Camp à la Carte

  • For campers entering 1st through 6th grades
  • Campers are placed in co-ed groups of 10 to 15
  • Mix and match classes to create a unique camp experience
  • Check out the new offerings, too!

Select from our fabulous menu and design your own camp experience in Camp à la Carte. During these two-week courses you have the opportunity to explore your specific interests. Classes are intended to be mixed and matched with other offerings at Breck Summer Programs to create the ideal camp experience tailored to each individual child.

Grades 1-3 (8:30-12:00) | Cost $300.00 per class

Kids Dance (CAC-101a)
Get ready to dance the summer away in this class! From ballet to jazz, Zumba® to yoga, Breck teacher Jenny Bennett will lead you through an exploration of dance and movement. Campers will learn basic dance technique and experiment with choreography. You will then design costumes, create props, and take center stage in your own mini-production.

Fun With Science (CAC-101b)
Have you ever wondered how to make slime? Enjoy watching rockets launch? Do you want to know why certain chemical reactions happen? Ever explored physics? Well, this class is for you. Join Breck teacher Marie Murphy as you journey through the wonderful world of science. We’ll conduct a different scientific experiment each day. By the end of the class, you will be able to fascinate your friends and family with your knowledge of amazing science experiments.

NEW! Cooking Mania (CAC-201a)
Do you like helping out in the kitchen? Does Yoda's Green Sherbet or a Darth Vader Pizza sound good to you? Do you want to learn how to make Harry's Cauldron Cakes, Cockroach Clusters or Licorice Wands? If so this is the class for you! We will be making Star Wars® and Harry Potter® inspired dishes as well as favorite sport snacks. We will also visit local restaurants to go behind the scenes to see how are favorite things are made. Come join Breck educator Mackenzie Oakes and get cooking!

New! Curious Kids (CAC-201b)
Are you curious about the way things work in the world around you? Inspired by the PBS Kids show Zoom, this class will encourage you to stretch your mind through a variety of hands-on experiments. Some examples include: designing a roller coaster ride for a marble, making and racing balloon-powered cars, determining how far your catapult can fling a cotton ball, creating homemade glue and testing its strength, constructing a bridge to hold weight using only one sheet of paper, and designing a contraption to prevent ice cubes from melting. Unleash your natural curiosity this summer with Middle School teacher Robin Ferguson.

Boys’ Business (CAC-301a)
What gets your motor running? Have you ever constructed a marshmallow catapult? How high can you jump at Sky Zone? Do your parents want to get you out of the house this summer to burn off some energy? If so, then come join Breck teacher Robin Ferguson, and partake in all these boy-centered summer activities and more!

Celebrating Girls (CAC-301b)
If you LOVE American Girl® dolls, or any dolls for that matter, then this is the class for you! Join Breck teacher Marcy Wegner to create miniatures and accessories for dolls, enjoy stories and learn from American Girl® dolls. There will be crafting, some cooking and even off-campus adventures. Let’s celebrate friendship and being a girl! Don’t forget to bring your doll!

Grades 4-6 (8:30-12:00) | Cost is $300.00 per class

NEW! Villains and Vixens (CAC-101c)
Sure, princesses and heroes are great ... but the villains and vixens always have more fun. What better way to act out as "the bad guy" then on stage? This two-week theater camp will prepare an original script that explores what happens when a gaggle of villains all show up to the same place to perpetrate the same scheme. Using creativity, acting techniques and developing detailed characters, we will see which villain lands on top at the world premiere performance on the final day of camp. Facilitated by professional theater artist and Asst. Professor of Theater at St. Catherine University Nikki Swoboda.

NEW! Treasure Trails (CAC-101d)
Put on your hiking boots, then come and trek with us, explore the outdoors, and gather clues from flora and fauna along the way. Each day you will join Breck teacher Jodi James as you complete a nature trail scavenger hunt in a different venue, answering clues and solving a mystery. We will also webquest our hikes, using technology to gather more information. If you enjoy exploring wilderness, interactive with internet research, this is an adventure you won’t want to miss.

Go Green with Gardening (CAC-201c)
If you want to REALLY learn how to care for our environment, this class is for you. You will help maintain Breck's "Secret Garden," and do some gardening at nearby nursing homes. You will also pot plants and seedlings that can be taken home. Along the way you will do other fun activities related to recycling, re-using and reducing our use of the earth's resources. Led by Nan Zosel, Breck's Lower School Chaplain and avid gardener.

