Macaroni Kid Hicksville strives to share with you all of the great things to see, do, and experience in Hicksville, Westbury, Bethpage, Plainview, Carle Place, and Jericho.
Here is Macaroni Kid Hicksville's picks for four amazing, but often overlooked, opportunities your kids have in our area. Click on the links for more details!
1. Summer Recreation Program
Every summer, the Town of Oyster Bay runs a six-week youth summer camp for children ages 4 to 12, known as the Summer Recreation Program. This budget-friendly camp is a great opportunity for children to swim, play sports, learn new games, create fun crafts, and participate in optional day trips. This year, camp begins on Tuesday, July 6th, and continues through Friday, August 13th. You may enroll your children for the full-day camp (9:00 am to 3:30 pm), which is held at both the Syosset-Woodbury Community Park and the Marjorie R. Post Community Park. Alternatively, you could choose the traditional program, which includes both a morning session and an afternoon session (i.e., 9:15 am to 11:45 am, and 12:45 pm to 3:00 pm). Parents have to pick up children during the one-hour lunch break. The traditional program is held at four different locations: Plainview, Farmingdale, Oyster Bay, and Sea Cliff.
Be aware that camp activities take place outside, therefore camp is often cancelled on rainy days.
Registration deadline is Friday, June 11, 2021.
2. Camp Counselor at the Summer Recreation Program
Don't overlook the fantastic employment opportunity of being a camp counselor! When I was 16-years-old, I was a summer camp counselor myself! It was fun, I learned a lot about job responsibilities and taking care of someone other than myself, and I earned some much-needed cash!
Contact the Town of Oyster Bay if you are interested in a position as a Summer Recreation Camp Counselor (516-797-4125). Interviews begin in March 2021!
There are several incredible hockey programs available within our Hicksville/Westbury/Bethpage area for kids of all ages:
- The Town of Oyster Bay runs a Youth Ice Hockey Program in the spring, which is open to children ages 3 to 13, and is held at three separate locations.
- In addition, the Town of Oyster Bay recently created the Youth Dek Hockey League for boys and girls ages 5 through 12. Children meet twice a week in either Woodbury or Farmingdale.
- A third program is the Youth Dynamites & Mini Mites Summer Skills Development program. This is an eight-week program designed for young players, ages 3 to 5, to develop their ice hockey skills.
- Finally, beginning each fall, children ages 6 to 16 can participate in the Winter Youth Ice Hockey Program and House League, which lasts 10 weekly sessions and is held at the Ice Skating Center in Bethpage, New York.
These hockey programs have various requirements and registration deadlines, so please contact the Town of Oyster Bay for more information.
4. Summer Bethpage Discovery Program
Information about the Summer Bethpage Discovery Program has not yet been updated for this upcoming summer of 2021. However, I can personally attest that my kids participated in this program and loved it! In past summers, the Bethpage Discovery Program ran for six weeks and met on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. Children participated in fun arts and crafts, sang in a chorus, frolicked in sprinklers, and climbed in the playground. In recent years, this low-cost program has been held at the Charles Campagne Elementary School in Bethpage, and in-person registration took place on various dates into May.
Gabrielle R. Fardella is the Publisher of Macaroni Kid Hicksville!
