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Centre for Philosophy for Children

Thinking Playground camps

Do you want your child to have the ‘thinking tools’ to solve problems? To make good decisions? To be open to exploring different ideas, and transform imagination into innovation? Then the Thinking Playground is just what you have been looking for!

Thinking is learning to: 

  • listen to each other
  • ask interesting questions
  • make connections between ideas
  • to build on each other’s ideas
  • see what counts as a reason
  • express your reasons
  • think before you act 

Thinking is essential: 

  • constructive communication
  • for healthy mental and emotional development
  • for dealing with the pressures of life
  • for good judgment
  • for self-growth

2023 Summer camps

Camp 1: July 4-7 | Mutant Minders (age 6-9)

THIS CAMP IS FULL

Cowabunga! What fun we are going to have! So come out of your shells, Ninjas! See what the world looks like from a future far, far away only to bolt back to your own unique now. Zoom in, zoom out, zoom here, zoom there. Put on different goggles and teleport anywhere. Explore different galaxies of understanding using real time board games, stories, skits, and other fun activities. The Mutant Minders will develop skills to mutate reality just by looking at it. Inspection and investigation will lead to the transformation! But hold on. Isn’t a Ninja someone who wears black, drops down from the ceiling and slices things up? Well, of course, but there are all kinds of ways that things can be sliced up. So, slither hither, and join us for this exciting adventure.

Camp 1: July 4-7 | Imaginators (age 10-13)

Join us for a week to let your imagination run wild while we create and express ourselves in different ways. Explore what the art world might be telling us and what you can tell when you’re in it. Can we express our emotions through art? How did artists throughout history teach us unique lessons through their art? Learn about art’s persuasive power. Do movies motivate you? Do they make you feel emotions you didn't know you had? As an Imaginator, you will get to create your very own movie! Join us in exploring these questions through art projects, filmmaking, sculpting, fun and active games and so much more. No artistic experience or skill is needed. Just come with your imagination and we will have an exciting camp experience like no other!

Camp 2: July 10-14 | Creative sparks (age 6-9)

THIS CAMP IS FULL

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if no one could speak: if you could only speak your mind or express your feelings through drawing, painting or dancing? What message do you think we send by how we decorate our rooms? What would anger look like if you painted it? Why is your favourite music your favourite? Can we tell stories through art? Can you, as a “Spark,” take the best photograph ever? Can you create a work of art using lego? Join us in exploring these sparkling mysteries through art projects, nature walks, telling stories, and more exciting games and adventures. Come and let your creative sparks fly as we dive into a world of creativity and expression!

Camp 2: July 10-14 | Switcheroos (age 10-13)

Have you ever felt that you expanded your mind by exploring novel and spellbinding ways of looking at things? Could a glimpse into your future give you a reason to change your decisions today? Have you ever felt like you didn’t have the whole story or full picture of something? Maybe having a bigger perspective can give you the ability to navigate your swarming and transforming daily life. We think so! That’s why it is time to learn how to SWITCH IT UP. In this year’s camp, our SWITCHEROOS will travel to new lands and hunt for unfound treasures. They will expand their minds until they need an extra backpack to carry them in! Through board games, stories, and fun inside and outside activities, they will work on acquiring skills to recognize times to “switch it up.” Become a Switcheroo: you may find yourself switched up as well…or maybe up-switched!  

How to register for camp

Camp fees

Registration type Fee
Domestic registration July 4-7/July 10-14 $200.00/$250.00
Second registration (from the same family) $150.00/week
International registration July 4-7/July 10-14 $236.00/$295.00
Second registration (from the same family) $195.00/week

How to submit your registration & pay your fees

In-person: Abbotsford B211 - 33844 King Rd; Chilliwack A1312 - 45190 Caen Ave

NOTE: 10% discount for children of UFV employees; 20% discount for children of current UFV students

You may drop your campers off between 8:30-9:00 am and pick them up between 4:00-4:30 pm. Pick-up and drop-off location TBD.

University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford campus, Bldg E - Gym

Download UFV Abbotsford campus map »

Please pack a nutritious, nut-free lunch for your camper and 2 snacks — one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Please also include a bottle of water with the camper’s name on it.

Behind the scenes

UFV’s Centre for Philosophy for Children (C4PC) and the Vancouver Institute of Philosophy For Children have joined energies to bring “fun” and “thinking” to youngsters in the Fraser Valley by putting on camps for each of the two weeks with carefully crafted curriculums and a unique pedagogical approach. Check www.thinkingplayground.org for more information.

Questions? Please contact us via p4c@ufv.ca or info@thinkingplayground.org.

Check out past camps on Facebook.

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“This camp was the funnest one yet. This camp made me really really super duper happy.“

  • – Camper
  •    Age 9

There are so many good things to say about camp this week. My children have never, I mean never, had this much fun. It is not a stretch to say that my husband and I think that they enjoyed the camp more than Disneyland!

  • – Mom of Jasaiah and Olivia
  •    (2020 campers)

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