NEW! Summer Drum Camp (CAC-201d)
Are you good at making loud noises? Do you like to hit things with sticks? Want to learn how to drum along to your favorite songs? During Summer Drum Camp you'll get to play all sorts of drums including buckets, hand drums, drum set, and even 50-gallon barrels. Using recycled materials like buckets, drainpipes, and water jugs, we'll compose and perform a concert of our own music. You'll even design, build, and decorate your own junk instrument. You will learn how to hold and use drumsticks while composing your own music and learn about percussion music from all around the world, including your own backyard. Taught by Breck faculty member David Birrow.

NEW! Crafty Cards (CAC-201c)
Do you have a friend you want to wish a "Happy Birthday" or a relative to whom you want to say "Miss You?" Then this is the class for you. Join Breck educator Kari Bieber as you learn how to make cards for every occasion from start to finish, using general card making tools such as a scoring board, a cuddle bug, a die cut machine, paper punches, rubber stamps and ink pads. Cards produced will include all types of materials from buttons to stickers, ribbons, and bows. By the end of the class, card makers will have a variety of cards to send to loved ones for every occasion.

Real Science (CAC-301d)
During this two-week course you will experience real science daily. You will be involved in fun, exciting, hands- on science experiments, activities, adventures, and field trips inside and outside the classroom. Your imagination will be ignited as basic concepts of life science, physical science, and chemistry are taught using everyday items from the environment around you. The best way for kids to learn about science is through engaging, encouraging, captivating science fun. Come join Breck faculty Virginia Amundson as you explore the world around you and see how it works.

Grades 1-3 (12:00-3:30) | Cost $300.00 per class

NEW! Madeline in Paris (CAC-103a)
Bring your favorite doll and we will do Paris together with Madeline, the character from the famous Bemelmans literary series. We’ll join Madeline as she strolls through a park, visits a museum of French impressionists, has a picnic, paints en plein air, dines at a French café — all as if we are in Paris together. Breck teacher Jodi James will lead you through each day’s activities, which all have a Parisian influence, in the spirit of la belle vie française!

NEW! Cloud Creation Stage (CAC-103b)
Let your imagination fly! Have you ever looked up and sworn you saw people, animals, creatures or adventure-scapes coming out of the clouds? In this two-week theater camp, you will cultivate your creativity, gain control over your physicality and voices and learn how to focus your energy into creating a character inspired by your own fantastical cloud creatures. Culminating in an exciting performance on the final day of camp for an open audience, you will explore the bold world of theater in a safe and supportive environment. Facilitated by professional theater artist and Ass't. Professor of Theater at St. Catherine University Nikki Swoboda

Let’s Scrap (CAC-103c)
If you enjoy looking at photos or taking them, let's scrap.  We will learn to preserve and display photos in a fun, creative way. Join Breck teacher Marie Murphy and get the basics of scrapbooking. We will create an album, practice taking photos and experiment with different scrapbooking tools. Plan to bring 30-40 photos to start your album. Photo albums will be provided.

Martial Arts for Kids: Empty Hand Self Defense Training (CAC-203a)
You don’t have to be an athlete to love the discipline that martial arts can teach you. Join martial arts instructor KC Giwa as he shows you how martial arts can sharpen you to a razor’s edge. See how it allows you to mentally and spiritually cut through any obstacle in life. This course will increase your ability to recognize potential dangers and employ safety strategies to prevent, avoid and de-escalate confrontations. Other cool benefits include the enhancement of balance, flexibility and general fitness. The study of Martial arts promotes respect for others, courage, integrity, self-control and an indomitable spirit.

Junkyard Creations (CAC-203b)
Do you see something useful and amazing in what others call garbage? Do you like to create something out of "nothing?" Find materials to creatively and actively design our own projects out of nearly anything you can find. At the end of the two weeks, the hope is for the group to design a large-scale interactive idea to share with the rest of the camp. You must be willing and able to stretch your mind, get messy and take some creative risks. Taught by Ty Thayer, Breck faculty.

