Info Packet
Crafty Makers Camp is a hands-on multimedia day camp for youth grades K-5. We are curating experiences and opportunities for kids to create, make, play, grow and share. We do this in a community of thoughtful, engaged artists and makers and we meet the campers where they are -in age- and developmentally appropriate ways.
We will be following State and County health regulations. We will use these guidelines to offer a safe and fun camp for all of our campers. This includes, mask wearing, health screenings and a regularly sanitized working environment.
We are thrilled you can join us this winter and we look forward to getting to know your child/ren!
- Whitley, Crafty Maker Camp Director
Daily Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 am – Early drop-off time & Supervised Free Time
9:00 – 9:15 am – Drop-Off & Supervised Free Time
9:15 – 10:20 am - Project A
10:20 – 10:45 am - Snack Time & Free Play
10:45 – 11:50 pm – Project B
11:50 - 12:50 pm – Lunch & Free Play
12:50 – 1:55 pm – Project C
1:55 - 3:00 pm - Project D
3-5:30 pm- Pick Up & Extended Care-snacks, free play and elective activities
What Will You Make This Winter?
Following are the basic details you and your Crafty Maker should know about Camp, as they pertain to the general safety & wellbeing of everyone. Please take a few minutes to read it all.
Have specific questions not answered here? You can always reach out to us whitley@thingamajigs.org.
This camp offers three projects a week, and Crafty Makers rotate through each project every day in 65-minute studio periods. Each project time is followed by breaks (snacks or lunch, free time and quiet time). Crafty Makers are divided into groups by age and stick with their group during all studio projects and recess times.
The camp day ends at 3 pm. Extended Care begins at 3:00pm. If you are not enrolled in Extended Care, please be prompt in picking up your camper between 3-3:15pm. Anyone not picked up by 3:15pm will be automatically checked into and billed for Extended Care.
Extended Care runs from 3:00-5:30pm but you may come pick up your Crafty Maker anytime in that window. Crafty Makers must be signed out when being picked up, be it at 3pm or 5:30pm, or any time in-between. Crafty Makers not signed out will be charged for a full day of Extended Care.
Every adult picking up a Crafty Maker in the afternoons must present photo identification. If you plan to have someone other than parents/guardians to collect your child at the end of the day, please alert Crafty Maker staff that morning, by email at whitley@thingamajigs.org, or with a written note at Morning Drop Off.
Please Send Your Crafty Maker Each Day With ...
• A Refillable Water Bottle
... clearly labeled with your Crafty Maker’s name, please. Disposable cups are not available and Crafty Makers do get mighty thirsty.
• A healthy lunch in a bag or box that closes well.
…also clearly labeled with your Crafty Maker’s name, please. Crafty Maker Camp does not provide lunch at this time. We believe that we all have a responsibility for the stewardship of our planet and our environment. There are recycling and compost bins available all over campus, as well as trash cans. As much as possible, please try and send your camper with a no-trash/no-waste lunch with containers they can bring home, or compost. Please keep the candy, soda, donuts, etc. at home—Camp is stimulating enough.
• Wearing comfortable clothes and CLOSE-TOED shoes!
At Camp, Crafty Makers will get dirty. Being creative is a messy business, as is playing in the dirt, cooking and just generally being a kid. Your Crafty Maker should wear comfortable (not too precious) clothes appropriate for a variety of creative projects. Closed-toed shoes are very important because of the tools we use here at Camp.
•Crafty Makers may choose to have something they can put on over play clothes, like a smock, as weather and whims dictate.
•Layers are always a smart option—as our Bay Area weather is known to be fickle. Please mark your Crafty Makers’ clothes with their name, as our Lost & Found gets very full, very quickly and many articles of clothing look alike.
CAMP CULTURE
As in any community, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and minor conflicts may arise. We make every effort to encourage the campers to work out their disagreements first among themselves in an appropriate manner. Additional help from our teachers, counselors and staff is always available in order to best negotiate an amicable and peaceful outcome/solution. If a Crafty Maker is having difficulty respecting the rules, or containing their impulses, we attempt to resolve the issue together with them. If the pattern persists, they receive a warning and if there is a third incident/complaint/similar concern, we call parents.
