As an art teacher and mom who’s been in both classrooms and loads of summer camps over the past two decades, I’ve noticed the best art camp experiences for kids are ones where you step outside your teacher role and into one in which you craft amazing experiences.
The Difference Between School Art and Camp Art
In the classroom, we are often confined to standards, benchmarks, and assessment rules. These are important for school, but they can limit how creative we can get with out art lessons.
Selecting projects and activities for summer art camps are totally different. With art camps, you can:
– Plan activities based on what you love to teach, not what standards require
– Create projects that take several days to complete
– Design fun themes that get kids excited about art
– Plan projects that build on each other each day and allow you to use materials beyond your classroom budget.
The best part? Your art camp theme can be anything you want it to be.
You get to decide what projects to teach, and you can create an experience that’s fun for both you and your campers.
Want to skip right to the planning? Download my free “Art Camp Planning Guide” with ready-to-use themes supply lists:
Create an art experience, not just art projects
The best art camps don’t just teach art techniques—they create a whole experience around a theme. This makes the camp special and much more exciting than regular art class.
Here are two camp themes to explore:
Seashore Art Explorer Camp
Turn your space into an ocean explorer’s headquarters. Kids become art marine biologists for the week. They don’t just make ocean art – they create their own underwater world through different art projects.
The week builds day-by-day:
– Kids keep “scientific notebooks” with drawings of sea creatures
– They build 3D tidal pools with clay, paint, and recycled materials
– They learn how to paint water and waves
– Everything comes together in a sea life gallery for parents to visit
Sweet Shop Art Camp
Or create a bakery-themed studio where kids become pastry artists. They don’t just make paper cupcakes – they build their own bakery.
During the week, they:
– Create 3D clay cupcakes and cakes
– Paint donut artwork on canvas
– Make their own baker’s hats and aprons
– Set up a “bakery” display for the final day
Little things that make art camp special
What makes an awesome art camp isn’t just the projects – it’s all the extra touches that create a magical experience:
– Make Your Space Match Your Theme: Hang blue streamers from the ceiling for a seashore camp or set up display confection stands for a sweet shop theme.
– Dress the Part: Give kids simple costumes like aprons for bakers or explorer hats for marine scientists to help them get into character.
– Plan Fun Breaks: Create games that fit your theme—like “kelp forest limbo” or “tidal pool stepping stones”—to get kids moving between art sessions.
– Give Special Keepsakes: Provide custom sketchbooks or journals where kids can plan their projects and take notes.
– Celebrate with Parents: End the week with a mini art show where parents can see everything their children created.
Ready to plan your own amazing art camp?
Download my “Art Camp Toolkit” with planning templates, supply lists, and game ideas that will make your camp a hit!
Building Relationships with Families
The biggest difference between your school curriculum and teaching through a summer art camp is your relationship with parents. In school, you might only see parents at conferences of open houses. But with art camps, parents are choosing YOU and your specific camp because they like what you offer.
This gives you a chance to:
– Get to know families who appreciate your teaching style
– Create camp experiences that families look forward to every year
– Build a community of supporters who love your art programs
When families pay for your art camp, they’re looking for more than just childcare – they want their kids to have a special creative experience. This means you can focus on making your camp truly wonderful instead of trying to meet school requirements.
Growing your teaching beyond the classroom
Each summer art camp you create helps build your reputation as an art teacher. By taking pictures of your camps, collecting happy comments from families, and keeping in touch with parents through emails and newsletters, you create opportunities for future teaching adventures.
Many art teachers find that summer camps are perfect testing grounds for new art ideas. You can try out projects and themes that might be too big or complex for regular school art class. Some teachers even find that their art camps lead to year-round teaching opportunities outside of school
Ready to host your own art camp?
Want to create an art camp experience that both kids and parents will love?
Download my free guide “5 Steps to Creating Fun Summer Art Experiences” for art activity and project ideas, daily plans, and easy family communication ideas to help you craft your amazing summer camp.
Teaching art doesn’t have to be limited to the classroom. This summer, try hosting an art camp with projects you’re excited to teach, and watch how much fun both you and your students will have.
What kind of art camp would you like to create? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!
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