In the sticky August heat, several dozen kindergarteners clad in bathing suits swarm the Outback picnic tables in pursuit of shaving cream. They pass around the slippery cans, squirt lopsided piles of foam along the wooden tabletops, and shape the cream into animals, vehicles and snowmen. In another few minutes, when the sculptures have lost their appeal, the counselors will bring out the hoses to clean everyone up and cool everyone down, and the afternoon will conclude with a friendly water fight. In the years to come, children and counselors alike will remember this afternoon as one in a glorious string of summer days spent at a place where summer never seems to end.

“The only complaint we get is that Outback doesn’t last longer,” says Outback counselor Christie Villaume. The program provides children with a beautiful backyard to play in, plenty of friends to play with, specialists in drawing, dance, ceramics, sports and science to guide the activities, and the freedom to design their own days. Students in 5th and 6th grade may sign up for afternoon art classes at Maud Morgan Arts. Outbackers will also savor the program’s many traditions, including field trips to local beaches, tie-dyed t-shirts (handmade by Agassiz Baldwin’s Director of Children’s Programs Maria Laine), and the weekly Beaver Cleaver, Beaver Cleaver Jr. and Wally Cleaver awards for outstanding growth and enthusiasm. Younger winners receive bags of frozen vegetables as the crowd chants “Eat Your Vegetables,” while the award-winning counselor-in-training challenges a staff member to a milk and Oreo cookie-eating contest.

As children revel in pursuits inspired by weekly themes such as “Outback Olympics,” “Celebrate the Earth,” “Time Travel,” and “Feasts,” they also have the opportunity to collaborate with children of different ages. According to Villaume, such interaction across grade levels doesn’t happen as often during the school year, and the experience is enriching, especially for kindergarteners who may be anxious about attending school with older children. But the best part of Outback, says Villaume, is that it “recreates that magic illusion of never-ending childhood for children and staff alike.”

Outback Summer Program runs from June 30th through August 22nd, 2014. Children may sign up for single weeks or for all eight weeks. Registration is or at 20 Sacramento Street in Cambridge.