Friendship requests

Friendship requests won’t be available, but rest assured, our warm and inclusive environment ensures every camper will make new friends and enjoy unforgettable moments.

Goldfish Swim School Program

Campers will swim at Goldfish Swim School in Lincoln Park (a short drive from Apachi Irving Park) three times a week. Goldfish Swim School’s philosophy is rooted in The Science of SwimPlay^® which helps kids develop life skills in and out of the water using their one-of-a-kind, play-based learning in a fun and safe environment. Campers build confidence in the pool as they build skills one step at a time. Goldfish Swim School ensures each child receives the proper attention and individualized support they need. They always keep their classes small and ensure a max student-to-teacher ratio of 4:1.

Testing, Placement and Progress Reports

Campers are tested at the beginning of summer and placed in an appropriate swim level based on their skills. Parents will be given a Goldfish Swim School account to access updates of their child’s swim progress throughout the summer.

Car Drop Off and Pick Up

Our convenient carpool line helps your camper get to their group easily and speed you on your way. A staff member will come to your car rain or shine to help your child out of their seat. You’ll get to see your camper with a smiling counselor by their side and you never even have to get out of your car. At pick up time, just use the carpool line again. We will bring your child to you, buckle them in, and you will be on your way.

Food

Please send your camper with a small, sack lunch that we will refrigerate. Once a week we will provide a pizza lunch. A morning snack and afternoon frozen treat are provided by camp daily.

Food allergies

Safety and inclusion are top priorities at Apachi Day Camps. Our camps are committed to being allergy-safe. While our camps are not allergen-free, we strive to make our camp environments as safe as possible for children with food allergies using a customized approach and working closely with each family to develop an action plan for the child. More information can be found here.

Immunizations & Health Forms

For each child enrolled in JCC Chicago Day Camp programming, the parent (or legal guardian) must provide a current immunization record appropriate for the child’s age and a health form signed by the child’s physician or health department representative prior to the first day of the program.

If a child’s physical condition prevents them from receiving one or more required immunizations, the examining physician (DO, MD), advanced practice nurse, or physician assistant responsible for the performance of the health examination shall endorse that fact upon the health examination form. JCC Chicago reserves the right to follow-up with the medical provider for further clarification and to determine whether an exemption will be granted.

Camper Care

While there will be no onsite nurse, we’ll still have trained staff ready to handle minor first-aid needs. Inclusion support is not available for this specific program, but we’re committed to ensuring every camper has a great summer experience. For families seeking specialized accommodations for campers who need extra support, we invite you to explore Apachi Old Town and Apachi Northside.

For Apachi Irving Park campers in K-8th grade:

Families that are applying for three or more weeks that are not applying for fee assistance will be charged a $500 deposit; $250 of which is refundable until February 1. After February 1, the deposit is nonrefundable.

Families that are applying for one or two weeks that are not applying for fee assistance will be charged a $250 deposit; $125 of which is refundable until February 1. After February 1, the deposit is nonrefundable.

All families who are applying for fee assistance will be charged a $150 deposit, regardless of the number of weeks and will follow the standard deposit refund policies.

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

Our Summer Camp offers your child a fun and interactive culinary experience! Junior chefs will explore various ingredients and cuisines while building foundational cooking skills, including knife skills, stove safety, and egg cracking. Each day, they’ll prepare two themed recipes.

Junior Chefs Kitchen provides hands-on cooking classes and nutrition education for children ages 2-18 at our Lincoln Park studio in Chicago. Our curriculum, developed by a Registered Dietitian, emphasizes the nutritional benefits of whole foods while fostering independence, confidence, leadership, and healthy habits.

The Children’s Theater Company is a cherished local organization known for inspiring confidence, creativity, and community through original performances, storytelling, and character- based play.  With over 30 years of experience, founder Margo Proeh and her talented team have worked with thousands of children across the North Shore.  Now, for the first time, they’re bringing their signature one-week “Big Show Bash” format to Apachi.

Each one-week session includes:

• Acting games and warmups
• Singing, dancing, and musical theater scenes
• Creative costume and prop exploration
• Rehearsals and a live filmed performance for families
• Emphasis on teamwork, self-expression, and FUN!