By enrolling your child at Crafty Maker Camp, you are signing them up for a hands-on engaged experience in the spirit of D-I-T (Do It Together). We expect Crafty Makers to be a participant in their own unique way. We teach arts, tinkering, and creator skills and offer compelling experiences that many children do not generally have access to. Crafty Makers get experience working with real tools, sharp utensils and other objects requiring care and caution - and they must be used appropriately and mindfully. Without exception. Because we will always err on the side of safety, Crafty Makers are able to participate only when they choose to listen to directions and respect the ground-rules set by their teachers.
Crafty Makers Camp strives to create a warm, friendly, inclusive community, rather than a rigid structure with exhaustive rules that cause children to feel constricted. That said, we do have some general expectations and ground rules:
• Respect everyone. The staff, teachers, counselors, each other -as well as the beautiful campus of The Berkeley School!
• We are a mixed-age community and expect everyone to show respect and provide good role modeling for younger Crafty Makers.
• Respect the tools! We use real tools to make real things at Camp and the use of tools is a privilege (not a right) that comes with respect for their proper and safe use. Use tools properly, or you don’t get to use them.
• No weapons or using other objects as weapons or threatening devices
• Keep your hands/feet to yourself-no hitting, punching, kicking, wrestling etc.
• Be mindful of your language! Crafty Makers are always encouraged to communicate their needs and wishes in a respectful manner.
• Throw things only when it is a part of a game, or a project-given direction.
• Respectfully, all personal toys, mobile phones, iPads, iPods, kindles... etc. stay at home... All those gadgets are so cool and distracting that they are always an issue (for us grownups too). If your Crafty Maker needs a cell phone to contact you before or after camp, they must keep the “glowing rectangle” in their bag or check it in with one of the staff members who will return it at the end of the camp day.
• Crafty Maker Camp is a respectful community. Cursing, swearing, or other abusive language or actions- such as hitting - have no place here. Physical or verbal.
Please do not mail any Camp-related materials to The Berkeley School.
Cancellation Policy:
Camp weeks are not transferable to other people. If you are unable to make the week(s) of Camp you registered for, and if space is available, we will attempt to switch you to a different week of Camp for a $25 fee per Crafty Maker, per week.
In the event you need to cancel your child’s enrollment, we offer the following refunds:
• Two (or more) weeks prior to the camp week you are canceling: 50% refund
• Less than 2 weeks notice to camp week: no refund
A Few Requests and Expectations
Illness:
If your CAMPer is sick or has something contagious ... It should go without saying, but just to be clear--- Please do not send your camper to Camp if he/she is not feeling well or has a fever, or any communicable disease or parasite. If a child becomes ill at camp or has a fever, parents will be contacted and asked to take the child home ASAP. If parents are unavailable, we will call folks listed on the Emergency Form.
For insurance and safety reasons, no medication will be administered at Camp unless special arrangements are made in writing. Please share any special considerations--physical, emotional, social, behavioral--for your child with us; it is important that we are aware of your child’s needs. If your camper/s must miss their scheduled week due to unforeseen illness, the week may be rescheduled with a doctor’s note. No problem.
Emergency Procedures:
With registration we request detailed information concerning each child’s health, including chronic illness or conditions, allergies, susceptibility to disease or injury, and any other medical considerations.
Copies of these forms are kept confidential and on-site. Please be sure to complete the online forms. Crafty Makers should be in good physical and mental condition, fully capable of participation in Camp activities. In case of illness, accidental injury or emergency during the camp day, camp staff will contact parents/guardians at home or at work immediately. We also ask parents to provide us with the numbers of relatives, friends or neighbors in the event we are unable to contact the parents or guardians during Camp hours. In the case of serious medical or health emergencies, Camp staff will contact a local hospital for professional advice or, if needed, ambulance service and/ or treatment by a physician. Parents are asked to provide us with information concerning emergency treatment preferences.