Summer Break Camp
Have a great summer at Friendly House Summer Camp—enrolling now for 2023!
Nine weeks of adventure, learning, and fun await—see below for descriptions of each weekly session.
1st–6th Grade Camp: 9am–4pm. Optional before care (7–9am) and aftercare (4–6pm) are each available at an additional cost. Click the button below to sign up on our registration site.
Session 1 (June 20–23):
Read it, Write it
Four Days of Literary Adventure feat. Tin House Books
Do you love stories? Books? Would you like to write or illustrate your own? Join us for a week of literary adventures! You’ll venture down to our local library for inspiration and later meet with a publisher from Tin House to learn what it takes to become a famous author. During the week, you’ll create your own book with stories, illustrations, or both!
Four-Day Week Cost: $240
Before & After Care: $24 each
Session 2 (June 26–June 30):
Good Game! Good Game!
Sports Week, Plus a Tour of Providence Park
Get your game on! This camp is dedicated to sports, sports, and more sports. Try your hand at basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, pickle ball, and soccer. You’ll take a guided tour of Providence Park, home of the Portland Timbers and Thorns! Not sure sports are your thing? No worries. Our engaging crafts will be sure to knock this camp out of the park for everyone!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 3 (July 3 and 5–7):
Pretty as a Picture
Four Days of Artistry and a Trip to the Art Museum
Monet, Rembrandt, Picasso… they’ve got nothing on you! Get inspired with a trip to the Portland Art Museum. You’ll release the artist within and learn to express your inner musings through a myriad of artistic mediums. You’ll sketch, paint, sculpt, and more. When your artistic license has expired in the studio, you can express yourself in the gym through free play and an assortment of games!
Four-Day Week Cost: $240
Before & After Care: $24 each
Session 4 (July 10–14):
You Are Here
A Week of Oregon Sights & Experiences
Learn all the fascinating factoids about the city of Portland and the state of Oregon! You’ll explore this amazing place, from the strange exhibits at ‘The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium’ to the awe-inspiring Bonneville Dam. Back at Friendly House you’ll create maps, guide books, and partake in one of Portland’s favorite pastimes: ballpark diamond dodgeball!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 5 (July 17–21):
Water World
Aquatic Adventure Week, Including a Canoe Trip
Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink? Maybe not to drink but definitely to enjoy! From scientific water experiments to outdoor water adventures, this camp has you covered… and probably wet, too! You’ll play water games in Wallace Park, explore the water features at Jamison Square, and to top it off, you’ll take a real canoe trip!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 6 (July 24–28):
Spooky Specters
Halloween Week in Summer, Plus a Slabtown Tour
Can’t get enough of Halloween in the fall? This creepy, crawly camp dedicated to all things that go bump in the night is right up your darkened alley! You’ll take a haunted tour of the spectrally charged Slabtown neighborhood and learn hauntingly true tales from its history. You’ll create slimy and spooky crafts, as well as creepy costume pieces. Be the ‘fright in the night’ all week long!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 7 (July 31–Aug. 4):
Woodland Expedition
Explore the Local Wilds All Week
Embark on a fascinating expedition of the rain forest we call home. Learn about the local flora and fauna that secretly surrounds you, and create your own terrarium. You’ll get out into the trees while visiting Hoyt Arboretum, the World Forestry Center, and our own neighborhood corner of Forest Park!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 8 (Aug. 7–11):
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Nyoom, Chugga, Vroom All Week, Plus the Aviation & Space Museum
Hit the road during a week dedicated to all modes of transportation! You’ll find out about what makes things go, who invented them, and how they did it. You’ll build mini boats and give them the float test, learn the art of folding the perfect paper airplane, and travel to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, home of the Spruce Goose, also known as the Hughes Flying Boat!
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Session 9 (Aug. 14–18):
Talent Week
Talents, Performances, and a Trip to the Theatre
Do you long to trod the boards? Dazzle the crowds with your illustrious talent? Or maybe just see if you have one? No talent is too small for this camp! Throughout the week you’ll learn, develop, and ultimately perform your act at our very own talent show. Feeling too shy to show off? That’s okay! There is plenty to do behind the scenes, everything from prop making to costume design. During the week we’ll take an inspirational trip to a local theatre.
Five-Day Week Cost: $300
Before & After Care: $30 each
Sign up for Friendly House Summer Camp today!
Don’t miss our fun, engaging camps for kids heading into 1st–6th grade! We have new themes each session, hands-on learning, fun projects and cool field trips, from Ape Caves, to OMSI, to the Oregon Coast and much more. Join Friendly House staff at our welcoming neighborhood center in NW Portland and let’s go explore together! Scholarships and financial assistance are available for qualifying families. If applying for a scholarship, please have your scholarship application and documentation ready to submit when signing up. Click here to download the scholarship application and instructions.
Camp hours
1st–6th Grade Camp: 9am–4pm.
Optional before care (7–9am) and aftercare (4–6pm) are each available at an additional cost.
Discount, Billing, and Payment Policies
A $50 non-refundable deposit, per child and per session, is due at the time of registration. A $50 sibling discount is offered for the second and all subsequent children. Families who complete the scholarship application will not be required to submit payment at registration. They may be contacted later to make a full or partial payment, depending on scholarship eligibility. Click here to download the scholarship application and instructions.
Full payment is due 14 days prior to the start of each session (this excludes families receiving full scholarships). Refunds for canceled reservations will not be provided if a cancellation is made less than 14 days prior to the start of the session.
Payments can be made online, by check to “Friendly House,” or with cash.
Questions? Give us a call at (503) 228-4391 or email summer@fhpdx.org
Scholarships
Full and partial scholarships may be available to qualifying families. Click below to learn more about our scholarships.