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School Break Camps: Winter and Spring Break Camps Keep Kids Busy on Days Off

Things can get colorful at winter and spring school break camps that keep kids busy! Photo courtesy of Fun with Nature Children's Workshops LLC
Things can get colorful at winter and spring school break camps that keep kids busy! Photo courtesy of Fun with Nature Children's Workshops LLC
1/19/24 - By Jennifer Coe

From Mystic to Meriden, February and April school break camps and programs are already registering. School days off are a welcome joy for kids but make for some tricky scheduling for mom and dad. These Connecticut winter and spring break camps might have a spot for someone in your family. There's a program for just about any interest, from sports and arts to crafts, nature and history.

Looking for weekend activities for kids? Our Winter Activities Guide will show you where to go tubing, skating, and play indoors.

These winter and spring break camps and programs have a variety of activities. Photo courtesy of the Roaring Brook Nature Center
These winter and spring break camps and programs have a variety of activities. Photo courtesy of the Roaring Brook Nature Center

School Break Programs Around Hartford

Town of Wethersfield - Pitkin Community Center

Wethersfield - Ages 2-12
Offering: school vacation programs, summer camps and afterschool programming
Pitkin Community Center offers a robust array of AFFORDABLE December, February and April vacation camps as well as summer programming. Art, cooking, science and nature-oriented camps are available for kids ages 6-12 and sometimes 2-5 as well. Choose from one day or an entire week. READ MORE

The Little Green Tambourine

Canton - Ages 3-9
Offering: Cooking, crafting, holiday and baking programming
The Little Green Tambourine is a healthy-living, creative arts studio for kids ages birth through age 12. TLGT offers camps, classes, and other enrichment programs. READ MORE

Elmwood Community Center

West Hartford - Ages 5-12
Offering: day camp, vacation camp on the topic of sports, crafts, music
The Elmwood Community Center is run by the Town of West Hartford and West Hartford Leisure Services. Kids can participate in their fun December, February and Summer programs on an assortment of different and interesting themes like food, nature, Legos, sports, science and much more! A trusted, longtime provider of children's programming.  READ MORE

Roaring Brook Nature Center

Canton - Ages K-5
Tons nature-oriented school's out camps in December, February, and April
In addition to its trails and nature programming, visitors to  this Nature Center can check out a replica of a Native American longhouse, a Beaver Wetland exhibit, and a small collection of live animals. Currently, Roaring Brook has several scavenger hunts to complete while using their trails.  READ MORE
The right school break camp will help a child find their flock! Winged Wonders at Earthplace, photo by Hailey Lubliner
The right school break camp will help a child find their flock! Winged Wonders at Earthplace, photo by Hailey Lubliner

Winter and Spring Break Programs Around Fairfield

Chelsea Piers Swimming Connecticut

Stamford - Ages Prek- 13
Offering school's out programming like sports, Ninja Academy, lots of fun in baseball, soccer and more.
The Chelsea Piers offers student an olympic size pool to take their lessons in. Their youth swimming program teaches student from 6 mos to 13 years old. Mini Swimmers is the youngest age class for children 6 mo to 3 years and they move upward from their with skill and age. Chelsea Piers also offers classes in gymnastics. READ MORE

Darien Nature Center

Darien - Ages 2-11
Darien Nature Center offers a Snowbirds Camp in December and 4-day camps in February and April. Spaces in these programs sell out quickly!
Located in Darien's Cherry Lawn Park, the Darien Nature Center is the home to a variety of animals, a small library. and 2.75 acres filled with fields, ponds, and trails. Currently, guests are being asked to reserve a time for an indoor visit.  READ MORE

Darien YMCA

Darien - Ages Prek-5
Affordable and fun! The Y offers vacation camps for kids from prek to 5th grade, full day or half day,
The Y is committed to building strong kids, strong families and a strong community.They are a community-centered organization that welcomes everyone regardless of age, background or income and gives them the chance to try new things and get healthy. READ MORE

Earthplace

Wesport- Ages 3-12
Spend the day hiking, building forts, making new friends in January, February and days off from school.
Earthplace's 2.5 miles of trails across 74 acres of the sanctuary are open to the public, free of charge from dawn to dusk. Their building houses over 60 animal ambassadors & an indoor play area. It also offers a robust schedule of animal storytimes and birds of prey feedings.  READ MORE

The Giggling Pig Art & Party Studio - Camp

Milford, Shelton, Bethel - Ages 4 to teens
Artsy and Craftsy camps on different themes for all ages.
The Giggling Pig is a place to come to be creative, but also a place where children can grow and learn to be kind and confident. Children will learn to paint and draw or simply have fun with arts and crafts. Each camp day is filled with fun projects using a variety of mediums, and campers learn different artistic techniques to create their own works of art. Half-day, full-day, and single-day options are offered. READ MORE

Winter and Spring Break Programs Around New Haven

Summer Camps at Eli Whitney Museum

Hamden - Ages 6-12
Full-day camp on creative and interesting STEAM topicsfor kids on school breaks.
 Eli Whitney's workshops will stimulate your child’s mind and desire to learn. Programming is age-based. A sampling of themes for 2023 includes Painting, Pottery and the Poetry of Design, The Art and Science of Fire, Adruino, Mindstorms, Patterns and Puzzles. There's more to check out on the website. READ MORE

The Giggling Pig - Classes

Seymour - Ages 3-16
Half-day and full-day camps for creative kids of all ages.
The Giggling Pig offers a variety of art classes for beginner (ages 4-6), intermediate (ages 7-9), and advanced (ages 9-12) students. It also offers open studio for advanced students and adults to work independently. From painting to sculpting, our classes and workshops are designed to ignite imagination, nurture talent and foster a lifelong love for artistic expression. No experience necessary. READ MORE

Fun With Nature Children's Workshops LLC

North Haven - 4-12
Check their calendar for school's out programming in January, February and more. Lots of messy, creative fun.
Fun With Nature Children's Workshops LLC is "Where the Mess Happens." Fun With Nature is a process ART studio located in North Haven that offers workshops, art clubs, toddler art & sensory playgroups, camps, birthday parties, and events for all ages.  READ MORE

School Break Programs Around Mystic

Stonington COMO

Stonington - Ages K-8
School’s Out! offers a fun curriculum-based, program for families with K-8 youth. Full and half-day options are offered.
School’s Out! offers a fun curriculum-based, program for families with K-8 youth that need care during scheduled school vacations and days off. Register for full or half-day sessions or a mix. Participants engage in exciting activities throughout the COMO campus, utilizing areas such as the pottery studio, tennis courts, Makerspace, soccer fields, outdoor classroom, Children's Garden, and more. READ MORE

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About the Author

Jenny Coe
Jenny Coe is a longtime Mommy Poppins writer and contributor and full-time mom to three boys. Jenny has also been a contributor at Patch and The Reminder (Hartford Courant). Here at Mommy Poppins, Jenny writes about great things for kids to do in Connecticut and New England, affordable fun, and nature experiences (her favorite!).
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