5 Ways in Which Regular Holiday Camps PrepareYour Child for Life
Holiday camps for children, including summer and winter camps in Singapore, generally include programmes for kids aged 3 – 14, and aim to enhance child development through various activities.
They are designed for these ages because these are the most formative years of a person’s life, where they build the foundation of the adult they will grow up to be.
And the more a child attends camps, the better she/ he is prepared for a better future. So let’s see how that actually happens.
Holiday camps can be either day camps or overnight camps. In both cases, the most critical features of a camp are:
• Creating different types of projects
• Working in teams
• Engaging in fun and leisure time together
• Sharing meals
Coming from the safe cocoon of your family life, or the academic-heavy curriculums of schools, this is a whole new world for your child. It’s no wonder then that the first camp that she/ he attends is almost like an adjustment period.
As they attend more and more camps, children settle in, get more familiar with this concept, and actually start building hard skills (coding, robotics, art, etc.), and enjoying themselves.
While those are the immediate, noticeable benefits you see, there are more long-term, lasting impact of these camps, predominantly in these 5 ways:
1. Self-Discovery and Exploration
While some holiday camp providers focus on specific types of camps, like art or science, some others like us at Lorna Whiston Camps offer a whole range of camp choices. From science to language to art to sports to entrepreneurship.
With each new type of camp, your child can experiment different topics and projects. She/ he can then build a deeper sense of self-understanding, for example, their:
• Interests: which kind of projects do they like?
• Strengths: which activity comes easily to them and which do they have to work harder at?
• Adaptability: how easy or difficult do they find it to work on new, unknown projects?
It really helps your child to know themselves a bit better, and hence for you to know them as well. This in turn can shape their future goals and ambitions, and also help them to focus better at school.
Our mission is to guide your child in this journey of self-exploration, which is best achieved through trying their hand at different activities and experiences, over time.
2. Build Resilience and Confidence
While some activities and skills could come easily for your child, some projects will be harder.
Maybe they will have to struggle a bit at first. Maybe in some they will also not produce the best results.
But it is through this that she/ he will learn. Not just more skills, but she/ he will also learn to accept failure and push through it, to achieve eventual success.
And more importantly, the effort and hard work will make children more confident, that they can face and overcome any challenge.
Fostering this resilience in oneself takes time though.
That’s why not only is it advisable to send your child for camps regularly, but also send her/ him for different types of camp topics, even if it is not within their comfort zone.
What we see sometimes is children coming for one type of camp, and then not attend any more, because they seem to have all the skills.
Remember, you only learn by doing.
3. Develop a Growth and Entrepreneurial Mindset
The resilience and self-assurance work in other ways too.
At Lorna Whiston Camps we believe tremendously in building growth mindsets. That any ability can be sharpened and amplified by dedication and effort.
This is also the ability of entrepreneurs. Not be daunted by huge tasks, but work with the knowledge that talent, strengths, and abilities can indeed by acquired, to achieve success in anything.
By regularly attending holiday camps that urge students to brainstorm new ideas, think out-of-the-box and push the status quo, children develop the ability to stimulate their brains for future innovation and creativity, in all that they do.
The hands-on activities in holiday camps also help the children to implement their innovative ideas, which is the perfect way to develop their entrepreneurial abilities, irrespective of whether they simply plan to take up jobs later, or start their own businesses.
4. Develop Social and Emotional Intelligence
In most camps, unlike in schools, children need to work in teams a majority of the time.
As in the work environment, this is a fantastic way to sharpen the social skills required, and learn about managing emotions of both oneself and of those around them.
And like the adult world, in each camp, the children have to always meet new people and build relationships. Unlike school, they cannot rely on a fixed group of friends through the years.
So through each camp, they get a chance to sharpen their social and emotional maturity.
Some of the skills they develop include:
• Empathy
• Conflict Management
• Social and cultural acceptance
• Self-expression
5. Continuous Growth and Development
In Lorna Whiston Camps, we lay special emphasis on not just one-time learning, but development over a period of time.
That is why at the end of the camp we don’t just provide a single, absolute report of your child’s performance, but a comparative report of how your child has progressed since the last camp. It includes both the teacher’s and the camp manager’s observations and feedback.
This is especially crucial because in the early years, children are growing very fast: physically, mentally, emotionally.
Their skills, strengths, and interests are not constant. They are on a wonderful journey of self-exploration, and it is important to both let them build new experiences, as well as understand how these experiences are shaping them and their personalities over a period of time.
Which is why again, a static one-time camp experience can only help in a limited way, compared to attending at least one camp every year, and tracking their growth not just from your perspective, but also that of professionals experienced in early childhood education.
What about you?
These are the key reasons why it may be worth considering sending your child for holiday camps regularly, at least once a year.
We would also love to hear from you, on your views of child development, and your experience of sending your kids to camp!
Do leave a comment below with your thoughts. And don’t forget to share this article with those you think might benefit from it too!