Summer vacation is a time most children look forward to with great anticipation as one of their favorite times of the year. A change in the daily routine, a more flexible schedule, even a place for boredom to encourage creative thinking! But summer days can seem to go on forever, thus a great time to consider day camps. And there are several good reasons to
let them.
Benefits Of Attending A Summer Camp
There is a wide range of benefits to attending a summer camp. Below we’ve compiled a list of benefits we have seen children who attend our summer day camp at CEF:
1. Learn Social Skills At Summer Camp
Summer camps offer youngsters a multitude of opportunities to interact with their peers. In the summer, some children have limited access to other children with school being closed. A summer camp provides activities, games, and projects that are still supervised by trained individuals, but encourage and often require interacting with those around them in a proper manner.
2. Gain Independence At Summer Camp
Since there are no “tests” involved as there are in a school atmosphere, achievement and growth are viewed as the result of their effort. Some camps offer choices, and children learn they can make some of their own decisions. As they learn they can do more by themselves, they develop internal sense of satisfaction instead of needing a material reward.
Summer camps provide the perfect atmosphere for your child to gain independence. Help your child grow in their independence through a camp.
3. Camp Is A Great Way To Make New Friends
New friends are always welcome at summer camp! Summer camps encourage new friendships along with nurturing existing ones. Many activities and projects are conducted in small and sometimes same gender groups, therefore, promoting blossoming friendships. The time and involvement with their peers helps them to build new support systems and a sense of community.
Having a variety of communities your child sees throughout the year is a great way to give your child a well rounded experience. Summer camps can promote pen pals or friendships that are beyond the same people they see every day at school.
4. Experience New Activities At Summer Camp
There are many camps that focus on already existing activities, such as a sport they may be involved in. However, there are also camps that may introduce activities they do not usually have available to them. We’ve all heard of summer space camps in movies, or we have talked with our friends about different sports-related summer camps. These summer camps are focused on experiences revolving around one area. Other, more general summer camps try to bring in a variety of experiences.
There are also day camps that focus on spiritual development, such as Child Evangelism Fellowship® of Schuylkill County’s Good News Day Camp. Often hosted by area churches in a non denominational format, children learn about the gospel through stories, games, lessons, and songs from trained summer missionaries all while having fun!
5. Children Intellectually Engaged At Summer Camp
There is a phenomenon called “the summer slide” that many children experience over the summer because they do not maintain the higher intellectual activity needed when in school. Even if children are involved in familiar activities at a camp by being actively challenged to learn and think more about it keeps the brain stimulated.
Experiential learning is a great way for a child’s mind to grow. This is one of the many benefits of summer camp.
6. Get Your Child Out Of Their Comfort Zone
Summer camps are the perfect place for your child to get out of their comfort zone. While operating from a safe, supervised place, children can experience growth in learning new activities, and meeting others of different abilities, along with new thought processes and ideas.
Some summer camps last for months which definitely get your children out f their comfort zone. Some summer camps are just for the day. This allows your child to go home and process the day in their comfort zone and prepare for another day at summer camp outside of their comfort zone.
Day camps are just that, day camps, the children go home at the end of the designated time. This provides an excellent opportunity to engage them in conversation about their day, parental help in solving any problems, and a chance to provide encouragement and praise. Day camps can also be viewed as a bridge for children to attend overnight and extended stay camps.
Sign Your Child Up For Summer Camp
Whatever the reasons you are considering for your child to attend a summer camp, clearly they are a valuable use of time. They allow your child to be in a safe and supervised place, have an opportunity to meet new friends, grow in independence and have fun. They can help your child hone an activity they already enjoy or introduce them to new ones.
Register For Day Camp In Schuylkill County
Day camps can provide opportunities for spiritual growth, improve self-esteem, and increase physical activity. Register your child to attend CEF’s Day Camp near your Schuylkill County town. If you aren’t located near us, contact your local CEF for summer camp and day camp dates!