Summer is fast approaching, and Philadelphia recently announced its fun and enriching summer programs and activities for local children and teens. To make it easy for families to find opportunities for their kids, the Office of Children and Families created PlayItSafePHL, an online resource hub.
“We’re proud to offer many opportunities for learning, recreation and fun this summer,” OCF Deputy Mayor Cynthia Figueroa said in a press release. “Summer is an important time for young people to stay active, have adventures, explore new skills and build friendships.”
The city is committed to keeping activities safe by following COVID-19 health and safety protocols including mask wearing, handwashing and social distancing. An especially great thing about these summer offerings is that all are free or low-cost. Here are some of the highlights:
For over 50 years, the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation has offered its Playstreets program, which provides free, safe places for children to play during the summer. The city closes eligible blocks to traffic, offers lunches and snacks and provides play equipment and supplies. You can apply to host a Playstreet on your block by calling (215) 685-2719 or (215) 685-2720 or emailing [email protected].
The Free Library’s Summer of Wonder
Learning doesn’t need to stop in the summer, and it can be fun! That’s the idea behind the Free Library’s Summer of Wonder program, which offers writing groups, projects, games and virtual events. Summer of Wonder is open to all ages and will happen from June 1-August 31.
A Free Library partnership with the Franklin Institute and GSK, a global healthcare company, Science in the Summer offers at-home science activities for students in grades 2-6. This year’s theme is “Be an Engineer!” Kids will learn through online videos and at-home experiments and participate in virtual research team meetings with Franklin Institute scientists and educators. The program runs from June 14-August 6.
The Philadelphia Youth Network runs WorkReady, a program to help Philadelphia teens and young adults between the ages of 12-24 find meaningful summer employment. Young people involved in child welfare or juvenile justice systems are given priority for enrollment.
To explore the city’s many other summer offerings including Parks & Rec summer camps, free swim lessons, school district programming, Police Athletic League activities and Out-of-School Time Network summer programs, visit Phila.gov/PlayItSafePHL.
