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CT 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

February and April school break camps and programs come quickly and guess what? They are already registering campers! School days off are a welcome joy for kids, but make for some tricky scheduling for mom and dad. Our favorite places for school's out programming include one-day programs to full-week camps about nature, theater, arts and moire! There's a program for just about any interest, but most importantly a safe, educational and FUN place or the kids to spend the day.

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

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 of 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 Pottery Piazza

Plainville - All Ages
Open for special hours during school break weeks.
The Pottery Piazza has hundreds of pottery pieces that you can walk in and paint. No appointment needed. Kids are welcome to come in a make a mosiac, paint pottery or join the monthly Art Club (ages 8 and up). Family Paint Night is also offered once-a-month for families to come in and create together.  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.
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

Westport- 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

Woodcock Nature Center

Wilton - K-6th
Full-day, vacation week programming in nature.
Visitors to Woodcock can explore their grounds, visit birds of prey and use the playground during daylight hours when not being used by programming and events. Woodcock offers a variety of nature-based programs ranging from mommy & me classes to their popular wreath festival.   READ MORE

School Break Programs Around Litchfield

Warner Theatre Center for Arts Education - Children's Art Education

Torrington
Theater and art camps in April
Warner offers a half-day multifaceted arts education program that features visual arts, dance, painting, jewelry-making, sewing, collaging, puppetry, and so much more! The session is one week and features a Share Day component for families at the end. READ MORE

White Memorial Conservation Center

Litchfield - Grades 1 and up
Offers a Spring Break camp in April all about nature.
Before heading out on the Center's 35 miles of trails, visitors can explore a variety of different habitats at the Nature Museum. The museum houses exhibits that focus on local natural history, conservation, and ecology.  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

Mattatuck Museum

Waterbury - Ages 5 and up
Day long art classes on different themes.
From lectures, classes, workshops, wellness and more, the Mattatuck Museum hosts a variety of public programs for a variety of ages and types of museumgoers. "The Matt" has a regular calendar of kids activities and fun things to do and runs school's out camps and weekend workshops. 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.
COMO offers a full day program for kids when school is out. 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

Denison Pequotsepsos Nature Center(Birthday Parties and Break Camps)

Mystic - 6 and up
Vacation Day programming for kids out of school; nature and STEM
Make your birthday special by celebrating at the Nature Center. These birthday parties feature your choice of live animals, natural crafts, nature walks, outdoor free play and more. Birthday parties are two hours, beginning with a one-hour nature program run by an educator. Denison also runs vacation day programming so kids who are out of school can spend their day learning...about nature! 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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