM Afternoon Reflections + Gratitudes
3-3:10PM Parent Pick Up
Examples of Camp offerings:
For an idea of the kinds of offerings we'll host at camp, take a look at the ones we planned last year. We'll include many of the same themes and some of the same kinds of experiences, and we'll be dreaming up some new ways to connect kids with our glorious planet.
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Bread Baking: Young people will have access to different bread making ingredients and recipes and make a bread of their choosing. Young people can offer a piece of their bread for a later Bread Taste Test later in the day. In this offering, we can explore how people experience taste differently and not “yucking people’s yums.” Whenever we do a baking project that has leftovers, we take them to the Community Fridge located at Bok Building.
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Recycled Material Sculpture Design and Building: Using supplies gathered from recycling bins, young people will design their own upcycled sculptures and use a variety of materials for adhesion. Young people may have the opportunity to paint and decorate their creations.
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Soap Making: With the support of a facilitator, young people will participate in each step of making their own bar of soap using local ingredients and natural essential oils.
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Microscope Exploration: Young people will learn how to use a microscope to look at things up close and draw what they see. Young people can view prepared slides and find objects and materials they'd like to look at up close.
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Neighborhood Walks + Visits to the Playground: We'll take daily outdoor trips! We are centrally located to a number of playgrounds in South Philly, including Capitolo, Gold Star, and Columbus Square. We are also located near to a number of murals, Percy Art Street, and the Italian Market.
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Community Games: Young people and facilitators will come together to participate in large, gross motor games such as dodgeball, capture the flag, obstacle course building, etc. In these games, we’ll intentionally prioritize skill building in the areas of communication, teamwork, and understanding consent/non-consent.
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Bugs and Plants: Young people will observe bugs in nature, learn safe handling of bugs, examine bug specimens with microscopes, and participate in plant dissection to gain a better understanding of pollination and the role insects play in making the magic happen.
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Foraging: Young people will hike through the meadows to forage for edible plants and learn the difference between native and invasive species. We’ll use tool to help identify plants and discuss the importance of clear identification before consumption. Edible plants will be foraged in ethical and sacred ways and young people will be supported in processing plants to make tea, soap, sacred smoke, and for cooking together.​​
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Litter Clean Up in the Park: One of the most important volunteer jobs at FDR is litter clean up. This offering will begin with a safety lesson, and then young people will learn how to use appropriate tools (litter pickers, gloves, compostable bags). We’ll dig into systemic issues around litter control and sustainable practices for moving forward. Afterwards we’ll jump into a re-use art project to turn cardboard into fabulous creations with a professional art instructor.
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Watershed + Fishing: FDR is one of seven main subwatersheds in Philadelphia. Our community partner, Let’s Go Outdoors, will bring their watershed simulation for young people to explore. We’ll also collect water samples to test for common pollutants. Additionally, we'll learn all the ropes when it comes to fishing and practice these new skills in the lake!​
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Shelter Building: Young people will hike into the meadows to learn how to safely use tools to build stick structures out of found natural objects. We’ll use recycled fabric to create sunshields and reflect on what kinds of structures work best.
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Cool Off Offerings: We’ll respond to the heat of summer afternoons with opportunities to play and connect while cooling off. We’ll play in sprinklers, test a slip and slide, make lemonade in the shady pine grove, etc.
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Natural Tie Dye: Using plants from the natural dye garden at FDR, young people will help harvest the plants and process them to create natural dyes. Young people will bring in light colored fabric items to tie dye.
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Camp Tuition:
Summer camp is offered at a weekly rate from $275.00-$450.00/week. We ask that families who have more access to wealth offer higher tuition so our sliding scale can go even lower, making it accessible to more Philadelphia families.
COVID POLICY
In both our indoor and outdoor camps, masking is optional. Upon enrollment, we will send you our updated COVID-19 policy that outlines our practices and the safety agreements we ask participants to commit to based on current conditions and information.
REGISTRATION
Families will complete the Summer Camp Application Form to provide background information about their family and a tuition offer that feels right. The Dandelion Project will be in touch with enrollment forms and a summer camp invoice. Once we receive these items back, registration will be confirmed.
Cancellation
We are committed to balancing our need to fully compensate our staff for their committed time with our desire to refund families who need to cancel registration. To cancel registration for a refund, we kindly ask for 30 days notice. If you need to cancel within a shorter timeframe, we will do whatever we can to fill the camper's spot, which will allow us to refund your money, but we cannot guarantee it. If we fill your camper's spot at a different rate on our sliding tuition scale, we can offer a refund up to the diffence. All refunds will be less any processing fees.