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Monday, October 31, 2011

Best Summer Camps

By Lonnie Lorenz


It was only a few years ago that you child was happy to hang out in day care and wait for you to come home during the summer months. But now your child is asking to do more this summer. Go to the Grandparents, maybe Disney. How bout Summer Camp? Here are a few thoughts when considering summer camp for the first time.

So what does your kid want to accomplish this summer? You think you know the answer but you might not. So ask the question. The kind of experience a child receives will differ depending on what a camper focuses on. So lets say your child loves soccer and wants to improve his or her skills, you can find a camp for that. But, understand that the goal of the camp is soccer not much else. If this is the first time that your child is going to camp, perhaps you should look for a camp that has more staff and more general activities that will be prepared to help your child from being away from home for some period of time. For the first timer, often general traditional activities can be the best choice for a child to discover and explore new areas of interest.

Camps can be classified | categorize according to gender of their campers. There are coed camps wherein girls and boys mingle with each other on a daily basis. There are also camps exclusive to boys or girls. Then there are brother/sister camps; here, boys and girls pursue most activities separately and interact on only for particular occasions.

Length of time to stay at camp is a consideration. Often parent believe that a week or 5 days is best for 1st timers. Yet, this is NOT so. Usually a slightly longer stay like 2 weeks will let children get over any homesickness they might get and then let them really enjoy their last few days. You can lso look for camps that specialize in First time camper programs.

You should also consider how a camp can serve the way you want your child to grow. Do you want to develop certain abilities, or do you think he or she needs to be more independent and improve social skills? You can shorten your list of prospective camps to ones that offer the activities or have the program that you want for your kid. One of the best things about a good summer camp experience is that there are often surprise benefits beyond what parent and child could have anticipated. A good camp experience can far exceed the particular intentions behind the choice to attend in the first place.

Finally, ask who is in charge on a daily basis. Find out about the background and credentials of the camp director. Ask about how long the director has been at the camp. Ask if the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association, which is an independent organization that reviews camps on standards affecting safety, management, personnel, programming and facilities. Accreditation is voluntary. If the camp is not accredited, ask why. Make sure that even with an accredited camp, you make sure that the program is right for your child and that you do a reference check. The work you put in Now will help ensure a great camp visit.

Finding the Best Summer Camps at www.summercampadvisor.com




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