Welcome to Pear Tree’s Pro-D Day Camps Kitsilano!

Under the Sea

Make a splash at our Under the Sea Pro-D Camp designed especially for 5–6 year olds! 

Budding marine biologists will dive into ocean life through stories and hands-on discovery, then head to the beach for a guided Crab Scavenger Hunt—spotting shells, molts, and different crab species, and even learning how to tell males and females apart. Back at camp, children will create and label their own scientific crab diagrams and share favourite finds from the shore.

Please note, part of this day will be spent at the beach, rain or shine, and we maintain a 1:6 adult-to-child ratio on field trips for safety.

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Mini STEAMers

Bring your child for a one-day burst of hands-on creativity at Mini STEAMers Pro-D Camp! Young makers will explore how scientists and engineers think as they imagine, test, and refine their ideas through playful challenges that blend science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

We’ll kick off with chain-reaction marble runs inspired by Rube Goldberg (expect lots of “try again!” moments), then invent and build a custom back-scratcher to solve a real-world problem, and finish by crafting a paper-plate marble maze to take home.

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Fairytale Theatre

“Run, run, as fast as you can…” into a joyful day of storytelling, theatre, and making! We’ll bring The Gingerbread Man to life with a lively read-aloud and drama games—kids freeze into tableaux, step into character, and echo the famous line together.

Next, children create a “Missing” poster—tracing and cutting a gingerbread figure, adding googly eyes, buttons, and more, then writing a short description to help “find” our runaway friend.

After lunch, we head to the park for fresh air and play, then return for a hands-on play-dough gingerbread session. Makers roll, decorate, and proudly bag their creations to take home.

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Painter’s Pallet

Splash into a full day of colour at our Painter’s Palette Pro-D Camp!

Children explore three inspiring art experiences: a story-led, guided-drawing Chinese Lucky Lion watercolour (with bold oil-pastel fireworks), a dot-painting pointillism winter scene using tempera and Q-tips, and a moonlit owl painting after listening to Owl Moon.

Built-in snack breaks, choice time, and a visit to the park keep the day balanced, creative, and fun. Dress for paint and outdoor play!

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Interesting Insects

Bugs are heroes! In this hands-on day, children discover what makes an insect an insect, why pollinators and decomposers matter, and how scientists borrow ideas from buggy bodies to invent new tech (hello, drones!).

We’ll start with a welcoming Soft Start, then dive into a lively read-aloud of “What Is an Insect?” followed by a class Venn diagram and a quick-thinking Insect Roll-and-Cover game. Next, campers engineer their own insect sanctuaries—crafting a viewing window, collecting natural materials, and heading outside on a mini-safari to gently search for local critters (yes, we’ll learn where to find roly-polies!). Later, we meet the many-legged star of the afternoon with The Secret Diary of a Centipede and a kid-friendly fact booklet activity.

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Connect to Nature

Spend a day becoming forest detectives! We’ll kick off with a welcoming Soft Start, then dive into Looking Closely at the Forest to spark keen observation skills and set up a fun photo-guided scavenger hunt challenge.

Mid-morning, we head by bus to the forest for hands-on exploration—searching for textures, tracks, and tiny wonders—and use found sticks, cones, and leaves to craft whimsical fairy/gnome houses right in the woods. (We stay near the entrance so the focus stays on discovery.)

Back at camp, makers turn collected twigs into star ornaments, wrapping vibrant yarn around their glued twig frames—an inviting blend of nature art and fine-motor creativity.

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Medieval Times

Charge into a day of castles, courage, and clever design! We’ll set the scene with a lively read-aloud from Magic Tree House: Knights & Castles, then sketch a cross-section castle—moats, towers, and all—so kids can picture life in a medieval fortress.

At the park, campers take part in a friendly jousting tournament with safe “noodle” horses and hoops—plus classic medieval games—building teamwork, coordination, and big smiles.

Back at camp, makers become engineers with a mini-catapult challenge: plan, build, test, and compare launch distances—then head outside to see whose design flies farthest.

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Amazing Artists

Spend a joyful day creating like real artists! We’ll begin with a vibrant still-life painting—perfecting brush grip, long strokes, shading, and value—while composing a classic pear scene that nods to Pear Tree’s roots. Kids choose warm backgrounds and finish with pastel outlines for a gallery-ready look.

Mid-morning, we head outdoors to gather autumn treasures and craft Andy Goldsworthy–inspired nature art—sorting, patterning, and photographing circular designs right at the park. It’s hands-on, collaborative, and wonderfully mindful.

