SUMMER CAMPS 2025 — Schedule of Classes:

Summer Camp 2025 Descriptions

All The Colors of the Rainbow K-2

COLOR QUEST! Mix any color using only the primaries and white. Learn how the subtle differences in colors, learn through discovery. Create personal color charts! Color matching. Create original paintings with your color palette!  Learn how to make different types of marks using different size brushes. Mixed media and collage!

All You Can Make: Explore and Create! K-2

Exploring different styles of art, techniques and forms: Giant Self Portraits, Monsters, Masks, Watercolor Zen Doodles, Character Creations!

Animal Kingdom: Bold and Beautiful Creatures  K-5

Come and join in an opportunity to learn about bold and beautiful animals by defining the term bold through the creative process and putting bold in action as we have fun designing, painting and sculpting your favorite bold animals!!

Camps Messi K-2

At Camp Messi, young soccer stars will enhance their skills and show off their moves at the ZFFC World Cup Tournament! Participants will be put on teams and choose a country they would like to represent for the championship. 

Camp Ronaldo 3-5

At Camp Ronaldo, young soccer stars will enhance their skills and show off their moves at the ZFFC World Cup Tournament! Participants will be put on teams and choose a country they would like to represent for the championship.

Cool Food Creations K-5

Picnic Matters! From popsicles to smoothies, make refreshing healthy treats.

Critters in Clay K-2

Wild at HeART! Children will learn the fundamentals of working in clay. Build your favorite three dimensional animals, both real and imagined! Create habitats for your critters to live and play!

Down Dogs & Dance Daze K-2

Get in touch with our inner cat, cow, cobra, crocodile and so many more with daily Animal Yoga practice–then dance the afternoon away as we learn fun and simple dance routines.

Fantastical Fairies and Unicorns K-2

Magic, music and make believe in the enchanted garden! Creative expression… a journey where children explore music, art, storytelling, movement and nature while discovering the magic of fairies and unicorns.

Land of the Midnight Sun: An Alaskan Summer Adventure  K-5

Come learn about some of the many reasons Alaska is so special! There is no place quite like it from untouched nature to dog mushing, glaciers, Northern Lights and the highest mountain in North America!  Be ready for a bit of music, stories, art, games and trivia! 

Mini-Games Mania K-2 

Mini-Game Mania offers mind-challenging games and activities that allow kids to show off their creativity while working as a team to problem solve

Moldable Materials 3-5

Trying different forms of sculpture and 3D art: Mosaics, IRL Backgrounds, Sculpt it!, Build a House, Balloon Dogs

Mud Kitchen K-5

Get your hands dirty! Outdoor water and mud play. Exploration and nature inspired hands-on learning.

Mural Art: Kids Connect 3-5

Collaborative Art: People, places, things. Make a time capsule!

Outdoor Skills 101 3-5

Pack it in/Pack it out, shade structures, community building, map making, sharing resources…The Great Outdoors!

Painting The Mesa: The Land of Enchantment and the Art of Paint  3-5

New Mexico is a land of beauty and we are lucky to be living here. This is the place where the sun shines over 278 days a year! I can’t think of a better landscape to paint, explore the light and shadows and use your imagination!!

Roots, Rhythm and Resonance 3-5

Get ready to drum, sing and create! We’ll play lively rhythms on frame drums using our hands, explore fun beats together and make up songs with our voices-celebrating our joy, each other and the earth!

Slither and Crawl! Sensational Scales K-5

Turtles, snakes and alligators! Do you know if humans have anything in common with these reptiles? One thing we do have in common is shedding! Join us as we explore, learn and find out much more. We can even create your own imaginary reptile that might be similar to you! Plan on laughing, sharing and creating!

Sprout & Savor K-2

Roots and shoots! Some cooking, some art, some gardening.

Swinging Through Summer K-5

ZFFC is home of Happy Feet! Music, dance and a… Flashmob!

Where the Wild Things Roam 3-5

Build a three dimensional magical menagerie, get inspired by art and nature! We will plan a layout of a town surrounded by a forest. Make armature for the buildings and creatures. We will gather inspiration from nature for a color scheme and use the bugs found as a visual aid for the creatures being made. Our town will be constructed with found and recycled materials and populated with wild things that spring from our imagination but are based on creatures from the real world.

ZFFC Ninja Warrior 3-5

Fun and fit times for teams of youngsters who will climb, pull, run and crawl through an exciting and challenging obstacle course, kicking off with daily sports conditioning. 

Zia Multi-Sport Olympics 3-5

Get ready to compete at ZFFC’s Olympics that will include unique sports like big beach ball volleyball, badminton, Mario Kart races and many more!

Summer Camps 2025 Instructors

Anne Asman

Anne Asman is a certified personal trainer and a 200-hour registered Yoga instructor. Her background in dance stems from when she was a competitive dancer and a Drill Team member as a young child and teenager. Today, as a group exercise instructor for a large gym in Albuquerque, she's excited to bring joy and playfulness into her teachings at Zia Family Focus Center. As a part-time substitute teacher for Albuquerque Public Schools, she understands the importance of children feeling joy while learning discipline through various forms of exercise.

Catherine (Cat) Scott

Cat has been a visual arts teacher for a few years, holding a BFA in Art Education and Painting and currently working on her MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts. She has a long history working in 2D and 3D Art forms, primarily painting, drawing, digital art, ceramics, and recycled sculpture. Cat has been working with kids since 2017 in various art, painting, and sport camps/classes. Originally from Massachusetts, Cat moved here last August and has fallen in love with the passion for art and creativity that New Mexico has.

