Summer Writing Camp for Grades 2-9

All photos copyright Thurber House

Note from the Camp Director:

That’s a wrap! The Thurber Center rooms are quiet, the pencil sharpeners are taking a well deserved breather, the snacks have all been eaten, and the juicer, I mean craft supplies, have all been put away. It is always bittersweet (and way too quiet) after the last day of camp but looking through all of the photos, anthologies, and remembering all of the stories, poems, and inside jokes keep me going. What a great summer it was! Eight weeks of writing, imagining, creating, illustrating, cartooning, sharing, sometimes even acting, crafting, and laughing. Over 300 campers, 65 high school interns, 12 counselors, 10 teachers, about 1000 pencils and erasers, numerous magazines, recyclables, pieces of fabric, and glue for our characters/maps/creations on Friday Craft Day, and countless times I tried to learn the group names each week. How in the world can I memorize them when they’re so long?! It’s always good for a laugh at what I do remember though.

Thank you for sharing your young writer with us this summer. Hopefully, they will remember it as fondly as I do! Check out some of the adventures we had with the photos below. (This is actually only a fraction of the photos and fun we had!) Thurbear and I hope to see your writer again next year!

Have a great school year!

Miss Meg

Camp Director and possible alien 👽

Photos from Grades 2-3:

Week of July 28 - Aug 1

Photos from Grades 4-6:

Week of June 2 - June 6

Week of June 9 - June 13

Week of June 16 - June 20

Week of June 23 - June 27

Photos from Grades 7-9:

Week of July 7 - July 11

Week of July 14 - July 18

Week of July 21 - July 25

—All camp sessions are held at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215), next door to Thurber House.
—Enrollment is first-come, first-served and each week of camp is limited to forty students.
—Campers will be split into four groups of ten, with one counselor per group.
—The camp schedules for each grade level are the same for each week, so please register for only one week.
—Grade levels refer to the grade that the camper is entering in fall 2025.
—Campers bring their own lunch each day; Thurber House provides an afternoon snack.
—Tuition covers all supplies, a camp t-shirt, and daily snack.
—Our camps fill quickly, so don't wait to register!
Full payment must be received to confirm each registration. We will be confirming receipt of online registrations via email. If you are unable to register online, please contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org to register.
Camp is held at Thurber Center (91 Jefferson Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215).
Free, easy street parking is available all along the Jefferson Avenue oval for up to three hours. Note: only the spots along the one-way oval are free; the spots along the two-way ends of Jefferson Avenue (near Broad Street and Long Street) are not free.
The first floor of Thurber Center is handicap/wheelchair accessible, including the first floor restrooms.
How to reach the wheelchair ramp:
—If you park on Jefferson Avenue: There is a slight curb (some wheelchairs can navigate this). The closest “ramp” cut is the entrance to the large parking lot on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Long Street (here). Follow the sidewalk through the Thurber Center front gate. Take the sidewalk around the porch on the right side of the building. The entrance to the wheelchair ramp will appear on your left, past the porch.
—If you park in the Thurber House rear parking lot: Follow the sidewalk between the handicap parking signs (here). The sidewalk will take you around the north side of our multipurpose building, Thurber Center. The ramp will appear on your right and leads up to the front porch.
— Scholarship application deadline is CLOSED for 2025.
—Students who need financial assistance may enter a lottery for one of a limited number of scholarships.
—We are only able to offer one scholarship per family at this time.
—To apply, fill out the regular registration form and fill out the applicable scholarship fields.
—We will notify all scholarship applicants of their status in early May.
—For questions about the scholarship or how to apply, please email megbrown@thurberhouse.org.
—Scholarship spaces are reserved in the requested week along with all other registrations.
If we are unable to provide you with a scholarship, we will work with you on a plan or try to help you as much as we can.
Masks are optional. Extra masks, hand sanitizer, and air purifiers will be in the classrooms. For everyone’s health and safety, if Thurber House feels it is unsafe to meet in person, we will move classes online to Zoom.
The registration cost includes a non-refundable administration fee of $25. If a camp session is full or is canceled by Thurber House, a full refund minus the administration fee will be given. Tuition is 70% refundable for cancelations received no later than two weeks before the scheduled start date for your chosen week of camp. There are no refunds of any kind within two weeks of your chosen week of camp.
Contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org. To receive email updates about children's education programs, please use the sign up form at the very bottom of this page.
Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by teachers and counselors in all mediums are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Thurber House, its affiliates, or its staff/board.