Eight to twelve is when kids start choosing their own holidays. These are the school-holiday camps that take that age group, from day camps close to home to overnight weeks out of town. Sports, science, art, languages and outdoor camps all fit here. Open any camp for its dates, price and what a day there looks like.
A week outdoors at the Ökowerk, a nature center on the edge of the Grunewald forest. Led by trained environmental educators, kids explore the grounds and the woods, play, build and craft, and get to the bottom of whatever they find in nature. Each week has a theme, but the kids' own ideas shape the plan. Groups head out in all weather, with indoor rooms for breaks.
An English-language day camp at the Blumenfisch, a modernized villa whose park-like grounds run down to the Wannsee lake. Mornings are English lessons in groups of about 12, with a placement test, taught by English-speaking teachers. Afternoons bring sports on the soccer field and basketball court, crafts, experiments and team challenges, plus one outing a week, like a boat trip to Kladow or a visit to Pfaueninsel.
A day camp at Reitanlage Pichelsberg, the riding grounds built for the 1936 Olympics beside the Olympiapark. About three hours a day go to horses: riding, leading, grooming, feeding, stable work and riding games. Riding lessons are taught in German by Reitschule Sinka; English-speaking staff run everything else in English, from small-group classes to afternoon crafts and outdoor games. Suits beginners and kids with a little riding experience.
A holiday football camp run by the youth coaches of 1. FC Union Berlin, the pro club from Köpenick. In winter it moves indoors to the club's sports hall a short walk from the Alte Försterei stadium.
Kids train morning and afternoon with games and drills built on the club's coaching plan, with fair play part of the lesson. Open to any child, club member or not, with no experience needed.
A week of indoor football in a school sports hall in Altglienicke, run by Fußball Talentschmiede's DFB-licensed coaches. Kids work through dribbling, shooting, ball control, speed and reaction drills, with a different focus in every session and a tournament on the last day. Groups are split by age and level, so club players and kids without a club both fit. Kids need indoor shoes and shin guards; the kit is provided.
Holiday day camps for girls and boys who love football, at any level, run with local club Sportfreunde Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 03. Kids pick up football tips and tricks, make new friends and take home certificates and medals. A separate goalkeeper camp is for kids who want to play in goal. Coaches put fun and fair play ahead of results, so it suits beginners as well as club players.
A language day camp run entirely in English or German by a Berlin children's language school, with no prior knowledge needed. Mornings are outings: a theater show, a museum, an indoor playground or winter play in Volkspark Wilmersdorf. Afternoons turn to games, crafts and stories that get kids talking, in groups split by age. The week ends with a short show for parents.
An overnight winter camp on the Peetzsee lake in Grünheide, east of Berlin. With snow, kids try for an igloo, build snowmen, have snowball fights and slide on ice runs. Without it, there are treasure hunts, den building, archery and a forest rally. Evenings bring campfires with marshmallows, a torchlit stargazing walk, movie nights and games. Kids sleep in 2- to 6-bed rooms in the main house.
Holiday art courses at a Berlin painting and drawing school that has taught kids since 1997. Each course has its own theme, from animals in art to drawing in museums, and starts with practice before the work gets freer.
Depending on the theme, kids head out to museums, the zoo or a park, and everyone shares a home-cooked vegetarian lunch.
A week of indoor football in Mitte, run by a football school that puts fun ahead of performance. Kids work on passing, shooting, dribbling and tricks in small groups of 12 to 14, then play matches and an end-of-day tournament. Heading is explained but not drilled. Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are included. It suits beginners and kids who play for fun, not kids looking for elite training.
A Berlin sports club's ski and snowboard trip to Zell am See, Austria. Kids travel down by coach, then spend six full days in lessons with the club's DSV-certified ski school, from first turns on the practice slope to gates, moguls and the Kitzsteinhorn snow park. Evenings are at the youth hotel, with a climbing wall, trampolines and sports halls. Lessons are led in German.
A week of circus training in CABUWAZI's big tents over the Berlin winter break. Kids work in small groups on trapeze, tightrope, juggling, acrobatics, trampoline and ball walking, then put together a show of their own and perform it for an audience at the end of the week.
It suits kids who like to move and don't mind performing in front of a crowd.
Holiday language courses at the Kindersprachclub in Wilmersdorf, taught by native speakers. Each course covers one language (English, German as a foreign language, French or Spanish) at a set level, from beginner to advanced conversation.
The full-day English courses suit kids ready for a long day of talking, with a snack break. The shorter morning and afternoon courses fit beginners, younger children and families who want a half-day plan.
Holiday language courses at the Kindersprachclub in Wilmersdorf during Berlin's February winter break. Each course sticks to one language (English, German as a foreign language, French or Spanish) at a set level, from beginner to advanced conversation.
The full-day English courses suit kids ready for a long day of speaking, with a snack break. The two-hour afternoon and early-evening courses fit beginners and families who want the morning free.
Week-long theater courses in the winter break at exploratorium berlin, a center for improvised music and the arts in Kreuzberg. Younger kids turn their own stories into scenes and characters using acting, percussion, dance and acrobatics. Teens improvise, learn acting basics and present their own scenes as an ensemble. Groups are small and everything is led in German, so it suits kids who are comfortable speaking it.
A school-holiday crash course at Swimkids, a Berlin swim school. Instead of one lesson a week, kids swim on most days of the break, which gets them to their next swimming badge faster: the Seepferdchen for beginners, then Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Moabit pool is warm saltwater, around 31°C and 1.35m deep, which suits kids still getting used to the water. Kids can sit the badge test during the course.
