Enterprising Palo Alto teens create backyard fun for all ages

Here’s a quiz: what summer tradition in Palo Alto combines strong community connections, entrepreneurial spirit and youth leadership? Answer: the summer camps that local teens create and run in their backyards all over town.

With a focus on old-fashioned fun and free play, these creative camps captivate younger kids and provide a refreshing alternative to more structured summer activities.

Palo Alto Pulse took a tour of a few of these teen-run camps recently and came away impressed by the organizational skills of these budding camp directors- some as young as 12- and by the joy and enthusiasm of their campers.

Camp Yo-Yo

“Yo-yoing just makes people happy and we wanted to spread the joy,” explained the co-director of “Camp Yoyo,” Mattias Yotopoulos.”

“After some kids saw us in the park and started asking for tips, we knew there was interest in a yo-yo camp.” said Finn Callaghan, co-director.

The boys, both rising 8th graders who have been friends since elementary school, conceived of Camp Yo-Yo, posted it on a website called Activity Hero and started spreading the word through friends and family. They quickly filled up their first session in June with 10 enthusiastic boys.

To motivate the boys, Mattias and Finn taught the campers a different yo-yo challenge for each day, helped them practice and then tested their skills before free play activities such as ping pong games or swimming. These individualized ‘challenges’ allowed each boy to progress at his own pace.

“This camp is great because there’s no pressure,” remarked West, one of the campers. “It’s ok to try, make mistakes and fail. School can be stressful, but this camp is just fun- it’s a safe place to learn.”

And it’s not just the campers learning; the camp’s founders have also gained some valuable life lessons, according to Finn’s mom Christie Callaghan. “The boys provided yo-yos for all the campers, which ate into their profits,” she explained.

“Because they managed all the decisions, it was up to them to adjust the price of the camp and figure out how to make it all work.”

Thanks to strong demand, Camp Yo-Yo will hold a second session July 11-15. The cost is $125. To register, contact: finncallaghan@gmail.com or mattiasyotopoulos@gmail.com

Camp Wisteria

For graduating seniors Emma Glickman and Natalie Sands, running Camp Wisteria was a perfect way to wrap up 12 years of friendship. The two girls, who first met in kindergarten at Duveneck, first did a ‘beta’ version of their backyard camp following third grade and decided to reprise it after their senior years at Castilleja.

“Our moms did a lot of the work when we were young,” Emma recalled. “At first we couldn’t remember the activities, but we ended up replicating exactly what we did nine years ago.”

Big difference this year: the girls- now all grown up- did everything, from planning, to recruiting, to making the snacks. Camp Wisteria enrolled kids ages three through nine and- unique among the backyard camps we visited- had a mix of boys and girls.

“It’s really interesting to observe how the boys and girls play,” remarked Natalie. “Emma and I took a gender studies class at school and now we can see the differences and similarities between them.”

With a new theme each day, Camp Wisteria was firmly focused on simple crafts and games like ‘two touch’ that harken back to the blacktop days at Duveneck.

“We choose what we want to do,” said an enthusiastic camper name Olivia. “Yesterday was picnic day and I got to
make cookies and a lemonade stand- that was cool.”

One thing the kids are not allowed to do at Camp Wisteria? Go inside. But with a yard full of kickballs and a craft table, there was more than enough to fill a week of fun mornings.

Camp SFM Sports Camp

With nine years of operation, Camp SMF (originally called Camp Schmullwick) is a camp for young boys with a very clear focus: sports, sports and more sports. Its longevity is due in large part to the continued leadership of the Schmutz family, whose two older sons started the camp in 2007 with help from their mom, Amy Larson.

“I love having the little boys running around the yard for a week,” Amy said. “So my role has been to help with recruiting and food, but the counselors – my son Will Schmutz, Benner Mullen and Frankie Fenwick- do all the planning and run the whole operation. The boys arrive before the camp starts each day because they can’t wait to start playing.”

The counselors- all rising juniors at Paly- spend the first day of camp putting 10 very excited boys through a series of games to test their skills in various sports- basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball- before dividing them into two evenly matched teams. They also come up with a nickname for each camper, which is inscribed on a camp t-shirt.

For the rest of the week, the teams compete in a different sport each day, ranging from World Cup soccer to Cavaliers vs. Warriors basketball. Campers end the afternoon with a hunt for the ‘golden baseball,’ a prize that earns the finder a candy bar.

On the last day of camp, the counselors gather the campers together and hand out special prizes to each boy, ranging from the “Steph Curry” award to the “Big Happy” award.

“The camp has a great way for the counselors to make some money, but more than that, it’s a wonderful leadership experience because the little guys look up to them so much,” observed Amy.

One of the campers named Charlie summed it up saying, “It was nonstop sports and I loved that. They really know what 10- year old boys like to do.”

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Camp

If you think sixth graders are too young to plan and run their own summer camp, you haven’t met the Sophia Baginskis and Emma Turnbull, the masterminds behind Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Camp.

This camp, which featured themes such as ‘spa day’ and water play, ended with a dance show for parents. Like the other teen-run camps we observed, the little ones were mostly just thrilled to be around the ‘older girls.’

As Allyson, one of the parents explained, “The older girls led by example and my daughter showed extra care for her siblings after watching Emma and Sophia.”

But the best evidence of the camp’s success might be the number of babysitting jobs that Sophia and Emma secured when it was done. Sounds like these young entrepreneurs know the right way to build a customer base!

Want more?

Love this story on Palo Alto Pulse? Check out this one about a neighborhood camp run that has built lasting community bonds, or this one about five unique summer camps in Palo Alto.

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All photos by Palo Alto Pulse unless otherwise noted.