Camp Shine in Martinez, CA is truly awesome! My two sons absolutely love their experience in the homeschool program and creative writing class. From day one, they felt welcomed, supported, and inspired and that’s thanks to the amazing teachers, Mona and Stephanie.

Mona and Stephanie make learning feel exciting and personal, encouraging every student to express themselves freely. My boys came home each day full of ideas, eager to share the stories and projects they’d worked on.

From taking care of the farm animals, riding horses, to calculating the cost for animal feed and writing creative stories, as parents we loved the well rounded approach and farm experience our boys have at Camp Shine.

At pick-up, my sons can’t wait to tell me what they did that day and they always end with, “We can’t wait until the next class!” We are so happy we found Camp Shine and highly recommend them!

Camp Shine is the much needed space and community our children absolutely need. We are returning families for the summer session and intend to join the Farmstand classes. For me as a parent, I am so grateful for educators who are thoughtful in creating a learning rhythm that brings together awareness about the world, play and nature. I also keenly remember my daughter’s sense of confidence when she shared she was asked to teach her group how to finger knit. This tells me Camp Shine Educators are paying attention to our children’s strengths and watering that seed to grow. Thank you Camp Shine!

“Camp Shine has been a beautiful part of our kids’ lives for a few years now. It’s really become like another home to them. A place where they feel safe and appreciated and are encouraged to be themselves, and where they are given real responsibility and trust. We are so grateful for Camp Shine, and for Stephanie and Trisha and everyone who makes it happen!”

My daughter has been with Camp Shine for a year now, and at the start we were both a little nervous not knowing any other kids. We were warmly welcomed daily by Stephanie and Trisha and quickly felt at ease with the love and care they provide for the kids. When I picked my daughter up after the first day, she had the biggest smile on her face and talked about all the new friends she’d met. Camp Shine easily became the highlight of her week. Fast forward to the end of the year, when picking her up from the last session, she cried that it was over. She ran over to Stephanie, who embraced her and shared some sweet words with her. I’m so grateful for what Stephanie and Trisha have created and can’t speak more highly about Camp Shine!

Camp Shine has been a beautiful part of our kids’ lives for a few years now. It’s really become like another home to them. A place where they feel safe and appreciated and are encouraged to be themselves, and where they are given real responsibility and trust. We are so grateful for Camp Shine, and for Stephanie and Trisha and everyone who makes it happen!

Camp Shine is the much needed space and community our children absolutely need. We are returning families for the summer session and intend to join the Farmstand classes. For me as a parent, I am so grateful for educators who are thoughtful in creating a learning rhythm that brings together awareness about the world, play and nature. I also keenly remember my daughter’s sense of confidence when she shared she was asked to teach her group how to finger knit. This tells me Camp Shine Educators are paying attention to our children’s strengths and watering that seed to grow. Thank you Camp Shine!

My son loves Camp Shine and has been attending for the past two years. This Summer he completed the Junior Camp Counselor Training and put his skills to work in the farm. Hands down, it was his favorite part of the Summer and he would have come back every week, if he could! The type of learning and life skills from this program and from Camp Shine are like no other. In a world where video games and electronics seems to take over, Camp Shine has created a special place of learning and creativity.. I am so thankful that we found Stephanie, Trisha, and Camp Shine. Thank you for all you do!

Thank you SO much for all you do at Camp Shine! It is always the highlight of my kids’ week. There is never a single complaint. You have created such a warm and welcoming environment. Our kids feel safe, seen, and supported- and that is HUGE! All three of our kids said they wished they’d been able to do more than one week of summer camp. And that’s after we went to Italy, Paris, London, and Arizona this summer! When our kids choose ANYTHING over Europe, that’s saying a lot.

Camp Shine is a magical place. A nature inspired youth empowerment program, that allow all children to thrive. My daughter absolutely loves her Camp Shine family, she been attending for the past two years. We’ve met some amazing families along the way. She’s learned valuable life skills, worked with animals, became an entrepreneur and so much more. I encourage my children to “leave it, better than you found it.” and Camp Shine allows them to do just that.

