Attending summer camp isn’t just about having fun. That’s part of it, yes…but camp offers so much more than just fun and games. The best summer camps grow children in many different ways. 

Experts agree that kids need space and support outside their families to process emotional and social instincts. Interacting with kids their own age allows them to practice in social situations. This leads them to learning life lessons that help them become more successful, self-sufficient adults. And summer day camp provides the perfect environment to help this process along. KidzToPros (KTP) specifically provides opportunities for campers to independently develop skills away from home and family in a nurturing and wholesome environment.  

So what life lessons do day campers typically learn at summer camp? Let’s look at four of them in greater detail below. 

The Beauty of Exploration

Kids try all kinds of new activities at summer camp. The resulting discoveries encourage them to express themselves in unique ways. Challenging habits and routines isn’t always possible during the school year due to time constraints. There are only so many hours in a day! However, doing so in a summer camp atmosphere is more plausible. Children have lots of time to explore the world around and within them.

Camp also allows kids to explore options they don’t have at home or school. Creating a video game from scratch, for example, may not be possible for a kid with no access to certain equipment. Programming a robot may also prove difficult. KTP summer day camp supplies participants with specific tools and techniques that allow them to complete these tasks…and more. 

Whether they’re learning about anime drawing techniques, how to perform improv, creating and sharing video games, or building bridges and other structures, a camp adventure brings much exploration to a child’s life.

Often, camp instructors find that some initially shy students more often try something new when encouraged by a friend. Campers become more self-sufficient and self-trusting when experimenting with like-minded peers.

The Growth of Resilience

KTP’s team of camp directors, instructors and other professionals understand the magical nature of empowering kids to learn from mistakes and adversity. According to Pysch Central, resilient kids solve problems. They analyze a tough situation and devise workable solutions. The best summer camps help kids discover the tools they need to conquer challenges and grow into resilient adults.

Our camp curriculums focus on STEM, arts and sports in order to provide experiences that bring out social resilience in kids. They take healthy risks, build self-confidence and integrate acceptable interaction skills into their daily lives. The resulting personal growth that comes from trusting themselves to do all this lasts far beyond summer camp. 

Parents also aid in the process by remaining open to the positive changes they see as their children grow. Preparing children for summer day camp in a way that gets them excited and curious, as well as being available for daily debriefings in the evenings after camp, cements the best lessons as they grow stronger.

The Taking of Responsibility

Camp directors and teachers recognize the many opportunities to model responsibility for youngsters. Some ways KTP staff members do this every day include:

• Saying what they mean
• Following up, when needed
• Using patience and empathy
• Listening attentively
• Holding themselves personally accountable 

Their example teaches campers the lifelong value of responsibility. 

At KTP camps, children take on certain tasks that support others. For older children, this may mean explaining code to younger kids or demonstrating how to edit a movie after it’s been recorded. For younger children, it may mean forming teams to work on basketball skills or cleaning up art supplies at the end of the day. 

Interactions like these build developmentally appropriate social skills. They also teach kids the importance of both group and individual responsibility. Even when they make small mistakes, kids learn, in a supportive environment, how to admit what they’ve done. Then they collaborate with others to improve the situation for everyone’s benefit.

The Importance of Community 

KTP knows that their best summer camps provide ways for kids to work together as a team. Campers cooperate to achieve a common goal. This can be done traditionally with team sports like soccer and basketball. Coding might be the newest team sport to include this kind of dynamic. Performing arts also requires everyone to work cooperatively in order for the show to go on successfully.

In every facet of camp life, kids see the value of a community spirit. Simply by attending a KTP camp, your child meets a whole new group of peers they’d otherwise have never met. They establish relationships that teach them empathy, diversity and commonalities.

Camp activities encourage kids to think outside themselves and take others into consideration. In a way, camp is a community service program, building bonds locally. Kids learn the value of belonging to something greater than themselves, a valuable lesson they can take into adulthood.

Becoming Better Citizens at the Best Summer Camps 

Parents treasure the values of personal exploration, responsibility, resilience and community that campers grow and develop at KTP. Kids learn these skills at summer day camp in a lighthearted, educational environment. While at camp, supported by caring, trained adults, children experience the confidence they need to live out these values in all areas of their lives. 

Let us help plant the seeds for your children to become the best citizens they can be. Enroll your kids today and get them to learn valuable life lessons!