The summer months afford students an opportunity to take breaks from classroom studies.

But kids want to be active. Kids want to learn in other ways. Kids want to explore themselves.

At CAVOD Performing Arts' creative and inspiring summer camps, all of those discoveries are in play.

"Our mission is to create with purpose," said Connie Dienner, the founder of CAVOD Performing Arts and the organization's executive director for the past 22 years. "We want the children to have fun and express themselves. I think they'll get an opportunity to explore and discover things in the arts."

CAVOD Performing Arts, which is headquartered at 665 W. Main St., New Holland, is again offering five summer camps for students interested in dancing, singing, acting and creating. CAVOD's weeklong instructional camps, which will be offered throughout the month of July, are designed to promote social skills, nurture growth and provide deeper messages.

All of the summer camps will provide snacks and feature closing programs that are open to parents, relatives and friends. There are costs involved with CAVOD's camps.

"Each are a little different," said Dienner. "It's really a great time to come out, have fun and make new friends. Everyone is valued and accepted. Everyone feels they have a place. The studios are decorated beautifully."

CAVOD's first summer camp, titled "Once Upon a Kingdom," will be staged from Monday, July 6, through Friday, July 10, in New Holland. Designed to nurture a love for dance, the immersive instruction will be offered for 3- to 6-year-olds from 9 a.m. to noon and for 7- to 12-year-olds from 1 to 5 p.m.

Between 9 a.m. and noon from Monday, July 13, to Friday, July 17, CAVOD Performing Arts will present "Beautifully and Wonderfully Made," a camp for little dancers from ages 3 to 8 at its Manheim location, 1223 Lancaster Road, Suite 115. That same week, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in New Holland, CAVOD's "Camp Create" will serve teenagers and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Summer at CAVOD will conclude with its "Summer Dance Intensive" camp from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday, July 27, through Friday, July 31, in New Holland. The developmental camp designed for dancers ages 10 and older will take campers' skills to a new level through instruction from teachers and guest artists.

"They're kids who have found out about us," said Dienner, a resident of Leola. "Some have taken classes before; some are brand new to the arts. They're just discovering, 'This is so fun. I've never done this before. Why is this only one week?' It gives them an opportunity to figure things out; then they put on a program."

CAVOD's summer camps will be led by 10 certified instructors and volunteers who are just as supportive as they are knowledgeable.

"The main thing is they're very skilled and they know how to encourage children and teens, and it brings confidence," said Dienner. "That's another thing that comes out of camps, confidence. Our teachers believe in the young people.

"We want students to learn the importance of their classmates, how to value each one. How to be friends," continued Dienner. "We want them to know they are important. We want them to discover where their gifts are. I love the kids in the hallways, talking and experiencing themselves. There's so much positivity."

The summer camps were one of the first programs established when Dienner founded CAVOD in 2004. CAVOD conducts more than 100 singing, dancing, acting and creative classes for kids, teenagers and adults throughout the year; stages a number of public performances inside of its New Holland theater annually; and offers private lessons, all the while praising and serving God.

"Since we were founded, the community itself has grown," said Dienner. "(CAVOD) has become a community. It's become a home, a place for those interested in the arts. I think the summer camps really open the door to new people to discover what we're all about."

CAVOD Performing Arts will also be conducting an open house in New Holland on Saturday, July 11, and celebrating a grand opening of additional space in Manheim on Saturday, Aug. 1.

For additional information, go to http://www.cavod.org.