Fun in the Sun Summer Camps

Schoolhouse Playcare Centre is proud to announce a new project that is being developed for our Kindergarten/School Age Programs this summer.

“Fun in the Sun” Summer Camps are being developed for the kindergarten/school aged children enrolled with SPC over the summer to enrich and enhance the children’s experience over the summer. We recognize that many organizations offer summer camps and we wanted to offer a similar experience for our families!

The camps are recreation-based and will be facilitated by the staff. Some of the topics that are being considered can include:

Visual Art, Science, Nature/Outdoors, Sports, Theatre, Dance, Crafting, Music and Wellness.

The camps will be offered as half-day sessions and will run over the course of a week. A calendar will be drafted and sent out to families, and children will have the opportunity to sign up. Each location will have its own schedule, so the children will be having their programming ‘in house’.

We look forward to sharing this new program with you! Stay tuned for further updates!

Don McMahon, RECE

Summer Camps Lead/Co-Ordinator


Summer Camp Website Update: Friday, July 28th/2023

Hello everyone! The Summer Camps are in full swing and it’s hard to believe that we are already nearing the end of July!! The phrase “time goes by fast when you’re having fun” certainly holds true with the camps, and summertime in general!

As previously mentioned, the main purpose behind the development of the Summer Camps was to offer a variety of activities and experiences for the Kindergarten/School Age children that are with us over the Summer. This is meant to complement the programming that is already happening; and offers an option for children and families who are not able to utilize other recreation-based programs in the community. In addition, the camps are giving an opportunity for our talented staff to share and showcase their skills, too!

Here are the Camps that have happened so far (or wrapping up as of Friday, July 28th):

St. James: Art (led by Selena), Drama (led by Cameron), and Dance (led by Liz)

St. Martin: Dance (led by Liz), Cooking (led by Natasha) and Drama (led by Cameron)

Westmount: Photography (led by Alesha), Cartooning (led by Megan), and Sports (led by Abby)


And, the reviews are in! Here are some of the quotes given by the children:

“It was the best thing ever" “I liked the stop motion (photography)” “(I liked) learning new dances” “(I liked) playing games” “(I) played a little movie, just a little play” “We all had ideas and Cameron put it together”


For the month of August, here is what’s happening next!

St. James: Cartooning (led by Megan), Science (led by Lina), Photography (led by Alesha), and Puppetry (led by Don)

St. Martin: Math and Nature (led by Reena), Photography (led by Alesha), Puppetry (led by Don), Sports (led by Abby), and Science (led by Lina)

Westmount: Ukrainian Dance (led by Jess), Math and Nature (led by Reena), Drama (led by Cameron), Science (led by Lina) and Puppetry (led by Don)

We are looking forward to another exciting month with Camps!

Don McMahon, RECE

Summer Camps Lead/Co-Ordinator


Introducing our Summer Clubs!

August 9th/2024

Hello everyone!

After a very busy and successful summer last year, we (as an organization) took some time in the Fall to revisit and reflect the Summer Camp program. There was a lot of positive feedback about the wide variety of programming that was offered by our talented staff for all three of our sites that were running full day Kindergarten/School Age programs.

For our 2024 'Fun in the Sun' session we decided to make some changes to the Camp format. Part of our goal as an organization was to continue moving forward with offering opportunities for children to engage in more focused work based on their interests. This was the inspiration behind the development of the Summer Clubs Program!

As you are reading this, you might be asking: what is the difference between the Camps and the Clubs?

The most significant difference is that the Clubs are operating 'in house'. The staff at each location are collaborating with the children to create and develop the clubs based on the interests of the children. Also, there are more opportunities for flexibility in delivering the Club activities; taking into consideration the rhythm of the day. This has also allowed for more relationship building between the staff, children and the families. Of course there is always other planning happening, and each group is unique with their own ideas and interests.

So what Clubs have happened already? Here are some examples of the Clubs:

Art Club Science Club Building Club Sports Club

Knitting and Crochet Club Rock Club SPCs Got Talent Club

Book Club Bugs and Bees Club Yoga Club Culture and Literacy Club

Pokemon Club Dance Club Life Skills Club



Summer Club Wrap Up!

August 26th/2024


It's hard to believe that we are now approaching the end of August! The children have had an amazing summer, and it's great to see how the children have been engaged in all of the programs. There was quite a diverse assortment of Clubs, and I hope that the families have had an opportunity to revisit the documentation. As the program's documentation boards evolve and change over the next several weeks, we are going to compile all of the work into a Project Binder as part of centre's collection.

A big thank you goes out to all of the staff for their hard work and dedication to the Clubs! We all look forward to see how the Club concept will change and grow over the upcoming year!