Our Story
Creative director
Maria
I'm turning my many years of experience working with kids into summer fun. I love to play and learn through play, as well as honor each human.
I've been substitute teaching for three years, TK to 8th grade, taught Spanish for kinder to fifth grade, and taught ESL and Special education. No matter the class size or group, I make sure kids leave confident in themselves and their peers. To trust that together we can learn, teach, and speak up. All through whatever is in front of us.
I began this camp because I was encouraged by two parents who believe in my abilities.
I tutored their children in speaking English through soccer and food. At the same time, we incorporated self advocacy through social emotional learning. Finally, we took a few minutes to practice phonics and reading.
I hope you'll join me in my most favorite thing! Exploring the world and our body's strength to increase self confidence, SEL, collaboration, and why not, LEARN a little reading along the way!
I can't wait to play together!
With love and gratitude for your time and consideration,
Maria Lluvia Sharp
What is Camp Conexion?
There is a connection in everything and so the approach to helping kids learn is through connecting. We connect to nature and our interests. My approach is making a connection with our current language and Spanish. As we bridge the two, the learning happens. As kids make the connections around them through exploration they have fun and are open to learning.
Meet Our Team
Liliana
Lilliana is our in-home camper and camp counselor in training. She organized the original schedule, vetted the name of Camp Conexión, and vets books with momma to make sure they are interesting and to see if there are Social Emotional Learning opportunities. Lily is also my first content creator. She wrote down our camps information that I went on to use as informatiom for our first campers. Without her help we wouldn't be so organized or engaging. She also makes sure we vet some of the books for Social Emotional Learning components to our camp by using her own experiences from her learning at her school and bringing them here. When we have young ones, she is our camp counselor in training. Always fun and able to help us help the kids who feel uneasy to take risks. Lilliana understands how to be brave because she has many experiences being courageous. When she isn't on playdates or practicing gymnastics for fun, she is devouring books, jumping on the trampoline, creating systems for our home fun, like our in-home library “chat wall”, and creating home- classes like art or cooking classes.
Donovan
Donovan is 14 and did his Junior Camp Counselor training where he learned leadership skills and worked with kids. As a child he explored places with his mom and learned to think about the ways he moved over Rick's or climbed by making sure he felt sure. Now he gets to help kids explore nature with curiosity and to find the next spot in the boulder to use as a hold. The idea about running a camp with Donovan in part came last summer when he said he wanted to start a camp where we could build forts. He plays club soccer, enjoys devouring books, playing board games, and writing when he's not socializing with friends and being silly.