SUMMER OF WONDER
Registration is NOW OPEN!
5 WEEKS! June 30 – August 2, 2025
Middle Way School SUMMER of WONDER welcomes all children for outdoor adventures and inward exploration! Five incredible weeks feature splashing in the sun, collaborative games, wilderness skills, arts and crafts, meditation, and more! Each week is infused with the Buddhist-based wisdom of awareness, tools for centering oneself, creating confidence, and building community.
Customized by age group, each session also features a unique theme to allow for a deep dive into special interests—art, music, theater, creative writing, nature exploration, and team sports. Super-skills for a modern world are effortlessly woven into the day, like harmonious play, contemplative approaches to challenges, and cultivating an open heart and mind.
AGES
The MWS SUMMER of WONDER experience is open to rising kindergarteners through rising 6th graders, plus MWS young alumni! If your child is a young alumni of MWS and interested in playing a helping role, please email for more information: [email protected].
SCHEDULE
All sessions take place on the woodland campus of Middle Way School, Monday through Friday (8:30 am – 3:30 pm), with the exception of the 4-day “EXPLORE” session of off-site adventures (June 30 – July 3). For this special session, the drop-off/pick-up location will change for each day, each within a small radius of school.
PAYMENT AND FEES
- $395 per week, per child “early bird” pricing until February 15, 2025
- $435 per week, per child, beginning February 16, 2025
- 10% sibling discount
- Non-refundable registration fee: $35
- Optional 2025 MWS SUMMER of WONDER camper t-shirt: $25
- Payment is due upon registration
If your circumstances require you to cancel a registration, refunds can be offered until May 1, 2025 (less an additional 15% cancellation fee). After May 1, 2025 refunds cannot be issued.
For your child to attend summer programming, an up-to-date immunization record and health exam form are required to be submitted no later than May 1, 2025. More information about immunization requirements can be found HERE. (For those children who are currently enrolled as MWS students during the school year, health records can be accessed through TADS, our academic enrollment platform, providing they are up to date.
HOW TO REGISTER
Currently enrolled MWS students are offered first priority for registration. There are only a limited number of spots available for each session, so please register early! Once your registration is complete, you will receive a confirmation, an enrollment form, the total amount due, and a link to submit payment.
We appreciate your enthusiastic interest and support! Once a particular session fills up, you’ll have the option of being added to a waiting list.
QUESTIONS?
We’re here to help! Reach out to [email protected].
SESSION 1: EXPLORE! (4 days: June 30 – July 3)
A TRAVELING ADVENTURE! Summer of Wonder kicks off with a 4-day collection of off-site adventures for rising 2nd graders through rising 6th graders.
We’re taking to the woods for hiking, caving, and serious splashing! Each day, we’re exploring a different Hudson Valley vista or Catskill Mountain trail. With experienced outdoor guides, we’ll study the ecosystem of our surroundings, deepening our understanding of the many ways we’re connected to nature. We’ll work with navigation and wilderness skills, identify local plants and signs of animals, and learn tips for physical endurance. Tailored to individual interests, there will be invitations for other activities such as campfire cooking, plein air sketching, writing in the wild, and more!
Specialty Leaders: Andrew, Grace, and JD
SESSION 2: JOURNEY! (5 days: July 7 – July 11)
EMBARK ON A FOREST ADVENTURE! We’re tapping into our inner epic with a quest for the ages. Make way for fanciful storytelling, live-action role playing, and time-travelling through our imagination.
What does it mean to be a hero of our own story? How can we recreate ourselves while staying centered for any challenge? Join us for a week of boosting bravery through adventure play and magical creation. Journey into the forest, develop wildly creative writing skills, and learn how to face daring missions with ease. We’ll learn to tame our minds while unleashing our creativity, plus craft some maker-magic by building our own imaginative toys!
Specialty Leader: Zak
SESSION 3: CREATE! (July 14 – July 18)
MIXED MEDIA MAKING! Let’s make ideas come to life with printmaking, natural dyeing, flower pigment pounding, earth materials painting, paper making, weaving, and more.
Where do art materials come from and how can we make our own? In connection with the ideas of lineage, we will spend the week exploring two- and three-dimensional materials and thinking about their origins. Children will discover the pigments found in plants and rocks; explore the process of indigo dyeing; sculpt with clay from the earth; and print, paint, draw, and weave with all kinds of natural and human-made materials!
Specialty Leader: Janine
SESSION 4: JAM! (July 21 – July 25)
SOUND ALL AROUND! Calling all young musicians! We’re playing with strings, percussions, keys and more to foster a lifelong love of learning how to express ourselves with music and theater.
What does it mean to play our part? How do we listen to others to hear how all the parts come together in harmony? Let’s play, compose, act, and create together in harmony. We’ll explore the four pillars of music: Rhythm (counting), Melody (1 note at a time), Harmony (2 or more notes at a time), Songwriting (form & lyrics)—with no instrument experience required. Instruction is tailored to each camper’s level of experience. Expect some silliness as we develop skills for approaching performance with joyful ease!
Specialty Leader: Jason
SESSION 5: MOVE! (July 28 – August 2)
COVER SOME GROUND! We’re gearing up for an action-filled week of cooperative games, ultra-silly challenges, DIY obstacle courses, and more!
Are you ready to embark on a journey of wild fun, movement mastery, and team camaraderie? Beyond sports play, we’re working on a symphony of physical development, teamwork, and social bonds. From the fiercely fun courts of basketball to the strategic maneuvers of capture the flag, this session will be a whirlwind of athleticism and laughter. We’ll play a range of classic games like kickball, steal the bacon, gaga ball, musical chairs, and freeze dancing. We’ll even invent our own obstacle courses for each other to navigate!
Specialty Leader: Dondre
