HAVE MOANS OF "I'm bored" already filled your house? Even if you didn't plan, there's time to prevent your offspring from turning into summer sofa spuds. Check out the following camps and programs to ensure that your children's brains and muscles don't turn into mush during vacation:
Future Gophers can choose from sports camps at Glen Burnie High School. Boys and girls soccer camps run from Monday to July 7, boys and girls lacrosse from July 17 to 21, and girls field hockey and boys football from July 24 to 28.
Sessions run from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The camps are open to ages 9 through 13, as well as all incoming ninth-grade students. Participants, who will be grouped by age and ability, will be taught individual skills as well as offensive and defensive strategies. Games will be played each day.
The cost is $75 per camp, with a discount for campers enrolling in two or more camps. Each child receives a T-shirt. For a registration form: the school, 410-761-8950, Ext. 284.
Archbishop Spalding High School will run a summer baseball camp for children ages 6 through 13 from 8 a.m. to noon July 31 to Aug. 4. Campers, grouped by age, will be taught the fundamentals of the game, including catching, throwing, base-running, hitting and fielding, as well as physical conditioning.
Dave Lanham, head varsity baseball coach for Spalding, will lead a staff of four other coaches. Camp facilities include two fields, a batting cage, two bullpens, pitching machines and a gymnasium.
The cost is $100, which includes a T-shirt. For a registration form: Dave Lanham, 410-969-9105, Ext. 250.
Singing will be among the activities at Faith Baptist Church's annual Children's Music Camp. This year's session will have the theme "Sermon on the Mound," a takeoff on the biblical Sermon on the Mount, with a nod to baseball.
The camp's first session will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 9, with other sessions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 10 to 12. Campers will stage a performance to conclude the camp at 6:30 p.m. July 12.
The camp is open to children who have completed grades one through five, with a $15 fee that covers costs of a T-shirt and snacks. Children bring their lunches.
The church is at 7378 Furnace Branch Road. Information: 410-761-5346.
A little less formal is the county library system's Reading Rhythms summer program, for which children can still register. It is open to preschool children through high school. Readers receive weekly incentives and prizes, and the schools with the highest number of participating students will win the "Chesapeake Cup."
Last year's winners were Jones Elementary School and Rockbridge Academy.
Area libraries also have other reading-related programs during summer.
Events at the North County area library at Harundale include a dinosaur theme program presented by the Maryland Science Center at 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. today.
Puppeteer and storyteller Carolyn Koerber is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 5. The humorous "Wild Willy WooWoo" will visit at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. July 13.
Baltimore Zoo will slither into the library with enough reptiles to make your skin crawl at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. July 19.
Billy B, a singer, dancer and comic, will present three shows July 26 - "Romp in the Swamp" at 1:30 p.m., "Ways of the Bay" at 3 p.m. and "Rain Forest Chorus" at 7 p.m.
Library information: 410-222-6270.