LAKEVILLE — Football season may be weeks away, but the pigskins were flying Friday outside Austin Intermediate School.

Youngsters tossed the ball to each other. Dropping the ball meant dropping out of the drill. Catching it required the pair to step back and try a longer throw.

The team that outlasted their counterparts won.

But organizers of Kids Cafe Summer Camp, which hosted the drills, hope all participants leave as winners.

The camp, which has been held for about 15 years and is open to residents of Lakeville, Freetown and surrounding communities, welcomes students in pre-K to eighth grade to attend one or all of three sessions from July 3 to Aug. 11. The youngsters, who are teamed up by grade levels, can choose from a variety of activities.

“We try to make every day fun for them,’’ said Lisa Pacheco, Program Administrator for the summer camp.

Which means that flag football is far from the only option. A visit during a warm summer morning showed children experiencing a range of activities, both inside and out.

Some children were making cotton candy. During that class, the campers made the sweet concoction using basic ingredients, including sugar, water, a little salt and cream of tartar, which serves as a stabilizer. 

“There’s a lot of trial and error,’’ said instructor Alex Pereira, who like many of the staff works during the school year as an educator, in her case as a teacher’s aide in the district. “I try to be hands-off’’ so they can learn from doing.

Some children played T-ball or floor hockey. Still others chilled out with board games.

Session topics also include arts and crafts, water sports, swimming lessons and nature exploration, among other options.

Although fun is the ultimate goal, the classes can also serve as enrichment for students. “They will never know but they are learning by doing,’’ the program’s promotional brochure states.

The location itself serves as an educational tool, Pacheco said. For younger students, spending time at the intermediate school can serve as an introduction to a building they will one day attend, Pacheco said.

The school’s on-site features include a pool, where swimming lessons take place; the teacher’s break room, with a mini-kitchen for cooking classes; computer classes for technology programs; and the outdoor fields, which can host a number of sporting activities.

This provides variety in one space, Pacheco said. “Everything is right here at our fingertips.’’

Each two-week session features a specific theme. The first two weeks had a Willy Wonka flavor. The current session is dubbed Under the Sea, complete with decorations and a water slide.

The final session, appropriately enough, will feature “It’s a Wrap,’’ the traditional wording for the end of a production. This session will have a Hollywood theme, she said. 

Whether they are learning or playing, or, organizers hope, doing both, Kids Cafe aims to bring smiles to campers’ summers.

“Our goal is to get kids out of the house,’’ Pacheco explained, “and to enrich their summer.’’