Edmonton recreation, sports day camps prepare for possible Alberta teachers’ strike
Posted October 2, 2025 8:16 pm.
Sending your kid to camp during the school year?
It’s an option some Edmonton parents are looking at as they prepare for Monday, when Alberta teachers are slated to go on strike.
Camp would provide children with sports, arts, and other recreational or learning opportunities while they are away from the classroom.
“They’re keeping their bodies moving, they’re engaging with each other and building friendships and relationships with our staff,” said Peggy Schumann, the recreational program manager at Dreams Gymnastics Academy.
READ: As strike looms, Alberta teachers say they’ll return to bargaining once province does
Dreams Gymnastic Academy is ready to re-open their summer camps. It’s not a replacement for school, but can give children ways to keep active and occupied.
Schumann says preparations can be tricky with all the uncertainty surrounding the potential strike. Nobody knows if teachers will reach a deal or walk off the job – and if so, for how long.
“Having grown up through teacher strikes, myself as a kid, it was always a challenge to know that we were losing our sports and we were losing our music, and we were losing all of those things that sort of kept us sane,” Schumann said. “I wanted to make sure that we could offer that ability to keep things a little bit consistent. For our kiddos that come to the gym.”
And while some camps are focused on exercise for the body, others will be for the mind.
Programs at the Alberta Aviation Museum, for instance, offer children some local history education.
“Every day, they will definitely get to go in at least one airplane,” said Jean Middleton, the museum’s programs coordinator. “We will be flying flight simulators each day, and then we’ll be doing some history-based scavenger hunts and some STEM activities. So building models, testing rockets.”
The City of Edmonton is also planning pop-up day camps for children ages six to 12 at city attractions like the Valley Zoo and Muttart Conservatory in case the strike goes forward.
