Five best holiday camps

Get sporty, shorty

4-7 & 18-21 Jun
For sporty little ones, Shaws Little League is a fun four-day camp that teaches warm-ups and stretching, basic nutrition and how to prepare salubrious snacks like fruit kebabs or sandwiches. Kids play three to five sports from a choice of rugby, tennis, basketball, baseball, cricket, golf, hockey, athletics, soccer, volleyball and ultimate frisbee. But it’s not all about sport – children will work on an art project to show off at the end of the camp.
Shaws Little League @ The Cage, 38 Jln Benaan Kapal. 9am-noon. $280. Ages 18 months and above. Call 6440 9545 or see www.shawslittleleague.com for more information.

Be a mini movie star

7-9, 14-16 & 21-23 Jun
If your pint-sized starlets have always wanted to make a movie, they can get a taste of the silver screen with this special moviestar camp by Kindernomics, which will take them on an express tour of the moviemaking process, which offers segments on scriptwriting, casting, costume, sound and set design, shooting and even post-production work. On the final day of the programme, parents get to see the cinematic fruit of their little ones’ labours at a grand gala premiere of the kids’ very own movie, which will have been cast, filmed and completed in three days.
Kindernomics School, #11-01 Forum, 583 Orchard Rd. 9-12.30pm or 2-5.30pm. $280. Ages 4-7. Call 6591 8748 or see www.kindernomics.com for more information.

Bunk down with birds

9 & 10 Jun
Take the entire family camping in the park, and we don’t mean setting up tents on East Coast beach. Jurong Bird Park has organised a super sleepover for one weekend this June, where your campmates will include feathered friends. After setting up camp in the chilly environs of the indoor penguin enclosure, kids get to do everything from greeting and eating with parrots to a crash course in falconry and hanging out with pelicans – all in two days and one night. Bring your own pillows, sleeping bags, torches and toiletries as only tents are provided.
Jurong Bird Park. Sat 1.30pm, Sun 10am (followed by a ‘free and easy’ session). $90 for children, $110 for adults. For families with members aged 3 and above. Call 6265 0022 or see education.birdpark.com.sg for more information.

Skate like a superhero

11-14, 18-21 & 25-28 Jun
Do your tots want to soar like Superman or zoom like the Flash? They can start by learning to skim the Earth on skates at this Superhero Skate Camp. They’ll get to make their own superhero capes, complete colourful missions and treasure hunts to save other superheroes, and have a superhero fondue party. By the end, they’ll have learned enough skills to take on a skate park complete with obstacles. All this is ably overseen by trained instructors, through a special course developed for children with Montessori partners and philosophies.
East Coast Park or West Coast Park. 9am-5pm. $518. Ages 3-12. Call 6246 6362 or see kate-with-us.com for more information.

Live in a fantasy world

18-22 & 25-29 Jun
Let the little ones live a foreign fairy tale for a few days in this camp created by storyteller extraordinaire Katherine McLeod, who has been creating and running similar camps for the past 11 years. Trained storytellers will not only enchant children with Mexican or Guatemalan tales, about Quetzalcoatl and sun kings Vidal and Rio, but also immerse their little listeners in the characters’ world through drama and song, and teaching them to make baked goods such as tamales (leaf-wrapped dish) and crafts such as worry dolls. Also expect activities such as unicycling, percussion, ribbon poi and juggling: it’s an exotic holiday, with no expensive flights.
Nexus International School, 201 Ulu Pandan Rd. 9am-3.15pm. $560. Ages 3-12. Call 9008 5484 or see www.ilovecampmagic.com for more information.