Get ready for a joyful week filled with imagination, storytelling, and applause.  Here, every child gets a moment in the spotlight.

Together, we’ll build your stage presence and get performance-ready!

Amazing Minds

Amazing Minds, providing educational enrichment in a unique hands-on format has been instilling a lifelong love of learning to children for over 20 years.  Come explore the world with us while we travel to far away lands such as Australia, China, Italy, Ancient Egypt, and Israel; or perhaps we stay closer to home and visit New York, Washington D.C. or Chicago. Your children will learn about new languages, famous places, foods and customs through interactive games, activities, art projects all while we incorporate the core academic areas and make learning FUN.  Come join us for an Amazing Journey.

Week 1: June 22-26

Save 5% when you register for additional weeks!

Register

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

STEM Exploration with Noggin Builders is filled with fun, hands-on STEM activities. This week our activities will include these and so much more!

• Explore the engineering design process as we build and test ziplines
• Learn about the chemical properties of acids and bases
• Create persistence of vision spinners and investigate how the eye works

With guidance from Kidcreate Studios, your child will create fridge-worthy masterpieces, explore art concepts, experiment with a variety of art materials, and engage in exciting STEAM activities.

Join us as we bring Minecraft^® to life using LEGO^® bricks. Your child will embark on adventures, design worlds, and create their own LEGO^® Minecraft^® character filled with mobs, animals, and buildings.

Week 2: June 30-July 3

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

Our Summer Camp offers your child a fun and interactive culinary experience! Junior chefs will explore various ingredients and cuisines while building foundational cooking skills, including knife skills, stove safety, and egg cracking. Each day, they’ll prepare two themed recipes.

Junior Chefs Kitchen provides hands-on cooking classes and nutrition education for children ages 2-18 at our Lincoln Park studio in Chicago. Our curriculum, developed by a Registered Dietitian, emphasizes the nutritional benefits of whole foods while fostering independence, confidence, leadership, and healthy habits.

Under the guidance of Chicago Loves Dance instructors, students will learn fun choreography to the latest pop songs and get creative in freestyle sessions. We focus on boosting self-esteem and socialization through dance. The final class includes a parent watch day for a short performance showcasing their new talents.

• Break-Dance & Hip Hop: Students will learn break-dance choreography, poses, and freestyle techniques, along with fun hip hop dance moves. The program wraps up with a parent watch day, where students will showcase a short performance.
• Youth Yoga: Kids will learn basic yoga movements and terms through fun games. Yoga helps build listening skills, self-esteem, and social emotional learning.
• Tumbling/Gymnastics: Students will stretch, jump, and progress from somersaults to cartwheels and round-offs in this energetic class.

Amazing Minds

Join us while we explore nature and learn about everything around us!  Combining science, art and FUN, your children will become junior geologists and perform experiments on rocks, make rainbows, tornadoes, and Dead Sea Salt art, go on scavenger hunts, examine their findings under microscopes, paint a mural without paintbrushes and much more!

Week 3: July 6-10

Register

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

Under the guidance of Chicago Loves Dance instructors, students will learn fun choreography to the latest pop songs and get creative in freestyle sessions. We focus on boosting self-esteem and socialization through dance. The final class includes a parent watch day for a short performance showcasing their new talents.

• Cheer/Poms: Students will learn 3-4 new cheers and poms choreography weekly, improving form and adding to their routine. The last class will feature a parent watch day for a final performance.
• Youth Yoga: Kids will learn basic yoga movements and terms through fun games. Yoga helps build listening skills, self-esteem, and social emotional learning.
• Tumbling/Gymnastics: Students will stretch, jump, and progress from somersaults to cartwheels and round-offs in this energetic class.

With guidance from Kidcreate Studios, your child will create fridge-worthy masterpieces, explore art concepts, experiment with a variety of art materials, and engage in exciting STEAM activities.

In Snapology’s Pokémania program, your child will dive into the Pokémon world, building training gyms and unique battles while creating their own generation of Pokémon. They’ll also explore real-world science by examining Pokémon habitats and characteristics, ensuring a fun and educational experience!

