Today, it’s estimated that more than 11 million young Americans go to some kind of summer camp program every year. Children and adults continue to take advantage of all the benefits that nature has to offer. The American government has even endorsed summer camps for educational purposes in the Florida VPK program.
Parents who are unfamiliar with summer camp programs often wonder how exactly these programs can benefit their child’s development. Here we consider the holistic benefits of summer camp programs and help you find an excellent summer camp provider.
Three BIG Benefits Of Summer Camp Programs
The long summer vacation often means that young children will be glued to screens, inactive or participating in unstructured play. Although relaxation is important, learning can still take place outside the classroom in a fun, relaxing and rewarding way.
Summer camps are an excellent developmental tool for your child. The benefits of summer camp include:
1. Life-Long Friendships
Summer camps encourage intergenerational learning and the development of life-long friendships. Five to 12-year-olds come to together and spend the summer doing various summer camp activities that develop communication and social skills.
At camp, children make new friends that are from neighboring schools, different cultures. The bonds they build are created over shared experiences, inside jokes, camp stories, and more.
Camp activities are centered around teamwork. This encourages children to learn conflict resolution, communication, and problem-solving skills. As they learn these skills, their friendships are strengthened. Children often return to meet their camp friends the following summer.
These relationships can grow into life-long friendships and connections that can be relied on well into adulthood.
2. Practical STEM Education
Educational experts encourage summer camp organizers to incorporate STEM based learning. Children learn best through structured play, which requires that all camp activities have a clear educational objective. Although most activities take place outdoors, children are still learning essential cognitive and motor skills, while they are at camp.
Outdoor activities also give children an opportunity to learn science and engineering principles practically. Through active participation, children can engage with nature meaningfully, in a memorable way. The immersive play reinforces the principles children learn at school and gives them a practical understanding of how what they have learnt at school fits together.
This can help summer camp attendees feel more prepared for the academic semester ahead.
3. Leadership & Confidence Development
When children attend their first summer camp, they can feel nervous and overwhelmed. For some, it’s the first time they will be spending an extended period away from their parents and primary caregivers. By the end of camp, it is often the children who were the most nervous to attend that are the most excited to return the following summer.
Camps provide children with an opportunity for self-discovery. Being in a new environment encourages them to rely on themselves and to practice independence. At camp children are surrounded by their peers and nurturing camp instructors who encourage them to take initiative.
As children successfully complete different camp activities, they become more aware of their capacities and leadership skills, which increases their confidence too.
Summer Camp in Coconut Creek
Summer camps allow children to connect with themselves and their peers. It provides them with a unique experience that cannot be recreated in classrooms or at home.
For your child to benefit from summer camps, the camp instructors should be well-trained and experienced. This ensures that the camps are educational and fun.
At Providence Children’s Academy we are experienced campers! Our summer camp counselors are experts in early childhood development, and our camp program is filled with STEM based activities that encourage fun learning.
Providence Children’s Academy in Coconut Creek has been the preferred camp for many children. This is confirmed by how quickly enrollment spaces fill up. Contact us today if you are looking for a summer camp that will capture your child’s attention and help them reach their development goals.