Our various Summer Youth Programs provide kids the opportunity to experience all the fun that Sylvester Manor has to offer. Registration will open on February 3, 2025 for the 2025 season.
Questions? Email youthprograms@sylvestermanor.org
Ages 3-7 Years Old
THE place for your kids to enjoy growing and harvesting vegetables in our Children’s Garden, creating nature-based arts and crafts, exploring the Sylvester Manor forest, taking field walks to the Windmill Field and learning about music, imagery, fiber arts and more! Meeting new friends, spending time outside and participating in all of these activities will certainly engage your Little Sprout (ages 3-4) or Young Farmer (ages 5-7) this summer!
Ages 8-10 Years Old
Fig & Forest is open to children ages 8-10 years old and will provide for a more focused approach to the wonder of story and the culinary arts in an outdoor summer setting. Each week children will be invited to collaborate in an authentic way pairing food, art, storytelling and music in a unique, interactive and intimate space. The children will explore the culture of the culinary arts through music, storytelling and dance and their week will culminate in both cooking for others and the creation of a unique cookbook that includes their cooking experiences.
Ages 7-14 Years Old
This unique program is an experiential theatrical conservatory supporting the belief that children can find the noblest understanding of themselves…
and the world…
within an environment that embraces nature.
While enabling for an opportunity to experience the aspects of theatre arts in the natural world, Forest Theatre encompasses aspects of theatrical study while deepening the wonder and understanding of oneself in relation to nature.
The children will move through music and dance as a basis for culture and communication through poignant storytelling and spirited movement.
Performances are structured to embody the spirit of each child while fostering a deeper understanding of the expressive arts, inside a reverence for nature.
Each program will culminate in a uniquely authentic performance, in the forest.
Ages 8-13 Years Old
Outdoor Wilderness Living Skills (O.W.L.S.) program is a two-week program that teaches kids how to practice outdoor skills mindfully and safely. They learn how to identify, avoid and deal with common hazards encountered outdoors. Exploring all of Sylvester Manor’s terrain—Farm, Field, Forest and Wetlands—kids will explore how these and other landscape features influence each other. Depending on the season, a typical day may include foraging in the forest, fishing in the creek, building a shelter, using a field knife, crafting tools for camp, starting and managing fire, all while moving through the various landscapes safely and comfortably. Led by Shelter Island native and outdoor expert Mark Mobius, the O.W.L.S. program will immerse your kids in two action-packed weeks of authentic wilderness training, exploring and skills building.
Ages 8-14 Years Old
Using the Manor grounds as their laboratory, kids will engage in hands-on discovery learning each day during this week-long STEM program! Young scientists will ask questions, make observations and create solutions as they participate in a variety of experiences and challenges. Themed days include activities involving physics, geology, chemistry, biology and engineering. Everything from building boats and bridges, to creating mixtures and solutions, to identifying native plants and animals, to experimenting with rocks and water stream tables – if your child is curious and enjoys scientific investigation, register now for this exciting program! The STEM program is led by Shelter Islander Robin Lewis, a fun-loving and engaging local elementary science teacher.
Post Office Box 2029
80 North Ferry Road
Shelter Island, NY 11964 info@sylvestermanor.org 631.749.0626
