Outdoor Kids Summer Camp 2025

A small-group OT summer camp built for kids who need a camp as unique as they are.

Unforgettable Summer Camp Adventures — with tailored support for your child’s growth and success at camp.

👬 Connect with Peers

🎨 Fun Crafts & Activities

🍃 Nature Exploration

📚 Storytelling & Imagination

⛹️ Supported Free Play

💞 Belonging in Community

Traditional camps are largely run as a fun, overwhelming, free-for-all: 20 to 30 kids running around, lots of unstructured time, and well-meaning high schoolers as camp counselors.

But some kids need something smaller, supportive, and more tailored to their needs.

And that’s what we’re all about!

Guided by our ConTiGO (Connection & Transformation in the Great Outdoors) Approach, Outdoor Kids Camp provides a small-group camp experience with playful activities to build your child's connection with peers and boost their motor and social skills through immersive occupational therapy (20 hours in one week!) in the great outdoors. 

Your child will have so much fun they won’t notice they’re working on meeting their therapy goals!

Who is Outdoor Kids Camp For?

We’re Not Your Average Summer Camp….

With professional OT staff, small group sizes, and a customized curriculum, our camp is designed for kids ages 4-12 who:

  • Struggle to fit in or thrive in larger group environments

  • Would benefit from targeted support to address their therapy goals during the summer

  • Might feel overlooked or overwhelmed in a traditional camp setting

  • Need extra support for sensory needs or emotional regulation

How Outdoor Kids Camp is DIFFERENT Than Other Day Camps

  • Skilled Leadership

    Led by a certified nature-based pediatric occupational therapist and assisted by OT graduate students and vetted, passionate adult volunteers.

  • Intentionally-Formed Groups

    We don’t fill camp on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead, our therapists carefully review each child’s application to create camp cohorts that match children's ages, needs, and personalities. This maximizes goodness-of-fit for each child.

  • Mixed-Age Small Groups

    Children are grouped with about a 3 year age span (4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 year-olds). We limit group size to 6-7 children per week to offer a small group experience that allows for growth and attention for every child.

  • Customized Programming

    Our therapists don’t follow a cookie-cutter curriculum because our camps are truly a therapy service. We plan activities based on the children’s goals each week, and often adapt our plans during the week to meet children’s needs or interests to support their goals.

  • Connection & Belonging

    In alignment with the ConTiGO Approach, our therapists truly value connection with your child as the most important part of the camp experience. This fosters your child feeling a real sense of belonging in their group.

  • Nature Connection

    Through fun activities that help them tune into the natural world, campers deepen their relationship with nature at our camps. This builds the foundation for finding respite in nature for self-regulation, mental clarity, and peace throughout their life.

What Parents Say About Outdoor Kids OT Summer Camp

  • We absolutely love Outdoor Kids! Our child did their summer camp and then completed a full year of a weekly group and we're signed up for next year. It was such a wonderful time for our child to get into nature, work on social skills with peers in a supportive setting and work on their individual OT goals- rather than having separate social groups, OT sessions and outings in nature, we got to do all three at once! 

  • The therapists and volunteers are really personable, focused on the kids, offer amazing feedback through video updates and photos each week, always check in with the caregivers and offer very targeted feedback and support. It's so wonderful to see the many skills our child is developing at OKOT! Thank you!!

  • Our kiddo loves OKOT camp - always ends the day full of energy and happy and proud to share what he built or made. We get tons of photos and a recap of what the group worked on - which is adorable - but also lets us know how he is working toward his goals and developing the skills he needs support with. 

  • We absolutely love Outdoor Kids! Our child did their summer camp and then completed a full year of a weekly group and we're signed up for next year. It was such a wonderful time for our child to get into nature, work on social skills with peers in a supportive setting and work on their individual OT goals- rather than having separate social groups, OT sessions and outings in nature, we got to do all three at once! 

  • The therapists and volunteers are really personable, focused on the kids, offer amazing feedback through video updates and photos each week, always check in with the caregivers and offer very targeted feedback and support. It's so wonderful to see the many skills our child is developing at OKOT! Thank you!!

  • Our kiddo loves OKOT camp - always ends the day full of energy and happy and proud to share what he built or made. We get tons of photos and a recap of what the group worked on - which is adorable - but also lets us know how he is working toward his goals and developing the skills he needs support with. 

  • When is Outdoor Kids Camp?

    We offer camp from 9am-1pm Monday-Friday, for multiple weeks throughout the summer. (At this time, we do not have staffing to provide after-care.)

    Click on your location to see dates, sites, and details for summer camp this year:

    Oakland, CA

    Madison, WI

    Dates are also listed on the camp application. You may rank-order your preference for weeks of camp when submitting your application.

  • What’s Included?

    Just like our school-year OT groups, our summer camps include features that make our services highly effective. When your child enrolls in a week of Outdoor Kids Camp, you’ll get:  

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    Initial intake review and therapy goal-setting.

    20 hours of expert OT intervention for your child to build skills during camp

    Daily group updates about camp happenings and success stories.

    A written OT report of progress after your child’s last week of attendance.

    Optional pre- or post-camp consultation calls with your OT may be additionally purchased, if desired.

