Summer camps work wonders for children, any participant will eagerly testify. They are a fun way of learning newer skills that help children through their life. Toddlers and teenagers bubble with energy and exuberance.
Tapping and channelizing this vitality and ardour for evolving essential skills and personality development is something that summer camps offer. Summer camps nowadays offer myriad activities- from the proverbial ‘sun in the eyes, wind in the hair’ to serene and solemn indoor enterprise.
Summer camps are not expensive, as commonly perceived. And they are definitely worth the value when weighed against advantages.
Importance of Summer Camp Activities For Kids
Tasting exhilaration and success first hand: Sports and other activities that keep the body and mind captivated feature in every summer camp. Summer camps provide much needed avenues for children to flaunt various skills without fears of being booed and jeered. A keen sense of participation and exhilaration over success is experienced by kids at such events. Bearing a loss without much ado while competing is an important life skills imparted at camps.
Learning resilience through self-motivation: At summer camps, children stumble and fall during a physical or mental activity. With no parental assistance in sight, they learn to rise again to compete. Stumbling or failure during a camp is not considered humiliating. Awareness of intrinsic skills and resilience is developed at camps.
Hidden and known skills get honed: Activities at summer camps are unconventional. They are different from the mundane sports or educational programs at schools. Children are easily tempted to try their skills at these afterschool activities. Hidden skills often come to the fore during camps. Known skills can be better developed while at a camp.
Taking away home blues: Children at summer camps get ample opportunity to make decisions that are free from any parental judgement and guidance. They are aware what is good and practice it. Homesickness and dependence takes a backseat as children revel in their freedom. Independence in thought and action are skills required at every stage of life. These are developed at summer camps.
Ease of developing interpersonal relations: Coyness is shattered at summer camps. Perfect strangers come together and live under a single roof, work and play. Students from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles attend camps. As experiences get shared, every imaginary barrier collapses. Camaraderie at camps fosters excellent interpersonal skills essential to live in a society.
Back to basics and brass-tacks: Summer camps are bereft of comforts since participants are expected to connect with the brass-tacks of life and nature. Children learn about the wonders of nature, the importance of preserving environment and loads of scientific details about flora and fauna. The significance of avoiding litter and keeping the area clean is driven home at camps.
Living smart without smart phones and TV: Participants at summer camps are mostly away from all sorts of gadgetry including smart phone and TV. An essential part of such camps is, they teach children how to live happily without devices they otherwise consider as essential to life. Enjoying life without being connected to the electronic and digital world is something most people consider impossible. But summer camps teach otherwise.
Teamwork Makes It Possible: At all summer camps, teamwork is inseparable. Excursions, play, cooking, washing, camp fires- all revolve around teamwork. The advantage of working in teams becomes apparent to children as they shed their shyness and cooperate with other participants.
Summer Camp Activities: Tailored for Every Child: Broadly, all summer camps are defined under three categories:
- Toddlers ( for kids between four and six years age)
- Pre-teens ( for those below 12 years)
- Teenage ( for young adults)
The nature of activities differs according to the age group. All summer camps have medicos on call. At outdoor camps, children will learn gathering firewood, fishing, collecting potable drinking water from natural sources, defence against reptiles and insects, love for nature and uses of various herbs and fruits. All camps are tailored to meet specific needs of students and every activity aims at a child’s development.
