SUMMER CAMPS 2026
Little Nestlings Early Learning Center – West Linn, Oregon
Join us for an unforgettable summer camp in West Linn, Oregon at Little Nestlings Early Learning Center!
Our Summer Camps 2026 offer engaging, hands-on learning experiences for preschool children ages 3–6, inspired by our Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum. Families who want to learn more about this approach can read about the benefits of a Reggio Emilia summer camp.
Each week features a unique theme—from nature exploration to artistic adventures, STEM discoveries, and musical creativity. Half-day and full-day options are available. Register today to secure your child’s spot!
Summer Camps 2026
A Season of Discovery and Creativity!
Get ready for a summer filled with hands-on learning, creative exploration, and outdoor adventures! Our thoughtfully designed summer camps for preschool children offer a dynamic and immersive experience, fostering curiosity, collaboration, and self-expression.
Each week features a unique theme, allowing campers to dive into new interests, experiment with different materials, and build lasting friendships—all while having fun in a nurturing environment at our West Linn early learning center.
Find the right summer camp for your child
Each camp theme offers a different way for children ages 3–6 to explore, create, connect, and build confidence. Families may register for one week or both weeks for most camp themes.
Dates: June 22 and June 29
Best for:
Children who love stories, art, movement, pretend play, and sharing ideas.
Dates: July 6 and July 13
Best for:
Children who love building, designing, problem-solving, and collaborating.
Dates: July 20 and July 27
Best for:
Children who love nature, outdoor discovery, sensory exploration, and caring for the world around them.
Dates: August 3 and August 10
Best for:
Children who love art, texture, clay, mixed media, and creative self-expression.
Dates: August 17
Best for:
Children who love water play, pouring, floating, sensory discovery, and cooperative exploration.
WEEKLY THEMES & DATES:
1. Once Upon a Studio
🗓 2-Week Camp
Week 1: June 22
Week 2: June 29
- Parent: Best for imaginative children who love stories, costumes, art, movement, and make-believe.
Children will have opportunities to practice listening, sharing ideas, confidence, collaboration, and creative self-expression.
- Focus: Exploring storytelling through art, movement, and dramatic play—where children’s ideas shape the stories we tell together.
- Activities:
- Story baskets with objects, fabrics, textures, and found items
- Character-making studio using clay, cardboard, fabric scraps, and natural materials
- Story-in-motion games and open-ended costume play
- Pop-up storytelling spaces created by the children
- Collective story mapping and collaborative class book
- Projects: Story Showcase Day — children choose how to share their stories.
2. Build It! Studio
🗓 2-Week Camp
Week 1: July 6
Week 2: July 13
- Parent: Best for children who love blocks, cardboard, tools, building challenges, and figuring out how things work.Children will have opportunities to practice problem-solving, patience, collaboration, flexible thinking, and persistence.
- Focus: Exploring design, construction, and problem-solving through hands-on building and collaboration.
- Activities:
- Loose parts building with wood, cardboard, tubes, fabric, and natural materials
- Balance and stability challenges
- Tool exploration
- Sketching and planning structures
- Rebuilding and refining favorite structures
- Collaborative construction projects
- Projects: Campers contribute homes, bridges, parks, and gathering spaces to Our Shared City.
3. Roots and Wings Camp
🗓 2-Week Camp
Week 1: July 20
Week 2: July 27
- Parent: Best for children who love nature, mud kitchens, leaves, sticks, outdoor play, and discovery.Children will have opportunities to practice curiosity, care for the natural world, observation, cooperation, and confidence in outdoor exploration.
- Focus: Deepening children’s connection to the natural world through hands-on exploration, open-ended play, and creative expression.
- Activities:
- Nature challenges
- Expanded mud kitchen with tools and water channels
- Mini habitat building using natural materials
- Field journals with observational drawings and leaf rubbings
- Loose-parts nature art studio
- Projects: Story of the Forest Sculpture.
4. The Children’s Atelier
🗓 2-Week Camp
Week 1: August 3
Week 2: August 10
- Parent: Best for children who love art materials, clay, color, texture, drawing, painting, and creative expression.Children will have opportunities to practice self-expression, decision-making, confidence, emotional regulation, and pride in their creative process.
- Focus: Exploring self-expression through a wide range of materials and techniques.
- Activities:
- Large-scale collaborative painting
- Texture and pattern exploration through printmaking and rubbings
- Clay exploration
- Drawing and mark-making
- Mixed-media projects and collaborative installation pieces
- Projects: The session concludes with a Studio Showcase celebrating the creative process.
5. Water Works Studio
🗓 1-Week Camp
Week 1: August 17
- Parent: Best for children who love water play, scooping, pouring, floating, sinking, and sensory exploration.Children will have opportunities to practice turn-taking, cooperative play, cause-and-effect thinking, problem-solving, and sensory regulation.
- Focus: Investigating water as a material through movement, experimentation, problem-solving, and collaborative play.
- Activities:
- Open water play with graduated tools
- Ice and water exploration
- Float, sink, and drift investigations
- Flow challenges and boat building
- Water painting and collaborative mark-making
- Projects: Children co-design, build, test, revise, and decorate a Living Water Wall.
Preschool summer camps near Lake Oswego and Oregon City
Camp Logistics & Registration Details
Cost:
- $365 per week Full Day
- $285 per week Half Day
- Additional $80 per week for extended afternoon hours (1:00pm – 3:15pm).
Half-Day & Full-Day Options:
- Half-Day: Core activities and group projects.
- Full-Day: Extended exploration with additional open-ended play, outdoor activities, and rest time for younger participants.
- Camps run 8:15am – 1:00pm
- Optional additional afternoon hours from 1:00pm-3:15pm available for an additional $80 per week.
- Camp themes are two weeks each, except Water Works Studio, which runs for one week.
- Campers may attend one week or both for a deeper experience.
Cancellation & Refund Policy:
- Full payment is required at the time of registration.
- You may switch to another camp date if space is available.
- No refunds or make-ups for missed days or if the camp is not the right fit.
- Withdrawal requests must be made at least 2 weeks before the camp start date to receive a refund minus a $50 non-refundable deposit.
Additional Information:
- Ages: 3-6 years old (must be potty trained or well on their way).
- Location:
- Little Nestlings Early Learning Center
19200 Willamette Dr, West Linn, OR 97068 - Little Nestlings is located in West Linn, just a short drive for many families in Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Tualatin, Wilsonville, and nearby Southwest Portland. Our preschool summer camps are designed for children ages 3–6 who thrive in a warm, creative, hands-on environment where social-emotional growth, curiosity, and connection are part of the experience.
- If you’re exploring summer options for young children, you may also find our guide on how to choose the best preschool summer camp in West Linn helpful.
- Little Nestlings Early Learning Center
- Registration:
- Secure your child’s spot by completing the online form. Once registered, families will receive an invoice—camp spots are only guaranteed once payment is received.