Children, teens looking for summer activities in the Jackson area? Here are some options

Mina Corpuz, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
·6 min read

Summer is just around the corner and so is the start of various camps and activities in the Jackson metro area.

Looking for a way to keep children and teens busy? Check out some of the athletic, academic and arts summer programming opportunities around Jackson.

Jackson

City of Jackson summer camp: Ages 6 to 12. June 6 to July 22, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The camp will include recreational activities, educational enrichment and guest speakers. Parents must provide transportation to the camp, a meal or snack in an insulated lunch bag and a water bottle each day.

Program sites are Grove Park Community Center (4126 Parkway Ave.) and Jayne Avenue Community Center (3615 Jayne Avenue.)

The cost to attend is $110 per child payable by money order and $10 for a program T-shirt payable by cash.

Registration can be done at the administrative office of the Department of Parks and Recreation at 1000 Metrocenter Mall, Suite 104. The office number is 601-960-0655.

To register, a Form 121 immunization compliance form and birth certificate are required. Registration will remain open until all slots are filled.

Film Jackson Youth Summer Camp: June 13 to July 8, Monday to Friday with some Saturdays possible,  9 a.m. to 2 p.m., ages 13 to 18,  Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, 528 Bloom St.

The city will host its first summer film, theater and technology camp to introduce youth to creative and technical workforce opportunities in film. Twenty selected students will learn about filmmaking from concept to premier and be part of the production of an independent movie.

Applicants can be submitted online at www.jacksonms.gov/summer-camp-application/ or paper copies can be picked up at City Hall. Applications will be accepted until June 3.

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Operation Reach tennis summer camp: June 7-July 15, Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ages 5 to 14, Tennis Center South, 2829 Oak Forest Drive

Participants will learn now to use a tennis racquet and ball through drills, team building activities and gameplay. There will also be other camp activities, including painting, dance, field trips and more.

Operation Reach is a nonprofit whose goal is to educate and serve the local community.

There is a $40 registration fee. For more information and to sign up call Operation Reach at 601-985-9683.

Jackson Public Schools A3 summer enrichment camp:  June 6-July 1 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The free camp is for students in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7-9th grades. Students participate in academic and activities, such as field trips, art projects and more.

The camps will be held at seven elementary schools (Shirley, Timberlawn, John Hopkins, Clausell, Isable, Johnson, Boyd), two middle schools (Peeples and Kirksey) and two high schools (Forest Hill and Callaway.)

Breakfast, lunch and transportation provided. The camp will be offered at multiple schools to allow for small group sessions and COVID-19 safety measures to be followed.

The deadline to register is June 3 and applications are on the district's website.

Hinds County

Jackson/Hinds Library System reading program: All ages, from wherever. June 6 to July 15

Register online using the Beanstack platform at jhlibrary.beanstack.org and use the Beanstack app.

This year's program theme is "Oceans of possibilities." Library branches will provide gifts such as bookmarks, pencils and reading logs.

For every 100 minutes read, participants will earn a badge. Those who earn 10 badges will earn a digital certificate and be entered into a drawing for prizes.

There will be celebrations at the end of the challenge at each library with refreshments and goody bags.

Madison County

Creative Craft Camps: Several campus held in June and July for children ages 5 to 18. Bill Waller Craft Center,  950 Rice Road, Ridgeland

Children will learn crafts such as pottery and macrame from members of the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi.

Jesse Murphy, 8, right, of Ridgeland, Miss., concentrates on the detail of a dinosaur head he's forming out of leftover clay during a Creative Craft Camp at the Waller Mississippi Craft Center in Ridgeland, Miss., Tuesday, June 15, 2021. The camp is the first this summer in a series of camps for children taught by members of the Mississippi Craftsmen Guild.

Creative campers for children between the age of 5 and 8 will take place July 19 to 22 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Price is $185 and includes supplies. Register here.

The young artisans camps will be held the following days and are for ages 9 to 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

June 14-16 - Make your own "junkyard art." Price is $205 and includes supplies. Four spots are available. Register here.

June 14-17 - Mosaics. Price is $200 and includes supplies. Register here.

June 14-17 - Stained glass. Price is $205 and includes supplies. Register here.

July 12-15 - Stained glass session 2. Price is $205 and includes supplies. Register here.

July 12-15 - Make your own "junkyard art." Price is $205 and includes supplies. Register here.

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Madison County Schools robotics camp: June 13 to 16 for first through sixth grade, Madison Career and Technical Center, 379 Calhoun Station Parkway

Camp for Grades 1 to 3 is from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. for Grades 4 to 6 is 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The cost is $15 per child payable by cash at the career center or online at myschoolbucks.com by request.

For more information contact Tyler Crawford at the career and technical center at tcrawford@madison-schools.com.

Germantown High School athletic camps: Several camps held in May and June for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. 409 Calhoun Station Parkway, Madison

Students can sign up for dance, soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, cheer and softball camps for $90 each. Camp is from 8 to 11:30 a.m.

Other athletics camps will be held at Madison Central High School for kindergarten to 8th grade, Ridgeland High School for K to 7th grade and Velma Jackson High School for K to 8th grade. Contact the athletics department of the school for registration information.

The literary work of Mississippi authors is available for check out in the Mississippi Fiction section of the Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson.
The literary work of Mississippi authors is available for check out in the Mississippi Fiction section of the Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson.

Madison County Library System 100 days of reading challenge: All ages, from wherever, June 1 to Sept. 8

Participants are asked to read a book, magazine or graphic novel for at least 20 minutes every day. Log how much time spent reading in a log provided by the library branch. When the log is full, turn it in for a new one and be entered to win a prize.

Rankin County

Rankin County Schools middle/high school summer reading challenge: Grades 6 to 12, from wherever, May to August.

Students can choose books that match 33 prompts. Some of the prompts include reading a book about nature, one released the year the student was born and a book whose title starts with the same letter as the student's first name.

Reporter Mina Corpuz can be reached by email at mcorpuz@gannett.com. You can follow her on Twitter @mlcorpuz.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Summer activities: Camps, programs for children, teens in Jackson area