Eight to twelve is when kids start choosing their own holidays. These are the school-holiday camps that take that age group, from day camps close to home to overnight weeks out of town. Sports, science, art, languages and outdoor camps all fit here. Open any camp for its dates, price and what a day there looks like.
A week outdoors at the Ökowerk, a nature center on the edge of the Grunewald forest. Led by trained environmental educators, kids explore the grounds and the woods, play, build and craft, and get to the bottom of whatever they find in nature. Each week has a theme, but the kids' own ideas shape the plan. Groups head out in all weather, with indoor rooms for breaks.
An English-language day camp at the Blumenfisch, a modernized villa whose park-like grounds run down to the Wannsee lake. Mornings are English lessons in groups of about 12, with a placement test, taught by English-speaking teachers. Afternoons bring sports on the soccer field and basketball court, crafts, experiments and team challenges, plus one outing a week, like a boat trip to Kladow or a visit to Pfaueninsel.
A day camp at Reitanlage Pichelsberg, the riding grounds built for the 1936 Olympics beside the Olympiapark. About three hours a day go to horses: riding, leading, grooming, feeding, stable work and riding games. Riding lessons are taught in German by Reitschule Sinka; English-speaking staff run everything else in English, from small-group classes to afternoon crafts and outdoor games. Suits beginners and kids with a little riding experience.
A holiday football camp run by the youth coaches of 1. FC Union Berlin, the pro club from Köpenick. In winter it moves indoors to the club's sports hall a short walk from the Alte Försterei stadium.
Kids train morning and afternoon with games and drills built on the club's coaching plan, with fair play part of the lesson. Open to any child, club member or not, with no experience needed.
A week of indoor football in a school sports hall in Altglienicke, run by Fußball Talentschmiede's DFB-licensed coaches. Kids work through dribbling, shooting, ball control, speed and reaction drills, with a different focus in every session and a tournament on the last day. Groups are split by age and level, so club players and kids without a club both fit. Kids need indoor shoes and shin guards; the kit is provided.
Holiday day camps for girls and boys who love football, at any level, run with local club Sportfreunde Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 03. Kids pick up football tips and tricks, make new friends and take home certificates and medals. A separate goalkeeper camp is for kids who want to play in goal. Coaches put fun and fair play ahead of results, so it suits beginners as well as club players.
A language day camp run entirely in English or German by a Berlin children's language school, with no prior knowledge needed. Mornings are outings: a theater show, a museum, an indoor playground or winter play in Volkspark Wilmersdorf. Afternoons turn to games, crafts and stories that get kids talking, in groups split by age. The week ends with a short show for parents.
An overnight winter camp on the Peetzsee lake in Grünheide, east of Berlin. With snow, kids try for an igloo, build snowmen, have snowball fights and slide on ice runs. Without it, there are treasure hunts, den building, archery and a forest rally. Evenings bring campfires with marshmallows, a torchlit stargazing walk, movie nights and games. Kids sleep in 2- to 6-bed rooms in the main house.
Holiday art courses at a Berlin painting and drawing school that has taught kids since 1997. Each course has its own theme, from animals in art to drawing in museums, and starts with practice before the work gets freer.
Depending on the theme, kids head out to museums, the zoo or a park, and everyone shares a home-cooked vegetarian lunch.
A week of indoor football in Mitte, run by a football school that puts fun ahead of performance. Kids work on passing, shooting, dribbling and tricks in small groups of 12 to 14, then play matches and an end-of-day tournament. Heading is explained but not drilled. Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are included. It suits beginners and kids who play for fun, not kids looking for elite training.
A Berlin sports club's ski and snowboard trip to Zell am See, Austria. Kids travel down by coach, then spend six full days in lessons with the club's DSV-certified ski school, from first turns on the practice slope to gates, moguls and the Kitzsteinhorn snow park. Evenings are at the youth hotel, with a climbing wall, trampolines and sports halls. Lessons are led in German.
A week of circus training in CABUWAZI's big tents over the Berlin winter break. Kids work in small groups on trapeze, tightrope, juggling, acrobatics, trampoline and ball walking, then put together a show of their own and perform it for an audience at the end of the week.
It suits kids who like to move and don't mind performing in front of a crowd.
Holiday language courses at the Kindersprachclub in Wilmersdorf, taught by native speakers. Each course covers one language (English, German as a foreign language, French or Spanish) at a set level, from beginner to advanced conversation.
The full-day English courses suit kids ready for a long day of talking, with a snack break. The shorter morning and afternoon courses fit beginners, younger children and families who want a half-day plan.
Holiday language courses at the Kindersprachclub in Wilmersdorf during Berlin's February winter break. Each course sticks to one language (English, German as a foreign language, French or Spanish) at a set level, from beginner to advanced conversation.
The full-day English courses suit kids ready for a long day of speaking, with a snack break. The two-hour afternoon and early-evening courses fit beginners and families who want the morning free.
Week-long theater courses in the winter break at exploratorium berlin, a center for improvised music and the arts in Kreuzberg. Younger kids turn their own stories into scenes and characters using acting, percussion, dance and acrobatics. Teens improvise, learn acting basics and present their own scenes as an ensemble. Groups are small and everything is led in German, so it suits kids who are comfortable speaking it.
A school-holiday crash course at Swimkids, a Berlin swim school. Instead of one lesson a week, kids swim on most days of the break, which gets them to their next swimming badge faster: the Seepferdchen for beginners, then Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Moabit pool is warm saltwater, around 31°C and 1.35m deep, which suits kids still getting used to the water. Kids can sit the badge test during the course.
