Summer Day Camp
Greetings to all of the wonderful Sense of Wonder Day Camp Parents, Campers and Friends, new and old. We miss you all so much and we hope that you are all happy and healthy.
The 2025 summer camp will be 5 weeks again, from July 7th to August 8th.
COUNSELORS & JUNIOR COUNSELORS:
Counselor Online Application
Counselor Print Application PDF
LEADERS IN TRAINING:
Leader In Training Online Application
Leader In Training Print Application PDF
The Sense of Wonder Summer Day Camp
2025 Schedule:
July 7-11
July 14-18
July 21-25
July 28-Aug 1
Aug 4-8
Our Camp Staff 2025:
Pam Benjamin:
Director & Instructor
Artist, art teacher, dancer, sailor, mother, environmentalist, humanitarian, mentor
Five Adult Instructors: TBA
Leaders in Training: TBA
Summer Camp 2025 Information:
- Sign up for one or more weekly sessions.
- July 7th to August 8th.
- Ages 7–12.
- Monday–Friday; 9–1 pm.
- $330 per week.
- 50% deposit required once we have confirmed your enrollment.
- Cancellations should be made at least one week before your child’s first day of camp. After the one week date a refund will be made only if the space can be filled by another camper.
Financial Aid and Scholarships are available.
The Sense of Wonder Day Camp Schedule 2025
Our 35th Anniversary and Celebration Year
Explanation: Dear Parents and Friends, We will be drawing, painting, making sculptures and mixed media and whatever other art medium interests the campers each week in addition to all the weekly themes and projects mentioned in this Program Schedule. If a camper requests something special, we are always willing to consider it and make it possible. Please let us hear about what your children love to create.
Week 1: July 7: The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, Locally grown and Regenerative Farming, Ceramics, Farm animals and Heirloom seeds:
Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers is a puppetry troupe based in Bar Harbor, Maine. We are so excited that brothers Erik and Brian Torbeck will join us. Founded in 2000, Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers has performed at festivals, schools, libraries and theaters in the United States and Canada. They write and create all the shows they perform and have received three Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the highest national award in puppetry. An Excerpt from a local Maine newspaper quotes:
“After the show, wide-eyed spectators line up to meet the siblings and their puppets. Bryan shows the children how he uses two fingers to wiggle the tail on Goatie, the lovable, hyperactive goat, while his brother Erik kneels on the floor, giving the youngsters a close-up view of the heroic, banana-toting Chucky. ”How do you make him talk?” a little boy asks.”I have my hand in there so I can move it like this,” Erik replies, as he opens and closes Chucky’s mouth. The Torbecks, who comprise the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers of Bar Harbor, Maine (pop. 2,680), live for moments like this. “It’s fun just being around the kids, even though we’ve done the show a million times,” Erik says.”
Andrew Woodruff: Andrew is a dedicated legendary farmer on the island who has been digging in and planting seeds in soil for almost 45 years. Andrew is one of the beautiful individuals responsible for the reason the Agricultural Society has a beautiful deconstructed and reconstructed wooden New England barn. He led the epic barn raising on the island and will come in to talk to the campers and parents about regenerative and sustainable farming. Island Grown Initiative: Members of IGI will come and do a gardening and planting workshop with the campers. Gentle Farm Animals from the Allen Farm will come visit the campers this week.
The Campers will get to draw, make puppets, sculpture, ceramics, plant seeds and use lots of other art mediums we have in our studio.
Dear Parents, Relatives and Friends and Community. Please join us on Friday at noon, The campers will have an art show and perform a number of their original creative puppet shows. Brian and Erik will do one of their special performances and a demonstration of puppet movement with their own hand made puppets. A Vineyard Farmer will bring in samples of their locally grown produce, herbs, and other handmade products.
Week 2: July 14: All kinds of Flying Creatures and Aeronautical, Our Deep Connection to Nature and Animals, Caribbean Dance and Culture:
Richard (Dick) Everett, the Award Winning and National Champion of the P24 Competition of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, will be one of our guiding artists in residence this week. He is a world-renowned blacksmith, steam engine specialist, model airplane builder, flyer and raconteur extraordinaire. He will show us his hand-built models and do a demonstration of his classic rubber powered airplane (if the weather cooperates). The campers will get to build a few different kinds of model planes and be able to fly them outside. The campers will also get to fabricate their favorite Bird, Insect, Flying Mmmal or Dinosaur out of Clay, Sculpey, Papier Mache’, Plaster Gauze and paint and fabricate dioramas out of various materials.
