Summer Camp
Summer Camp at Thaden School offers opportunities for children entering Grades 5 and 6 to experience our distinctive educational programs and learn from master teachers. We will host three fun-filled weeks of camp with offerings in the performing arts, cycling, culinary arts, and tinkering. Camps will be small with no more than 15 students in each program. The counselor to camper ratio is 1:7.
- The camp day will run from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm
- Tuition is $300 per week
- Daily transportation is available for an additional $50 per week
- Post-camp care from 3:00 to 5:00 pm is available for an additional $50 per week
- Campers will bring their own lunches and drinks from home (water and snacks are available on campus)
- Weekly tuition includes a camp t-shirt
Click here to register. You must complete a separate registration form and payment for each camper.
We look forward to a wonderful summer camp experience. In the meantime, please reach out to admissions@thadenschool.org or call 479-254-8030 with any general questions or concerns.
The Thaden School Summer Camp Team
Week 1 (June 7-11): Performing Arts
Theatre Camp
In this fun and discovery-oriented camp, campers will focus on constructive make-believe, including upbeat exercises and acting games. They will also work on pantomimes, bring characters to life, and create short plays. Our young performers will learn foundational acting techniques and skills that translate well from stage to classroom, including confidence, eye-contact, control over body, use of space, collaboration, and creative thinking. Campers need only bring their imaginations and sense of play!
Musical Camp
It’s time to warm-up your vocal cords and tune your ukuleles! Campers will immerse themselves in vocal and instrumental studies to develop confidence in musical performance. Music will be taken right from the theatrical spaces of Broadway to teach healthy vocal practices, performance communication, and the value of ensemble. All experiences and backgrounds are welcome! Find your voice and share it with pride!
Week 2 (June 14-18): Signature Programs
Food and Farm
During this action-packed week, participants will explore connections with the food system and the natural world through hands-on cooking, gardening, and science activities. Campers can look forward to getting to know Thaden School’s flock of hens, learning to cook in the teaching kitchen, exploring all that is growing in the Thaden School greenhouse and garden, eating delicious food, taking a farm field trip to pick blueberries and more! On the last day of camp, participants will take part in a culinary competition as they use the skills they have learned all week to try to create the most delicious pizza!
Stop-Motion Storytelling
In this week-long camp, participants explore the history and theory behind stop-motion storytelling. Viewings of historic and contemporary stop-motion works will allow campers to identify and examine the underlying principles that make stories effective. Campers will also write their own short stories, design relevant sets, and bring their ideas to life with a unique brand of video production and Dragonframe software and hardware, just like Hollywood features. The camp will culminate with campers presenting their short stories to their friends and family on the big screen here at Thaden.
Be a Wheelie
Nothing says “summer” like riding bikes with your buddies, so gather your best ones together and sign up to be a “Wheelie” at Thaden School’s week-long, bike-centric summer camp. Wheelies will learn basic maintenance skills (like how to fix a flat and adjust a derailleur) in our on-campus bike lab, bike to attractions throughout Bentonville (including Crystal Bridges, the Amazeum, and swimming holes along Little Sugar and McKisic Creeks), tackle beginner mountain biking trails on campus and at Slaughter Pen and Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, and practice their pump track skills. Wheelies will also saddle up to compete in slow races, navigate obstacle courses, and play fun and accessible bike-based games. Lastly, Wheelies will explore the bicycle’s creative possibilities by creating artworks and original musical numbers using bike parts and composing original poems with the metaphorically rich language of the bicycle.
Week 3 (June 21-25): Tinker and Create
Explorations in Music Making
Have you ever…
Played a banana piano?
Created a bongo drum out of bicycle parts?
Experienced a music garden?
Composed original music to aid in storytelling?
This one-week camp will allow students to use their imaginations to explore musical intersections of technology, found objects, and nature. From assisting chickens in making music to learning how to use GarageBand to compose your very own soundtrack to observing a piano at the Scott Family Amazeum that interacts with fire, this camp will be sure to ignite curiosity and wonder.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the schedule of the camp day?
The camp day begins with check-in at the main entrance to the school campus at the Home Building on SE C Street (a campus map can be found here). Campers should plan to arrive between 7:30-8:00 am, and parents/guardians should be prepared to spend a few minutes signing them in.
The camp program begins promptly at 8:05 am, with breaks for lunch between 11:30 am-12:15 pm and a Thaden-provided snack in the afternoon.
Camp ends each afternoon with check-out at 3:00 pm; campers should be picked up between 3:00-3:15 pm at the same location where they were dropped off in the morning. Again, parents/guardians should plan to take a few minutes to sign their camper out.
After-hours care is available from 3:00-5:00 pm for $50 per session for those who registered for it in advance.
What if I am late dropping off or picking up?
Call the Main Office at 479-268-5321 to report absences, late arrivals, or late pick-up. Please note that late pick-ups are subject to fees of $20/day.
What should campers wear?
Campers should wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty! Sneakers or other closed-toe shoes are important because campers will be very active and making, cycling, gardening, and more. Each camper will receive a camp t-shirt on the first day that they should wear on subsequent days of the week.
Campers should also bring a 2-ply mask with them so they have it to wear at any time when they are inside buildings, per CDC guidelines for unvaccinated children. Thaden will provide disposable masks if needed.
What should campers bring with them?
Campers should be sure to bring the following items each day, marked clearly with their names:
- Small day/backpack of sufficient size to carry other items listed below
- Water bottle, filled
- Lunch and ice pack or cooler (please be sure that all food is free of tree nuts)
- Towel
- Sunscreen (please also apply before arrival)
- Extra set of clothes
What should campers NOT bring with them?
Please leave all electronics and cell phones at home! Thaden School will provide any technology that is needed to participate fully in our summer camps. Any parent or guardian who needs to contact their camper during the day should call the Main Office at 479-268-5321.
Will there be a nurse on staff? Is it possible to have medications administered to my child during the camp day?
Our school nurse, Pam Chrisco, will be on-call during the camp day.
Any prescription medications to be given during the camp day should be limited to antibiotics or ADD/ADHD medications. These will need to be checked in by a parent or guardian on the first day or camp and must be delivered in the original prescription bottle.
What if my child requires medical care?
A parent or guardian will be contacted should your child require medical care other than routine first aid.
In case of emergency, we will access 911 and contact the parent or guardian as soon as possible.
What sort of precautions will be taken in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Parents/guardians will receive daily texts reminding them to conduct standard pre-screening assessments before coming to campus.
In addition, campers who are 12 or under and thus not eligible for vaccination will be required to wear masks indoors and/or outdoors in circumstances where they may be physically close together. Masks will not be required when outside riding bicycles or engaging in other safely distanced activities during which campers may exert themselves.
What is your inclement weather policy and do you offer refunds in the event of a closing?
Thaden School reserves the right to modify daily camp activities due to inclement weather. In the event of severe weather, the campus may be closed for safety reasons. In the event of campus closure, Thaden School will provide prorated refunds or alternate camp dates.
Who should I contact if I have an urgent need or question?
Call the Main Office at 479-268-5321 to contact or leave messages for campers during camp hours. For urgent matters, please contact Rob Whorton, Director of Facilities, at 479-721-5092.