After lunch and play, artists dive into bold fall-leaf resist paintings—drawing in oil pastel and brushing over with inky black tempera for dramatic contrast.

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Food, Glorious Food!

Bring curious tastebuds and big imaginations for a delicious day of learning!

Our morning adventure takes us on foot to a local supermarket scavenger hunt. In small teams, kids hunt for examples from the six food groups and record their finds—no touching the displays, just sharp eyes and great teamwork!

Back at camp, we explore proteins with a quick “unsqueezable egg” science demo and then cook a kid-favourite Egg-in-a-Frame at our supervised station. (Vegetarian options and plant proteins are part of the conversation!)

After lunch and a brain-and-body break at the park, the afternoon turns into a sensory lab: a mystery spices challenge where children sniff, guess, and connect smells to memories—discovering how closely taste and smell are linked.

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Ancient Olympians

Step into the world of gods, games, and grand arenas! We’ll kick off a lively intro to Ancient Greece—browsing books, meeting Zeus and King Midas, and reading from Magic Tree House: Ancient Greece to spark curiosity.

Next, kids discover how enormous amphitheatres carried sound to thousands and create bold Greek theatre masks with exaggerated happy/sad expressions—perfect for the stage.

After lunch and time at the park, we put storytelling skills to work in a spirited Reader’s Theatre performance of “King Midas.” Teams of four rehearse and present, building confidence, voice, and teamwork.

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Our Living Ocean

Dive into Vancouver’s marine backyard for a day of real-world science, design, and discovery! We’ll spark curiosity with a fast-paced “sense of place” warm-up—how the ocean shapes our city—and set today’s mission: notice like scientists, think like designers, and show what you’ve learned like communicators.

Mid-morning we’ll walk to a nearby beach for a guided shore study. Working in pairs, campers use clipboards to capture how “people and the ocean are inextricably interconnected,” sketch what they see, and (if available) collect a few empty shells for a later demo. Rain or shine, it’s hands-on coastal science done safely and respectfully.

Back at camp, teams turn field notes into colorful Popplet mind maps, then run a simple ocean acidification investigation using jars, vinegar, and shells to see how changing water chemistry can affect marine life.

In the afternoon, we zoom out to ocean life at every depth—brainstorming species, scanning short expert clips, and creating a clean, eye-catching biodiversity infographic that shows where different creatures live and why that matters.

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Maker Space

Invent, tinker, and test like real engineers!

In the morning, teams design wildly creative marble-run Rube Goldberg machines—planning sequences, building with cardboard + tape, and iterating to get that perfect chain reaction.

Next up, we wire a playful Galaxy Bot that doodles surprising patterns using a small motor, batteries, and markers—pure joyful STEM in motion.

After lunch and a brain-break at the park, we sprint into a soap-powered boat challenge—sketch, cut, launch, and compare designs to see whose boat glides farthest.

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TV Reporters

Lights, camera, teamwork! In this fast-moving media day, budding journalists form newsroom crews and rotate real roles—anchor, camera, producer, and editor—so everyone practices speaking, filming, organizing, and quality control.

Teams scan the day’s headlines, pick three stories, and craft a tight 60-second script using a large-font teleprompter in Google Docs to keep delivery smooth and natural. (Producers keep everyone on time!)

Then it’s showtime: students film against a green screen with iPads and tripod, swap roles, and learn on-set etiquette—from chair colours to file safety—before moving into iMovie editing to add the news intro and render a finished broadcast.

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Canada: Then

Step into Canada’s past and turn history into a story you can see! In this hands-on media day, students read from Paul Yee’s Ghost Train, distill key moments in the past, and transform them into a photographed graphic novel—storyboarding scenes, planning camera angles, and working in small production teams.

With iPads, simple costumes, and a camera-angles guide, crews stage and shoot their chapters—and, if available at the campus, experiment with a green-screen backdrop for period settings. Collaborative roles keep everyone engaged, from directing to acting to capturing the perfect shot.

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Graphic Novels

Write it. Draw it. Publish it—in a day! Budding creators will crack the code of comics, learning how panels, gutters, and page flow guide the eye, how to use captions vs. speech balloons (with tidy tails!), and when to choose wide, medium, or close-up shots for maximum drama. Then they’ll spark a story by drawing Genre/Character/Problem cards, craft a punchy one-sentence logline, and thumbnail a 6–8 panel tale with clear balloon order and at least one bold close-up.