Omari Contaste’, The award-winning dancer and choreographer will be back again by popular demand from the “Forces of Nature” Dance Troupe. Omari will join us this week to show us some fun body movements from Nature and Caribbean dance and culture. He is also a wonderful theater director and playright. The campers get to write a play with the counselors related to our weekly theme. Omari is a force of nature himself. Everything is by choice.
Dear Parents Relatives, Friends and Community, We will have an Art Show, a Play, Performances, movement demonstrations and flying presentations by the Campers. Richard Everett will talk to everyone about his amazing life and how he became the National Champion at the P24 Competition. He will bring in his hand built airplane models which will be on display.
Also Omari Contaste will perform one of his very own choreographed pieces. Please join us at noon on Friday
Week 3: July 21: Puppetry with the World Famous Dan Butterworth Productions:
Back by popular demand, Dan Butterworth the award winning, world famous Master Puppeteer, will be joining us again this of puppets this week, from two-dimensional shadow and sock puppets, to head, mouth and arm manipulated puppets. Dan will bring in an abundance of different fabrics, felt materials, yarn, buttons, beads and all kinds of exciting decorations, paint and glue for the children to fabricate a puppet from their own imaginations. They are encouraged to construct their own original, unique design, not something from an animated feature, cartoon or video game. They will also (if they choose) get to write their own puppet shows and construct their own props and scenery. On Friday at noon the campers will have an Art Show and a Puppetry Extravaganza of unique and original puppet shows created, performed and written by the campers and counselors. Dan Butterworth will also do a demonstration and performance of his extraordinary hand-carved wooden and shadow Puppets. All the parents, relatives, friends and the community are invited Please Join us on Friday at noon for this amazing event. The campers will be able to create many different kinds.
Week 4: July 28: Stop Motion Animation, Fabricate a Large Endangered Animal, Mask making, Drum Rhythm from different Cultures:
Steve Lohman and Penelope MacLean: will join us this week to continue working on a large endangered creature out of Papier Mache’ and chicken wire and a thick cardboard frame. They will also work with the campers to do their magic with their highly creative Stop Motion Animation videos. Steve Lohman is an award winning, enormously talented artist and sculptor. His work is original and very creative, Lohman’s commissions include work created for public, private and corporate including Spalding International, Louis Vuitton Asia, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Abbott Vascular Europe, The Boston Children’s Hospital, The Boston Symphony Celebrity Series, and Stanford University. Steve lives in New Orleans and Martha’s Vineyard. Here is his website: https://www.lineartgallery.com
Steve Lohman’s steel and wire sculptures are three-dimensional line drawings which stand, hang, and bounce in space. Graceful and whimsical, Lohman’s lyrical creations express subtleties of life and forms. Penelope MacLean is from New Zealand, is married to Steve and is a highly talented five-star Chef, Artist and sculptor. She has sailed around the world cooking on international yachts and caring for children. She is really looking forward to working with the Campers this summer.
Rick Bausman master drummer, singer, musician and teacher will join us this week to do a drum workshop. Rick is a wonderful, personable and brilliant drummer who has traveled around the world learning new drumming rhythms to bring back to Martha’s Vineyard. He has been to Haiti, Africa, the Caribbean and more and loves sharing his talents and skills to people of all ages. Here is the Rhythm of Life website.
The Campers will get to create Stop Motion Animation videos, props and scenery, make Masks and Art Projects from diverse cultures and use other art mediums we have in our studio. Dear Parents Relatives, Friends and Community, Please join us on Friday at noon, We will have a beautiful Art Show, Stop Motion Videos created by the campers, Drum Rhythms performed by the campers.
Week 5: August 4: Dinosaur bones, Fossils and Artifacts, Drumming, Art Projects from Diverse Cultures, Music and Singer Songwriters, Hip Hop Dancing:
A remarkable paleontologist will come in and bring his stunning collection of dinosaur bones and artifacts and sculptures from around the world.
