March 4, 2011
For Jennifer Porat, summer camp isn’t about s’mores and canoe trips. It’s about creating a runway collection and learning about the fashion industry.
This August, Jennifer, 13, and her younger sister are returning to a two-week day camp called CraftyCouture in Thornhill, Ont. Last summer, one of Jennifer’s favourite projects was creating a clothing collection inspired by a fashion icon.
“We came up with a new fashion revolution: Harry Potter fashions, stylish Quidditch trends and a completely new take on the classic robe, skirt and button-down that makes up the Hogwarts uniform,” the Thornhill teen says in an e-mail.
CraftyCouture, which ran its first camp in 2005, is one of a growing number of specialty camps tapping into children’s increasingly sophisticated aspirations. The past five years have seen a spike in camps that offer a glimpse of a future career.
“Kids are really excited by them,” says Agnes Stawicki, the managing editor of Our Kids Go to Camp magazine. And if they haven’t already committed to a summer camp, this is the month to make a selection.
Parents can choose from camps where kids can watch veterinary surgery, make a claymation movie, program their own video game, or milk a cow.
If a summer camp in the woods isn’t your kid’s thing this year, here are a few programs that will let him or her try on a day job for size.
So you wanna be an…
Engineer
DEEP (Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program), University of Toronto