Discovery Camp

A Summer of Faith, Fun, and Friendship

Discovery Camp 2026 Registration will OPEN on Monday, April 6, 2026. Discovery Camp 2025 Registration will CLOSE on Thursday, April 30, at 11:59pm CST.

Discovery Camp 2026 Fees - 4-5 year olds

Discovery Camp 2026 Fees - 1st through 8th Grade

4-5 Year Camp Registration

School Age (1st-8th Grade) Camp Registration

*Please note that a 3% processing fee will be added for all credit card transactions.

Questions? Email dcamp@ilcp.org.

Immanuel offers a summer camp program for children from prekindergarten through those entering 8th grade this fall. All children are welcome and do not have to be current Immanuel students to attend. The program runs from the beginning of June until mid-August every summer. While Discovery Camp is one “big camp family,” a 4-5-year-old program is offered for children entering prekindergarten (minimum 4 years of age) and/or kindergarten in the fall and a school-aged program is offered for 1st-8th grade children. Half day options are only available for the 4-5-year-old program. Camp activities are designed to meet the needs of all age groups and ability levels.
Children are provided with supervised playtime, indoor and outdoor recreation, field trips, science/craft/cooking projects, and stimulating educational experiences. Activities are planned around weekly themes and include swimming at the Palatine Family Aquatic Center. Weekly field trips are included in the camp program. Children attending Discovery Camp will also participate in Immanuel’s Vacation Bible School.
We strive to accept as many camp registrations as possible during the open enrollment period. To register your child, first click on the appropriate Google form link (e.g., 4-5 Year Camp Registration or School-Age Camp Registration) and fill out the information. You must fill out a Google form for EACH child.
Once you submit your Google form and the Camp Director has reviewed your
submission, you will receive a confirmation email with further instructions on how to submit the liability form and financial information through FACTS (a new system for Discovery Camp). Once we receive those applications, your registration(s) will be considered complete. Please note, it may take several days to receive a confirmation email.

NO CHANGES to a camper’s schedule can be made after the Google form is submitted. Please DO NOT submit your registration until you are CONFIDENT in your child’s camp schedule.
Discovery Camp is in session from 9:00am – 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. Before Care is offered from 7:00-9:00am and After Care is offered from 4:00-6:00pm at a rate of $10 per hour per child. Before and After Care will be billed on a weekly basis through FACTS (new to Discovery Camp). Campers may be registered for any number of days during the week across any of the weekly schedules (i.e., campers do not have to be registered for the same number of days each week).

Refunds for missed days are not given. There are no make-up days for missed days, regardless of reason. Camp fees include a light breakfast, snack, crafts and activities, and a camp t-shirt. Campers must bring their own lunches daily and purchase a Palatine Pool pass or punch card. Please refer to the Discovery Camp FAQ section below for additional information.

Enthusiastic, energetic, and empathetic counselors provide high quality supervision and care at Discovery Camp. Counselors are selected based on his/her skill set, maturity, creativity, and sensitivity to the needs of all camp participants. Counselors receive extensive training in safety procedures, behavior management, social-emotional learning, and facilitation of camp activities prior to the start of camp and throughout the summer. Many Discovery Camp staff members are Alumni from Immanuel Lutheran School and have training in educational fields and experience working with children.