With confidence and clarity, students turn thumbnails into a polished Page 1—penciling, inking, and adding simple tones—using kid-friendly tools like page templates, fineliners, and an SFX/balloon guide, plus a quick peer check for readability. After lunch and park time to recharge, we launch a fast, joyful production sprint: finishing 4–6 more pages, designing a cover with title and author self-portrait, and assembling a real mini-zine to take home. We end with a proud Author’s Chair share or hallway gallery so every artist leaves published.

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Photo(shop)

Shoot like a pro, then polish like an editor! We’ll kick off with a rapid camera & composition mini-lesson—when to use portrait/landscape/macro, how the rule of thirds and perspective guide the eye, and why “you can’t fix blur.” Students head straight into a guided indoor shoot around school spaces, aiming for a set of sharp, well-composed images.

Next, we take our skills outside on a Kits neighbourhood photo walk to Kits Beach / Tatlow Park. With a safety briefing, campers hunt for symmetry and texture, try leading lines on sidewalks and railings, and play with horizon placement—targeting 10–15 strong shots each.

Back in the studio, we dive into Photoshop Express: a simple workflow to transfer photos, then an editing checklist. Each student selects a Top 3 to upload and we wrap up with a celebratory mini-gallery on the projector.

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Artificial Intelligence

Code a real robot with AI as your helper—not your boss. In this one-day camp, students learn how to plan, code, and test a Dash robot. We start by making a simple plan in plain English, practice how to “ask” AI clear questions, then turn ideas into block coding in the Blockly app on iPads.

Working in pairs, teams choose a course, build a first version, try it out, and improve it step by step. When they get stuck, they use an AI help station for hints, then clean up their code with easy ideas like repeats and if-then. Each team records a 30-second voiceover explaining their strategy and changes. We end with a fun Dash Talent Show (2-minute run + Q&A) where students share where AI helped, where it didn’t, and what they learned.

We provide everything: iPads with Blockly, fully charged Dash robots, and the supervised AI station. Students just bring curiosity and teamwork.

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Urban Design 3D

In this hands-on day, students become mini-architects. Using Tinkercad on iPads, they’ll design a small open-top house—a smart, simple shape that prints quickly and turns out great. Along the way, they learn how to make strong (but not too thick) walls and choose the right size so their model is ready for same-day printing.

With teacher coaching (and kids driving the iPads), teams follow a clear build path: start with a box, hollow the inside, add a door and optional windows, and personalize the look. Then it’s time for our lively “Print-Fest”: we get the printers set up, send projects to print, and cheer as the first layers appear. If a print needs more time, we label it and arrange an easy pickup.

We provide all equipment; students bring curiosity and go home with a 3D-printed creation they designed from scratch.

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Film School

In this one-day film camp, students become a real crew and create a polished 30–60 second scene from Ghost Hunters of Route 666. They’ll warm up with quick drama games, then rotate through on-set jobs—director, camera, sound, slate, and actors—so everyone gets a turn and learns how to work as a team.

We’ll keep the filmmaking basics simple and fun: start with a wide shot to show the place, film over-the-shoulder to capture the dialogue, and finish with close-ups for reactions. Crews practice good set habits—quiet on set, clapping the slate to mark takes, memorizing just the lines needed for each shot—and aim for two clean takes so there’s time to edit. By lunch, each team has clear video and audio for every angle.

After lunch and park time, students jump into iMovie to finish their mini-movie: import clips, trim the beginnings and ends, put shots in the right order, add a title and end card, and export for our class screening. The day begins with a friendly soft start, and we provide everything (iPads with cameras and iMovie, plus printed script sides). Students leave with a finished scene they planned, performed, filmed, and edited—plus a big boost in on-camera confidence.

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Future Global Leaders

Step into the role of a change-maker for a day! We’ll spark global curiosity with a quick “Name & Country” icebreaker, then speed through a Global Issues Gallery Sprint—students create mini-posters on problems that matter and practice noticing patterns. A rapid communication skills mini-lesson (clarity, listening, empathy) sets teams up to collaborate like real leaders.

In small teams, campers tackle a Global Impact Project using a one-page Pitch Canvas: define the problem and root causes, propose a focused solution, identify allies and resources, and choose success metrics—then rehearse a tight 60–90 second pitch.

After lunch and park, it’s showtime: teams deliver formal presentations with Q&A, practicing respectful dialogue as the audience offers one “warm” and one “wish.” We wrap with highlights of effective techniques so every student leaves more confident, informed, and inspired.

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