Monday Musings from Melinda by Melinda M.

A friend from CA called: she wants to spend three weeks in Hilo this summer and enroll her kids in local summer programs so they can meet local kids.

My first thought? Spend your time on Oahu – there is a paucity of summer “camp” options for kids here! But after further discussion, I realized that what frustrates me about our options is that most are only 1 to 2 weeks and not full-day which are the exact things that make it perfect for someone who’s only visiting or is flexible.

Here’s what I offered:
Junior lifeguarding – this 2 week, 1/2 day session by County Parks & Rec kicked my daughter’s okole when she did it a few summers back. Holy crap was I impressed by the kind of deep water lifesaving and swimming they did in the open ocean. For excellent swimmers only.

Imiloa Astronomy Center – usually has a full-day, 1-week program called Camp Imi-Possible only for select grades.

Hilo Hongwanji – runs a full-day program for children in preschool through 6th grade (I believe) called Summer Play and Learn.Summer Youth Academy – run by Hawaii Community College, this two-week session program offers a selection of hands-on learning classes a day for a half day.Okinawan Camp – a 1-week camp that exposes all youth aged 5-12 to and engages them in Okinawan culture. I wrote about my daughter’s delightful experience with this last summer.Robotics – both Hilo and Waiakea High Schools offer a 3 or 4 day robotics program for select grades.

Sports – AYSO and US Soccer offer camps as does Pantheon Gymnastics; UH Hilo offers many sessions of swim lessons and Center Stage Hilo has a summer session, too, offering a variety of dance classes.

We have also enrolled our girls in Kamehameha Schools’ summer program (though we are not Hawaiian) and in the County’s summer fun program – I’m hoping they still do the Teen Scene program, though, like most summer offerings, no information has been posted about it…yet!

Please add to this list by commenting below! Word of mouth is how I found out about most of these options and as my girls get older, I need more!!