    ##

‼️ PLEASE NOTE: Applying for camp does NOT guarantee placement for every week you have chosen on your application. In a group therapy model, the overall goodness-of-fit for each child in the group is important. At OKOT, we make every effort to form effective small groups from all applications received, based on the children’s individual needs and goals. This is what makes our therapy camps different than other camps: groups that are intentionally formed with therapeutic benefits for each child in the group.

Consistent Practice Over a Week of Camp Puts Skill-Building Into High Gear

  • Confidence

    Our camp encourages kids to try new things and gain confidence in their own abilities. After just a week, we see campers transform from hesitant to confident movers and playmates, feeling stronger and more comfortable in their own bodies.

  • Emotional Resilience

    Campers learn how to manage big emotions and set personal boundaries in healthy ways. Our camp’s safe, supportive setting helps children develop tools for self-regulation, social interactions, and emotional growth.

  • Self-Advocacy

    We encourage kids to recognize and voice their needs. Whether it’s requesting a rest break in the hammock or solving a problem when working with others. Campers leave with stronger communication skills and a better understanding of their preferences and boundaries.

  • Energy Outlet

    Our outdoor camp setting gives kids with endless energy the freedom to move, run, and explore to their heart's content. Whether it’s sprinting up hills, climbing trees, or racing friends across open spaces, our camp encourages kids to embrace their natural drive to move.

  • Adaptability

    For campers who arrive with a fixed idea of “how things have to be,” camp offers a gentle nudge toward flexibility. Over the week, we love watching kids who struggle with change begin to explore new ideas, join in different activities, and develop creative solutions. Learning to adapt when things don’t go as planned is a big win—both at camp and in everyday life.

  • Being in Community

    Campers learn to be in a healthy community at Outdoor Kids– accepting others who are different from them and being accepted with their own differences. Our campers learn to resolve conflicts in a productive way and become problem-solvers to make their own meaningful contributions to the group…skills that will stick with them long past a week of camp!

How to Apply for Outdoor Kids Camp

  • Submit your application. Applications for camp open on February 1 with rolling admissions. You can apply for any or all weeks of camp in your preferred locations, ranking them in order of preference on the application.

  • Applications are reviewed by our therapists to form groups based on children’s goals, needs, and ages.

  • You’ll receive an email confirmation to pay your deposit to confirm your child’s placement(s) in camp (or waitlist status).

  • Submit your application. Applications for camp open on February 1 with rolling admissions. You can apply for any or all weeks of camp in your preferred locations, ranking them in order of preference on the application.

  • Applications are reviewed by our therapists to form groups based on children’s goals, needs, and ages.

  • You’ll receive an email confirmation to pay your deposit to confirm your child’s placement(s) in camp (or waitlist status).

What Parents Say About Outdoor Kids OT Summer Camp

  • We absolutely love Outdoor Kids! Our child did their summer camp and then completed a full year of a weekly group and we're signed up for next year. It was such a wonderful time for our child to get into nature, work on social skills with peers in a supportive setting and work on their individual OT goals- rather than having separate social groups, OT sessions and outings in nature, we got to do all three at once! 

  • The therapists and volunteers are really personable, focused on the kids, offer amazing feedback through video updates and photos each week, always check in with the caregivers and offer very targeted feedback and support. It's so wonderful to see the many skills our child is developing at OKOT! Thank you!!

  • Our kiddo loves OKOT camp - always ends the day full of energy and happy and proud to share what he built or made. We get tons of photos and a recap of what the group worked on - which is adorable - but also lets us know how he is working toward his goals and developing the skills he needs support with. 

  • Wow! It makes a huge difference to be in a program that embraces strengths and interests- it makes learning and growth so fun and easy for them. By far our son's fav camp of the summer.

  • Not only did our child learn social self-advocacy skills and regulation techniques, he was also worn out, dirty, exhausted, and happy at the end of every day. The therapists shared helpful articles every day that mirrored what they were working on with the kids, which was great for us as parents to learn more about how to support our kid.

  • Summer camp was an incredible experience for our son. He came back each day with so much to say about what he accomplished. I'm so impressed how their skilled team creatively incorporated OT in such a unique way in the outdoors.

A Few Policies to Know Before Applying for Outdoor Kids Camp:

  • You must arrive on time to camp - no late drop-offs because we’ll already be off in the woods!

  • Any missed days for travel, sickness, etc will not be refunded.

  • Your child must be able to be safe with themselves, others and property/environment in a 6:2 child to adult ratio in a dynamic outdoor environment. This means your child must be safe given that the adults are always in the vicinity but not always within arm's reach.

  • If your child needs additional support to be safe, you are welcome to send your child with a 1:1 aide to help them be successful in the group environment.

  • If your child uses physical behavior towards self or others when they are dysregulated, our group camps with our 6:2 ratio are not a good match at this time. Please contact us about 1:1 therapy.

If you are interested in your child joining us at camp, please read our CAMP BEHAVIOR APPROACH AND POLICY DOCUMENT before you apply to see if your kid is a match for the support we offer in our camp programming.  ​​

​For questions about registration, please email support@outdoorkidsot.com

Questions? Check out our FAQs here.

Ready for a summer your child will never forget?

Give your child the chance to grow, play, and thrive in the great outdoors.