Outdoor Adventure (CAC-203c)
Do you think you are meant to spend your summers outside? Then this two-week course is for you. We will experience a variety of outdoor adventures: hiking and climbing at French Regional Park, swimming and playing sand volleyball at Theodore Wirth Park, canoeing at Lake Calhoun, and challenging ourselves through outdoor games. Throughout the process, we will capture our adventures through digital photography lead by Breck teacher Robin Ferguson.

Camp Critter (CAC-303a)
Do you love animals and want to learn to draw and paint and sculpt them in many ways? Then THIS is the camp for you. Join artist and Breck teacher Kat Corrigan in exploring many materials and styles of art--all in the name of ANIMALS. You will look at animal anatomy as well as basic drawing and painting skills, and delve into sculpture and maybe even small puppet theater. We will have some live models and perhaps a field trip too. Come learn to draw some of your best friends!

Chess Camp (CAC-303b)
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced chess player, Chess Camp promises to provide you with hours of fun as we explore strategy and tactics, chess history, rules of the game, and much more! Led by professional chess instructor Igor Rybakov, Chess Camp will offer students the opportunity to learn and compete, develop friendships, and master a game that will provide hours of enjoyment—and intellectual stimulation—throughout your lifetime.

Real Science (CAC-303c)
During this two-week course you will experience real science daily. You will be involved in fun, exciting, hands- on science experiments, activities, adventures, and field trips inside and outside the classroom. Your imagination will be ignited as basic concepts of life science, physical science, and chemistry are taught using everyday items from the environment around you. The best way for kids to learn about science is through engaging, encouraging, captivating science fun. Come join Breck faculty Virginia Amundson as you explore the world around you and see how it works.

Grades 4-6 (12:00-3:30) | $300.00 per class

NEW! Games Galore (CAC-103d)
Having fun and working hard all at the same time, campers will be researching, through play, all kinds of different games during the first week of this session. We will break out board games, running games, card games, different sports, battle games, and just about any interactive group experience we can find. The second week each camper will create, design, and package his or her very own game to take home and share with others. Let's stop boredom one game at a time! Taught by Ty Thayer, Breck faculty.

NEW! Team Adventures (CAC-103e)
This two-week course is full of adventures and opportunities to work as a team. You will participate in activities that will challenge you appropriately in ways that encourage learning about your abilities and pushing yourself to your limits. You will have the opportunity to conquer climbing walls and high-energy games, and process how you are growing as an individual. Middle School faculty member Rob Johnson will lead you in these challenging and rewarding adventures.

NEW! Girls Just Want to Have Fun (CAC-203d)
Ladies, are you tired of feeling disappointed when you arrive outside on the playground only to find most of the space dominated by the boys and "their" game? Have you ever felt excluded because you were left out of a game for being a girl? Have you ever felt disappointed because you wanted to try a game, but you avoided taking the risk in the past because your friends were not as interested in playing as you were? Finally, have you ever felt a little bit annoyed by the fact that some sports seem as though they are only made for or played by boys? If any of this sounds or feels familiar, the following experience is for you. Anything the boys can do, the girls can do better, and this summer you have the opportunity to prove it every afternoon with Breck Middle School teacher Matthew Mendes as your leader. If you are at all curious, take the risk. You might surprise yourself.

Digital Discoveries (CAC-203e)
Are you intrigued with technology and want to create your very own commercial or short movie to share with your friends and family? If so come and join Breck teacher Rob Johnson as you use still and video cameras to create your own masterpieces. During this camp you will learn how to use editing software to perfect a project of your choosing. At the end of the session all campers will have a DVD of their work to present to the Breck Summer Programs community and their friends and family.

NEW! Iron Chef (CAC-303d)
Two great cuisines of the world, French and Chinese, will be our passion for two weeks as we create a tasty feast each day. If you like to explore, create and then indulge in the world of the gourmet with your friends, this is your opportunity. We will take weekly field trips to explore our passion first hand. The competition will be fierce but Breck teacher Jodi James will be there to referee!

Digital Photography (CAC-303e)
No matter how experienced you are, you’ll benefit from daily opportunities to explore. You will take candid, action, macro, still life, staged, and nature shots on campus and in our community. You will design a digital portfolio, create an album, and enlarge your best shots. The class will also create a photography exhibit to share with the rest of camp, and assist with taking shots for the Breck Summer Programs blog. Technique and style will be our primary focus, but we will explore software that can assist us, too. Campers are encouraged to bring their own digital camera. Taught by Ty Thayer, Breck faculty.