Kizuna's Summer Camp is a local program for students entering 2nd to 8th grade, centered on building a foundation of Japanese American culture & heritage.
Our camp is a high caliber program: our counselors are carefully vetted and rigorously trained and have workshops optimized for passing on the Japanese American tradition.
Please contact info@gokizuna.org for questions regarding Summer Camp.
Interested in applying to be a counselor at our camp? Click here
We know Summer Camp is going to be different for everyone this year, that's why we've reduced the price of camp and given campers more weeks of summer fun.
Just register more than one person at a time to get a group discount. It can be siblings, friends, family... anyone! Just register more than one person on the same form and the discount will be applied.
Register before the April 30 early bird deadline and receive an additional discount for just signing up early. Can be combined with group pricing for a double discount!
Register before April 30! Find a friend to get the even lower group price.
Discount still available! Just register more than one person to get the group discount.
Individual student registration cost.
Special price for this year's Virtual Summer Camp
*No refunds: fees will not be returned after received.
Most newcomers are curious about the workshops and activities that we host at camp.
Our virtual Summer Camp will adapt familiar themes from our in-person Summer Camp programming to ensure that our campers learn about Japanese American values, culture, and traditions such as the ones listed below.
This workshop gives students the opportunity to make their very own bento boxes. Students make cute rice balls in the shape of panda bears. Their bentos were chopped full of rice, meat (hot dogs), veggies (carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce), and other garnishes. Oishii!
Our Kodomo no Hi workshop highlights the deeper meaning of one of the most iconic images of Children’s Day – the koinobori. The koi have become a major symbol of Children's Day because they demonstrate character traits we want our community's children to embody.
We cover the cultural value of kansha, which means to show appreciation or gratitude. Students learn about how they can be thankful for their parents through our "human tamagochi" game, where students do tasks for their counselors to simulate how parents care for their children. The activity culminates in a thank you mural we make for the community center, as an act of thankfulness for letting us use the facilities for our camp.
A camp-wide festival where each team runs a carnival booth. Teams cover everything from learning all the preparation that goes into planning a matsuri carnival from the planning, to the preparation, to the execution of the event. Students learn about the value of volunteering, and why it’s important to donate one’s time to local community events and efforts.
Students learn about the incarceration camps that Japanese Americans were put into during World War II. This workshop is highly interactive, where students must complete a series of challenges and clues to “escape” from their unjust circumstances. Whether it is through historical photos, a geographic map of the continental United States during WWII, or through a historical book, all challenges engage the students' imaginations to learn more about this important epoch of American history.
Kizuna's staff training modules are conducted to build a safe, exciting, and learning environment for your child. Our training is an annually held certification program curated and facilitated by Kizuna staff. Here is a sneak peak on what we require and cover with our counselors before the start of any Summer Camp Program.
All of our counselors are required to go through a California Department of Justice level background check and fingerprinting service to ensure that our counselors will create a safe and healthy environment.
Interested in applying to be a counselor at our camp? Click here
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