Is Choice of Activities Important in a Summer Camp?
Posted On: April 6, 2018 By Jim Newton
Have you ever been to summer camp yourself? If you have, then you know how beneficial summer camps can be for kids. Chances are you have fond memories of the different games and activities that you experienced that expanded your mind and friend circle. Summer camps are wonderful for developing children to participate in, for many reasons. They offer kids a safe place to explore nature and friendships, build tolerance for and acceptance of others who are different from them, and create lasting connections through activities that bring them genuine happiness, joy, and a sense of identity.
However, simply offering an array of activities doesn’t make a good summer camp. Giving kids the choice themselves of what activities they want to participate in on a daily basis at camp is one of the greatest ways to instill qualities in them that will help them to become well-established, functioning adults. Allowing kids to become competent, confident, and responsible for their own choices begins with giving them the opportunity to decide for themselves. Here’s a little more about why it’s important for summer camps to have a range of activities for your child to choose from:
Why choices make a difference for your children
A well-rounded summer camp should give kids options of activities to choose from each day they’re at camp. The activities presented should cater to a range of different interests, cultures, and/or personality-types. Furthermore, they should address the different developmental milestones of different age groups of kids. For instance, as children’s muscles are developing, it’s important to keep them active in outdoor play. Summer camps should offer activities that allow kids to stay active in their bodies, but also have other choices that keep kids brains engaged as well. Painting, music, writing, and other activities are great ways to keep children learning and thinking, even while they’re not in school over the summer.
Instilling independence and autonomy
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Nurturing your child’s unique skills and talents
The beauty about us all is that we’re different from one another and can offer the world different talents and skills. When a child exhibits a natural skill or talent, it’s important that we nurture it by offering them choices of activities that make them feel good about themselves and help develop their sense of identity. By allowing kids to expand on the skills they’re already naturally-inclined toward, they develop self-confidence and self-awareness. Whether they’re interested in art, music, poetry, sports, science, or nature kids can not only express themselves with a range of activities, but they can develop friendships and connections with others who have similar interests. Summer camps are not only great for offering kids choices, but for expanding their concept of relationships beyond the simple terms of similarities and differences.
Our philosophy on offering choices for our kids
Here at Great Beginnings Child Care and Learning Center in Sugar Hill, GA, we make sure to create our summer camps with child development behind every decision. We know that offering kids choices instills autonomy, independence, confidence, competence, and responsibility. It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? The fact is, kids are often unable to make choices in their daily lives that dictate how they spend their time. Between school, homework, sports activities, chores, and other obligations, there sometimes leaves little room for expanding talents and skill-building. The summer camp programs we develop here at Great Beginnings offer kids a wide range of choices of activities to choose from each day that they spend at camp. Geared toward expanding our children’s sense of interests and social circles, we design our programs with their psychosocial development in mind. For more information about our programs, look through our website or contact us directly.
