Camps Always a Good Option For New and Fulfilling Experiences

December 29, 2011

With most schools closed for a few weeks while students enjoy their winter breaks, many parents are left wondering what to do to keep their children busy. Few parents have the benefit of an extensive winter vacation from work that allows them to stay home, and many have no place they can easily send their children on a daily basis.

With so many parents experiencing the same dilemma, The Charlotte Observer’s Hope Yancey points out that some parents have realized that they already know the answer to this problem.

Whether the dilemma occurs during the holidays, at school breaks or over the long summer vacation, day camps “provide a safe, fun and enriching experience for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, when school’s not in session… but parents still need to report to work,” Yancey notes.

John Weeks, the director of camping and family services at the Harris YMCA, operates camps during both the holidays and over summer. Much of the experience remains the same from one option to the other, with various arts and crafts available, as well as sports, swimming and other physical activities. However, these camps also serve as a source of enrichment for young children, including visits to museums and learning about subjects as unexpected as Egyptology.

Summer camps in particular can offer more than just an educational experience. One of the most appealing features of many camps is that they manage to bring together children and counselors from a broad array of backgrounds. A growing number of camps have begun to emphasize this feature as well, looking to other countries for counselors who can introduce campers to truly unique languages, cultures and traditions.

Cultural exchange organizations have helped to develop these kinds of programs, offering people around the world the opportunity to live and work in the U.S., as well as share their cultures with curious young minds.

This diversity helps to create a new and unique environment giving American children the kind of exposure they might not otherwise experience without traveling abroad. That fits in perfectly with the kind of experience that camp directors like Weeks hope to create with their wide array of activities.

“It’s never the same,” Weeks told the Observer. “Every day is different. Every day creates its own opportunities and new experiences.”