My daughter LOVED CAMP SHINE so much! She met new friends and strengthened existing relationships. She has been making me tea every night with the wonderful tea she made at camp. And she taught me to tap the other night. She loved the animals, swimming, riding the horses…all of it. CAMP SHINE was a very special opportunity for our kids to be outside with nature while learning to honor and take good care of themselves, animals and mother nature. Our family is so grateful to Stephanie, Lauren and the other specialist counselors for such an amazing program!

Cameron loved everything about Camp Shine! He loved being able to be close to the animals, I think it was very therapeutic to him. He loved making tea and picking fruit! And he enjoyed having apple pie and lemonade made from fresh picked fruit! He enjoyed bonding with the other Camp Shiners! I especially liked when he came home on the first day and told me about how came home and talked about the comment circle and how he shared positive and you guys about the day! He really had fun and wanted to keep going!

Camp Shine = a Total Experience! This camp is great and my son really enjoyed it. I was initially drawn to the social-emotional aspect of camp as my child has difficulty managing his emotions but this camp also fulfilled his need for outdoors and physical activity. This camp is the perfect balance of SEL, nature, physical activities, and art/creative experiences! My son’s favorite parts about camp were the animals and riding a large horse for the first time, something he had previously been scared to do. Thank you for the many wonderful memories made at Camp Shine!

The week that my daughter attended Camp Shine was such a bliss for her. Not only she was outdoors enjoying company with other kids but also she was learning about so many important life lessons. It was so great to see kids surrounded by nature and animals. Stephanie put such a rich, fun and interesting curriculum for the kids. They got to work and play with the animals, got to learn about herbs and how to harvest fruit and also there was plenty of time to play in the pool and soak up in the hot tub. Really the best camp in Martinez!

Camp Shine was an opportunity for my daughter to become more independent and connect with new people and animals. She came home everyday with stories of adventure and friendship. When the week ended she was sad and wanted more time at camp. We love Camp Shine and can’t wait to come back!

Wowowow! Camp Shine was above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. My kids were able to explore new ideas, care for animals, make new friends, all while receiving the emotional support we’ve come to know and love from the Shine program. This was a first camp experience for my 6 year old son and he thrived at camp. Thank you Camp SHINE!

Camp Shine was the best week ever! We had so much fun playing with the animals, spending time in nature, whittling hiking sticks, swimming, and zip lining. We wish we can go all summer long. Miss Stephanie and friends are such great teachers. They are all very kind too.

Camp shine is everything you want for your child. It’s nature inspired, heart focused, well- rounded, and earthy. Every child yearns for the experiences camp shine offers. We are blessed to have camp shine in our community fostering our future.

Camp Shine is such a special experience. Teacher Stephanie and the other staff do a wonderful job of building a sense of community, so that everyone feels included and appreciated. And having a chance to care for animals, ride horses, play in the pool, and ride a zip line? It’s every kid’s dream!

I was almost more excited than my kids were to attend this Kid Paradise of a camp. A yurt, a zip line, a hot tub, and a farm? Yes, please! What puts this camp over the top for me is the staff and the values they impart. This camp really understands and values the kids, their emotions, and most importantly, expressing them in a healthy and kind way. Camp Shine did not disappoint and I highly recommend it.

Cora loved her weeks at Camp SHINE! She adores riding on playing with and looking after the farm animals and has a vested interest in their daily well being. Cora loves to craft so making cool dream catchers from tree branches was her jam! Making a tincture from elderberry was exciting for her to be a little medicine doctor! Zipping down the line was a thrill too! I love that she ended with a refreshing swim in the pool, so perfect after playing all day with her camp Shine friends:) Thank you for creating such a robust and thoughtful camp program, Stephanie.

Our child is beyond excited to go each week, marks off the days until the next Monday, and shares with pretty much everyone in our family/community about Shine. It has been such a lovely and wholesome experience!

My daughter loves Camp SHINE! She enjoys playing with kids of different ages, and she adores the farm and nature crafts. She has attended other farm-based programs previously, but Camp SHINE has far exceeded her past experience. She is glowing every day when I pick her up! I love that the SEL curriculum is so well-incorporated into the camp so she is learning self empowerment tools throughout her day. She utilizes those tools at home and even taught our family about EFT. We will sign up again!