Summer Camp Descriptions

The Ocean in the Desert From our home in the New Mexican desert, we will take a deep dive into the blue, studying the change in life forms through the five sunlight-layers of the ocean. From the sea turtles of the Epipelagic zone to the tube worms of the trenches, we will craft and color our way to the depths! June 5-9, 9am-1pm with Anneloes van Beek.

Bon Appetit: It’s Time to Eat! (2-5) With Kids Cook! Hands-on, culinary arts and nutrition. Kids’ get confidence in the kitchen and beyond. Cook a variety of healthy mealtime favorites: diverse foods and techniques, kitchen skills, tool identification and proper use. Learn, discover, and taste! June 5-9, 9am-1pm with Kids Cook!

Ball Games! Let's Play Ball: 
Basketball, mush ball, wiffle ball, football, soccer, beach ball volleyball, tennis, bowling, mini golf, dodge ball, to name a few. June 5-9, 9am-1pm with Aaron Choneska.

Kids Fitness/Brain Body Fun Games and activities that encourage teamwork, including ball games and fitness fun. June 5-9, 1pm-5pm with Brian Pecorella.

The Art of the Self Portrait The self portrait for kids: explore the art of self. Draw, paint, sculpt, collage, examine self portraits throughout the history of art. June 5-9, 1pm-5pm with Patty Gillis.

Natural Dyes with Plants (3-5) Students will explore techniques of dyeing natural fabrics with dyes made from plants. We will also experiment with how heat, time, ratios and chemical reactions play a part in the dyeing process. This class is geared towards STEAM concepts that examine how Art, Science and Math can work together. June 5-9, 1pm-5pm with Marissa Mora-Loya.

An Alaskan Summer Adventure Cool down while we explore the plants, animals, and biome of our largest state, and its state parks… kids will construct an igloo! Art, science, geography, fabrication, nature and more! June 12-16, 9am-1pm with Anneloes van Beek.

A Week at the Beach! If only. We can pretend and have so much fun! Ultimate frisbee, beach ball volleyball, soccer, frisbee golf, hot potato, duck duck goose, bean bag tic-tac-toe, bucket race relay, dodge ball, capture the flag and water games! June 12-16, 9am-1pm with Aaron Choneska.

Project Fashion: Express Yourself with Fabric Explore the potential fabric has as an expressive material. Draw, paint, and sew with fabrics, costume making and play. June 12-16, 1pm-5pm with Patty Gillis.

Walk on the Wild Side: A Garden Journey Dig, design, nurture, compost, harvest, and play in the garden. June 12-16, 1pm-5pm with Maddie Rock.

Get Fit!: Kids Boot Camp Have fun playing games inside and out! Movement and teamwork. ZFFC has it all, multiple playgrounds, a field, a gym. June 12-16, 1pm-5pm with Brian Pecorella.

Nature’s Architecture Study and construct hives, dams, nests, cocoons, tunnels, lodges. Nature inspired! We will build large, kid-sized structures and tiny structures, we will make birdhouses, tunnels, play with the movement of water, study storms and weather. Break it down and rebuild it! June 19-23, 9am-1pm with Maddie Rock.

Woodworking Boot Camp (3-5) Students will be taught how to use basic woodworking hand tools in a closely monitored project based class setting. Keeping safety at the forefront of our creative endeavors, we will construct small, functional woodworking projects like boxes, toys, and picture frames. June 19-23, 9am-1pm with Anneloes van Beek.

Explore Backyard Sports Cornhole, mush ball, wiffle ball, horse shoes, tug of war, handball, egg on a spoon race, croquet golf, bean bag tic-tac-toe, fort building, mini golf, foot golf and more outdoor fun… water play, then cool off with indoor game play. Building minds. Strengthening bodies. June 19-23, 9am-1pm with Aaron Choneska.

Miraculous Mud! Earth, Water, Sky… up close, underneath and far away Earth art, the natural world, outdoor fun, a dirty hands camp! June 19-23, 1pm-5pm with Patty Gillis.

