Rooted & Renewed

July 20 – August 21, 2026

Priority Enrollment opens April 10.

Current IFS families, incoming 2026-27 families, and alumni register first.

General registration opens April 26.

Five weeks.
Five elements.
One community.

ENROLL NOW

Dates

Join for one week or all five.

Week 1 Wood
July 20 – 24

‍ Week 2 Fire
July 27 – 31

Week 3 Earth
Aug 3 – 7

Week 4 Metal
Aug 10 – 14

Week 5 Water
Aug 17 – 21

About

For our community

Five weeks. Five elements. One community.

IFS Summer Camp is for our community: current and incoming 2026-27 families, and alumni. Each of the five weeks is built around one element of the Five Phases (五行): Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. You can join for one week or all five. Single-day drop-in is also available when space allows.

Language, making, physical challenge, and community are woven through every day — rooted in the Friends tradition of simplicity, integrity, and stewardship, and in the Mandarin immersion that has always distinguished IFS as a school.

Every day

Four threads woven through every day

一

Mandarin Immersion

Language is a lens. Stories, songs, calligraphy, and conversation built into each week.

二

Making and Craft

Every child makes something every day: drawing, painting, ceramics, woodwork, and textiles.

三

Physical Challenge

Garden work, woodworking, water play, and outdoor games. Children move and take age-appropriate risks under supervision.

四

Community and Stillness

Each day includes a short meeting: silence, listening, and speaking with intention.

Age groups

Children are grouped by age with dedicated staff for each cohort

12 months to 3 years

The Seedlings

Music, simple Mandarin songs, outdoor time, and open-ended art.

3 to 5 years

The Sprouts

Mandarin circle time, daily art, garden tending, nature walks, and stories in Chinese and English.

Kindergarten to 2nd grade

The Cultivators

Longer projects, Mandarin through games and cooking, target games, woodworking, and weekly inquiry.

3rd to 5th grade

The Fellows

Multi-week projects, advanced Mandarin, nature journaling, target games, bookmaking, and a leadership role.

The five elements (五行)

Each week is complete on its own. Families attending all five witness the full cycle: Wood feeds Fire; Fire forms Earth; Earth holds Metal; Metal carries Water; Water nourishes Wood.

木 mù

Week 1 — Wood(Mu)

New beginnings · July 20 to 24

Growing things and garden work, nature art, and Chinese herbs.

火 huǒ

Week 2 — Fire(Huo)

Energy and change · July 27 to 31

Cooking together, charcoal drawing, stir fry, and outdoor challenge.

土 tǔ

Week 3 — Earth(Tu)

Stillness and nourishment · Aug 3 to 7

Ceramics, clay work, harvest cooking, and community.

金 jīn

Week 4 — Metal(Jin)

Precision and care · Aug 10 to 14

Calligraphy, printing, bookmaking, and letter writing.

水 shuǐ

Week 5 — Water(Shui)

Flow and celebration · Aug 17 to 21

Ink painting, shadow puppets, lantern making, and water play.

Cost

All-inclusive. No hidden fees.

All prices include the full program, materials, lunch, and snacks.

$3,300

$660 per week

Best for building friendships and doing the full elemental cycle.

Flexible

Weekly Enrollment

$720

Per week

Each week is complete on its own. Join for any week you choose.

As needed

Same-day drop-in

$160

Per day

Available when space allows. Please give advance notice.

Extended Care is available from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM for an additional fee. Contact us for pricing: summer_camp@ifschool.org

How We Live Together

The Friends tradition, lived daily

IFS Summer Camp is guided by Quaker values. These are not rules on a wall. They shape how we eat, talk, make things, and work through problems together.

Simplicity

No screens. Full attention.

Peace

Problems are worked through together.

Integrity

We say what we mean.

Community

How we care for each other is the lesson.

Equality

Every child belongs here.

Stewardship

We leave things better than we found them.