New summer program fosters creativity, curiosity and a love of learning through outdoor adventures and exploration

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—KinderCare Learning Companies today announced Champ Camp: Adventure Edition, an exciting, new outdoor-focused summer program for children kindergarten through sixth grade around exploration and adventure. Champ Camp: Adventure Edition helps children get outside and experience nature this summer, while also building on the academic and social skills they learned during the school year. 
 
Champ Camp: Adventure Edition camps run throughout the summer and are available on a full-time basis to meet parents’ needs. The outdoor camps will be located at:

• Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.: Now-August 4, 
• Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio: Now-August 4 
• Jay C Hormel Nature Center in Austin, Minn.: June 19-August 4 
• La Roche University & The Center for Lifelong Learning in Pittsburgh, Pa.: June 19-August 4
• The University of Washington-Bothell in Seattle, Wash.: June 26-August 1

As KinderCare Learning Companies’ national before- and after- school care provider, Champions™ boasts 800 programs in elementary and middle schools around the country. Many of these programs host school-based summer Champ Camps to help fill the child care gap for parents as well. 
 
“We know from our Parent Confidence Report, conducted by KinderCare and Harris Poll, that nearly half of parents are worried about finding child care during summer holidays, so a summer camp solution is a must. We also know parents want their children to have the opportunity to get outside and experience nature, while still learning and having a chance to just be a kid,” said Dan Figurski, President, Champions and KinderCare for Employers. “These adventure camps are a return to the summer activities many of us adults enjoyed as children, and a way to encourage today’s youth to use their natural creativity and curiosity in an outdoor setting to learn and develop important social skills, such as independence and resilience.”

This new summer camp offering is meant to be spent in the open air, away from screens, with several field trips for extra fun. Champ Camp: Adventure Edition camps will focus on:

• Adventure: Kids will learn the art of canoeing and kayaking, explore games with international origins, and complete team-building challenges.
• Exploring outside: While seeking and identifying plants like berries and wildflowers students will learn the principles of responsible hiking, bouldering, and geocaching.
• Gaining skills: Kids will design fishing rods and learn outdoor skills like building shelters, filtering water, and using the sun to produce energy.
• Understanding nature (and science): Students will learn how to nurture and care for the wild animals around them and our earth, while also building their STEM skills through activities like exploring solar and wind energy and constructing underground structures.
• Field trips: With a focus on waterplay, this summer’s field trips will include opportunities to swim in pools and lakes.

Camp activities vary by location. Parents can go online to learn more about Champions and register for a school-based summer Champ Camp or Champ Camp: Adventure Edition in their area. 

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About KinderCare Learning Companies®

A leading provider early childhood and school-age education and care, KinderCare builds confidence for life in children and families from all backgrounds. KinderCare supports hardworking families in 40 states and the District of Columbia with differentiated flexible child care solutions to meet today’s dynamic work environment:

• In neighborhoods, with KinderCare® Learning Centers that offer early learning programs for children six weeks to 12 years old and with Crème de la Crème®, which offers a premium early education model using a variety of themed classrooms;
• For work, wherever employees work, offering customized employer-supported child care benefits at more locations than any other provider, and
• In local schools, with Champions® before and after-school programs.

KinderCare programs meet the highest standards, validated by independent, third-party evaluation including:

• Gallup, measuring workforce engagement,
• National Association for the Education of Young Children, ensuring individual early learning center quality,
• Cognia, accreditation for before- and after-school programs
• BRIGANCE® and TerraNova® assessments of children’s academic progress and achievement, and
• WELL Health-Safety Rating™, validating health and safety practices in our facilities.

Headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, KinderCare operates more than 2,000 early learning centers and sites. In 2023, KinderCare earned its seventh Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award – one of only four organizations worldwide to achieve this milestone for six consecutive years. To learn more, visit KC-Learning.com.