Businesses offer camps for kids with no school
Responding to demand caused by the Chicago teachers strike, local enterprises are setting up strike camps for parents looking for constructive and creative places to leave their kids during the day, but nearly all charge a fee.
Lookingglass Theatre is one of a number of groups offering day-to-day drama workshop programs. During the strike, Lookingglass has a camp from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 22nd floor of the John Hancock Center. Children 5 to 8 can engage in arts exploration activities, including storytelling, music and art, and kids 9 to 13 learn theater; $65 per day.
Multilingual Chicago, a language school in the Logan Square and Avondale neighborhoods that provides language classes for adults and kids and offers a summer language camp for kids, launched a Spanish-emersion strike camp Monday for $299 for the week or $60 a day.
At Sylvan Learning Centers in Hyde Park and Chatham, parents have access to a free strike program for grades K through 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the strike, said Ian Coburn, director of the two centers. Participants focus on reading and math, and older children receive assistance preparing for the ACT exam.
Lakeshore Sport & Fitness at 1320 W. Fullerton, which renewed its summer camp until the strike ends, had 30 children enrolled the first day; $80 daily for members, $100 for others. Other strike camps include:
Hubbard Street Dance camps for grades K through 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; $60 a day.
Brain Surgeon’s Make a Movie camp. Storyboard a mini movie, movie trailer, music video, short film or silent movie; $45 a day.
NeuroKitchen’s Curiosity Club camp. Nurtures inquisitiveness and encourages children to take initiative for their own learning from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; $40 a day.
Studio BE offers workshops for ages 7 to 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Workshops include plot structure, dance, creative writing and public speaking; $20 a day.