If you’re looking for a summer program for your child, one that not only provides fun and excitement but also an opportunity to learn, grow, and discover new passions that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives, LuHi Summer Programs of Brookville, NY, may be just right up your alley.
Linda-Lee Beauman, Associate Director of LuHi Summer Programs, notes that no matter what program you choose to participate in, it’s an opportunity for every camper to “play, discover and create,” which she said just so happens to be the camp’s overarching motto.
“LuHi Summer Programs is, I feel, a very important fixture on Long Island. It provides a camp experience for all ages from three years-old through 12th grade,” she said. “It’s a mix of programs- we have 25 different specialty programs in athletics, arts, recreation, and STEM, as well as some more holistic programs as well.”
Beauman said that attending camp is a very important part of adolescence, as it gives young people the chance to try something new and – as a result – grow and learn from the experience, in addition to learning new skills or building upon skills they already have in an area of interest.
“Our goal is for a camper to come and try something completely new, and going through all of the hard things that are normally associated with trying something new for the first time,” she said. “This results in growth for them as they develop into young people, and eventually young adults.”
LuHi Summer Programs is a part of Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School, which originally opened in 1960; the summer camp opened the following year in 1961 to help as a non-profit fundraising arm for the school, and the successful program is currently celebrating its 64th anniversary this year.
One of the most important aspects of LuHi Summer Programs is the fact that it’s open for all children of Long Island to attend.
“We have children attending from 60 different towns on Long Island,” Beauman said. “It’s a very large and diverse community and demographic, students from all over the place that come and have a shared experience at our summer camp.”
The camp runs throughout the summer, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the season itself beginning July 1st and ending August 23rd. The camps are broken up into four two-week sessions, with full summer options available as well. And for those looking to break things up even further, children can even attend on a weekly basis if they wish.
As far as affordability goes, Beauman said that the camp offers a great deal of value for the money.
“There are a lot of options and flexibilities as far as designing a summer program that works for families and their needs,” she said. “Included in the cost is centralized transportation, but you can save money by opting out of that and picking up and dropping off your child yourself. We also have an optional lunch program with a lot of variety that many people opt into, although campers can bring lunch from home if they prefer. We have a lot of scalable options to make things more affordable.”
As far as the actual programs available to camp attendees, there are a plethora spanning a wide variety of interests and activities, ensuring that even the most electric taste can be catered to. Children are offered ample opportunities to find something they love, or to get out of their comfort zone and discover something new.
The camp’s 25 different specialty programs are divided into four categories: athletics, art, recreation and STEM. The structure of the two-week program provides an opportunity for the camper to do a deeper dive into various subject areas and gain real tactile skills that can culminate in a performance, competition, or display of what they’ve learned.
“One of the more popular programs is our basketball program – in which LuHi Boys and Girls basketball ended their season ranked Top 5 Nationally– so if there’s a young person looking to increase their skill and knowledge of basketball, LuHi Summer Programs is the place to have those experiences,” she said. “That’s one of our biggest programs, but we also offer more niche programs, such as our STEM Select program where children get to do a deep dive into robotics, engineering, and video game design.”
“On the art side, we offer an extensive Visual Arts Program that does a mix of drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, as well as a Theatre Program that focuses on performing arts. We also offer a fashion design program that’s really incredible,” Beauman continued. “Campers really don’t need any prior knowledge or experience, but over the course of two weeks they will design, manufacture, and produce actual garments, then design an entire fashion line and walk in their own fashion show wearing those outfits. Anytime you can help the camper bring their imagination to life in a physical way, it’s really meaningful for their growth and development.”
The largest program at the camp, however, is LuHi Country Day, which is designed to be a mix of athletics, arts, recreation, and STEM, serving as a sampler that incorporates a little bit of everything.
“LuHi Country Day is the ultimate day camp experience,” Beauman said. “Campers participate in a mix of all of the best things that LuHi offers– instructional athletics, innovative stem challenges, special LuHi traditions like LuHi’s Got Talent, as well as anything else you would imagine is a part of a traditional summer camp like game shows, magicians, performances, etc. It’s the perfect mix for a camper who enjoys variety in their day while still having the opportunity to grow and learn something new.”
LuHi Country Day is also bookended by various forms of entertainment for the kids, including magic and variety shows, as well as many other special events.
Every year, LuHi Summer Programs attracts approximately 2,500 unique campers over the course of the entire summer, with any given two-week session hosting anywhere from 900 to 1,400 children. Individual program sizes vary given the needs of the participants, with specialty programs purposely kept smaller for more hands-on instruction.
“We have a lot of campers attending our programs,” Beauman said. “But when you find your fit within a specific program, it really creates a much smaller community where staff build personal relationships with the kids, giving it a ‘small pond in a bigger ocean’ kind of feel.”
Beauman noted that it’s very important for LuHi Summer Programs to give children a challenging and fun summer that they will never forget for as long as they live.
“It’s important for kids to come into the camp and be confronted with hard things at times, like learning how to play a specific sport or designing something creatively for the first time,” she said. “Those are all really important skills in life and things that are next-generation needs, so we take very seriously the opportunity to provide a landscape for campers to come in and enjoy themselves, but also provide for them a growing experience and teach them those higher-level skills that they need to develop into young adults.”
To find out more about LuHi Summer Programs, please call 516-626-1100 or visit their website at https://luhisummercamps.org.
