VSA Future Camp: Classes for Every Student

Wondering how to keep your child engaged intellectually and socially this summer? Here at VSA Future, we’re proud to offer our 2023 Fun & Educational Summer Camp Program, tailored to suit the needs of busy parents. Our one-of-a-kind partnership with Huckle Berry, a new children’s amusement center in Morris County, ensures your child joins peers in an academic summer camp environment that fosters school success and social growth.

Our in-person camp program at our new Morris Plains, New Jersey location runs from June 26 – Sept. 1, 2023. VSA Future’s learning center will teach academic programs on the first floor, with Huckle Berry, a family entertainment center, offering fun activities on the second floor. We will be located at 2561 RT-10, Morris Plains, NJ 07950.

Camp will be open Mondays through Fridays from 8am – 6pm. Early drop-off and late pickup arrangements will be available between 7:30am – 6:30pm. We accommodate a wide range of grade levels, from students entering Pre-K to rising 8th graders.

WHY VSA FUTURE?
Our unique blend of academic lessons and creative, hands-on activities ensure students continue to grow intellectually in the summer months. We challenge our campers with exciting and thought-provoking activities across subjects each day. At VSA Future, we’re especially attuned to the learning loss experienced by students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our in-person summer camp is specially designed to help reverse such educational delays, ensuring campers remain on-pace to achieve academic success while receiving much needed socialization with teachers and peers.

VSA STUDENTS WIN TOP AWARDS IN NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST
Since 2015, our learning center at VSA Future has developed active learning models for students to engage with new concepts, participate in meaningful group discussions, and build confidence in small-group settings. Our focus on writing has yielded concrete results — our students have won 26 Scholastic Art & Writing awards in the past three years, including 11 in 2023.

ABOUT HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
Our summer partner, Huckleberry, offers a safe and stimulating environment for campers of all ages to learn, grow, and have fun. With over 15,000 square feet, Huckle Berry boasts an Indoor Playground, Outdoor Play Area, virtual reality games and rides, and more. The regularly sanitized equipment and state-of-the-art internal video surveillance ensure campers have a safe and exciting place to play.

ACADEMIC CAMP CLASSES
On Mondays through Thursdays, campers study the ins-and-outs of language arts, expand their vocabularies, craft thoughtful essays in every genre imaginable, and hone their problem-solving math skills. Our campers speak boldly and bravely in our Public Speaking course, and they become deft communicators through our daily writing classes.

WHAT DOES THE CAMP OFFER FOR GRADES PRE-K TO GRADE 2?
VSA Future offers age-appropriate curriculum suitable for different developmental ages. Our Sunshine Campers, Pre-K to second-graders, build foundational skills in Math and Reading/Writing. For our youngest campers, we activate listening, inquiry and critical thinking skills through the use of read-alouds and story element identification. Our Sunshine Campers practice handwriting while composing short stories. In Math, Sunshine Campers work on numerical and pattern recognition, geometry concepts, measurement and problem-solving skills. Throughout the summer, our youngest campers will gain confidence as they access foundational skills to prepare for the next academic year!

We center the first eight weeks of ten-week camp on a carefully developed academic curriculum, alternating our weekly focus between Reading and Writing so our young scholars can improve comprehension and begin writing across different genres.

WHAT DOES THE CAMP OFFER FOR GRADES 3 TO 8?
VSA Future offers a comprehensive and rigorous academic experience for campers in grades 3– 8. Our Reading/Writing curriculum alternates between writing process cycles to develop essays and critical reading units to hone comprehension skills. Our students write essays in narrative, argumentative, and expository genres, developing a weekly essay every other week. The writing process begins with thorough brainstorming and evidence gathering to drafting, revising and editing. During critical reading, students digest six to eight pieces of various genres, including nonfiction, fiction, drama and poetry, per week. In critical reading, students examine perspective, tone, voice and key features of the texts. Students will confidently identify main ideas, purpose, symbols and themes through multiple-choice questions. Students who attend the first eight weeks of camp will be well-equipped for statewide academic testing in the fall, given our reading comprehension focus.