Explore the USA: Kellee’s Virtual Road Trip (3-5) Yes, the Grand Canyon is Grand. The Mississippi is great. Yellowstone is a sight to behold! But Iowa has a GIGANTIC frying pan!!! There is a store in Illinois that has a fire breathing dragon!!! And Car Henge is a must see! Take a (virtual) road trip! We will journey through our incredible country and see what it has to offer! June 19-23, 1pm-5pm with Kellee Larison.

ZIA Fitness Slam Summer fitness fun! Explore different summer games and activities including obstacle courses! June 19-23, 1pm-5pm with Brian Pecorella.

OFF the Wall! Kids Create and Collaborate! Immersive Installation Art... Outdoor and indoor site-specific art projects that utilize natural space and materials. Kids will work together in a collaborative environment. Large scale sculptural experiences! June 26-30, 9am-1pm with Anneloes van Beek.

Summer Olympics Challenge Softball throw, long jump, relay races, frisbee throw, tug of war, three legged race, water balloon toss, limbo competition, obstacle course, basketball free throw! Healthy competition and teamwork! June 26-30, 9am-1pm with Aaron Choneska.

Wild Life: Bugs, Birds, Butterflies... Get to know our friends in the water, plants, dirt and sky! Study habitats and pollinators, bugs galore and more. June 26-30, 1pm-5pm with Maddie Rock.

Do-Re-Me-usical Extravaganza with Kellee A little Rodgers and Hammerstein here, a little Lin-Manuel Miranda there. A little song, a little dance. One teacher, some brave students and we have a musical review!!!!! Worthy of reviewing!  Join us! June 26-30, 1pm-5pm with Kellee Larison.

Summer Instructor Bios

Aaron Choneska was a really big athlete growing up, playing baseball, basketball, football, bowling and much more. He attended New Mexico State University in Las Cruces where he earned a degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on K-8 Language Arts and a secondary emphasis in Social Studies. Since graduating he’s gotten a teaching license and is currently working at Kennedy Middle School as a Special Education assistant in the Intensive Global Support Services program.

Anneloes van Beek is an artist, woodworker and educator. She was born in the Netherlands, raised in New England, and is currently working in New Mexico. In 2016, she earned a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing at Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Anneloes has worked professionally as a wood- worker and woodworking instructor for the past seven years.

Kellee Larison has worked with at risk youth in Albuquerque for 10+ years. She believes in the resiliency of people and encourages the idea that life is about play, and while things get hard for us all sometimes, there is always a silver lining (even if we don’t know what that may be at the time). Kellee has taught art, movement, mindfulness, fitness… you name it, at ZFFC. She engages the kids with fun projects that incorporate social/emotional learning skills.

Kids Cook! is a hands-on, culinary and nutrition education program for students that nurtures kids confidence in the kitchen and beyond. By cooking traditional foods from around the world students are exposed to a variety of cultures, foods and culinary techniques.  

Maddie Rock has worked with youth in outdoor and environmental education roles since 2013, including instructing canoe, kayak, and dogsled expeditions for Outward Bound in Minnesota and leading experiential education programs for Madison, WI public schools. As a graduate student, she provides school-based mental health services for Albuquerque kids and looks forward to becoming a licensed social worker in the coming months. Maddie loves the outdoors as a classroom and focuses on play, creativity, and community-building in her work.

Marissa Mora-Loya has been working with students of all ages and backgrounds since 2016. She began her career as a student liaison with the Refugee Well-Being project in partnership with the University of New Mexico, where her primary focus was helping elementary-aged refugee and immigrant students adjust to life in the United States. From this point, she also began working with after-school enrichment programs and has gained experience in tutoring various subjects, as well as play-based learning skills. Her classroom facilitation skills were further refined during her year of service with Albuquerque Public Schools and FoodCorps, a national non-profit organization that aims to make healthy food and school gardens accessible to all students.

Patty Gillis worked in many Title I schools through YDI, Citizens School and Art in the School. She has taught at Zia Family Focus Center on and off for over 15 years. Her classes are fun and so creative, the kids love the feeling that they can experiment and explore!

See Past Summer Camps