Summer camp is often a rite of passage for many kids throughout the summer; not just because it takes up hours of the day while adults work. It’s about enhancement, education and most of all, experiences. So while this pandemic has shut some of the doors to many summer camps in Arlington, there are still ways to connect with your favorite locations, even if from afar and in front of a screen. FYI – Summer camp isn’t canceled – it’s just gone online.

We will continue to do our best to keep this updated as we learn about new options. Please email us if you have a camp suggestion for us to add.

RIVER LEGACY LIVING SCIENCE CENTER

Summers in Arlington wouldn’t be the same with fun at River Legacy Living Science Center. A true gem in the city, River Legacy has shifted their normally very booked camps to an online offering for all ages. With greatly reduces fees from their normal class, this is an opportunity to see why there’s normally a long wait list for this one! Get details here.

CODE NINJAS

So this one isn’t technically Arlington, but just south of us (and east of us in Grand Prairie), Code Ninjas is keeping kids busy with their online summer camps. Minecraft, Python, and all that online stuff that makes kids today much smarter than us. At least if their online they can learn how to make a million. Get details here. 

LINDSAY’S ART CART

Honestly, I can’t recommend Lindsay’s Art Cart enough. Her free virtual art classes throughout the pandemic is how both my kids and I have kept it together. However, she’s just launched her newest concept, Family Collaborative Painting, which is a self-guided, 5-day e-course you do as a family – that’s is as much art as it is therapy (she actually partnered as well with a therapist, too!) Get details here.

VARSITY TUTORS

While we’d like to really to share as many camps in Arlington, when camps are conducted online, location isn’t a boundary. However, one of the largest camp offerings is also FREE with some classes led by celebrities. Varsity Tutors has live classes that span for weeks with everything from cooking to art to theatre to songwriter and so more for all ages. (There’s even 5th grade math on here if your kid wants to get ahead!) And did we mention its free? Can’t beat that! Get details here. 

If you’re looking for other camps outside of Arlington, visit here for additional recommendations.   

Last week we had the amazing opportunity to share the kindness happening in our community! It was a beautiful way to not just see what we are doing but also figure how how we can all help – no matter how big or small.

Here’s our presentation:

Or you can watch it here:

How are you spreading kindness in the community? Do you have more ways to share? We want to hear it!

We’ve all had to sacrifice special moments that normally we would be celebrate in a big way with family and friends. Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, proms and more have been canceled due to this horrific pandemic (the word COVID is a dirty word in our office so we prefer to not to use it. However, the one that really brings on the tears are our graduating seniors.

Here are some innovative options parents have this year for helping their high school seniors celebrate their achievement in a way that won’t put anyone’s health at risk:

Stage a Virtual Party

The virus outbreak has made online group get-togethers the new, safer way to connect. Zoom, Skype, Facebook Life and FaceTime (for Apple devices) are the best-known tools for getting your grad’s buddies together for a Class of 2020 blowout. But you can also live-stream on Instagram, and even YouTube (two live streams at once!). Make sure the kids spread the word though ALL of their social media channels (especially Snapchat). Draft an agenda that’s not so rigid the party goes flat, but not so loose it gets out of control. To keep the party inclusive, designate several students to pass the baton as emcee. And be sure to follow up afterward with links to where people can watch, listen to or add to the party.

Celebrate with a (Yard) Sign

The website, Dallas-based proudofmygrad.com offers non-generic yard signs for your non-generic teen. The colorful, 18-by-24-inch signs come with the name and color scheme of your grad’s high school, and their class year. You then personalize it with their name or a short message up to 14 characters. (“Luv’ ya, Allie!”). The site has more than 7,300 public and private high schools in the 48 contiguous states loaded into its database. You can order a sign at a discount for a family who can’t afford them. Meanwhile, if your grad and their friends choose to keep their signs, they’ll save on decorations for their future class reunions.

Create a Class Podcast

Don’t know anyone who does podcasts for a living? Buzzsprout.com can
help any parent host, then post, a class podcast, regardless of their experience with the medium. Get a variety of seniors to call in to offer their senior year stories, add in some cool sound effects, then make that year-end review available for years to come on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Craft a Class Online Story Page

Another option to record this unique experience is to create a Class of 2020 Story page on Instagram or Facebook. Encourage graduates to populate it with their favorite reminiscences of their years in high school, their hopes and dreams post-graduation and the songs, videos and pop culture trends popular during their year. Add in the lyrics to the school’s alma mater, photos of the school itself, and comments from their teachers, coaches and administrators and you have an evergreen memory page they can return to in the years ahead. Those Instagram stores will vanish quickly, though, so you may want to recruit people to re-populate the page until everyone heads off to their post-graduation adventure!

We know it’s not easy and it’s not a replacement for the real thing – but consider this your raincheck until we really get to celebrate all that hard work you’ve been doing for so many years! Congrats to all those graduating seniors!

Thanks to Jeff Harrington for the help in compiling this list.

Do you have any suggestions for celebrating a graduating senior? Share them with us here!

In different times, we’d always suggest experience Arlington on your own.

Once you’ve been here you’ll know why so many people call Arlington home and 14 million people visit each year. But if you can’t make the trip, there’s still a way to discover why Arlington is called the “Dream City.

Explore River Legacy Living Center

Missing getting out on the trails or play at the park? Actually parks are still open to explore with good social distancing protocol in place, but if you’re missing some of the amazing creatures at the beautiful River Legacy Living Center, then you can check in with your favorite on Facebook!

Discover Art at the Arlington Museum of Art

Arlington has a wonderful art museum although many people haven’t had a chance to visit! However, through the help of technology, you can learn about some of the most amazing works of art, artists that made an impact on our culture, and even how to make your own with #AMACreate. From Pointillism to Frida Kahlo to Dali’s clocks, these how-tos can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Head to the Arlington Museum of Art for more activities!

Take a Tour of AT&T Stadium

Ok, who are we kidding? You came to Arlington so you probably wanted to see Jerry’s World, aka AT&T Stadium, right? Even if you aren’t a Dallas Cowboys fan (why not?) or even a fan of football, this place is rather out of this world (perhaps that’s why it’s often called the Deathstar (maybe that’s just us!)

Either way normally, doing a tour or at least getting the required selfie, should be on everyone’s list. Thankfully, the team at The Daytripper took their own behind-the-scenes look at the 3 million sq. ft. stadium and now you can, too.

Color Your Way Through the Entertainment District

Ok we know this isn’t even the same thing…it would literally take weeks, maybe months to do everything there is to do in the Entertainment District. However thanks to the Arlington CVB, you can put your mark all over it through these coloring sheets. Color your world Arlington-style with downloadable coloring pages and other fun at-home activities you can find right here: ? https://bit.ly/3c4w0MY ?