We have an amazing guest Hip Hop dance teacher coming this week. Rashidi Omari https://www.pbs.org/video/art-school-studio-rashidi-omari/ Rashidi Omari is the Performing Arts Director & Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (DAYPC) Co-Director at Destiny Arts Center. He teaches dance and spoken word at Destiny’s mainsite and in school and community spaces throughout the Bay Area, and presents on Destiny’s Creative Youth Development model around the country and around the world. An Oakland original, Rashidi has been with Destiny in various roles since 2003, became the Co-Artistic Director of the DAYPC in 2010, and Director in 2020. Rashidi knows that creative exploration and expression are integral components of culture and society. He believes that collaborative arts practices help nurture confidence, connection and cooperation which in turn helps to foster transformative social change. Rashidi has been dancing since the age of three and has been performing locally, nationally and internationally since 1993.
The outstanding drummer, choreographer, dancer, musician, actor and singer, Godfrey Muwulya from Uganda Godfrey Muwulya, Master Teacher and performing Artist, began training as a dancer and musician and drummer in his native country of Uganda at the age of 5. He has been featured in the New York Times and on Martha’s Vineyard through the Yard. He has collaborated with the NYU January study abroad program, and has performed at NYU at the Loewe Theater, Skirball Center, and Radio City Music Hall. He has taught in numerous K-12 schools in NYC in collaboration with NYU Dance Education alumni and also Elementary Schools around Massachusetts and Martha’s Vineyard.
We are very blessed to have Brenda Cline with us this week. She is a multitalented singer, songwriter, pianist, drummer, educator, artist and more. She taught Art and music for many years in the Tortola, BWI public schools and is a very accomplished artist, singer, musician. She is a bolt of light and joy! Reinforcing interactive, and variety filled songs for all ages, and times.
Love is really the secret ingredient, along with a passion of spreading it in song, and in her daily life. When working on Love Note projects, her music teaching, and recording experience, can be felt and seen. Around the world venues, will never change that homegrown power. ” Let’s Sing !”
Theresa Thomason:
Theresa Thomason has toured for over thirteen years in the most hallowed theaters of Europe and performed at the Vatican in 2005. Her career has spanned over two decades of performances and recordings with the Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort, Pete Seeger, Dream Theater, renowned conductor John Rutter, actor and activist Ruby Dee, jazz group FRENS, and many others. Thomason continues to expand her range, style, and creativity and has her own acclaimed musical production called “The Sisterhood”.
Theresa has performed in “Hot Feet”, the Broadway musical conceived, choreographed, and directed by Maurice Hines, featuring music from Earth, Wind & Fire.
Paul Smith is a very skilled pianist, singer, conductor, songwriter and teaches and conducts a chorus in Tortola, British West Indies.
The campers will also get to create art projects from diverse cultures including painting, ceramics and the potter’s wheel and use other art mediums.
On Friday at noon we will have a beautiful Art Show, performances by all the campers and our Visiting Artists, educational speakers, the Unveiling of our Large Papier Mache’ Endangered Animal and our end of Summer party. We hope that you will join us and bring all your relatives, friends and the community for our end of summer gathering and Celebration.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010 CD
Our Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010 CD is available now at the CD Baby music website. Amazing socially and environmentally conscious songs written and sung by our summer campers and counselors. All the income will be donated to humanitarian and environmental organizations.
Download individual songs or buy the CD Sense of Wonder Creations Live 2010
Summer Camp Photo Gallery!
All photos by Lynn Christoffers
The Power of One
One song can spark a moment
One flower can wake the dream
One tree can start a forest
One bird can herald spring
One smile begins a friendship
One handclasp lifts a soul
One star can guide a ship at sea
One word can frame the goal
One vote can change a nation
One sunbeam lights a room
One candle wipes out darkness
One laugh will conquer gloom
One step must start each journey
One word must start each prayer
One hope will raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One voice can speak with wisdom
One heart can know what’s true
One life can make the difference
You see, it’s up to you!!
Ashish Ram
(Author Unknown)
I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something I can do.
We don’t need more money,
we don’t need greater success or fame,
We don’t need the perfect body or even the perfect mate.
Right now, at this very moment, we have a mind,
which is all the basic equipment we need to help the world
Be a better place.