As rains and chilly winds blow, it seems odd to begin looking at summer camps. But now is when information gets released online and the excitement begins for how kids will spend the summer. For parents, camp selection can be tricky in assuring that kids will commit to the activity and that what the child will gain will offset the expense. Then, there is the hectic navigation among known camp schedules, vacation travel, family events, visits from grandparents, and work obligations to ensure that there are few cries of “I’m bored” or hours spent in front of screens.
Our daughter’s sleepaway camp offers early registration for previous attendees. Once dates were released, my daughter sent frantic texts to camp friends and, simultaneously, two separate email chains began between parents negotiating who was going when and who wanted to be in the same cabin. Ultimately, my daughter requested to go to sleepaway camp for a month-long session, since she is now old enough. After the shock of the price tag and solemn hopes of receiving camp scholarship funds, my wife and I consented.
A month is a long time for an 11-year-old (she will almost be 12 by that time). Yet, she has been going to this camp for the past four years, knows the camp routine, and gains so much from going. Not only are there the camp activities of hiking, swimming, singing, crafting, and more (including experiencing a hot summer that she doesn’t get in our foggy central coast), but she gets the concentrated social interactions with friends she only sees at camp and experiences the comfort of immediate acceptance into the social group of summer. Think of how rare an experience it is for a kid (or really anyone) to be celebrated immediately as part of the group just because you are there. At camp, she gets to have the common experience with peers of complaining about camp food—too bland, not enough choices, not cooked right—even though she actually likes the food and has plenty of choices. She has a chance to lament the sweaty hike to the top of the hill where she and her cabinmates and the boys’ cabin will sing and chant as a group as loud and off-key as desired. She gets glimmers of the future by interacting with the older kids from other cabins, learning new dances and slang words, and having interactions with adults from around the globe with the counselors and other camp staff. And a month away from all screens! From her previous camp experiences, she always comes back more mature and more relaxed into herself, the person she is becoming.
With the month of camp scheduled, my wife and I look for other exciting camp experiences for my daughter (and to fill her time while we have to work). My daughter is fortunate that there is such a range of activities in our area that both take advantage of our locale by the ocean and forests and also offer new learning opportunities. There are science camps, theater camps, nature camps, sports camps, gymnastics camps, coding camps, art camps, LEGO camps, week-long sleepaway camps, and day camps filled with activities. Sometimes I admire those families where the kids have focused interests like soccer and can enjoy going to soccer camp for the bulk of summer. My daughter has broad interests, so the construction of various camp schedules occurs.
Last summer, we realized that we had scheduled too many activities back-to-back. There weren’t enough opportunities to get together with friends and have lazy sleepovers and day trips outside our area. This year, she has grown out of some of the past camp activities and so we are trying to figure out what activities she might be interested in that fit our time frame and budget. Final decisions have yet to be made—but our list of possibilities is quickly forming.
In high school and college, I worked at a variety of summer camps and have seen the transformative nature of the camp experience for kids. Kids can enter timid and shy and leave confidently singing camp songs. They can beam with pride at mastering diving in a pool, shooting an arrow, or perfecting lanyard making. Now as a parent, I see how camps fit into the development of my daughter by giving her a place to learn new skills and to be herself. So parents, whatever you and your kids choose, know that those experiences will make for a summer of fun, growth, and learning.
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