2026 Schedule

Week 1 (June 8-12): Road Trip USA

Week 2 (June 15-19): Island Escape

Week 3 (June 22-26): Vacation Bible School

Week 4 (June 29-July 2, NO CAMP July 3): Mountain Expedition

Week 5 (July 6-10): Desert Discovery

Week 6 (July 13-17): Ocean Voyage

Week 7 (July 20-24): Arctic Adventure

Week 8 (July 27-31): City Escape

Week 9 (August 3-7): Wilderness Trek

*All field trips will be on Wednesdays.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Generally:
- 7am-9am = Before Care
- 9-12pm = Themed activities onsite
- 12-4pm = Recreational activities offsite
  - Wednesdays = Field Trips
  - Thursdays = local park days
  - Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays = Pool days (Monday is onsite water play for 4-5 year olds)
  - 4-6pm = After Care
Yes, the Director will send out a weekly email with the theme of the week, field trip times, and any other important information to note for the week. Please make sure your email address is correct on the registration form. You can include more than one email address.
Half-day camp options are only available for our 4-5 year old campers. There is NO half day option on Wednesdays or during the week of Vacation Bible School (VBS).
No. Half day campers leave before lunch and any afternoon activities, such as the park or pool.
YES. If your child is attending full day camp for either the 4-5 year camp or school-aged camp, they need a lunch EVERY DAY. Sack lunches may be needed on Wednesdays, but families will be notified ahead of time.
For school-aged campers, pool days are Mondays, Tuesdays, & Fridays. For our 4-5 year campers, Mondays are water play days onsite at camp and Tuesdays and Fridays are pool days at the Family Aquatic Center (FAC). All campers walk to the FAC. All campers need a swimsuit, towel, goggles, and sunscreen (spray) on M/Tues/Fri. Coastguard approved floaties/life jackets are allowed at the FAC.
YES. Families must purchase a pool pass or punch card through the Palatine Park District if your child is going to the pool. We do NOT accept cash. Please purchase whatever option is most cost effective for your family. We do not need the physical pass, as the pool looks up campers by their first and last name. Please make sure the pool pass is under your child’s name. If getting a family pass, please make sure it is under the children’s last names.
No, we have many campers who are non-swimmers. Campers in grades 4-8th take a swim test with a life guard before being allowed in the deep end. If they do not pass the swim test, they cannot be in the deep-end. Campers in 1st-3rd grade stay up to their armpits (i.e., not past the second waterfall at the FAC). We understand that some younger campers have the ability to go in the deep-end with their parents/guardians; however, this is our camp rule. The 4-5 year old campers stay in the splash pad area (i.e., up to the first waterfall/waterslide). Your child can wear Coast Guard approved floaties or a life jacket. Counselors are supervising in the pool and/or around the pool area. Campers have the option of playing in the grass or in the sandpit, too. If they are tall enough, they may also go on the big waterslides. The lifeguards will measure the height of the campers to determine if they are tall enough. Campers do not have to pass the swim test to be able to go down the waterslides.
Counselors are stationed throughout the entire facility, including the slide, sandpit, and bathroom areas, and rotate throughout these stations during pool time. Counselors also wear neon yellow visors (the color of a safety vest) while off-site, making it easy for campers to identify their counselors. The lifeguards also help keep campers from ALL camps safe and are great at reminding younger children not to go any deeper if they see them with water past their armpits.
Rest Time is after lunch on Mondays and Thursdays for our 4-5 year campers. We provide cots for the campers, and we recommend that they bring a small blanket or towel to use. You can bring these items in a bag, labeled with your child’s name on it, and leave the bag with us for the duration of summer camp so you do not have to carry it back and forth.
Wednesdays. A field trip may be offsite OR onsite at camp. The field trip schedule is TBD. Campers will wear their camp T-shirt on field trip days. These T-shirts will be provided each week and washed after the field trips. T-shirts can be picked up on the child’s last day of camp.

Thursdays. Campers are able to bring bikes, scooters, roller blades, etc. only if your child can safely ride them independently AND has a helmet. A helmet is needed to ride “wheels” at camp. We do not allow campers to ride their wheels, no matter the age, without a helmet. This applies to our middle schoolers as well. We do not have enough counselors to help every child ride their wheels, so if campers cannot confidently ride their wheels without an adult’s help, please do not bring them.
7-8:45am. Breakfast is light - dry cereal, granola bars, poptarts, etc. Your child is welcome to bring other food to eat in the morning.
Yes, an afternoon snack is provided right before dismissal. We encourage your child to pack extra snacks, as they are very active during the day.
Electronics are allowed (at your own risk) during Before Care from 7-9am and during After Care from 5-6pm. The WiFi password is not provided to campers. Outside of the electronics time hours, Discovery Camp follows Immanuel Lutheran School’s electronics policy. Just like during a school day, electronics are to be “off and away.” We understand parents/guardians may be concerned about a child’s safety on field trips however, electronics (including phones and Smart Watches of any kind) are not allowed. We encourage parents/guardians to make the best choice for their family before signing a child up for a field trip.
Please drop your child off at Door 10 (off the parking lot and playground). If you arrive prior to 8am, you will need to bring your child downstairs. Please ring the doorbell. A counselor will be outside in the parking lot to check children in from 8-9am. If your child arrives after 9am, you will need to bring your child downstairs through Door 10. Pick-up will be in the coned-off section of the parking lot outside of Door 10 at 4pm. Campers will be lined up by grade level. Please DO NOT line up alongside the cones and have your child run to your car, as this backs up traffic and blocks people into the parking lot. Anyone picking campers up must come pick their camper(s) up at their grade-level cones. Please park your car in the lot OR in the lot across Wood Street.
Please note we DO NOT allow offsite pick-ups unless it is an emergency. Your child must be picked up before 12:30pm on pool and park days if you need to pick up your child before the end of the camp day. Field trip times vary, so please check the schedule. Camp ends at 4pm. Pick-up is outside in the coned off section of the parking lot. Campers are grouped by grade level. Parents/guardians/babysitters must check their child out with their child’s grade-level counselor. If you have multiple children, you may have multiple counselors to check out with.
YES. If a payment plan is needed, please make sure to check the box on the Google form. There is a two-month payment (payments on June 1 and July 1) or three-month payment (payments made on June 1, July 1, and August 1) options. To receive the full summer discount, payment must be made in full by June 1, 2026. The registration fee is taken out at the time your registration is processed.
NO CHANGES to a camper’s schedule can be made after the Google form is submitted. Please DO NOT submit your registration until you are CONFIDENT in your child’s camp schedule. We understand that family schedules may change after camp registration is submitted; however, processing registration forms takes time AND our camp staff must also plan ahead. Please do not submit registration forms until you are confident (or mostly confident) in your camper’s schedule. You have until April 30 to submit.
No refunds are given for any missed camp days, regardless of reason (e.g., illness, vacation, extracurricular activity, etc.). Additionally, there are no make-up camp days for any missed days, regardless of reason. We understand that last minute things come up and illnesses happen; however, we must plan activities and purchase supplies ahead of time, as well as staff accordingly. We rely on initial camp registrations to plan activities and staff appropriately.
Start by emailing the camp director at dcamp@ilcp.org. If you require immediate assistance, please call the Immanuel Lutheran School Main Office (847) 359-1936 and leave a message for the Camp Director. Include your name, phone number, and email address in your message. The Camp Director and Assistant Camp Director work full-time jobs at public schools during the year and are not able to be onsite at Immanuel.
Both. We have no idea why two emails were created, but both emails go to the same email account.