About

Backyard Camp offers a free and paid email newsletter for parents and caregivers who would like help programming their child’s play activities. Unlike the various blogs that list many ideas for parents, Backyard Camp’s uniqueness is in the specificity and detail of its programming. Our newsletter is personalized to the needs of each family’s circumstances, meaning the content received will be tailored for factors like the child’s age, activity preferences (e.g. crafts, sports), number of children and if they’re living in a house or building.

The content is provided by a range of contributors, from teachers to experienced camp counsellors. We’ve also partnered with existing programs, to share their expertise with the broader community and contribute to helping parents.

The team running Backyard Camp is all volunteer based:

Mark Silver - Co-Founder
Erin Elfassy - Co-Founder & Spokesperson
Dave Carpenter - Content Strategy & Production
Emily Ross - Partnerships
Perry Schwartz -Communications
Francine Schwartz - Programming
Dayton Pereira - User Experience & Design
Lisa Silver - Social Community Engagement

Programming Philosophy

Our programming team has put together hundreds of activities that we know kids from kindergarten to grade 8 will love. Your kids can look forward to classic activities as well as unique crafts and games designed for in-home or backyard fun. These suggested activities also feature specialty programming ranging from crafts and dance to sports and video games. What you receive in your email all depends on your child’s age and the themes you're interested in.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to purchase basic items in advance to ensure kids have everything they need to enjoy the  activities. Between the grocery store and the dollar store, you won't have much trouble finding any suggested materials.

Every weekend you will receive a list with the week’s activities for your child including activities inspired by the themes you chose such as dance, sports, nature or crafts. 

It’s that simple!

Backyard Camp Challenge

As we continue to source activities, we would love to hear from you. Let the Backyard Camp Community know about your own favourite activities to do with your kids. Use hashtag #BYCChallenge on Facebook or Instagram to share your activity ideas. When you do, just tag our account @backyardcampca so we'll see the post and can re-share, recognize and thank you.

You can also submit your ideas to be added to our programming database.