GET BOLD WITH PUBLIC SPEAKING
Campers in grades 3– 8 also have the chance to engage in our innovative Public Speaking course. We teach our students how to project their voices and make their presence known. Public Speaking builds the ability to effectively argue an opinion, be persuasive, and hold an audience’s interest in a topic. Using original speeches, campers practice their fluency, articulation, and stage presence and receive instructor and peer feedback. Each week, students focus on a particular public speaking skill and polish presentation abilities with daily rehearsals. Each week culminates with a Public Speaking presentation on Thursdays.

PROBLEM SOLVE YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS
Campers will challenge themselves and develop passion for problem-solving in our math course. Students preview the upcoming grade’s math concepts, helping them leap ahead of their school peers in the fall. With daily lessons and ample practice, students develop mental math skills, strengthen problem-solving skills and intuition, and master the Common Core concepts for their level. Through challenging Singapore Math word problems, campers become adept at applying multiple math concepts to find the solution. Each week, all math concepts are independent to each other.

TIME TO GET FUN!
In addition to our varied academic curriculum, VSA Future and Huckle Berry offer your children the daily opportunity to socialize and grow into well-rounded world citizens in our camp environment. Throughout the summer, campers attend our Global Speaker series on a variety of age-appropriate topics. We also offer “Messy Art Education” for sensory development in our outdoor areas, and Science Squad and Math Mysteries classes that excite all campers. In the final two weeks of camp, we pivot to a creative curriculum that keeps students artistically and emotionally engaged while giving them a brief brain break ahead of the school year.

On Fridays, campers explore the mysteries of the world in Mad Science, broaden their horizons through the Global Speaker Series, and get experimental with new guided activities each week. Our creative projects and science experiments complement what students learn in class and foster strong teamwork skills. The curriculum for each week of camp is standalone, so students can sign up for any combination of weeks without trailing behind their peers.

OUTDOOR OASIS
Get active and enjoy the summer rays with Outdoor Oasis! Each day, students explore and have fun in Huckle Berry’s Outdoor Play Area, which features a jungle gym, playground set, and much more. Counselors lead daily activities, including freeze dance, races, beanbag toss, and more, while Free Play gives campers the freedom to imagine and collaborate together while getting a workout. The Outdoor Play Area is fully secured with child-proof railings, and the only entrance/exit is through the Huckle Berry center (no public access).

ARTS AND CRAFTS
Campers turn a creative eye to the world around them. Our art teacher guides students in art making, drawing lessons, and other creative activities that turn the everyday into the extraordinary. Everyone’s an artist, and everything, a potential artwork. Imagine and draw a universe of your own, complete with countries, maps, never-before-seen landscapes and animals. We also promote hands-on “Messy Art Education” in our outdoor play space that stimulates creativity and promotes the use of sensory and gross motor skills.

GLOBAL SPEAKER SERIES
In this weekly series, campers are exposed to real-world issues with compelling talks that broaden students’ perspectives on the world, from global warming to a scientist’s daily life and so much more. The series aims to familiarize students with global subjects that foster an appreciation for the new and unfamiliar. Through age-appropriate talks, our impressive panel of speakers—from scientists to artists, finance experts and more—will inspire students to grow not only as learners but also empathetic citizens of the world.

TALENT SHOW: AUGUST 11. ALL CAMPERS SAVE THE DATE!
All campers are also invited to perform at our Talent Show on the evening of August 11, no matter which weeks of camp they are attending. Parents, please reserve this date on your calendar!

TALENT SHOW: AUGUST 11. ALL CAMPERS SAVE THE DATE!
All campers are also invited to perform at our Talent Show on the evening of August 11, no matter which weeks of camp they are attending. Parents, please reserve this date on your calendar!

SIGN UP TODAY!
If you’re ready to enroll your child in our in person camp, register here. The earlier you sign, the more you save with our exclusive Early Bird Promotion!

LEARN HOW VSA FUTURE CAN HELP YOUR CHILD
Want to learn more about how VSA Future’s unique approach to premium-quality education can help your student excel? Sign up for a FREE consultation with Founder and Director Dr. Julia Guo.