When it comes to summer camp for your first-time camper, you might be thinking "it's an off year... I'll wait." What you didn't think about is how this is actually the BEST time to send your child to camp!
1. Camp will be SAFE! And it will also be FUN!
First and foremost, rest assured that if you send your child to camp this summer, they will be safe at camp. Camps have been working throughout 2020 and into 2021 to develop comprehensive COVID-19 mitigation plans, testing plans, and facility improvements. Although this all sounds quite "hospital-like," don't worry! Many of the protocol changes that camps are making will have little real impact on your campers' relationships, overall fun, and memorable camp experience. Your camper will be having so much fun they will barely notice the difference!
2. These formative years are critical. Our kids can't afford to lose any more.
After months at home going virtual, as our kids have become more connected online, they have become far more disconnected from reality and lost touch with their humanity. "Let kids be kids," they say, and for a good reason. Kids learn by doing, playing, and interacting. They learn from each other and their environment. They make real-life mistakes and learn life lessons from these experiences. Since March of 2020, kids have missed a critical component in their development. Camp is the ideal place to reconnect with nature, develop strong relationships, and gain independence (all without technology!)... and so, camp will allow our kids to reconnect to reality and learn life lessons that could never take place in a classroom (let alone Zoom!).
3. Time to Play.
With the exception of children living in warm weather climates, many children from the northeast have lost valuable play time and much needed physical activity to develop athletic coordination and skills. Exercise has been proven to stimulate brain function and development. There's no doubt that camp provides plenty of time for play!
4. Go Somewhere New.
Trying new things and pandemics don't really go together. Traveling has been discouraged by medical professional, and so life has been much of the same. Children thrive on new, diverse experiences. Enter camp! Imagine a place embedded deep in nature, designed to be safe during these unprecedented times, providing endless fun for kids. It's a no brainer!
If there's any time to enroll your 3rd-6th grader for sleep-away camp, it's NOW!
(And spots are limited!)