Spoilt for Choice: Summer Camp Ideas, Locations
Summer camps are held with different themes:
1. Nature: Participants travel to a remote destination, usually near a forest or hill rich in flora and fauna. They learn about the uses of various plants and fruits, hunting, outdoor cooking and protection from insects and reptiles. http://swiftnaturecamp.com
2. Science: Science themed summer camps offer everything that may interest a particular child. Camps specialized in imparting firsthand knowledge of astronomy, botany, geology, agriculture and other science topics are organized every summer. http://www.madscience.org
3. History: Here participants are taken to camp near a historical place or monument. They spend time studying the place, taking pictures and making notes. At other times they enjoy with games, quizzes and outdoor activities. http://peabody.yale.edu
4. Prayer and Religious Camps: These are the more solemn and serene. Children participating in prayer camps are usually housed at places of religious interest such as a seminary, monastery or shrine. Experts on the faith train children on all aspects of the religion and prayer. Usually, these camps are bereft of any adventurous activity. http://www.theologydegrees.org
5. Adventure camps: These are for the more exuberant types. Summer camps offering adventure feature rock and mountain climbing, kayaking, trekking, hiking and similar activities. An adventure camp is best suited for children who love that adrenalin rush despite young age. https://www.adventuretreks.com
6. Charity Camps: Conducted by religious organizations, charity camps teach participants the significance of being selfless. Teenagers with a spiritual bent are taken to communities that are economically and educationally underdeveloped. Such camps involve hard work as participants are expected to prepare meals for the hosts, educate their children, provide healthcare and teach basic skills required in modern life. Charity camps are also held at infirmaries and orphanages. https://www.gooverseas.com
7. Military Camps: Rigorous and disciplined, this class of summer camps prepares students for a prospective military career. It gives a taste of life on the frontline or battlefield. Participants live by a very rigid schedule in tents the erect and trenches they dig. It includes loads of physical activity and learning survival skills. http://www.commandokids.in
8. Sports Camps: Toddlers and teenagers are trained in all aspect of their favourite sport at these camps, which are held away from home. These camps aim at making participants into future sportspersons and represent their community. Children learn everything from history and basics of the sport to being referees. https://www.worldsportscamp.com
9. Culinary Camps: If you believed that girls would attend culinary camps, you are grossly mistaken. Culinary camps around the world attract more males than females. Teenagers at culinary camps try their hand at preparing everything from an omelette to complex dishes. These camps are usually held at various hotels. http://www.bonappetit.com
10. Music Camps: Held in various cities across the world, music camps do exactly what they say. They train participants in enjoying to play their favourite musical instrument for a career. Students are handed out tips and tweaks by professionals and those lucky can end up playing for a band of some repute. http://majoringinmusic.com
Please Note: Themed summer camps for children and teenagers with special needs are also held by various organizations worldwide. These camps are known to have improved overall skills and confidence levels among persons with special needs. The US National Library of Medicine has research related to benefits of summer camps on persons with various physical challenges.
Summer Camps: A Word From Doctors
Smart phones and TV serve as modern day babysitters for busy parents. Youngsters glued to TV or engrossed on smart phones tend to become couch potatoes over the years. Food consumption becomes unhealthy while the brain can lose connect between reality and make-believe.
Wake up couch potato
Shockers: The US government’s National Library of Medicine contains a goldmine of research about evil effects of prolonged use of smart phone and TV on pre-teens and teenagers. Studies unambiguously reveal: “Research has shown that twice as many children and three times as many adolescents are suffering from obesity than just 30 years ago based on increased body mass index scores.
Research has also shown that excessive screen use including television, video games, and the Internet predicted a variety of psychological and medical health issues. A wealth of studies has shown consistent results of the effects of video gaming on health.”
Research has also shown that excessive screen use including television, video games, and the Internet predicted a variety of psychological and medical health issues. A wealth of studies has shown consistent results of the effects of video gaming on health.”
Further warnings from NLM: “A study showed that heavy video game usage, regardless of the content, predicted depression among adolescents and young adults, more negative impacts of video gaming on youth including delinquency and both externalizing and internalizing problems.”
These physical and psychiatric disorders can be prevented through summer camps.
Guidelines on Selecting Appropriate Summer Camps
Various organizations- profit and non-profit- have mushroomed over the years to offer a wide selection of summer camps. There is no apex body that prescribes standards or lays guidelines on camping activities. Summer camps are advertised at schools and through newspapers, radio and TV.
Information on camps can be availed at
https://campingcardinternational.com
http://www.campingfellowship.org
Camps give a great experience to a child. Camp organizers require all participants be in excellent health while enrolling. Organizers have to be informed about any medication the participant may be taking for conditions such as diabetes or infections.