Week 4: July 13-17

Register

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

Our Summer Camp offers your child a fun and interactive culinary experience! Junior chefs will explore various ingredients and cuisines while building foundational cooking skills, including knife skills, stove safety, and egg cracking. Each day, they’ll prepare two themed recipes.

Junior Chefs Kitchen provides hands-on cooking classes and nutrition education for children ages 2-18 at our Lincoln Park studio in Chicago. Our curriculum, developed by a Registered Dietitian, emphasizes the nutritional benefits of whole foods while fostering independence, confidence, leadership, and healthy habits.

The Children’s Theater Company is a cherished local organization known for inspiring confidence, creativity, and community through original performances, storytelling, and character- based play.  With over 30 years of experience, founder Margo Proeh and her talented team have worked with thousands of children across the North Shore.  Now, for the first time, they’re bringing their signature one-week “Big Show Bash” format to Apachi.

Each one-week session includes:

• Acting games and warmups
• Singing, dancing, and musical theater scenes
• Creative costume and prop exploration
• Rehearsals and a live filmed performance for families
• Emphasis on teamwork, self-expression, and FUN!

Get ready for a joyful week filled with comedy and improv (bringing the laughs with silly scenes), imagination, storytelling, and applause.  Here, every child gets a moment in the spotlight.

Amazing Minds

Adventure with Amazing Minds into the Animal Kingdom! Through interactive games and activities your children will learn about reptiles and mammals, investigate owl pellets, then dive deep into the oceans with sharks, whales and dolphins!

Week 5: July 20-24

Register

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

STEM Exploration with Noggin Builders is filled with fun, hands-on STEM activities.  This week our activities will include these and so much more!

• Design and build a trebuchet (catapult) then test how far it will launch
• Explore the properties of liquids and create a density test tube
• Use the mechanics of levers to create a grabbing tool

With guidance from Kidcreate Studios, your child will create fridge-worthy masterpieces, explore art concepts, experiment with a variety of art materials, and engage in exciting STEAM activities.

Building with LEGO^® bricks is often about one thing; making incredible constructions for the mini-figures that get to live and use them. This Snapology program will provide a structure for campers to make some truly wild creations; from engineering challenges like making the tallest towers or fastest car, to ones that require more imagination and creativity, like building a city or vacation parks.

Week 6: July 27-31

Register

Hot Shots Sports, Illinois’ premier youth sports provider, offers fun and engaging programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Our summer camps feature rotating sports and unique, proprietary games you won’t find anywhere else. Campers develop technical skills and participate in interactive competitions led by expert coaches. With sports like volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, and flag football, your child is guaranteed a one-of-a-kind experience, whether they join for one week or all summer!

Under the guidance of Chicago Loves Dance instructors, students will learn fun choreography to the latest pop songs and get creative in freestyle sessions. We focus on boosting self-esteem and socialization through dance. The final class includes a parent watch day for a short performance showcasing their new talents.

• Cheer/Poms: Students will learn 3-4 new cheers and poms choreography weekly, improving form and adding to their routine. The last class will feature a parent watch day for a final performance.
• Youth Yoga: Kids will learn basic yoga movements and terms through fun games. Yoga helps build listening skills, self-esteem, and social emotional learning.
• Tumbling/Gymnastics: Students will stretch, jump, and progress from somersaults to cartwheels and round-offs in this energetic class.

STEM Exploration with Noggin Builders is filled with fun, hands-on STEM activities. This week our activities will include these and so much more!

• Use the engineering design process to test slingshot rockets
• Explore chemical reactions with elephant toothpaste
• Design and build your own marble maze game

(Grades 3-5)
The StandStrong Track at camp will offer the ‘Defender Self-Defense Course,’ designed to teach techniques for evading and de-escalating bullying situations. Each class introduces new skills for participants to practice, focusing on defense—not fighting. Through fun team drills and games, the program promotes discipline, respect, and teamwork. With an emphasis on staying in control rather than being aggressive, the course boosts self-esteem and confidence in every participant.

Week 7: August 3-7

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