Endion Schichtel “Teacher E”

A trained biologist and performing artist, Endion loves combining lessons with props and specimens to spark curiosity and imagination. Classes that she teaches are taught outside whenever possible, allowing kids time for unrestricted play and to provide opportunities for experiential learning. When she is not helping or teaching at ZFFC, she runs the Conservation Carnivale, a circus that teaches environmental education and is also a guide for a forest school with their kiddo, Ofelia (5).

Hayden Crowley

What’s up campers!? My name is Coach Hayden! I am from Washington state and grew up playing soccer and basketball. I graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Education, and I am currently working on my Master’s degree in Sports Administration from UNM. I played college soccer for both UW and UNM. I have coached girls soccer for Seattle United Soccer Club, along with many other youth soccer camps. During my time in Seattle, I was a coach and physical education instructor for various schools in the Seattle area. I am now a substitute teacher for Albuquerque Public Schools and referee soccer games on the weekends! Some fun facts about me is that I am a Liverpool FC fan, I love to snowboard, and my favorite food is carne asada tacos!

Ivy Rose

As an instructor Ivy Rose creates a safe, productive, respectful environment for the students to blossom creatively. Class time begins with reading time where kids are exposed to a variety of fun, highly stylistic comics. Reading time is followed by lessons ranging from how to design a character to pacing out a riveting story. Many classes involve the students collaborating with one another to bring their vision of their tale to life. There is also time to relax and become inspired by exploring different mediums ranging from watercolor to poetry. Her biggest goal as a teacher is to help children understand that art is a vessel of expression they can use as a tool to enhance the quality of their lives.

Joan Roberts

Joan Roberts Garcia has been a working exhibiting artist for more than 40 years.  She has been an art teacher in many different capacities for about 25.  The experience she can offer students is extensive.  She holds a 4 year certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing, an MFA from the University of Washington in the same , and two graduate level degrees in Art Education from Columbia University's teachers college.  

Joan lived in Mexico as a young woman, then moved to New Mexico where she raised her young children.  In the 90's she and her teenagers moved to NYC, for her art.  While there she became involved in art education.  She loves working with children and teaches them much as she was taught.  She sees them as artists capable of making their own decisions about their work.  Prior teaching experience most applicable to what she will be teaching at Zia, Color Mixing ( All the Colors in the Rainbow), and Critters in Clay ( how to properly use clay to create original animal sculptures) came out of the after school classes she gave in her New York Studio.  These classes were highly successful. And fun.

Josephine (Josie) Duran

My name is Josie I am a nature enjoyer who loves to express natural life through the creation of statues and paintings. I am self-taught and a graduate of UNM Art department. My artistic goals are to create a lively atmosphere through my pieces.

Kellee Larison

Kellee has taught at ZFFC since 2021, covering subjects from yoga to science. She is a certified yoga teacher and is currently training as a yoga therapist with Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. Yoga offers an eight-fold system of practices to intentionally regulate the nervous system. Regular practice trains the body to manage stress, promoting long-term physical and mental health. Kellee founded Simple Yoga Therapy, where she works with individuals and families online and in person at Bhava Yoga Studio. Kellee is passionate about empowering young students to manage stress through yoga practices. She firmly believes that integrating yoga into daily school curriculum can help nurture a generation of adults who cultivate inner peace and positively influence the world around them.

Lynn Roeder 

Lynn is a singer, composer, and certified sound healer with a deep passion for vocal empowerment, creative expression, and the healing power of sound. With over 40 years of experience facilitating transformative experiences, she weaves music, rhythm, and nature into joyful, immersive workshops. A longtime educator and outdoor guide, Lynn also has a goddess-given green thumb and ran her own successful greenhouse and organic gardening company 20 years ago. Gardening is another passion, and many youth once toured her magical greenhouse, filled with a wild assortment of plants.

Patty Gillis

I love teaching! I first started teaching in Pittsburgh while still in college back in the late 70's. The dean of the private art school I was attending asked if I'd be interested in developing and teaching an after school art program for 4 private schools with students ranging in age 5 - 14. I took on the challenge and have continued to teach ever since! I currently teach Art and Cooking classes to students age 5+ including adults. I've worked in many Title schools through YDI, Citizens School and Art in the School. I taught at Zia Family Focus on and off for over 8 years. I listened to a TED talk that said we are all our most creative at age 5! If we don't keep feeding that creativity we lose it as we age. I want to continue feeding the creativity of our youth!

Vicki Caucutt

I am a practicing artist, currently retired after 14 years with Fairbanks Alaska School District where I was employed as a paraprofessional in Special Education/Title 1. After moving to New Mexico, I was employed as a counselor.  My passion throughout my career both in Alaska and NM has been to foster creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students through fun cooperative learning activities.  This will be my second year facilitating summer camps at Zia Family Focus Center. I have put together 4 theme- based camps where students will have ample time to explore, problem solve, work with a variety of art supplies and bring their ideas to life. From Bold and Beautiful Animals, Land of the Midnight Sun, Turtles, Snakes and Alligators and Painting the Mesa, I am looking forward to meeting students and having a great summer camp experience!

See past Summer Camp offerings